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Month: February 2024

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Quality Costa Rica Birding at Irazu Volcano

Costa Rica birding covers a wide range of avian experiences. There are dry lowlands with Turquoise-browed Motmots and Double-striped Thick-Knees, backyard Blue-gray Tanagers, and toucans yelping from the tree tops.

This is a thick-knee. I know, what an odd, orthopedic sounding name for a bird!

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

There’s a whole lot of birds up in here, even uncommon species or ones that are hard to find no matter where you bring the binos. That’s what this post is about and although I’ve written a similar thing or two about birding on Irazu Volcano, here we go again.

Irazu is the name of this 11,000 foot volcano that rocks its way up the east side of the Central Valley. If you find yourself looking over that way while watching Crimson-fronted Parakeets, notice the big hulking mountain with distant antennas on top.

That’s Irazu and way up there on that natural behemoth, you can bet there are some quality birds. Here’s how things went on a recent Sunday morning of birding on Irazu.

Maroon-chested Ground-Doves

Irazu continues to be a reliable spot for this little mega dove. You will probably have to trudge uphill for it but don’t be fooled, the birds are there.

Often, I hear them as soon as I arrive at the Nochebuena but not this past Sunday. Things were actually a bit quiet for morning birding. Maybe the birds were feeling cold too? Could be, once the mist burned off and the sun came out, they eventually started calling.

Two, maybe three ground-doves hooted or cooed from the dense foliage. That’s par for the course for this pretty little dove. It vocalizes from a tree and if it thinks you see it, the bird pulls a shy woodpecker and moves to the other side of the trunk!

We kept watching and eventually got some brief looks of a perched male. Better views were had of two males in flight, one of which zipped low over the ground. I can still picture its dark, wine-colored chest contrasting with the dove’s ghost-pale head.

Costa Rican Pygmy-Owl and Buff-crowned Wood-Partridge

While we looked for the doves, another Irazu specialty called; the Costa Rican Pygmy-Owl. They are up there and it’s a good spot for them! However, they don’t always come out to play.

Sometimes, like this past Sunday, you only hear them from a distance.

What the Costa Rican Pygmy-Owl looks like when you see it.

Quiet often, that’s also the case for the wood-partridge. However, on Sunday, after hearing their hoarse calls echoing around us, we got brief but nice views of a couple creeping through the undergrowth!

Resplendent Quetzals

What do you know, Irazu is also good for quetzals. Seriously, I see Resplendent Quetzal on pretty much every visit. On this recent trip, I wasn’t hearing them, I wondered if I would finally miss the spectacular birds while birding Irazu.

But nope, they still showed up, at least four different birds including one wildly displaying male and another male that perched and called between bouts of feeding on avocados.

Long-tailed Weasel!

No, not a bird but Mustelids are mega too! Irazu seems to be a good place for wildlife, and I mean even on the side of the road. I have seen Coyotes several times, Gray Fox, and, on Sunday, we had perfect looks at a Long-tailed Weasel.

The elusive mammal bounded across the road in front of us, it was a treat!

Peg-billed Finch and Timberline Wren

After an early morning at the Nochebuena, we drove up to the paramo area just next to the national park. It was sunny, it was a bit windy, and it was bird quiet.

However, we still saw a pair of Timberline Wrens, one Peg-billed Finch, and other species easier to see. We did not see the junco but we weren’t really looking for it. They are around, hang out long enough up that way and you’ll probably see them.

Lots of Hummingbirds at the Nochebuena

Back at the Nochebuena, we stopped for lunch and enjoyed close views of the four expected hummingbird species. These are Volcano Hummingbird, Talamanca Hummingbird, Lesser Violetear, and Fiery-throated Hummingbird.

Lesser Violetears are never lesser.

We had also see them on the trails but close, leisurely looks were even nicer!

An Irazu Sunday also Means People

Oh yeah, and we saw a lot of humans. Irazu is a big Sunday destination for locals. The Tierra de Suenos restaurant and other places were jam packed. That didn’t affect us because I’m partial to the Nochebuena anyways. Good food, nice people who support birds and birders…yeah, I’ll be dining at the Nochebuena.

