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Month: April 2025

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Recent Highlights from Birding Costa Rica, Late April, 2025

The rains are happening in Costa Rica. It’s all good, expected, and the forests need it. The water is just getting started and it doesn’t affect birding all that much anyways. Head out early, it’ll probably be dry and the birds will be singing. If it stays cloudy, the birds will also stay active and when the rains stop, you could find yourself in a mini birding frenzy. Hopefully.

Lately, I’ve been birding in a few different areas, here’s some of the highlights:

Great Potoo in Los Chiles

Great Potoo

Recently, I stayed at the CyC Hotel in Los Chiles and once again, was entertained by a Great Potoo, right above the parking lot. It’s amazing how this huge nocturnal bug catcher feels right at home on a fairly busy street. Although it doesn’t show up there every night, if you check the top of the telephone pole, you’ll have a fair chance of witnessing this cool bird’s haunting calls and antics.

Common Potoo Nesting on the Cerro Lodge Road

Los Chiles is also a good area to see Common Potoo but if you happen to be birding on the other side of the mountains, you’re still in luck! The Common Potoo that has been hanging out on the Cerro Lodge road wasn’t just sitting around and doing nothing. It was incubating an egg, one that has hatched into a cute, white fuzzball baby potoo!

Since this bird is right next to the road, I just hope that photographers stay at a safe distance when taking photos.

Costa Rican Pygmy-Owl Near Varablanca

Owls are always cool and some are more difficult to see than others. One of those is the Costa Rican Pygmy-Owl. Similar to the Northern Pygmy-Owl, this highland endemic also occurs in low density populations. It doesn’t always call nor respond to its call either.

Those factors and its penchant to hide in plain sight make this special bird an easy one to miss. Although the best areas for it seem to be high elevation forests on Irazu Volcano and the Talamancas (Cerro de la Muerte), Costa Rican Pygmy-Owls also occur on Poas and in other high elevation forests. While the current explosive nature of Poas keeps the area off limits at the moment, you can see them near Varablanca. I have only found one pair in that area but lately, one of those birds has been calling and showing nicely.

As a bonus, its vocalizations attract a host of other birds, including Black-bellied Hummingbird, Golden-browed Chlorophonia, and Yellow-winged Vireo.

Black-bellied Hummingbird

Quetzal Action also Near Varablanca

That same San Rafael de Varablanca road can also be good for ye olde Resplendent Quetzal. Although they seemed to be on hiatus a month ago, the birds are definitely back!

I’ve been seeing and hearing two pairs (or more) at a few spots there. Since the males have been pretty territorial and doing display flights, I can’t help but wonder if they will nest again (or are just nesting very late in the season?). Maybe so because there are a few Lauraceous trees up there full of quetzal food.

The Usual Good Birds at Medio Queso

Down at the Medio Queso marsh, the usual good species have been showing. These include several Pinnated Bitterns, nice looks at the beautiful Least Bittern, nesting Nicaraguan Grackles, and good numbers of singing Ruddy-breasted Seedeaters.

The Yellow-breasted Crakes have also been showing well and the site has also been good for Snail Kite.

Blue and Gold Tanager at San Luis Adventure Center

This news isn’t new but it’s still worth a mention. This uncommon tanager continues to visit the fruit feeders as well as feed in nearby trees. It might also be nesting near the feeder. Although this and other birds haven’t been frequenting the feeder as much, wait long enough and they’ll eventually pay a visit.

When birding in Costa Rica, there’s always more highlights, birds I saw over the past few days like Double-striped Thick-knee, Turquoise-browed Motmot, Laughing Falcon and other raptors, parrots, two macaw species, and so on and so on. One thing’s for sure; come birding in Costa Rica and you’ll see a lot! I hope to see you here.

