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Month: September 2024

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bird finding in Costa Rica Birding Costa Rica

Birding News from Costa Rica- Late September, 2024

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

Great Jacamar
What a shining, crazy-looking bird!

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.

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Recent Birding Highlights Near San Jose, Costa Rica

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!

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bird finding in Costa Rica bird photography Birding Costa Rica

Fantastic Bird Photography in Costa Rica- 5 Easy Sites

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.

Cinnamon Woodpecker included!

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.

Fiery-throated-Hummingbird

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!