Other people sightings included roadside picnics and selfie shots against spectacular above-cloud backdrops, a line of determined hikers walking up a high-elevation hill, a few cyclists, and too many motorcycles, a few of which were pulling wheelies while riding uphill.

If you aren’t into watching people, you might opt for another day to visit Irazu. However, if you gotta do the trip on Sunday, you’ll still see birds!

Birding in Costa Rica on Irazu is pretty easy but it’s still worth knowing where to go. If you’d like more details on where to go birding in Costa Rica on Irazu and pretty much anywhere else in this small birdy nation, get “How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica”.

You’ll also be supporting this blog while learning how to see tinamous, more trogons, and all the other birds in Costa Rica. I hope to see you here!

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Highlights from a Day of Birding in Costa Rica: Lowlands to the Highlands

Birding in Costa Rica can be a pretty hotel garden with easy-going saltators and chattering flocks of parakeets. It can also be focused birding in lowland rainforests as you search for dancing manakins and hidden woodcreepers.

Oh yeah, and birding in Costa Rica can certainly be watching mixed flocks and fluttering quetzals in cloud forest. Yes, fluttering quetzals. Fancy that!

The male avian deity messengers do their iridescent fluttering while cackling and displaying above the forest. If a big, shining emerald and red velvet bird fluttering and calling in plain sight sounds like too much to handle, it sort of is! The quetzal moves truly are one of your high level, mind-blowing birding experiences.

Recently, I had some of that deep Costa Rica bird flavor. A day of birding from the humid lowlands all the way into highland cloud forest promised an interesting selection of birds. It usually does and the other day was no exception.

This would be a day that went from low areas and up and over the mountains to San Jose. We didn’t have very much time for each birding stop but the activity was tops, we did quite well.

What to expect? Read on to check out some highlights and quips from that fine day of birding in Costa Rica.

Lowland Rainforest 1

The day began in the Caribbean lowlands, way down in the classic birding area known as “Sarapiqui”. Beginning at the edge of La Selva, lots of birds were calling, so much it was almost tough to know where to look first.

Among the guttural dino-sounds of a Green Ibis, yells of kiskakee-type flycatchers and whistling tinamous, I heard a set of soft, tooting whistles. Hello Central American Pygmy-Owl!

I whistled back to it, I hoped the mini-owl would fly in, but alas, it didn’t want to play. However, my calls did bring in Cinnamon Becards, honeycreepers, tanagers, White-ringed Flycatcher, and other small birds.

In the meantime, trogons and jacamars vocalized, Great Green Macaws sounded off, and swifts came flying in. “Good” swifts too. Cloudy mornings in the Sarapiqui area are often reliable for Spot-fronted Swifts. They were present along with small Gray-rumpeds and svelte Lesser Swallow-taileds.

After enjoying some of those cool, waterfall dwelling birds, distant scanning revealed a suspicious pale chook perched right at the top of a wide crown of a big bare tree. Yep, sure enough, female Snowy Cotinga!

She was far off but she was certain. As a reminder that familiar birds from the north have amazing bird encounters during the winter, a beautiful male Baltimore Oriole perched next to her for a moment. If only migrant birds could talk, what stories they could tell!

As a bonus, while leaving, we had nice looks at a Laughing Falcon.

Lowland Rainforest 2

Birding at the edge of La Selva was good but it was just a brief interlude. After picking up morning coffee at the local Musmani bakery, I figured we might as well bird another good spot. There was a lot more to see, might as well bird the area for another two hours and see what happens.

I drove back on the road behind Chilamate. Given that the bridge at the end of the road is still out, the one that leads you back to the main road near Tirimbina, it was surprising to see several cars. Where could they be going? Wasn’t this a birders only road? No, but it seems like it should be.

Back there in the forest, as I had hoped, we found a mixed flock of larger birds that I usually run into there. It typically consists of a bunch of Chestnut-headed Oropendolas, woodpeckers, Black-striped Woodcreeper, Rufous Mourner, and other species.

The best of those other species are White-fronted Nunbirds. We enjoyed excellent views of the coral-billed birds while watching the other regulars. A pair of Black-crowned Antshrike also showed, Slaty-breasted Tinamous gave its low call from the forest, and other birds sounded off.

