Costa Rica Living and Birding

Urban Birding in Costa Rica (and Walmart)

Post author By admin
Post date December 3, 2024
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Urban birding in Costa Rica? Does Costa Rica even have urban areas? Well, obviously yes but if all your conclusions about Costa Rica came from tourism marketing videos, that would be a valid question. According to images and videos, Costa Rica is (1) beaches, (2) zip lines through tropical forest, (3) volcanoes, (4) tropical wildlife like sloths, toucans (occasionally species that live in Brazil), and monkeys, and (5) everyone exclaiming “pura vida!”.

Hey, I don’t blame those marketers (except for using the wrong toucan species), after all, the goal is selling an experience, showing potential tourists highlights and reasons for vacationing in Costa Rica. They aren’t wrong either because this birdy nation is those things but, just like Niagara Falls, NY is more than the famous cataracts (to me it’s also family, DiCamillo’s bakery, a blizzard of gulls, and a lifetime of memories and fantastic stories), Tiquicia has so much more.

For the record, as with most countries, Costa Rica also has busy urban areas. For my nature-linked tastes, they are too busy but at least escaping them is pretty easy. Fly into SJO and you’ll experience that urban stuff pretty quick but, if you stay outside the metro area, you’ll also leave it behind just as soon as you arrive. However, if you do find yourself faced with urban birding in Costa Rica, don’t despair!

As the Urban Birder David Lindo reminds us, birds are everywhere, even in big cities, often more than you think and in places where you least expect them. With recent heavy rains and a mild cold keeping me from doing much birding, those urban birding concepts have been on my mind. These were a couple recent reminders that birds really are everywhere and they can even include rare and endangered species.

Yellow-naped Parrot at Walmart

Yes, sounds like an odd birding dream but it just goes to show that, in Costa Rica, birding dreams come true! The other day, I took a regular, random shopping trip to Walmart with my partner and her daughter. In Costa Rica, although one sees fewer “Walmart people” than in the USA, people watchers will be pleased to know there’s usually one or two folks shopping in would be pajamas, employees sport those same blue, Walmart vest things, and there’s always a couple of shoppers roving the store in motorized carts.

However, before you feel a bit too reminded of being back in the USA, you’ll notice many more differences. Forget about undercover security and shopping on your own. There’ll be a few security guards decked out with an impressive and potentially intimidating display of pseudo-military looking gear (stuff like tactical looking vests with too many pockets, maybe a flashlight and other random stuff but perhaps lacking weapons), and you’ll find yourself wondering how other shoppers manage to block entire aisles while being completely unaware that they do not have the entire store to themselves.

Actually, those aisles blockages are mostly because the aisles are too narrow but whatever. The worst thing, though, and the most different, will be the salespeople. These bastions of Costa Rica Walmart are invariably women who sport uniforms that represent what they want you to buy. You won’t help but notice them and not only because they stand in place and block the selections of tortillas or bread or sliced ham.

No, you’ll notice them mostly because as soon as you come within range, they will start talking to you, automatically telling you about this and that product in question or asking you what you are looking for. It doesn’t matter if you would rather look at those tortillas for yourself or check ham out on your own. It doesn’t matter if you stare straight ahead with a blank and unbecoming 1,000 yard stare. No, they will still want to “help” you.

I understand that’s their job, it’s good they have one, perhaps I should talk with them more? But the thing is I don’t go to Walmart to casually converse with people about ham discounts. I don’t really want to be there at all so I’m not keen on spending time to stand and listen to sales spiels. I’m not particularly anti-social, I would just rather not spend my time that way.

In an attempt to avoid the unwelcome conversation, I usually end up saying, “No, gracias” but then I invariably wonder why I thanked them for advice I didn’t ask for. My partner says to answer them in English and yes, that has helped. I have done that as well as occasionally answer in other non-Spanish languages and let me tell you, no matter how talkative, when presented with a classic language barrier, even the most gung-ho Walmart salesperson throws in the towel!

Now if you find yourself in a Costa Rica Walmart, in all likelihood, those organic, real life influencers will know you are a tourist and probably be too afraid to talk to you anyways. However, if not, and if you don’t feel like practicing Spanish or would rather spend time watching birds (because when birding in Costa Rica, every second counts), you can always smile and say something in English. Thanks to Duolingo and so many people wanting to learn English, it’s still a risk but what are you gonna do? You got birds to see (dammit)!

A word of advice; the coffee and tea aisle is especially challenging. It’s a veritable gauntlet of loquacious and determined coffee and tea influencing saleswomen so out of control, I never purchase coffee in Walmart for that very reason!

But so what about shopping in Walmart, like, isn’t this a birding blog? Yes but when birding abroad, you will likely need to step into a store, and Walmart is a common choice. It’s good to know what to expect. Also, when you step outside the store, at least the one in San Francisco, Heredia, you might see a Yellow-naped Parrot.

Yes! Insanely, when we exited Walmart yesterday afternoon, like magic, the laughter-like calls of Yellow-naped Parrots were somehow penetrating the urban din. Showing that nature must triumph (or that they had loud voices), a pair of these critically endangered species defiantly yelled over the nearby traffic. They were perched right on the tip of a non-native cypress and even without binos, the bright yellow on their napes stood out against their plumbeous sky backdrop.

It was a fantastic sighting! I mean, I almost ran back inside to confront the aisles influencers and tell them that no, I’m not interested in that block of Turrialba cheese but let me tell you all about the fantastic Yellow-naped Parrots at the edge of the parking lot! Oh, not interested? Well, I wasn’t interested in hearing about cheese either but you started telling me all about it anyways…touchee senora.

Now this doesn’t mean Walmart is a good place to see birds, in fact, I can’t recommend it. But, it is a reminder that birds can appear in Costa Rica in odd places, even rare species. When in Costa Rica, you stop birding at your own peril because even in urban areas, a Lineated Woodpecker may swoop into view, Short-tailed and Gray Hawks might be soaring above, and wood-rails are sneaking around the edges of polluted streams.

A classic view from Walmart except that there are two Yellow-naped Parrots perched in the trees on the left, and the mountains in the background have cloud forest with quetzals and tapirs.

Centro de Recreo SITET

Speaking of wood-rails, this undiscovered birding gem has them along with lots more. I thought I knew about most of the places to go birding in Costa Rica, I mean, I included hundreds of sites in “How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica” and yet, after a random school trip, I realize have to edit the book and include this place, the Centro de Recreo SITET.

Located in Rio Segundo, rather close to the airport, this is a small but excellent oasis to see common birds in an urban setting. Forget about that ridiculous Walmart Woods eBird hotspot, this is the place to go! We went to this small, private park for a school picnic and wished we had brought binoculars! A combination of mature Caribbean pines, huge figs, second growth, stream and pond attracted a surprising array of species.

Need Boat-billed Heron? Several roosted over the pond, even good enough for pictures! How about Gray-cowled Wood-Rail? A few of these fancy rails fed near a stream also frequented by Lesson’s Motmot and other common species. Chestnut-capped Warblers and Cabanis’s Wrens called from the thick stuff, Black Phoebe wagged its tail, and Ringed Kingfisher flew overhead, I wouldn’t be surprised if Cabanis’s Ground-Sparrow is also present.

This overlooked site looks especially good for migrants and interesting wintering birds. I’m definitely going back to see what I find. If you want to check it out, this site has a 2,000 colon entrance fee ($4), is closed Mondays and open other days from 8 to 4. It’s located off a busy road but once inside, the birding should be alright and there are various picnic tables and grills. I bet it can get loud and busy on the weekend but other days are probably quiet. This is my eBird list, it also shows exactly where this spot is located.

Tags Costa Rica birding, finding birds in Costa Rica, urban birding in Costa Rica, where to see birds in Costa Rica

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It’s Rare Bird Time in Costa Rica

Post author By admin
Post date November 27, 2024
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The birding is always exciting in Costa Rica. Come on down, make an easy hour’s drive from the airport and you can take in the beauty of toucanets, barbets, seven hummingbird species and more without getting up from your seat. Make a little more effort and there’ll be tanagers, flycatchers, maybe a quetzal.

It’s like a birding wonderland up in here and us local birders are loving it. Even so, as with local birders everywhere, those of us in Costa Rica have our own set of wanted, rare birds that aren’t so rare in other places. That’s par for the birding course and why British birders jump to see a Scarlet Tanager, Canadian birders get excited over Great Kiskadees, and why Peruvian birders were super psyched to see a country first Scissor-tailed Flycatcher!

Rarity status has a heck of a lot to do with location and rarity opportunities are strongly related to time of year. Here in Costa Rica, that rare time of year is happening right now. We can get rare and vagrant species just about any month but November and December seem to be the best time for lost birds.

That’s right, I’m not talking about seeing monklets or other local rarities. I’m talking sparrows that fly a bit too far, wandering waterfowl, and shorebirds that took a wrong turn in Alaska. I realize these special species might not be high on the list of visiting birders but if you happen to see them, please let us know! You’ll make many a local birder happy.

