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Birding Costa Rica Guanacaste

Shorebirds, Dickcissels, and a Missing Aplomado Falcon

In the northern hemisphere, September takes on several meanings. For kids and parents, it’s new shoes, a clear plastic protractor (at least it used to be), notebooks, and other school supplies. For millions of people in the USA, it means that Monday nights will once again be dedicated to football. For the birder, it also means migration.

Millions of wood-warblers, vireos, flycatchers, and shorebirds are on the move. While we watch football, YouTube, or sleep, they race through the night on their way to wintering sites where the summer never ends. Go birding on the right morning and you might see hundreds of migrant birds. If you live in the right place, you might even see them in your backyard. It’s also important to go birding because accompanying those thousands of common and expected birds, are a few species that should be elsewhere. At this time of year, somewhere in the northeast, there are always a few Black-throated Gray -Warblers, Ash-throated Flycatchers, and other species of the west whether birders find them or not.

In Costa Rica, it’s a similar situation, and two weeks ago, the chance at seeing one of the those rare vagrants was enough to send me on a four hour drive to the northwest. The bird in question was an Aplomado Falcon, I have seen them elsewhere but laying eyes on one in Costa Rica would be a seriously sweet tick for my country list. The bird had been seen at the same site for at least two weeks, there was nothing keeping me at home, and my friend Johan Kuilder was up for the trip. So, instead of some birding closer to home, off we went at 5:30 a.m. for the hot, windy dry lands of Guanacaste.

A windswept rice field in Guanacaste.

The destination was the rice fields on the road to Playa Panama but there were other birds to look for en route, especially because we would be passing near the best shorebird sites in the country during high tide.

With that in mind, we figured that a quick check of the Cocororas salt ponds would be worth it. The only “problem” was too many birds for a quick check!

We just had to check through a few hundred Western and Semipalmated Sandpipers
It was hard to stop looking at flocks of Wilson's Phalaropes.
A Long-billed Curlew lounged by itself on a mud flat while Marbled Godwits mingled with Black-bellied Plovers, Red Knots, Surfbirds, and other more common shorebirds.

Although we didn’t turn up any rarities, Johan got a lifer, I got a couple of year birds, and it’s always fun to hang out with the shorebirds. Shortly after, we were back on the highway and heading north towards a hoped for rendezvous with an adventurous falcon. On the way, we made another stop, this time at a turf farm! Every birder in the know knows that a turf farm in fall is always an opportunity for excitement. In Costa Rica, it’s the same situatation and we were hoping for the same exciting birds. However, although the conditions looked perfect, we didn’t see any golden-plovers or grasspipers. At least Pectoral Sandpiper made it onto the year list though, and it was interesting to see  several Collared Plovers in the grass.

We also saw a dancing Crested Caracara, Southern Lapwings, and some other birds.

After that, we made a bee-line to our destination, the Finca Trancas, or rice fields on the road to Playa Panama. Getting there was easy enough, and there are plenty of places to look but we did not find the falcon. Either it was doing some serious hiding, or it had left the building because I scoped every tree, hedgerow, and the ground in search of that bird. Since others also checked that site that day and came up zero for the falcon, I think we were two days late. Hopefully, it will show up again there, at Palo Verde, or maybe even Chomes (according to eBird, a juvenile was also seen on that date in 2010).

Despite the missing Aplomado Falcon, all was not lost because there were plenty of other interesting birds to see while searching for the raptor. Back along a vegetated canal, we were entertained by hundreds of Dickcissels. Flock after flock of these mid-western migrants moved along the canal in nervous flocks, a few birds calling the whole time. There were at least a thousand that fed in a tall, grassy field next to the canal!

A few of the Dickcissels.

Bank and Cliff Swallows foraged over the open fields and a Zone-tailed Hawk made an appearance. On the other side of the main road, we found a small group of Solitary Sandpipers, herons, and, best of all, two Jabirus in flight!

Jabirus! This site is often good for the king neotropical stork.
We had great looks at Solitary Sandpiper.