The birding was good and complete with a sweet send off- a shrieking White Hawk soaring low and transluscent. Oh yeah, and as another daily bird bonus, we had two more Snowy Cotingas; distant, shining white spots high in the canopy.

Lunch Highlights

We could have stayed longer in the lowlands. Heck, the avian rich area merits days of birding. But we had places to be, one of those being Cinchona.

The good old Cafe Colibri was a perfect stop for an early lunch accompanied by birds. This classic site wasn’t as active as other days and the birds were very nervous. We didn’t see it but some raptor must have been recently stalking the area. The way the birds were acting, it probably caught something too!

Even so, we still saw most of the usual good stuff. Both barbets, toucanet, tanagers, Black-bellied Hummingbird, and Coppery-headed Emerald. It was still good but since we seemed to have seen everything, we only stayed for an hour.

Cloud Forest Highlights

The next stop for this birdy day was upper cloud forest habitats near Varablanca. Perhaps thanks to cloud cover and recent rain, bird activity was good there too.

Collared Redstart showed, Long-tailed Silky-Flycatchers perched up, and other cloud forest birds appeared. One of the best was one we didn’t see but heard loud and clear. Bellbird!

There’s a small population of Three-wattled Bellbirds in and near that area, likely a remnant of a much larger population from much more forested times. I hear about reports but, when birding Varablanca, I never seem to catch up with those extra special cotingas. It was nice to finally hear one there, I’m eager to return and see if it’s still around.

The bellbird was a bonus but the prize must go to the quetzals. I see Resplendent Quetzals in that area quite often. However, they move around and are kind of shy. I might find 6 one day and then none on the next visit!

Luckily, the other day, there were at least four quetzals, looked like two males and two females. The major birds were calling, gave some good looks, and the males did their fluttering flight displays a couple of times. Can’t ask for better than that!

That was our last stop and it wasn’t even 2 in the afternoon. The drive back was fog, some rain, and then traffic in the Central Valley. As a bonus, while waiting in a line of cars near the City Mall, we had a flyover Yellow-naped Parrot.

That critically endangered species was a nice end to another fine day of birding in Costa Rica. Check out the eBird trip report. To learn about the sites we visited, search this blog and get “How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica”, a 900 plus page ebook bird finding guide for Costa Rica and more. I hope you see some fluttering quetzals, and hope to see you here!

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Birding in Costa Rica at Ceiba de Orotina and Tarcoles- Highlights and Tips

This past Sunday, my partner and I did a quick morning trip to the Pacific lowlands. That would mean sites just to the west of the Central Valley, hot places down the continental slope. It’s a pretty easy trip and it’s always tempting because this route promises birds.

You should see this one.

To be honest, that’s par for the course in birdy Costa Rica. However, at Ceiba de Orotina, some of those birds might also be rare and unexpected species for Costa Rica.

Ever since I guided someone in the Ceiba de Orotina area and saw a bunch of Grasshopper Sparrows, I’ve been thinking about that place. We also saw Violet-green Swallows and I’d like to see those again too, see if I can parse out a Tree Swallow, maybe a Cave Swallow. Both are uncommon species for Costa Rica, putting them on your year list is always a sweet bonus.

I’ve wanted to see those sparrows again too. We don’t see a heck of a lot of those cool, flat-headed little birds. It’s nice to get reacquainted with them, bring me back to structured grass at roadside stops in Kansas. Being such a “good year” for feathered Grasshoppers, I’m betting some other sparrows are out there too. A few Larks, Savannahs, and maybe something rarer for Costa Rica.

I had those sparrows on the mind as I packed drinks and snacks for the following morning. Ideally, going to the site would mean getting there before dawn and listening for the raspy coughs of a Northern Potoo and other birds of the night.

However, since such a starting time translates to leaving home at 3 a.m., it tends to be a tough one to manage. Instead, we traded potoos for sleep and got there around 6:30. That was still good! There were still birds a plenty.

After birding the patches of dry forest and open fields for a bit, our next stop on the birding agenda was Tarcoles. The following are some highlights and tips from that morning of birding:

Ceiba de Orotina = Easy Birding and a Good Selection of Birds

This spot consists of a long road that passes through open fields, some agriculture, and a few patches of tropical dry forest. There’s also a seasonal marsh on the road that leads to Cascajal.