You never, know, you might even find a new bird for the Costa Rica list. That’s been happening just about every year and is why I included several species in the BirdingFieldGuides Costa Rica Birds Field Guide app that are not on the list yet, but could occur. For example, in addition to making name changes to reflect eBird taxonomy, for our recent update, I also added Great Knot, Scopoli’s Shearwater, Northern Gannet, Hermit Thrush, Black-throated Mango, Terek Sandpiper, and Bar-tailed Godwit.

Although it would be a very rare and exciting moment to see any of these birds in Costa Rica, I do believe they can occur. After adding these species, the full version of the app now has around 1021 species (!).

Ducks and other Waterbirds

Yep, most ducks on the Costa Rica list are rare. Those would be common birds up north like American Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, Northern Pintail, and so on. They come here too but only on occasion and usually in very small numbers.

Granted, we’ll have better chances of finding them as the dry season kicks into gear and limits their aquatic needs. However, some of those uncommon birds should be here by now, I hope I see a few before December 31st.

Oh yeah and there’s other waterbirds too, rarities to look for like American Avocet, maybe a Ruff, or other vagrant shorebirds. They are probably out there, I look forward to seeing what gets found!

Pacific Golden-Plover

Whoah! Yes, a species that should be hanging on far off islands and the other side of the ocean is here in Costa Rica. The past few years, this mega has been showing up in late winter and spring. This year, it arrived early!

As I write, birders have been ticking this cool bird on the beach at Puntarenas, pretty much in the same area as previous sightings. Where else does it go? Did it manage to convince a Red-necked Stint or Sharp-tailed Sandpiper to fly this way too? We can only wish!

Sparrows and Other Small Birds

Yep, the sparrows have also arrived. See, we got a whole bunch of sparrows on the official Costa Rica bird list but most are birds North American birders know all too well. We don’t know them very well though, hardly at all because Chipping, Savannah, Lincoln’s and various other sparrows are rare vagrants.

Very few make it all the way to Costa Rica, or, at least very few are found. I bet there’s more out there, the challenge is finding small birds scattered throughout any number of thousands of unbirded fields and pastures.

We do know there are though because Lark Sparrow showed up in Puntarenas as a one day wonder and several lucky birders got to see a Clay-colored Sparrow that appeared in the outskirts of Jaco! Sadly, neither have been refound but hopefully they are indicators of other sparrow kind having arrived to Costa Rica.

While looking for odd sparrows that don’t belong in Costa Rica, who knows, maybe we’ll get lucky finding other vagrant songbirds too. Orange-crowned Warbler and Pine Warbler would be super megas along with other birds that typically winter much further north. Will someone find Costa Rica’s first kinglet? Take a picture of a Hammond’s Flycatcher? Once again, we can only go birding, pay close attention, and wish!

Long-eared Owl in Honduras

Yeah, seriously! A first for that country and Central America! This species normally only makes it as far as central Mexico and even there it ain’t exactly expected.

So, what’s going on? Why one so far south of its typical range? Whether pure chance, lack of food in the usual spots, or weather, it would be a Costa Rican birder’s wildest dream to see one here!

The sighting is a reminder to keep an open mind when birding and to maybe check places Long-eared and Short-eared Owls might like. We’ll still see lots of other cool birds in any case.

Plenty of Rare Resident Birds Too

If you are headed to Costa Rica and would rather lay eyes on expected tropical birds, no problem there! The usual rare resident species are here and waiting to be seen, even tough ones like the Silvery-throated Jay pictured above. Recently, I saw two such species while guiding in the Sarapiqui lowlands. Near Chilamate, we had perfect looks at an adult Tiny Hawk as well as Snowy Cotinga and nunbirds.

A week later, I saw an Orante Hawk-Eagle soaring over near Virgen del Socorro and other birders have been seeing umbrellabirds, other cotingas, and other uncommon and rare species in the right places.

The birds are out there, as with any rare species, if you go birding in the right places, you’ll have a better chance of seeing them. Accurate information about where to find birds in Costa Rica also helps I hope to see you here soon, hundreds of birds are waiting!

Tags Birding Costa Rica, Costa Rica rare birds, rare birds in Costa Rica

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Should Birders Move to Costa Rica?

Post author By admin
Post date November 20, 2024
2 Comments on Should Birders Move to Costa Rica?

These days, there’s a lot of talk going around about moving out of the USA. After the recent presidential election, Internet searches for moving away abroad rose by 1,000 percent! Following any presidential election, folks looking into moving to another country is par for the course but this time, the interest in making the big move is unprecedented.

Make no doubt about it, it is a big move too, bigger than most folks realize. I won’t delve into reasons why someone might want to stay or leave their home country but will mention that folks have been retiring to Costa Rica for many years. I am friends with a number of those folks, and many of them are birders to one degree or another. I’m also one of those people and although I didn’t come to Costa Rica to retire, I’m still living here nonetheless.

What’s it like to move to Costa Rica? Even more importantly, what’s it like for a birder to move to Costa Rica? I’ll give some answers to these questions with insight based on many years of experience; personal and that of many friends.

Should You Move to Costa Rica?

I can’t answer that question and no one should except for the person making the move. It’s a huge decision and even if you are sure that moving will solve some of your problems, it might not. Certainly visit first, look into different parts of the country, and get opinions about everything from lots of folks who already made the move.

Not every person who moves here loves it, in fact, some move right back home. However, a good percentage of people who move to Costa Rica do enjoy it and wouldn’t have it any other way. These happy ex-pats are folks who enjoy or at least accept aspects of local culture that differ from their home country. They also tend to at least try to learn some Spanish, appreciate local customs, and make the most out of living in this beautiful country.

They also accept that there are things they can’t change and that they may need to travel back to their home country for certain medical procedures, to visit family, and for other reasons. For these reasons, it’s perhaps not surprising that most of the ex-pats I know in Costa Rica have already lived and worked abroad in other countries. Those prior experiences made moving to Costa Rica much less daunting than if they had never spent much time outside of their home countries.

That said, there are also people who have spent very little time abroad and love living here. In fact, I know one adventurous British woman whose move to Costa Rica was sparked by watching a presentation about the country. Yep! That presentation must have award winning material because she saw it, wanted a change in her life, and packed up and move here along with all of her stuff without even visiting Costa Rica beforehand! I should mention that Gillian had an interesting childhood living in Shanghai, China just before the Japanese Imperial Army invaded (a la “Empire of the Sun” although she got out in time) so that might come into play but, in any case, she ended up contently residing in Costa Rica.

Oh and if you are a birder in any sense of the term, yeah, that’s going to be exciting!

Live in the Central Valley and you’ll probably see this species; the Blue-vented Hummingbird.

Feasibility of Moving to Costa Rica

Before you start to consider moving to Costa Rica, first, you need to see if it’s even feasible to do so. Sure, you can visit Costa Rica as a tourist but that’s different than being a permanent resident. A number of folks do live here as tourists where they leave the country every 180 days but I wouldn’t recommend that as a constant strategy. There’s always the chance that on one of your reentries, you won’t be allowed back into the country and who knows how long this loophole will last or be tolerated?

Instead, learn about the different categories of residency and see if you are eligible. There’s a lot to say along those lines but let’s just say that to live and legally work in Costa Rica, you need to either be a citizen or a legal permanent resident because you are married to or have a direct Costa Rican relative. If not, you can live but not work in Costa Rica by being an investor or a retiree who receives a pension of at least $1,000 per month.

Benefits for Birders

What can I say? The birding is pretty darn fantastic. Even if you live in an urban area with some green space, you’ll probably still see Crimson-fronted Parakeets, Hoffmann’s Woodpeckers, and widespread neotropical species like Great Kiskadees, Social Flycatchers, Lineated Woodpeckers, saltators, Short-tailed and Gray Hawks, Blue-gray Tanagers, and more.

Live in a rural area with some forest and your feeder birds can include toucans, oropendolas, and motmots. Not to mention, there’ll be dozens of other birds to look at in your neighborhood, maybe even birds as fancy as Long-tailed Manakins.

Garden or patch birding will be exciting but even better, literally hundreds of bird species will also be within easy reach. For example, although I live in an urban area in Heredia, I can drive 45 minutes into the mountains on good roads and maybe see a quetzal. Yes! The other day, while doing that, I saw a quetzal and Wrenthrush along with Fiery-throated Hummingbirds and other highland endemics.

I can also drive an hour down to the coast and watch Turquoise-browed Motmots, Scarlet Macaws, trogons, and a hundred other species in a morning. Or, I can drive a bit more than an hour to reach rainforest with Emerald Tanagers, antbirds, woodcreepers, and King Vultures.

Live in Costa Rica and a wealth of fantastic birding is always in easy striking distance (my year list is approaching 700 species). Oh and we also have a few birding clubs too; I have been to every corner of the country with the Birding Club of Costa Rica.