Scanning the fields failed to turn up grasspipers or other interesting birds but we did see a Harriss’s Hawk soar overhead, saw a juvenile White-tailed Hawk, and had nice looks at Tricolored Munias.

Tricolored Munias.

After a quick stop at the nearby catfish ponds (mostly dry and a locked gate) and the German Bakery (good stuff), it was time to head back home. We arrived by 5 p.m. and although we missed the falcon, we realized how feasible it was to do a short day trip to that area and see some really cool birds at the same time.

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The Real Birding Hotspots in Costa Rica Part Two

In continuation, this is my take on birding hotspots for major habitats in Costa Rica (see part one for the three main factors used in determining hotspots):

  • The Central Pacific area: We could also just call this “Carara National Park and vicinity” because that is the main hotspot for this part of the country. In fact, this mega-ecotone is such a crossroads of biodiversity, it’s a strong candidate for being the top birding hotspot in Central America. Few other places can claim a list of around 600 recorded species within such a small area as well as regional endemics, uncommon forest species, and so on. Carara and nearby has it all; quality, protected forest, a variety of major habitats (lowland rainforest, dry forest, open areas, mangroves, lowland river, estuaries, and seashore) with a subsequent huge variety of species, and easy access. If there are any downsides to birding the Carara area, they would be the limited opening hours for the national park (7 to 4 during the high season and 8 to 4 in the low season), and the damn heat. That said, easy solutions to those disadvantages come in the form of good birding just outside the national park, and using a combination of air conditioning, lightweight clothing, and cold drinks. There are a few choices for lodging with Cerro Lodge being a stand out for quality birding, photo opportunities, habitat restoration, and proximity to the national park. Villa Lapas also offers similar advantages for the birder, and other choices for lodging a bit further from the park are The Macaw Lodge and Punta Leona.

    The Black-headed Trogon is one of 5 trogon species possible around Carara.
  • The Southern Pacific: Although the forests at Carara are essentially part of the southern Pacific bioregion, there are a few very good sites rather far from Carara that also deserve hotspot status. Good birding can be had around Manuel Antonio National Park and several sites around Dominical but the best birding is found on and near the Osa Peninsula. Outside of the Osa, the Esquinas Rainforest Lodge and vicinity is a major birding hotspot. This is one of my favorite sites in the country simply because you can see a huge variety of species, including many uncommon birds.  Bird the road through La Gamba and you might see Crested Oropendola, Brown-throated Parakeet, Scrub Greenlet, Pale-breasted Spinetail, Fork-tailed Flycatcher, and several other birds that can be tough in Costa Rica. If the remaining rice fields have not been converted to oil palm plantations, you might find Paint-billed Crake and rare vagrants. Flowering trees can have everything from Veraguan Mango to White-crested Coquette, and once you reach the rainforests at the lodge and in Piedras Blancas National Park, it’s fairly easy to see four trogon species, several wrens, antbirds, woodcreepers, and so on with chances at the endemic Back-cheeked Ant-Tanager, and Uniform Crake. Check out the 158 species I had during a fairly casual day of guiding in this area.