It’s all good, it’s all birdy, and you’ll see a lot. However, you want to be there early, well before the tropical sun is unleashed to bake the land. Our Sunday visit was typical. There were some Turquoise-browed Motmots on the wires, Gartered Trogons calling, and a few Double-striped Thick-Knees in the fields.

Thick-knees are odd, fun birds to see.

There were fair numbers of seed-eating birds but, oddly enough, we didn’t see any Grasshopper Sparrows! While scanning one field of tall dry grass, I did see a sparrow fly and disappear into the vegetation but, alas, it did not reappear. That was unfortunate because I thought it may have been a Savannah.

Oh well, we still saw lots of other cool birds. There were lots of Blue Grosbeaks, some tan and shining blue Indigo Buntings, and a few pleasant green female Painted Buntings. At one point, as I whistled like a Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl (which we also saw), at least a dozen Blue Grosbeaks decorated a small tree!

We also had several nice resident species including one White-necked Puffbird, a few Long-tailed Manakins, Striped Cuckoo, and various other birds.

It’s Always Good for Raptors

Ceiba de Orotina is also a good place for raptors. Pearl Kite can appear along with Crane Hawk and other uncommon species. Although we didn’t see those, we were pleased with Northern Harrier (a good year bird for Costa Rica), Harriss’s Hawk, Laughing Falcon, Merlin, American Kestrel, Gray Hawks, and both caracaras.

Expect the Unexpected

This site is also an excellent place for odd and unexpected species. It’s really worth checking because the site has played host to Aplomado Falcon, King Vulture, and even Burrowing Owl!

On our visit, our best birds may have been a couple of Mourning Doves and two Mangrove Cuckoos. I know, Mourning Doves? While yes, that is sort of laughable, in Costa Rica, they are pretty uncommon and local.

The cuckoos weren’t incredibly surprising (they can winter in open, dry forest habitats), but you can’t really expect them. They were pretty nice to see!

Tarcoles is Hot

After La Ceiba, we were off to Tarcoles, which, like other places in the Pacific lowlands, is ovenish. Get in your birding early because after 9, it’s all about the burn and searching out the ice cream.

Be prepared for 90 degree weather and bring the hydration.

Tarcoles Can Get Busy on the Weekends

On weekends, Tarcoles can get busy. By that, I mean temporary traffic jams on the crocodile bridge, lots of cars, and, most importantly, people frolicking in the Tarcoles creek.

That would be the small river that flows through the southern edge of town. The outlet can attract gulls and other odd birds but not during the prime frolicking times (such as Saturdays and Sundays).

It is a good place for Scarlet Macaws though…

The River Mouth is Pretty Far

Tarcoles is also where a fair-sized river empties into the ocean. It’s the same river that has the crocs and boat tours to see them (and lots of birds too!).

In the past, one could drive to Playa Azul and pretty easily see the river mouth in all of its birdy glory. Sadly, since then, the river mouth has shifted to the north and out of sight.

You can still see it but you really need to take one of those boat tours. If not, you could be death marching it along the beach for at least a kilometer and maybe more. This ain’t no easy beach stroll. I bet the early morning isn’t so bad but after then, it’s a long, way too hot walk with no guarantees on birds.

Want to see the river mouth? Go for the boat.

Drive Back to the Central Valley Before Noon

If you plan on driving back to San Jose and other parts of the Central Valley on Sunday, don’t wait until after lunch. Too many other people do that and when they start the drive back, they can clog up the roads from Jaco all the way to Atenas.

Instead, leave by 11 or noon at the latest. That’ll avoid spending an extra hour in really slow traffic.

Ceiba de Orotina is a good, easy place for a morning of birding. So is a Tarcoles boat ride, especially because you can check out the river mouth. Stay in that area for a few days and you’ll see lots more! Just make sure you get up really early, have plenty to drink, and stay out of the sun.

To learn more about this and hundreds of other birding sites in Costa Rica, support this blog by getting my 900 plus page Costa Rica bird finding guide. The birding in Costa Rica is pretty darn good, I hope to see you here!