General Concerns

Living in Costa Rica isn’t always about marveling over Green Honeycreepers and Snowcaps. I wish but nope, as with every place, there’s other, unavoidable, non-birder factors. They include:

Cost of Living- Costa Rica is still generally cheaper than the USA. Canada, and Europe but it’s not as low cost as it used to be. Imported items cost more, vehicles can be expensive, and even some food items are costly.
Stability- So far so good! Costa Rica is a stable and healthy democracy with many political parties. The army won’t overthrow the government either because Costa Rica doesn’t have one.
Infrastructure- Costa Rica is considered to be a developing country but it’s pretty darn developed. Roads have been much improved over the past 20 years, electricity, Internet, and water are reliable just about everywhere. Speaking of water, in Costa Rica, tap water is potable.
Healthcare- Costa Rica has a national health care system as well as private clinics and hospitals. Residents must pay into the healthcare system, the amount of which is determined by your pension and other factors. Overall, health care is good although I know people who have traveled back to Canada and the USA for complicated procedures or, because they were put on a long waiting list. There are also clinics in most parts of the country. With that in mind, when looking into places to live, I would check and see how far the nearest clinics and hospitals are.
Crime- Costa Rica is generally safe but as with any country, certain neighborhoods and situations are more dangerous than others. As with most places, it’s also pretty easy to know where those places are and avoid them. Generally, locals avoid crime with lots of prevention. For example, most houses have barbed wire even in places with very little crime, and gated, guarded communities are popular and common. I live in one and although there’s very, very little crime nearby, having security guards controlling who enters my neighborhood makes me feel even safer. For example, in my neighborhood, residents leave bikes, scooters, and all sorts of stuff in front of their houses and I’ve never heard of anything being stolen. I wouldn’t do that outside of my neighborhood though.
Tropical diseases and animals- Thanks to the healthcare system, we don’t have a problem with various tropical maladies that are a concern in some other countries. Dengue has been increasing but the healthcare system does their best to control it through education and spraying if necessary. I should mention that Dengue has also been increasing in many parts of the world, several places at much higher rates than in Costa Rica, and it could start happening in some southern parts of the continental USA. As far as animals, yes, there are lots of insects in Costa Rica and there are snakes but high numbers of insects also means more birds. Bugs are normal, as humans, we need to learn to live with them, at least in our gardens and wild places. As for snakes, sadly, I rarely see them. I have seen far more snakes while counting birds in southern Illinois and Colorado, and have heard about many more snake encounters in the southern states than Costa Rica.

Part-Time Living in Costa Rica

What if you can’t get residency status or just don’t feel like living in Costa Rica all year long? No problem! I know several people who spend the winter in Costa Rica, or live here on and off. They just make sure they leave the country every 180 days. Most have a house and have someone watch it when they are out of the country.

I could say a lot more but I’ll leave that for other posts. I hope to see you here, there’s a lot of birds waiting in Costa Rica!

Tags living in Costa Rica, moving to Costa Rica

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Which are the Best Sites for Birding in Costa Rica (Honestly)?

Post author By admin
Post date November 12, 2024
No Comments on Which are the Best Sites for Birding in Costa Rica (Honestly)?

Planning a birding trip? Aside from making sure you won’t be birding in unstable and dangerous places, a birder’s gotta know where to bird. When planning a birding trip to Costa Rica, you might wonder if it’s worth visiting that urban park you saw on a map? How about intriguing eBird hotspots like “Walmart Woods” or “Calle Viquez”? After all, they are official hotspots, must be good birding right?

Wrong! Take the fabled Walmart Woods for example. Those “woods” are a sliver of green space that meander along a polluted stream adjacent to a Walmart close to the airport. I wouldn’t recommend spending much of any time there.

Yes, you might get lucky and see the Cabanis’s Ground-Sparrow but you just as likely will not, the other edge species can be easily seen elsewhere, and I wouldn’t feel comfortable wandering down that quiet urban street showcasing my optics.

So, no matter how eager you may be to watch birds upon arriving to Costa Rica, you are better off watching them away from Walmart Woods. Instead, for the endemic ground-sparrow, I would see about stopping at other spots in Heredia or Alajuela or even Cartago.

As for Calle Viquez, yes, that area can have some nice birds but no, I wouldn’t recommend birding there either. What eBird doesn’t mention is that the best birding is on a poor and frequently impassable road, and that it can take several hours to root out interesting species. So, not the best of birding sites in Costa Rica in part because access isn’t so easy.

Don’t get me wrong, eBird does have lots of valuable information and ideas for birding. Just remember that it doesn’t paint the entire picture for a site and, in Costa Rica, tends to be automatically biased to the most heavily visited sites.

So, how can we learn about the best birding sites in Costa Rica? The Internet is handy but, sadly, Google is seriously lacking. I realize the Google folks are trying to improve search results but sorry, when the first result for various Costa Rica birding-related queries says that Arenal is a good place to see quetzal, misspells Scarlet Macaw, and that you might see Harpy Eagle in the Osa, something’s not working.

Like some other websites, I could simply list several popular birding areas but that doesn’t really answer the question. To cut through the noise of Internet nonsense, based on years of experience, here’s my honest, local take on the best birding sites in Costa Rica.

Birding or Bird Photography

What? That’s not a birding site! Right, I’m not going to say that Palo Verde or some random hotel are the best birding sites in Costa Rica because that wouldn’t be accurate. Instead, before giving any answer, I would ask if you plan on watching birds or doing bird photography.

The best birding sites for a birder differ from those of a bird photographer. Just into taking pictures and maybe in the best of conditions? Stick to birding hotels and other spots with good feeder set-ups and boat rides. There’s too many to mention but some stand-outs include Laguna del Lagarto, Rancho Naturalista, Hotel Quelitales, Hotel de Campo in Cano Negro (which also do boat rides), the Tarcoles Birding Lodge and boat rides on the Tarcoles, Batsu Gardens, lodges in the Dota Valley, Ensenada Lodge, and Paraiso Quetzales.

As for birders, your best sites depend on the next question.

How do You Want to Watch Birds?

The best birding sites are subjective because not everyone watches birds the same way. That might sound strange but it’s true and factors into the birding trip equation. For example, I enjoy challenging birding in dense foothill rainforest. I like to open my awareness to the forest and see how much I can detect, especially by sound. I also strive to see as many birds as possible even when they are just bits and pieces, way up there in the mossy canopy.

Rainforest canopy, Heliconias, Costa Rica

I can detect and see some very uncommon and rare species but I understand why that’s not every birder’s cup of tea. Some folks would rather not silently creep through forest for glimpses of shy forest species, and patiently wait for quail-doves and antbirds to maybe pop into view. And that’s Ok!

We all experience birds in our own way and it’s all good. However, that means that if you would rather get wonderful views of lots of colorful, common birds, the deep forest might not be the best birding site for you. Forest edge, good hotel gardens, and boat rides might be your personal best places, probably ones in line with bird photographers.

With that in mind, the best birding sites for birders who like focused, targeted tropical birding are any place with extensive forest habitat (eBird hotspot or not) such as El Copal, Pocosol Station, sites in the Osa Peninsula, Manuel Brenes Road, and Veragua to name a few.

The best birding sites for folks who would rather take it easy and get looks at various birds without having to hike on forest trails include Quinta de Sarapiqui and any other number of hotels with good, on-site habitat, as well as boat rides, especially in the Cano Negro area.

Sites that work for folks who bird on trails while other birders in their party sit back at the verandah are available too. Rancho Naturalista, Arenal Observatory Lodge, the Tarcoles Birding Lodge, Villa Lapas, and Finca Luna Nueva come to mind.

Which Birds do You Want to See in Costa Rica?

This question is pretty important too. If you’ve already seen macaws but haven’t seen Sungrebe and Nicaraguan Grackle, then the Cano Negro area would be a top birding site. Hoping to see rainforest raptors, tanagers, and cool hummingbirds? Think about any foothill site with as much forest as possible, places like Arenal Observatory Lodge, Skytrek, El Copal, Nectar and Pollen, Pocosol, the La Gamba area and vicinity, the Osa Peninsula, and the north slope of Rincon de la Vieja.

How about seeing Jabirus and dry forest birds? Best birding sites include the Cano Negro area, and sites near Liberia. Bellbirds? Depends on the time of year but Monteverde is perfect for that species and many more.

La Resplendent Quetzal? Although they live in all the highland cloud forests (including sites just 45 minutes from San Jose), quetzal tours at Paraiso Quetzal, the Monteverde area, and the Dota Valley are the most reliable way to see one. I also see them regularly in the Poas area but not on every visit.

In Costa Rica, the Best Birding Sites are up to You

That about sums things up. In general, though, quality birding in Costa Rica is like most places; as long as you are in large areas of habitat, you’ll be in the right place. How you want to go birding and level of comfort are other factors to take into consideration. To learn about the sites mentioned above, hundreds of other birding sites in Costa Rica, and how to see more birds in Costa Rica, check out my 900 plus page ebook, “How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica”.