    The Black-cheeked Ant-Tanager only occurs in and around the Osa peninsula.
  • The Osa: The good birding in the South Pacific doesn’t stop at Esquinas. There are several excellent sites on the Osa peninsula, including two of the best birding lodges in the country; Bosque del Rio Tigre and Luna Lodge. Both of these are comfortable lodges with fantastic birding and excellent guides with the best local gen you could hope for, and have primary forest connected to the forests of Corcovado National Park. Many of the same species as Esquinas can also be found at and near these sites. Although the birding in the national park is great, problems with access exclude Corcovado from hotspot status. Other great birding sites in the Osa can also be found at stations run by Osa Conservation, at Lapa Rios, Bosque del Cabo, and lodges in the Drake Bay area. Rincon de Osa also deserves mention since it’s the most reliable site in the world for the highly endangered Yellow-billed Cotinga.
  • Caribbean foothills: Somewhere between cloud forest and lowland rainforest, the wet foothill forests of the Caribbean slope are very important habitat for hundreds of bird species. In addition to providing a home for Lattice-tailed Trogon and other foothill specialties, these forests are also an important refuge for many lowland forest birds that no longer occur in large areas of the deforested Caribbean coastal plain. There are several good foothill sites to choose from, the most accessible being El Tapir and the Quebrada Gonzalez Ranger Station in Braulio Carrillo National Park, sites around Arenal National Park and Bijagua, and Rancho Naturalista. Rancho in particular, is a classic birding lodge with various feeders, excellent guides, and excellent gen for the lodge and surrounding areas. Near Rancho, El Copal merits a mention because the birding is some of the very best in the country but it’s not as accessible nor as comfortable as Rancho. The same can be said about the Pocosol Research Station, a fantastic site located in the Children’s Eternal Rainforest on the route between San Ramon and La Fortuna. Past La Fortuna, excellent birding can also be had on the grounds of Arenal Observatory Lodge. Further north, sites near Bijagua also offer high quality forest with equally high quality birding including fair chances at Tody Motmot, Lovely Cotinga, uncommon raptors, and much more.

    A Crowned Woodnymph from Rancho Naturalista.
  • Caribbean lowlands: Historically, the Caribbean lowlands were cloaked in fantastic ranforests.  and the birding must have been spectacular. Stories of that level of birding still exist in the form of tales told by researchers who worked in La Selva during the 70s. They tell of seeing Great Jacamar, hearing about Harpy Eagle sightings, and bearing witness to an abundance of birds, frogs, and other rainforest wildlife rarely encountered in present times. However, this was before massive deforestation changed the ecological landscape of the Caribbean lowlands and the difference in birding is notable. Good birding can still be had at several sites but the best lowland birding is found in areas with connection to the most intact lowland habitats. Such sites also tend to be difficult to access and is why Hitoy Cerere, Veragua, and much less accessible sites fail to make it onto hotspot lists. If you can get there, expect excellent lowland birding. If not, then some very good alternatives are Laguna del Lagarto, the Sarapiqui area, and sites near Puerto Viejo de Talamanca and Manzanillo.

    Great Green Macaw- a signature species of the Caribbean lowlands. This bird was just outside of La Selva.
  • Laguna del Lagarto might be the best birding hotspot for the Caribbean lowlands because the ecolodge offers a fine combination of comfort, good service, and great birding. Visit and you will be asked when you want to see Agami heron, roosting owls, or other birds they know about. Watch from the porch and you can photograph toucans, parrots, and other birds that visit an excellent feeder. You might also see raptors, King Vulture, Scaled Pigeon, toucans, or Snowy Cotinga in nearby treetops. Inside the forest, you might find White-fronted Nunbird, antbirds, Semiplumbeous Hawk, and even Tawny-faced Quail. Since those forests are also connected to the extensive lowland rainforests of southeastern Nicaragua, maybe Harpy Eagle or Red-throated Caracara will make an appearance?
  • That said, if you can’t make it to Laguna del Lagarto, the easiest accessible lowland rainforest is in the Sarapiqui area. Take the early morning birding tour at La Selva for an excellent variety of birds along with great birding on the entrance road to the research station. Stay at La Selva or more comfortable ecolodges like Selva Verde, the Quinta Inn, Sueno Azul, or Tirimbina for good birding on the grounds of the hotel. The reserve at Tirimbina is especially good and can be visited by non-guests of the hotel for a fee although the opening hours are a bit limited. Time should also be made for a boat trip on the Sarapiqui to see Green Ibis, look for Sungrebe, roosting potoos, Sunbittern, and other birds.
  • The forests south of Limon can also be excellent for birding and are very easy to access. Much of the habitat around Puerto Viejo de Talamanca and Manzanillo is a mix of lowland rainforest and old shade cacao plantations. Most lowland species seem to be present including Purple-throated fruitcrow, Great Potoo, Green and Rufous Kingfisher, and Tiny Hawk, the birding is often very good right around the hotel, and the area is excellent for migrants.