If you have enough time, just make sure to visit these bio-regions/habitats and you’ll see a heck of a lot, probably more than 400 species:

Caribbean Lowland Rainforest

Caribbean Foothill Rainforest

Middle Elevation Forest (cloud forest)

High Elevation Rainforest

South Pacific Rainforest

North Pacific or Dry Forest Habitats

Mangroves and Estuaries

Wetlands such as the Cano Negro

Some FAQs about the best birding sites in Costa Rica

I’ll end this post by answering these commonly asked questions. I hope to see you here!

What are the top sites for birding in Costa Rica?

The top sites for birding in Costa Rica are sites with the most habitat. Some examples include the Osa Peninsula, Arenal area, Monteverde area, El Copal, the Carara area, the Dota Valley, Sarapiqui, Laguna del Lagarto, Veragua, Selva Bananito, and the San Vito area.

Which sites have the most bird species in Costa Rica?

Sites that have the most bird species in Costa Rica include reserves in the Sarapiqui lowlands, Pocosol station, Rancho Naturalista and nearby sites including Vista Aves and El Copal, and the Carara area.

Where can you see toucans, parrots, and other tropical birds in Costa Rica?

In Costa Rica, you can see toucans, parrots, and other tropical birds in lots of places! I even see toucans, parrots, and fancy Long-tailed Manakins just outside of San Jose. However, the best places for these birds are sites with lowland and foothill rainforest.

Tags best birding sites in Costa Rica, Birding Costa Rica, Costa Rica birding, planning a birding trip to Costa Rica

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Highlights from Two Weeks of Birding in Costa Rica

Post author By admin
Post date October 28, 2024
2 Comments on Highlights from Two Weeks of Birding in Costa Rica

Who doesn't want to see a Snowcap?

I slept in this morning, didn’t even go birding! That will change tomorrow when I awake before dawn for guiding in the Poas area. It’ll be good, in the highlands of Costa Rica, the birding always is. I experienced some of that memorable montane birding last week along with another week of birding in lowlands and middle elevations while guiding a couple of birders from one corner of Costa Rica to the next.

It was a biodiverse birding rush, an immersion into natural Costa Rica to see how much we could find on an itinerary carefully planned to experience as much of the Costa Rican avifauna as possible. There was a fair bit of driving, lots of walking, less rain than expected, wonderful hospitality, and great food in various, small, out of the way places.

The plan worked out because there were also more than 475 bird species seen along with 40 that were heard only. Highlights were a daily occurrence including that last bit of birding yesterday morning when we saw the elusive Cabanis’s Ground-Sparrow (a suiting final bird for the list!).

I’m still wrapping my head around the trip, wondering which highlights to mention. Rolling up to the salt pans at Punta Morales and seeing dozens of roosting Black Skimmers along with hundreds of Marbled Godwits, Willets, and other shorebirds? Fantastic, glittering views of a male Mangrove Hummingbird at Caldera quickly followed by a Lesser Ground-Cuckoo hopping into view? Or, how about Resplendent Quetzals shining jade green in stately oak forests decorated with lichen and bromeliads?

Those are a few highlights that come to mind, here are some others.

Last Minute Birding in Los Chiles

After a long, unbirdy drive from Pocosol Biological Station, we made it to Los Chiles just in time for late afternoon bird action. As soon as we stepped out of the vehicle, new birds came fast and furious. It didn’t matter that people were chatting and walking around the river “dock” and nearby park.

Spot-breasted Wrens scrambling in the vines here! Flyover Red-lored Parrots, flyby Roseate Spoonbills, whoah…Black-collared Hawk! A quick Harris’s Hawk next, Lesser Swallow-tailed Swifts over the trees, Barn Swallows zipping, kingfishers rattling and flying, it was all around and all at once!

As dusk approached, a Bat Falcon followed the course of the river and nighthawks fluttered into view. That first one was an uncommon migrant Common Nighthawk! The others with the blunt wing tips and smaller patches of white were Lessers!

It was welcome birding after a drive and preparation for birding action the following morning.

Medio Queso Marsh Action

After a night at CyC H o t e l (much recommended for a night or two), we headed to the nearby Medio Queso marsh before dawn. I was hoping for Striped Owl, wishing on an Ocellated Poorwill. I suspect we almost got the owl; we did notice a pale owl fly up from a ditch. However, we didn’t see it well enough, never saw it again and couldn’t discount an American Barn Owl. No longshot poorwills either but we did have perfect looks at Pacific Screech-Owls before a fine morning in a flooded marsh.

Water levels were high and that likely kept us from seeing Snail Kite and Limpkin but we still saw lots of other birds. There were great looks at Pinnated and Least Bitterns, the pinkish-beaked Nicaraguan Seed-Finch, a distant Sungrebe, unexpected White-tailed Hawk, and more.

Yellow-breasted Crakes walked and fluttered into view without playback, a White-throated Crake swam across the channel, and a wintering Sora briefly flushed from the grass. Luckily, just before leaving, we focused in on Lesser Yellow-headed Vultures doing their harrier movements over the marsh.

Tirimbina

We had an afternoon, full day, and a bit of morning in Sarapiqui. That’s somewhat of an injustice for this birdy region but we had other places to visit, couldn’t afford more time in the Caribbean lowlands.

To bird the forest, I opted for the Tirimbina Reserve. This reserve has beautiful lowland rainforest, a “canopy” walkway over a ravine, rushing river, and a heck of a lot of birds. I also like Tirimbina because it is open to the public at 6. Walk in, pay the entrance fee and the birds are yours’ to see.

Our morning visit was more or less exceptional. Fasciated Tiger-Heron from the bridge, Gray-cheeked Thrushes, White-collared Manakins, and other birds in the gardens, and we hadn’t even reached the forest.

Once we got there, it didn’t take long before we lucked into that dream Neotropical birding situation; Army Ant swarm!

There were a bunch of birds including point blank Ocellated Antbirds, furtive Spotted Antbirds, woodcreepers, and more. Hard to pick a best bird but the three Olive-backed Quail-Doves are a good contender! We had perfect looks as they walked around the edge of the swarm, probably wondering if they should stick around or walk away from the biting ants.

There was also that Great Tinamou that walked towards us on the trail, White-fronted Nunbirds going crazy, Black-capped Pygmy-Tyrant, puffbirds, and the Black Hawk-Eagle that wheeled over the river at eye level as we walked back across the bridge. Yeah, Tirimbina is a pretty good site!

An eBird list from that morning.

Paint-billed Crakes in Flight

Wait, what? Um, yes…maybe not like flying around normally but still in flight! On our morning visit to the rice fields and marshes south of Ciudad Neily, we came across a couple tractors preparing a field to plant rice. Noting that the mostly tractored field was already filled with egrets, caracaras, and other birds, I figured we should stick around and see what happens.

Sure enough, while watching one of the tractors, I noticed a Sora fly out of the old, marshy rice. We kept watching and much to our fortune, eventually saw at least 6 Paint-billed Crakes flush from the grass. Actually, we probably saw more. The birds would quickly flush and then hide although one flew right past us, close enough to see the red on its beak!

At a distance, they looked like chunky, dark grayish rails with red legs, and were more unform dark blue-gray than the white-bellied Soras. I also witnessed a small crake get flushed, might have been a Gray-breasted. But, in the few seconds waiting for a better look, an adult Peregrine suddenly snatched it from my view!

The raptor dispatched the small bird immediately, I can still picture its legs and neck dangling from the falcon’s talons as the master hunter carried the crake away.

We also witnessed Savannah Hawk catching something as well as egrets and a Wood Stork snatching rats, and a Crested Caracara unsuccessfully staking a Paint-billed Crake.

This night, we stayed at Fortuna Verde, certainly the best place to stay while birding this area. They have some forests out back and their hospitality is second to none. Very much recommended!

Snowcap and 36 other Hummingbird Species

I’m happy to say we did pretty good on the hummingbird front. Violetears, sabrewings, Blue-throated Goldentails. Coppery-headed and White-tailed Emeralds, Black-crested Coquettes, and more. However, the prize might go to the Snowcap.

After the briefest of looks at Pocosol, we were very much in need of much better views. We got them right at the end of the day at one of the few reliable sites for this species; Centro Manu.

It took some anxious waiting but just before 5 p.m., like fairies with headlamps, two males flew into our field of view. Even better, one of them perched and let us admire its deep wine, beetroot colors for several minutes.

Enigmatic Birds Heard but not Seen

This might not be as much of a highlight as other birding experiences but birders with an auditory bent may appreciate it. I enjoy the visual experience that birds bring, I always love seeing them but I also love hearing them. I might even listen for birds more than looking for them. I’m not sure if I can help it, I don’t think I could turn off my ears if I wanted to. Hearing birds shows me who and where they are just as much as visually noting them.

With that in mind, it was a special gift to hear the undescribed “Puntarenas” Screech-Owl calling near Mirador de Osa. We tried for it pre-dawn and eventually found one a few kilometers east of the cabins and small restaurant (great service, food and drink, also recommended). Unfortunately, the owl wouldn’t budge from its hidden spot but it was still magical to hear it give its brief vocalization as day broke over the rainforest.

Earlier in the trip, at Pocosol, we had another singing bird we would have loved to have laid eyes on. While hiking the beautiful yet steep Fumaroles trail, a Lanceolated Monklet finally decided to respond to my imitation of its call. Whenever I’m in monklet land (ravines and rivers in foothill rainforest), I call like one. They rarely respond but I still try because every once in a while, one of those shy little puffbirds does fly in.

At Pocosol, unfortunately, the monklet only called back somewhere way out of sight but it was still cool to hear. I should also mention that, as far as I have seen, I don’t think the monklets in Costa Rica sound quite like birds from the eastern Andes. I have still had them respond to recordings of Andean birds but, it might warrant further investigation.

The other notable bird heard but not seen was Unspotted Saw-whet Owl. Like the previous two birds, this one is also a tough one to find and doesn’t necessarily fly in and look at you. As in May of this year, just before dawn, one called from forest adjacent to Myriam’s Cabins. It called a few times but never flew in close enough to see. It’s a treat to hear that enigmatic owl, hopefully, we’ll lay eyes on it next time!

Well, those are the highlights that come to mind but they aren’t the only ones. As I was saying, the birding highlights were daily and constant; somewhat par for the course for Costa Rica. To learn more about the sites mentioned in this post and hundreds of birding sites throughout Costa Rica, support this blog by getting “How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica“.

Get ready for your birding trip to Costa Rica, I hope to see you here!

Tags Birding Costa Rica, Costa Rica birding, where to see birds in Costa Rica

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A Big Morning on October Big Day in Costa Rica

Post author By admin
Post date October 13, 2024
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This past Saturday, birders celebrated another October Global Big Day. It was a day dedicated to birding, to be part of a massive birding collective and see how many birds you can find.

You don’t have to do October Big Day like that, the sole requisite is watching birds and recording your lists in eBird. However, with “Big Day” being part of the equation, a birder feels compelled to do a bit more, like maybe birding all day long, maybe starting before dawn and going well into the night.

Yeah, that is extreme but in Costa Rica, there’s so many birds waiting to be seen, it can hard to stop birding. Keep going and you’ll keep seeing more. Get carried away with birding here and you really got a check yourself before you birding wreck yourself.

On October 12th, more than 1,000 birders in Costa Rica did their part. Thanks to most folks birding all day long and several covering remote parts of the country, us birders in Costa Rica identified 716 species! My partner Maryllen and I were part of that effort, here’s how our day went.

A Good Plan but…Weather Happens

I can’t help but make Big Day plans. There’s so many birds concentrated in Costa Rica, crafting plans to see large numbers of them in one day is all too easy. There are roads that can bring you to quetzals, a wealth of hummingbirds, macaws, and more, all in one day.

If the birds cooperate, you’ve got a chance at identifying hundreds, all in one day. There’s always a chance of breaking a Big Day record, maybe even the biggest world Big Day of all! Those possibilities provide fuel for the imagination and drive to make calculated plans and bring them to fruition.

For this October Big Day, I made a fair plan. It starts with spending the night in the Caribbean lowlands so you can get plenty of rest and begin birding at 3 in the morning instead of midnight.

You’ll need that rest because you’ll be non-stop birding the rest of the day and into part of the next night. You’ll drive from the Sarapiqui lowlands up to Cinchona and Poas and then onward to the Pacific lowlands for shorebirds at night.

If all goes well, if most birds call at the right time, well, you just might identify 400 plus species. However, that’s a really big “if” because the birds aren’t the only thing that has to go right. Anything that keeps you from birding in the right places at the right times throws a wrench into the works. Road issues? Mixed flock somewhere else? Weather no cooperating? Any of those factors will do.

On Saturday, weather more or less thwarted the plan but we still had a fantastic morning of birding! Starting out, the weather was actually perfect, at least for birding. Cloudy skies and occasional mist kept the birds going all morning long. But, fog and rain were forecasted for the afternoon and night. A weather system would be arriving and in addition to likely seeing nothing at those times of day, we couldn’t risk potential flooding or landslides preventing us from driving home the following day.

They aren’t guaranteed to happen but, with heavy rains, they sure can and we couldn’t risk that. However, the biggest wrench in the plan happened much sooner, one that was caused by lots of heavy rains in the days before October 12th.

Good Roads Gone Bad

I had planned on hitting the dawn chorus on a road that passes through rainforest in the Pueblo Nuevo area. It’s a place where I’ve seen everything from nunbirds to all three hawk-eagles and more. Being one of the better areas for night birding, it also works in those regards too.

A bit after three in the morning, we were out the door and into the dark, quiet night. It didn’t take long to reach the forest but that was as far as we got! The gravel road I have driven many times was caked in wet clay mud, just the kind that can slip you right off the road. We might have been able to do it in a four-wheel drive but even then, I’m not so sure.

I was surprised as I had never seen that road in those conditions, even after rainy weather. Not being able to bird that road was an early blow to the Big Day plan but I’m just grateful we extracted ourselves before getting stuck!

At least we could still bird part of the road and hopefully get enough forest species. I figured we could also still do well with night birds.

Owls and Thrushes in the Night

We listened to the skies from a hill that overlooked marsh and forest. I hoped that owl voices would carry, that the potoos would respond. As soon as I stepped out of the car, the calls of Swainson’s Thrushes filtered down from the sky. Much to our good fortune, it didn’t take long to hear a couple Gray-cheeked Thrushes and a Veery; two uncommon species for Costa Rica!

Around the same time, owls started calling too. Not many, but one of each is enough! A couple Crested Owls called and kept at it until just before dawn, Middle American Screech trilled, and distant Spectacled and Mottled Owls sounded off. Oddly enough, I wasn’t hearing the owl I usually hear the most at that spot, Black and White Owl.

Eventually, one of those beautiful owls called too, a quiet sound, as if reluctant to participate in October Global Big Day. I also heard hoped for Short-tailed Nighthawk but despite whistling like them, Uniform Crake and Central American Pygmy-Owl were no shows.

I was also surprised that the potoos were quiet! I usually hear Great Potoo in that area and we had a Common Potoo near there in March but then again, those birds are usually further along that road, inside the forest.

The eBird list from that pre-dawn birding: eBird Checklist – 12 Oct 2024 – Pueblo Nuevo Lagoon – 14 species .

Good Birding Weather = Constant Birds

As the skies lightened, I was happy that it wasn’t raining and that the birds were calling. Cloudy skies stayed with us for the rest of the morning and made for excellent avian action.

From the same spot where we listened for night birds, we recorded most possible parrot species including a pair of Great Green Macaws that flew directly at us. A bit later on, we would find the other two missing parrots, one of which was Scarlet Macaw.

The birds made it onto out day list one by one and with quick succession; Olive-crowned Yellowthroat singing from the marsh, a calling Laughing Falcon, Barred Antshrike and dozens of other species.

Unfortunately, I was not hearing enough of the forest species we “needed”. We just weren’t close enough to intact forest but maybe we could reach that habitat?

We tried a few other roads in the area, ones I have often birded and found deep forest species but those roads had also gone bad! There was no way we were going to reach intact lowland rainforest in time for the plan to work. That was frustrating but at least the birding was great, there was still lots to see!

Migration!

October is migration month in Costa Rica and Saturday was a good day for it. From the start, roosting Turkey Vultures decorated the trees and we also picked out Mississippi Kites and Broad-winged Hawks waiting for better flying weather.

We quickly turned up Great-crested Flycatcher and had good numbers of Scarlet Tanagers, Summer Tanagers, Dickcissels, and other migrants throughout the morning. Eventually, the raptors took flight and etched the skies with swirling kettles as swallows and Chimney Swifts flew past.

In one of those kettles, we had our oddest bird of the day, a Magnificent Frigatebird! Although unusual, we do see frigatebirds flying over the mountains now and then. This one seemed to be moving with a group of Broad-winged Hawks that also had our sole Swainson’s Hawk of the day.

A Fine Morning of Birding in Sarapiqui

Overall, it was a great morning of birding in Sarapiqui. That’s no surprise, that area is typically nice and birdy. Some of the highlights were an adult Gray-headed Kite perched at the edge of forest, the aforementioned macaws, Gartered Trogons perched on roadside wires, Bat Falcon, the list goes on…

Oddly enough, one of our best birds was Yellow-breasted Chat. In Costa Rica, this species in an uncommon migrant that skulks in dense vegetation. Like some anti-social crake, they are out there but good luck seeing them!