    A birdy track near Manzanillo.
  • Wetlands: There are two top wetland areas in Costa Rica. These are the wetlands of the Tempisque floodplain and the Cano Negro area. Palo Verde National Park is the main site in Tempisque but there are a few other privately owned wetlands as well. Bird Palo Verde for Jabiru and many other wetland species, and a good selection of dry forest birds including Thicket Tinamou. Jabiru is also possible at Cano Negro along with Sungrebe, Great Potoo, Black-collared Hawk, and various other wetland species. Remaining forests at Cano Negro are also good for a fair variety of lowland rainforest species as well as Gray-headed Dove, Spot-breasted Wren, and Bare-crowned Antbird. If visiting Cano Negro, make sure to also take a boat ride in the Medio Queso wetlands near Los Chiles. This is the best area for Pinnated Bittern, Spotted Rail, Least Bittern, Nicaraguan Grackle, Nicaraguan Seed-Finch, and several other rare species.

    A Nicaraguan Grackle displays at Medio Queso.

Visit Costa Rica and you will find good birding in lots of places. Visit the hotspots mentioned in these two posts and you will be visiting the best sites in the country. Make the most of any birding trip to Costa Rica by hiring an experienced birding guide.

To support this blog and find the most comprehensive information about birding sites in Costa Rica, get How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica, a 700 plus page e-book that will enrich the birding experience in Costa Rica at every level.

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The Real Birding Hotspots of Costa Rica Part One

Recently, a fold-out publication called, “Costa Rica Birding Hotspots” was distributed at the Birdfair in Rutland, UK. It’s a boon for birding in Costa Rica, it’s wonderful that it was published, and I hope the hotels and agencies that paid for this marketing product will benefit from it. The ones mentioned as birding hotspots protect habitat, offer good accommodation and services, and are good spots for birding. I would also agree that some in the publication do merit “birding hotspot” status, especially Rancho Naturalista. However, several other fantastic sites for birding were not mentioned, including some that certainly deserve “hotspot status”. This doesn’t mean that the publication is bad or wrong. It mean that there wasn’t enough space to mention every site. Lack of certain sites also stems from the inclusion of the “comfort factor” for designation of hotspots. According to the people who made this publication, quality of service and accommodation were definitely factored into the equation. They also told me that hotspots are meant to refer to regions rather than hotels (those being mentioned as “core sites” for a region). Nevertheless, since “Costa Rica Birding Hotspots” leaves out several important sites for birding in Costa Rica, I feel obligated to set the record straight, or basically give my opinion regarding birding hotspots in Costa Rica:

What makes a place a birding hotspot in a country that already happens to be one big hotspot?

The Collared Aracari is one of six species of toucans that live in Costa Rica.

This is a worthwhile question to ponder because yes, since Costa Rica is about the same size as West Virginia, has a bird list of more than 900 species including dozens of regional endemics, and one can reach most corners of the country by driving four or five hours from the center, it’s easy to give hotspot status to the entire nation. Nevertheless, not every site has hundreds of bird species and that usually comes down to presence or absence of habitat. Therefore, extent of habitat (1) should be the primary factor in determining “hotspot” status because basically, in Costa Rica, the most intact forests have the most bird species and the highest number of birds. Protection (2) is another consideration because unsustainable hunting affects populations of tinamous, cracids, wood-quails, raptors, etc. and makes them much harder to see. The other main factor is logistics (3) because although the best highland birding I have seen in Costa Rica was on the trail up to Chirripo, present regulations and challenges rule it out as a feasible birding destination (you won’t see many birds when you have to constantly march uphill). The comfort factor is also something to consider but since excellent birding isn’t contingent upon easy access, and quality lodging, I haven’t given that factor as much weight as the Costa Rica Birding Hotspots Publication.

The beautiful Chestnut-colored Woodpecker is fairly easy to see at several sites in the country.
It's easier to see Great Curassow in Costa Rica than other countries because of easy access to protected habitats.

So, with those factors in mind, this is my take on the top sites where a birder is most likely to encounter the highest number of species and regional endemics in a given amount of time, for each region or major habitat:

  • Central Valley: When this part of the country was covered in moist tropical forest and wetlands, it was probably fantastic birding and a great place to see Three-wattled Bellbird, Long-tailed Manakin, and many other species. However, since this is the part of the country where people set up house and agriculture, those birding opportunities disappeared 150 or more years ago. As with any area mostly dedicated to urbanization, the birding opportunities that remain are pretty slim. You don’t want to linger for too long in this part of the country but if you have to stay here, try the birding at Zamora Estate Hotel and Xandari. The Bougainvillea is a perennial favorite but both of the sites mentioned are closer to the airport, have more habitat, and thus more bird species. You might also want to stay a bit further afield in the Varablanca area.

    The Long-tailed Manakin still occurs in some parts of the Central Valley but is easier in many sites from Carara National Park north to Nicaragua.
  • Cloud forest: In my opinion, the Monteverde area wins hotspot status for this wonderful habitat. It’s easy to get to (and will be easier when more of the road is paved), has plenty of infrastructure, is easy to bird, and has lots of great habitat. Bellbirds are easy from March and April to July, the R. Quetzal is reliable, and many other uncommon species are easier in the forest reserves (Monteverde, Santa Elena, and Curi-Cancha) than other parts of Costa Rica and elsewhere, including Highland Tinamou, leaftossers, Azure-hooded Jay, Coppery-headed Emerald, and many other species. Include a trip down to the San Gerardo station and you will also visit one of the best birding sites in Central America. This is an excellent area for Ochre-breasted and Scaled Antpittas, Black-headed and Rufous-breasted Antthrushes, Bare-necked Umbrellabird, and many other possibilities including hawk-eagles, and even Solitary Eagle.

    The glowing Violet Sabrewing is one of several hummingbird species common around Monteverde.
  • Tropical dry forest: Although many dry forest species seem to be more adaptable than rainforest species, and can thus be seen in edge habitats and riparian zones in much of the northwest (the Tarcoles River and north of there), the best hotspots for this habitat are probably Santa Rosa National Park, Palo Verde National Park, and Rincon de la Vieja National Park. At Rincon de la Vieja, the drive up is good for many dry forest birds while the forests of the park have a nice mix of dry forest and rainforest species including Tody Motmot, various raptors, a chance at Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo, quail-doves, and the list goes on.

    Riparian zones are a good place to find Royal Flycatchers.
  • High Elevations: Fortunately, it’s pretty easy to find excellent high elevation birding in Costa Rica due to ease of access of several protected areas. Poas is an easy fix for high elevation endemics, and can be better for Black Guan and Long-tailed Silky-Flycatcher than the high Talamancas. However, the best sites for high elevation birding are indeed located in the Talamancas on Cerro de la Muerte. Savegre is often mentioned as the place to go because they have a great, well-earned reputation, comfortable accommodation, and good habitat with good birds. However, if you can’t afford Savegre, you can still see the same birds by staying at other lodging in the area and birding from the main road in San Gerardo de Dota, birding on the road to Providencia through Quetzal National Park, and birding the trails behind La Georgina. Toucanet Lodge and Paraiso de Quetzales also deserve mention.

    Resplendent Quetzal- the star bird of the Costa Rican highlands.

Learn about more hotspots next week…

To support this blog and find the most comprehensive information about birding sites in Costa Rica, get How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica, a 700 plus page e-book that will enrich the birding experience in Costa Rica at every level.

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Birding in Costa Rica at Chomes- What to Expect in 2015-2016

Chomes. I birded Costa Rica’s top shorebird site last week. I wish I could bird there every day because, as with any important hub for migration, birds come and go, probably on a daily basis. What flies in the day after you visit? Heck, what flies in later the same day? I wish we knew! This is the place that probably sees visits by a lone, lost Red-necked Stint, Ruff, Curlew Sandpiper, and other vagrants. But, there’s no one there to see them. Heck, if a Red-necked Stint showed up in winter plumage, who would notice it anyways?