On one of the only back roads we were able to drive (some roads behind Tirimbina), we found ourselves moving through an area of interesting, dense second growth. It looked perfect for a chat. I played its cat-like call without expecting a response but sure enough, one called back! It still refused to come into the open but at least one vocalized and I know where one might spend the winter.

At some point in the morning, we realized that we wouldn’t be able to access intact lowland rainforest in time for the full birding plan. With that in mind, we slowed down and enjoyed the rest of the morning birding in the Sarapiqui area. Our Global Big Day had become a Big Morning but we weren’t complaining. We still saw a lot! Check out the trip report: October Global Big Day 2024 – eBird Trip Report I hope it gets you ready for your birding trip to Costa Rica!

To learn more about birding around Pueblo Nuevo, Sarapiqui, and hundreds of other sites in Costa Rica, support this blog by purchasing my 900 plus page ebook, “How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica”. I hope to see you here!

Tags big day birding, Costa Rica birding, global big day, october global big day

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Birding in Southeastern Costa Rica- Highlights, Observations, and Recommendations

Post author By admin
Post date October 8, 2024
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Costa Rica may be state-sized but it’s still got regions! What I mean is that this small nation has distinct areas with their own ecological and cultural flavors. That’s a fine bonus for birding, especially with regions being so close to each other.

After watching Great Green Macaws flap through warm humid airs of the Caribbean lowlands, you can head uphill and get refreshed with tanagers, Collared Trogons, and more in the cool highlands.

Go to the southeastern part of Costa Rica and you might get your bird groove on with Purple-throated Fruitcrows, Snowy Cotingas, and a bunch of toucans. Oh, and there’s that ocean too with its Caribbean waters, and a local culture strongly influenced by the descendants of Jamaican settlers.

I like it. So do lots of other locals who visit the beaches south of Limon every weekend. You might run into more people than expected but the birding’s still exciting, there’s still very good reasons to make the trip, especially in October.

These were some of our reasons and highlights for making the trip this past weekend.

Costa Rica’s First American Flamingo

Whoah! With all of those flamingos flying as far as Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, it was about time one showed in Costa Rica! Heck, we aren’t all that far from flamingo colonies in northern Colombia either. Only thing is, those birds don’t usually fly this way. They likely veer to more appropriate places, sites better suited to their hyper haline tastes.

I can’t blame the cool pink birds; they can’t exactly thrive away from shallow waters and salt pans. In Costa Rica, although we do have a bunch of tropical habitats, we don’t have much for flamingos.

Even so, they may visit on rare occasions; some fishermen claim to have seen flamingos now and then. I bet some have but none have been officially documented, at least not until the past week!

First seen on a beach near Moin, the pink star bird was refound by local birders at a roadside estuary south of Limon. When passing through the area, I suppose sort of like a flamingo, I also stop at the Estero Negro and other estuaries. These spots are no strangers to rare birds and often host something of feathered interest.

I have also figured they would to be good spots to get super lucky with a flamingo but even then, my visions were of a few birds flying by, out over the ocean. They would be distant flamingos, ones where you would exclaim in triumphant disbelief, “Holy crap! Flamingoes!! There they go….” The birds stopping and staying for a while was too much for my flamingo dreams.

Thankfully, this pink mega proved my visions wrong. It has done nothing but stay in the estuary and casually dip its serpentine neck to “baleen” feed in the shallow waters. Is it truly a wild bird or one that escaped confinement? I’m not sure but either way, Costa Rica’s first flamingo has been a fantastic automatic ambassador for birding. It’s got an easy job too; just stand around, do some foraging, and please stay alive.

The bird has also been impossible to miss. On Friday morning, when our small contingent from the Birding Club of Costa Rica arrived, it was the first thing we saw and we were very pleased to enjoy prolonged, pink-heavy views. Some other folks also watched it that Friday morning but that was nothing like the crowds on Sunday.

In typical people gathering fashion, someone had set up a food stall like they had been selling grilled chicken since the year 2000. Cars were stacked up on each side of the road, people were talking and laughing…I’m surprised no one cranked up some reggae or other loud, dance inspiring tunes. I bet someone did later on.

I mean, this flamingo shindig was turning into a real party and best of all, every person was present to see the bird (expect the vendors). Some birders were there but there were waaay more non-birders and that’s the best thing. Don’t get me wrong, I hope for all birders to see every bird but I also wish that every non-birder would convert and become bonafide birders.

If you’re a non-birder reading this, don’t worry, you don’t necessarily have to run out the door to see a soaring hawk, you don’t need to get a floppy hat or decorate with bird decor. You just need to see beauty in birds and have some desire or inkling to watch them in your backyard or further afield.

That’s all I’m asking, hopefully that flamingo did some natural marketing magic. It certainly looked magical.

Wattled Jacana

Yep, there was another nice tropical bird in the area! The Wattled Jacana isn’t as wild and crazy as a flamingo but it’s still a rare bird for Costa Rica. With exact instructions in digital hand, we made the 60 minute drive from Cahuita to near Gandoca, way close to the border.

We had to wait for a bit as we stared into a small, marshy cow pasture but eventually, yes, there it was. Wattled Jacana and American Flamingo in the same day! What was next? Crowned Slaty-Flycatcher? Perhaps an extra large raptor. One can avian dream after all…

Many thanks to the local birders who had found the bird. They showed us the exact spot and one even let us into his mom’s backyard for better views! He should get a medal or subscription or some other just reward.

Thousands of Swallows, Kingbirds, and Raptors (oh my!)

Flamingoes weren’t the only reason for our weekend excursion. Oh no, we were there for other birds too! You can’t go wrong with October in southeastern Costa Rica.

Migrants galore, sunnier weather than other months, and a nice big selection of resident species; I’ll take it!

I really love the swallow migration. It’s simply out of hand bird migration madness. Go birding there in October and you’ll see a near constant movement of swallows; mostly Barn, Cliff, and Bank. There’s other birds too, especially those swallow look-alikes, the Eastern Kingbird. Oh yes, they do look sort of like swallows, especially when flocks of hundreds mix and aerial mingle with the waves of swallows flying overhead.

On Sunday morning, to get an estimate of numbers, I counted swallows and kingbirds from one spot for five minutes. Extrapolating from that, during two hours, I figured at least 1,600 Eastern Kingbirds flew over along with at least 2,000 bank Swallows, and 6,000 each of Cliffs and Barns.

And honestly, those numbers are very conservative, I bet there were more. That only makes sense, the majority of the North American population of these species probably fly through Costa Rica.

Other migrants included Dickcissels, a few Veerys on their way to and near southern Brazil (where I fear climate-induced habitat destruction will seriously affect their survival), Prothonotary Warbler and a few other warblers, and lots of Traill’s and wood-pewees.

Oh yeah, there were all those raptors too- hundreds of kettling TVs and Broad-wingeds with occasional Osprey, late Swallow-tailed Kite, Miss. Kites, Peregrines, Merlin clutching its hirundine prey, a few Purple Martins and Chimney Swifts, a few Common Nighthawks, and some other birds.

If this were the 1930s, I’d probably say, “Ain’t migration grand?”

Black-chested Jay

Black-chested Jays aren’t that common in Costa Rica. Around here, they reach the northern limit of their range, the edge of their ecological existence. It can make them a challenging bird to see, especially during a brief window of birding.

Lucky for us, our window was in one of the best places to see this cool bird; Playa Negra, Cahuita. While birding near “Bridgette’s Place” (you’ll see it in Google), we had great looks at 8 of these fine year birds.

Cahuita National Park

Southeastern Costa Rica has lots of accessible habitat but it’s still nice to be able to visit a national park. Now if they could open at 6 instead of non-birdy 8, that would really help but on your hot walk, you’ll still see some birds anyways.

We actually did fairly well in the parking lot with a few fruitcrows, good raptor migration, and some migrants. On the pleasant boardwalk trail, we also saw such nice birdies as Brown-capped Tyrannulet, Acadian Flycatcher, Checker-throated and White-flanked Antwrens, and were entertained by the constant calls of Black-crowned Antshrikes.

Peer as I did into the swampy understory, I didn’t see any Agami Herons nor Rufescent Tiger-Herons. No Uniform Crakes calling back either but it was still a nice walk. If you make that hike, keep in mind that it won’t look around. After 2.1 kilometers, you’ll reach the beach (which is nice) and then have to walk back the way you came.

Calle Cahuita

This road is one of a few roads in the area that passes through good forest. We only birded it one afternoon and it was kind of quiet but I would sure love to be there at dawn!

Our best bird was a male Snowy Cotinga but many other species are possible and we also had some tanagers, and various expected common rainforest birds. No Sulphur-rumped Tanagers but they should still be possible. Black-crowned Antpitta might also still occur, who knows what else?

Also known as the road to Casa Calateas, this is one of hundreds of sites covered in my bird finding guide to Costa Rica.