Shorebirds await at Chomes.

Chomes is always exciting because every visit is different. You never know what’s really going to show up but if you visit during high tide during shorebird migration, you can bet that you will see a bunch of those Arctic messengers. Various terns and a gull or two are usually mixed in with the shorebirds, and there are other birds. Here are some thoughts on what to expect during the upcoming birding season:

  • A good access road: The road into Chomes leaves from the Pan-American highway. It’s not signed very well (no surprise there), and used to promise a bumpy ride. Yes, “used to” because the road has been drastically improved! Much of the road was graded this past Saturday, and the workers seemed ready to finish the job. At the moment, it is definitely good enough for two-wheel drive cars, including the tracks into the shrimp ponds. Heavy rains could change all that but they aren’t likely.
  • Too dry on the way in: Speaking of rains, we wish that more water would fall in Guanacaste and Chomes. The current El Nino effect is keeping things dry and since that’s actually global warming, it’s only going to become drier. Although we didn’t survey birds on the drive in, I can’t help but get the impression that there are fewer birds around. No surprise there since the life-giving rains have not lived up to ecological expectations. The riparian zones might be the best places to check for dry forest species along with sites in the foothills.
  • Huge agricultural areas: Immense fields have been a part of the Chomes picture for years and they probably explain why the road has been fixed. I don’t know what they will be used for but if it happens to be pineapple, just drive on past. Pineapple fields are basically filled with poison and thus have almost no birds (or other life for that matter). If something else is planted, scan for thick-knees, Harris’s Hawk, and other open country species (Aplomado Falcon has been seen there in the past).
  • Shorebirds during high tide: Some plovers and sandpipers are there during low tide but the numbers don’t compare to high tide. Check the tides and schedule accordingly because a lot of birds come here to roost and feed when the nearby Gulf of Nicoya is filled with water. On Saturday, we had hundreds of Black-bellied and Semipalmated Plovers, hundreds of Western Sandpipers, Short-billed Dowitchers, and lesser numbers of other species including a rare Long-billed Curlew. This is the eBird list.
    Western and Semipalmated Sandpipers

    Chomes is a good site for Wilson's Plover.
  • Collared Plovers on the beach: You can also pick out a few on the ponds but this past visit had a dozen or so on the beach. Nice close looks!
    Collared Plover

    More Collared Plovers
  • Mangrove Rail: This secretive species has always been present in the scrubby Black Mangroves but it’s of course always hidden. Go early in the morning and look in spots where the scrubby mangroves are in shallow water and wet ground. When the edges of the mangroves dry out, the rails seem much harder to find because they are probably hanging out in the middle of the mangroves. These are the short mangroves that grow in the ponds.
    There is a Mangrove Rail in this picture.
    Mangrove Rail habitat

    White Ibis hanging out in Mangrove Rail habitat.
  • Mangrove birds: I was surprised that we saw so few mangrove species this past visit. Most of my past birding at Chomes has resulted in easy looks at Northern Scrub Flycatcher, Mangrove Vireo, and various other species including chances at Mangrove Cuckoo, Mangrove Hummingbird, and Rufous-necked Wood-Rail. Try the taller mangroves on the road to the beach and on the track next to it for all of these.

    We did get nice looks at Panama Flycatcher though.
  • Bobwhite and hordes of roosting White-fronted Parrots in the evening: You can also get Spot-bellied Bobwhite during the day but it seems easier in the evening. A covey or two can show up anywhere on the road to the beach. The parrots fly in by the hundreds.
  • Hot weather, bugs, and no services: I almost forgot to mention these fun factors! That vehicle you are in is your terrestrial lifeboat, especially if it has air conditioning. Be prepared, use the restroom before birding at Chomes, and scope from the shade!

Hope to see you at Chomes!

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Pacific slope

More Ferry Birding in Costa Rica

The ferry is the poor person’s pelagic. Or one for people with limited time. Or, on some routes, a quick fix for folks who suffer from wave action. However you want to call it, a ferry is an easy way to see birds from a boat, and by “birds” I mean the ones that are especially hard to see from shore. The Puntarenas-Paquera ferry is the easiest way to see some pelagics in Costa Rica and although you can’t count on Pterodromas or other wicked flying denizens of the super deep, the boat does cross one of the richest estuarine gulfs in Central America. I’ve been thinking more and more about that gulf. Like about what lives in those waters and what comes there from the ocean to feed. In terms of birds, it’s pretty darn important. The mud flats are used by resident wading birds and thousands of migrant shorebirds, the mangroves are home to the endemic Mangrove Hummingbird and nurseries for thousands of fish, and the waters provide food for dolphins, tuna, thousands of Black Terns (which seem to be there all year long), and various other seabirds.

Extensive mud flats in the Gulf of Nicoya.

It’s the “various others” that draws me to the gulf, especially during these El Nino times. Storm-petrels, Galapagos Shearwater, and Blue-footed Booby have been regular, and many other birds are possible. Thanks to near daily trips and reports by Jorge Zuniga Lopez, we have heard about Sabine’s Gulls, Red-billed Tropicbird, and even Costa Rica’s first Peruvian Booby! Since a couple of these were seen the past month, yesterday, I made time for a trip down to Puntarenas to watch from the ferry. I came prepared with snacks, binos, scope, camera, and a vigilant mindset that would hopefully yield new year birds and additions to my Costa Rica list.

My first stops were the cruise ship pier and the lighthouse area in Puntarenas, two spots that can turn up pelagics. The pier had a couple of boobies along with regular terns and Brown Pelicans but I just could’t turn that juvenile Brown Booby into a Red-footed. Over at the lighthouse, scanning with a scope revealed swarms of Black Terns along with one Elegant, and a few Royals and Sandwich Terns. Eventually, I spotted a couple of Galapagos Shearwaters, pretty far off but still identifiable. That point really is the most accessible place to see some pelagics from shore in Costa Rica because it’s close to a spot where the inner gulf meets the outer gulf. You could easily go and see nothing but on one occasion, I could even identify Black Storm-Petrels there with binoculars.

The lighthouse area.

The ferry got underway around 9 and I started seeing birds shortly thereafter. Most were Black Terns.

These Black Terns were actually seen from shore

But, a couple of Galapagos Shearwaters also made an appearance, one right in front of the boat!

Galapagos Shearwater.
Black Terns, a Galapagos Shearwater, and a possible Black Tuna- check out the tail on the left!

Further on, I saw a Blue-footed Booby. Oddly, one of the only boobies seen that day. Other days have resulted in several.

Blue-footed Booby.
A typical feeding flock of Black Terns in the gulf.

Eventually, scanning the hordes of Black Terns on a drift line turned up a Brown Noddy.

A Brown Noddy shares a piece of driftwood with a Black Tern.

Interestingly, I didn’t see storm-petrels until the return ride to Puntarenas around 11:30 and noon. Unfortunately, none came very close to the ferry but they gave me enough studies to watch several Black Storm-Petrels, one or two Least Storm-Petrels, and just as I was about to give up scanning while the boat moved up and down, one Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel!

Although I didn’t get my Sabine’s Gull nor see any mega rarity, I did pick up three year birds (two Storm-Petrels and Least Tern). Once again, I also exited the ferry feeling that I had barely scratched the surface of what can be seen in the Gulf of Nicoya. What flew in after the ferry went past? What happens to be visiting the gulf today, especially the deeper parts? If you have the time, the ferry is easy enough to do. Park the vehicle at Franks Cabinas just north of the ferry ($8 for the whole day), buy a ticket for 810 colones (maybe $1.50), and get on board. After getting off the ferry in Paquera, just walk right back through the ticket area, buy another $1.50 ticket for the return trip, and scan for birds on the way back. The trip takes an hour and a half. Make sure to get on first and pick a spot right up front on the top deck.