Costly

Yep, as with so many places in Costa Rica and the globe in general, prices have risen in southeastern Costa Rica. Some restaurants are pretty expensive and lodging is a far cry from much cheaper days.

However, there are lots of options, especially with Air BnB. If you are flexible and look enough, you can find some good deals. The same goes for places to eat. The Atlantida was good, especially for breakfast, and another place we really liked was the Restaurant and Bar Peruanita. We tried to go to the much acclaimed “Cahuita’s Taste Caribbean Soul Food” but they had run out of food! It’s a small place with home-cooked meals, make sure to get there early.

As always, when visiting southeastern Costa Rica, I wish we could have stayed longer. When I leave that birdy zone, I drive off knowing that there are many underbirded places to check, sites that might host Great Jacamar and other rare species. Which migrant birds arrived after I left? Was there a Gray Kingbird just around the corner? Uncommon and rare warblers skulking in the woods? Flamingo or not, there’s plenty of reasons to return.

Tags Birding Costa Rica, caribbean slope, Costa Rica birding, where to see birds in Costa Rica

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Birding News from Costa Rica- Late September, 2024

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Post date September 29, 2024
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Going birding in Costa Rica? If your answer is “yes” but any time from January to March, you aren’t alone. After all, those sunny days are when most folks visit Costa Rica, birders included.

However, if you are headed to Costa Rica soon, the following birding tidbits and news items might be helpful. You might also gather some useful information if you happen to go birding in Costa Rica during the high and dry season.

Rain, Localized Flooding, and More Rain

Lately, we’ve been experiencing a lot of rain. For a Costa Rican September, that’s pretty much par for the course but lately, it seems to be more intense than usual. Nearby tropical storm systems and hurricanes have been throwing huge amounts of moisture our way and the water has been slamming several parts of the country.

It’s not always like that; some years, September and October are fairly dry. This year though, the forests are getting more than plenty of life-supporting water. It’s a wonderful and vital aspect of rainforests but roads and flood prone areas could use a break.

Yes, there has been some localized flooding, mostly in the Nicoya Peninsula, the Coto 47 area near Ciudad Neily (one of hundreds of sites covered in my bird finding guide for Costa Rica), and on parts of the Pacific Coast. Last week, various parts of the small city of Canas were also submerged. With more rain in the forecast, we can expect more localized flooding and road closures. Stay informed about road situations with the Waze app. That’ll tell you which roads are closed right away including one of the most commonly affected major highways; Route 32.

Just a reminder, if you are driving and see flooded streets and swollen rivers, resist the temptation to test the rental! Just wait or find another route because cars do get washed away, even trucks.

Migration Just Ticked up a Notch

On another, more birdy note, bird migration through Costa Rica has really kicked into gear. After checking local neighborhood habitat for the past week or so, it wasn’t until this morning that I saw a major jump in bird numbers.

While listening for flight calls at dawn, I managed to hear Dickcissels, a couple Swainson’s Thrushes and a hoped for Veery through the normal soundscreen inadvertently put up by Rufous-collared Sparrows and Great Kiskadees (those kiskadees really yell their names!).

As the light increased I saw a dozen Baltimore Orioles feeding and flitting in the trees, several Yellow Warbler, one Blackburnian, a smart looking Golden-winged Warbler (my first for the fall), several swallows, and a few other migrants. Two of the more interesting birds were a couple of Great Egrets that flapped right over the houses of my very urban neighborhood.

Later that morning, during a visit to Lankester Gardens, we had several more warblers (Canada and Mourning included) and migrants, especially Swainson’s Thrushes and Red-eyed Vireos.

A Good Time for Centro Manu

Centro Manu is always worth a visit, no matter what time of year. However, fall could be one of the better times to go birding at this easily accessible lowland/foothill hotspot.

Recent highlights have included the usual roosting Great Potoo, Bare-necked Umbrellabird, a female Lovely Cotinga (!), and Red-fronted Parrotlets!

Ditto for Veragua Rainforest

The same goes for another excellent site, Veragua Rainforest. The most notable recent highlights have been a reliable Great Jacamar and a more challenging Black-crowned Antpitta.

Umbrellabird and lots of other excellent birds have also been seen at this consistently high quality site.

Unspotted Saw-whet Owls

Yes, this time of year can also be good for one of the Costa Rica’s more challenging and fantastic owls. If the rain stops and you can listen for them at high elevations (above 2,200 meters), perhaps especially in semi-open areas, you might connect with this major bird.

You can also boost your chances by staying at Gema del Bosque or taking a tour that targets these special little birds. If interested in seeing this owl, contact me at information@birdingcraft.com

Flamingo in Costa Rica!

Wait…what?!? Yes, the real pink bird has finally touched down on Costa Rican shores. Myself and one or two other birders have wondered when one would appear here, it’s why I included it on the Costa Rica Birds app as a possible species for the country (along with several shorebirds, Red-throated Pipit, and some other bird lottery winning species). In all likelihood, it happens on very rare occasions but the birds don’t linger. The nearest flamingoes are in northern Colombia and the Yucatan, the one seen this morning could have come from either spot.

This morning, someone made a video of an America Flamingo on the beach near Moin! Will it be refound? I hope so and hope even more that it stays long enough for us to see it too!

As for other Costa Rica birding news, there’s always lots more I could say. However, I’ll just mention that the usual birds are in the usual spots, whether mentioned on eBird or not, the best sites are the places with the most habitat, and according to eBird, 746 bird species were identified in Costa Rica during this past month. Yep, in Costa Rica, there’s always a lot of birds to see! I hope to see you here, the birds are waiting.

Tags Birding Costa Rica, Costa Rica birding, Costa Rica birds, where to see birds in Costa Rica

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Recent Birding Highlights Near San Jose, Costa Rica

Post author By admin
Post date September 22, 2024
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In Costa Rica, birding highlights are easy to come by. Most places, you don’t need to do much more than walk outside and you’ll see something cool! Another birding bonus is having the chance to see such an incredible variety of birds in such a short distance.

Thinking about it, there’s not a whole lot of other places with so many bird species in such easy striking distance. In Costa Rica, there’s always a whole lot of birds going on; a fact reflected by a few of my recent birding highlights.

Calling Ornate Hawk-Eagles

On September 15th, I guided someone for a morning of birding from the Central Valley to the Varablanca area. We had a good bunch of birds including some sweet highlights. For this easy day trip, that’s par for the course but you still never know what you’ll run into.

I usually see a raptor or two but they typically take the form of common raptors in Costa Rica like Short-tailed and Gray Hawks, often Barred Hawk and maybe Great Black-Hawk. On September 15th, birding chance exchanged those raptors for one of the more cherished of Costa Rica birding targets; Ornate Hawk-Eagle!

This big fancy raptor occurs in many parts of the country but at very low density. In other words, there’s always the chance of seeing one but you still have to be lucky. Luck was with us on the 15th when I heard the Ornate’s distinctive, brief whistled calls.

As expected, the calling bird was soaring high overhead but still close enough to just make out its white throat. I whistled back to it and the bird seemed to respond, wheeling somewhat closer. It never came close enough to stare the raptor in its fierce eyes but I can’t complain; we watched it and two other Ornates over the next 20 minutes!

Seeing three adults in the same area is pretty unusual, I wonder if that particular spot marks a territory boundary?

ornate hawk eagle — An Ornate Hawk-eagle from another day and how you often see them.

Costa Rican Pygmy-Owl

The hawk-eagles were great but they weren’t the first highlight of the day. We had already had a few others including excellent views at a rufous morph Costa Rican Pygmy-Owl! This bird is one I hear now and then on the “Legua Road” or “San Rafael de Varablanca Road” near Varablanca; a site I have taken many birders to and one of hundreds of birding sites covered in my bird finding guide for Cost Rica.

However, it rarely come in for a view. I’m grateful that it decided to show itself on the 15th. We enjoyed this small raptor’s presence as it was attracted the ire of Coppery-headed Emeralds, Black-bellied Hummingbirds, and other small highland birds.

Cabanis’s Ground-Sparrow

Speaking of highlights, I was very pleased to get this one early in the morning. This endemic towhee is a tricky little bird alright, in part because it has to deal with feral cats, cowbirds, and other side effects of living near people.

It helps to know where to see them, what they sound like, and looking for them around 6 in the morning. We heard a couple and had good looks at one that was bringing food to hidden young. We also had it in one of the better spots for them, the road that passes in front of Finca Rosa Blanca.

Sadly, some second growth with this species and wintering habitat for Mourning Warblers was cleared on part of this road to build housing. However, there’s still a good amount of habitat and the Cabanis’s still occurs there.

Buff-breasted Sandpiper

No, not what you think of when birding Costa Rica but small numbers of these doveish Arctic migrants do pass through! Sometimes, they also fly down to forage in pastures and other grassy spots.

Maryllen and I were very pleased to see one at a usual spot near the airport. It was hidden quite well by a taller tussock of grass, we could have easily missed it if a local birder hadn’t gotten us on the bird. Many thanks to Alex Castro for noticing this excellent year bird!

Purple Martin

I know, how is this a highlight? Birders might not come to Costa Rica to see Purple Martins but I look forward to seeing them each fall migration. If I don’t make it to the Caribbean Coast, I might also miss it at a year bird!

I still hope to get in some coastal migration birding but I was very pleased to notice a male in the Central Valley. Smaller numbers pass through this part of the country and I bet most get overlooked as they fly high overhead. I got lucky with my 2024 Purple Martin by watching swallows forage over my tiny backyard.

Cliff and several Bank Swallows were doing their thing when I noticed a dark bird coming in from the west. For whatever reason, this is the direction migrating swallows usually take when flying over the house. At first, I thought it was going to be a swift but then I noticed its flap, flap glide flight, that tell-tale sign of an honest to goodness passerine.

As the dark, large swallow flew high overhead, I could also make out the forked tail. A sweet surprise for sure although I still hope to connect with martin flocks on the coast.

By the way, someone should be watching those flocks, there could easily be a few Sinaloa Martins moving with the Purples. As a matter of fact, although the record hasn’t been accepted, I friend of mine saw a probable Sinaloa Martin in Costa Rica a few years ago. Dark martin with a white belly seen during migration by an experienced ornithologist who has also seen enough Gray-breasted Martins to know it wasn’t one of those…yeah, I bet he saw one.

Additional highlights from these recent birding days in Costa Rica include Spot-bellied Bobwhite, a nice influx of Yellow Warblers, calling Dickcissels migrating overhead, flights of migrating Cliff, Bank, and Barn Swallows every morning, beautiful warbler Blue Grosbeaks, Zeledon’s Antbird, and close views of several Spangle-cheeked Tanagers. Check out my trip report from the 15th.

And that was just one full morning, a jaunt to twitch a sandpiper, and casually watching the skies from the backyard. I suppose another highlight was hearing critically endangered Yellow-naped Parrots fly overhead this morning. Like I was saying, it doesn’t take long to experience fantastic birding in Costa Rica. I hope to see you here!

Tags Birding Costa Rica, cabanis's ground sparrow, Costa Rica birding, Costa Rican PygmyOwl, where to see birds in Costa Rica

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Fantastic Bird Photography in Costa Rica- 5 Easy Sites

Post author By admin
Post date September 12, 2024
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Bird photography in Costa Rica is pretty darn exciting. There are literally hundreds of exotic, tropical bird species, dozens of glittering hummingbirds, beautiful tanagers, trogons, and more, always more.

Resplendent Quetzals too!

While it’s true that mature forests harbor the highest species totals, they aren’t the best places for bird photography. Yes, trails in rainforest can turn up rare and little photographed bird species but you’ll need the right equipment, time, and stamina.

I’m all for experiencing those forest denizens, I actually prefer that birding method. However, to capture images of birds to my heart’s content, I would go to places with better lighting, comfort, and easier bird access. Happily, in Costa Rica, many such sites exist, too many to mention. A handful of top contenders are Laguna del Lagarto, Maquenque Lodge, Rancho Naturalista, Hotel Quelitales, Arenal Observatory Lodge, Hotel de Campo and Cano Negro, and Quinta Galeon.

There’s lots more places I could mention but in this blog post, I’m going to focus on 5 of the easiest sites for fantastic bird photography. These are very accessible sites within easy striking distance of San Jose and the Central Valley, can be visited on your own, and have an awesome array of feathered subjects.

The Cinchona Hummingbird Cafe

This gem of a site is one of Costa Rica’s classic birding hotspots. If there’s any downside, it’s that the place has become very popular. However, even then, if you don’t mind loud talking and sharing space with a bunch of people, there’ll still be birds.

Situated around an hour and a half from San Jose on route 126, this spot is easy to access and is a wonderful place to enjoy a coffee and meal while photographing a fine selection of middle elevation birds.

The papaya feeders often have Northern American Toucanet, Prong-billed Barbet, and even the fancy Red-headed Barbet!

Although bird species vary, typical subjects also include Silver-throated Tanager, Scarlet-rumped Tanager, Crimson-collared Tanager, and other small birds. On the hummingbird front, this site also typically turns up 7 or 8 species including the extravagant Violet Sabrewing and the endemic Coppery-headed Emerald.

This cafe has gone by several names, the most recent might be the Cafe Colibri. It’s located on the eastern side of the road, around ten minutes north of the Peace Waterfall, and is the only spot on route 126 with a donkey corral on the other side of the road. They may charge for photos but as of September, 2024, folks who use the restaurant don’t have to pay anything extra. Even so, I encourage you to give these bird and birder friendly people a nice donation.

But wait, there’s more! The drive to Cinchona also hosts chances at high elevation hummingbirds and even quetzal. However, to see those, it would be much easier with a guide.

Nectar and Pollen

This is the best site for foothill rainforest bird photography near San Jose. It’s also one of the better sites in Costa Rica! Only an hour’s drive or less from San Jose, Nectar and Pollen has an excellent set up for tanagers, hummingbirds, and other rainforest species.

They do have a trail but for bird photography, it’s better and easier to sit and enjoy a coffee while getting captures of Rufous Motmot, Collared Aracari, oropendolas, and much more.

Hummingbirds also visit the garden and can include Snowcap and Violet-headed Hummingbird among other species. On occasion, White-tipped Sicklebill also makes an appearance.

There’s also a pasture area next to rainforest that can be very good for raptors, the photogenic Long-tailed Tyrant, and various other species. In the wet season, you might even get flybys of Great Green Macaw.

Nectar and Pollen is a small private place situated on Route 32 just north of the Rainforest Aerial Tram. To visit, you must contact Miguel Delgado in advance. He can also update you on entrance fees.

The Tarcoles Area

Hoping for pictures of Scarlet Macaw? Tarcoles is the closest, easiest spot near San Jose. This small fishing village is around an hour and 20 minutes or so drive from San Jose, and offers access to easy roadside photography.

The macaws often feed in trees near the beach and even right in town. Black-headed Trogons, and various other lowland species are also accessible, and boat tours that focus on bird photography are also available.

On the way to Tarcoles, nearby sites such as the Ceiba Orotina area and the Guacima Road can also be good for Double-striped Thick-knee, White-throated Magpie-Jay, and many other species. There’s also the Cerro Lodge road along with Cerro Lodge and the Tarcoles Birding Lodge. Both of these sites can have good photo opps on their grounds. For access, you probably need to pay for a meal, both are worth contacting first.

I should also mention that although you can bird this area on your own, it will be much easer and productive with a guide.

San Luis Canopy

This fun spot is also around an hour and a half from San Jose and is located on the main road from San Ramon to La Fortuna. Officially known as “Parque Aventura San Luis“, this site mostly does exciting and popular zip line tours through beautiful middle elevation rainforest.

There are also several nice tourist shops there and a good local restaurant to dine at after a fine morning of bird photography. The draw for this special place is their tanager feeder set up. Banana and papaya pieces on and near natural perches bring in Emerald, Bay-headed, and other tanager species, often, too close for a long lens!

Even uncommon Blue-and-gold and Black-and-yellow Tanagers can show along with Black-cheeked Woodpeckers and other common birds. San Luis can also have rare birds on their trails, even Bare-necked Umbrellabird, and Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo!

Ask if these birds have been seen. If so, for $10, one of their guides might bring you to them! The entrance fee to explore the trails and hanging bridges on your own might be around $30. It costs $10 to just stick with the tanagers.

The Nochebuena on Irazu Volcano

This spot is a bit further from San Jose but it’s still close enough for easy bird photography. Reaching the Nochebuena area takes around an hour and 40 minutes driving up the main road to Irazu.

This site requires an extra early start to get past San Jose by 6, otherwise, you’ll get stuck in heavy, slow traffic. The Nochebuena is a small, cozy cafe with trails ($6) through high elevation habitats. At 9,000 to 10,000 feet, the trails can be tough on the lungs but that’s where you usually need to go to see the mega Maroon-chested Ground-Dove and Wrenthrush.

If you would rather not go hiking, fortunately, there’s good photo opps right at the cafe and just down the road. Hummingbird feeders attract Talamanca, Volcano, and Fiery-throated Hummingbirds along with Lesser Violetears while the riparian zone and adjacent forest next to it often has quetzal and various other high elevation birds.

As a bonus, a short drive up to the paramo brings you to Volcano Juncos, Timberline Wrens, possible Peg-billed Finch, and other nice birdies.

Going birding in Costa Rica? Have an extra day for bird photography, like maybe at the start or end of a tour? You can’t go wrong with the sites mentioned above. To learn more about these and other birding sites in Costa Rica, prepare for your birding trip, and support this blog, get “How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica”. I hope to see you here!

Tags Birding Costa Rica, Costa Rica bird photography, Costa Rica birding, Costa Rica hummingbirds, Resplendent Quetzal