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bird finding in Costa Rica Birding Costa Rica

Birding in Costa Rica- Recent Sightings of Interest

In Costa Rica, we just finished another Holy Week. As banal as that may sound, those who reside in Costa Rica are well aware of the weight that statement carries. It means traffic is back in the Central Valley, that the beaches and ways to and from the coast have suddenly become much less crowded, and that whatever places closed for the holidays have opened back up.

On the birding front, the end of Holy Week also translates to Spring’s final movements of Scarlet Tanagers, Eastern Kingbirds, and many other birds flying steadily north. Some will still be around for a bit; Canada Warblers in the woods and northward bound wood-pewees sallying from perches but, for the most part, migration will be petering off.

The one exception is shorebirds. Right now is a darn good time to go shorebirding in Costa Rica, a time when the last push of thousands of birds pass through the country. Sadly, other duties may keep me from having a chance to look for them but who knows, maybe I’ll still be able to get out there and scan some wet fields, deftly slap mosquitoes while scoping coastal salt ponds and mud flats.

In any case, there’s always other birds, always lots to look at and look for in Costa Rica. I thought the following were some of the more interesting recent sightings in Birdlandia.

Black-eared Wood-Quail Seen at Laguna del Lagarto

Although I’m pretty sure this elusive and handsome forest chicken has been recorded at and near Laguna del Lagarto in the past, there weren’t any eBird records for it. That finally changed when birding guide Henri Sandi Amador found one!

This is an excellent sighting and I don’t know if the bird will stick around but it’s a reminder of what can appear in areas with extensive, little explored forest.

Snowcaps and More at Centro Manu

Can’t make it to Rancho or El Copal? Luckily, Centro Manu continues to be a good spot for Snowcap. Last week, during a wet morning visit, we had at least three females and one male. Most were in the aptly named hummingbird garden but they also visit small flowers in shortish, bushy trees next to the parking area and in front of the office.

Great Potoo is still there too although it’s been using a less obvious perch and we did not manage to see it. The rain diminished the birding in general but we still managed to see Bronze-tailed Plumeleteer and some other birds in addition to the Snowcap. Local guide Kenneth also mentioned that they are still seeing Central America Pygmy-Owl by a nearby stream as well as other expected species for the area (which are many and always good).

Flowering Ingas in the Caribbean Foothills

Lately, while driving downhill from Cinchona, visiting Centro Manu, and passing through Sarapiqui, I noticed good numbers of flowering Ingas. This is great news for hummingbirds and us birders hoping to see them! The wispy white flowers produced by these guava relatives are some of the best natural feeders around and one of the better ways to see coquettes and Green Thorntails.

If you notice a bushy tree with wispy white flowers, stop and watch it for a while, you should eventually see some hummingbirds. With luck, you might also find something uber rare.

Ruddy-breasted Seedeater in Tarcoles

In Costa Rica, Ruddy-breasted Seedeaters can be unpredictable. For example, although I usually see them in the Cano Negro area, I had no such luck last month. They are also regular in grassy fields in the southern Pacific zone but even there, they can be common one year and seemingly absent the next.

If you’re taking any boat rides on the Tarcoles River soon, you might get lucky with this pretty little finchy bird. Lately, they have been regular from the boat, maybe there’s also some frequenting rice fields around Jaco? You might also see the rare Slate-colored Seedeater. From the boat, there has been a recent sighting or two of this nomadic, uncommon bird!

Seeding Bamboo in Montserrat de Coronado?

Slate-colored Seedeaters have also been spotted around Montserrat de Coronado; an excellent highland site at the end of a rough road in the upper reaches of the northeastern Central Valley.

I’m not sure if observers saw the seedeaters at Locos Por El Bosque or near there nor if bamboo is seeding but their presence is a fair indicator. Another good indicator is the presence of Barred Parakeets. Folks have also been seeing good numbers of those and even getting rare pictures of perched birds! That’s a major bonus because although I hear and often see them in flight, 99% of my looks are small parakeet silhouettes buzzing overhead.

Montserrat de Coronado isn’t on the main birding tour routes but it’s an excellent area to explore on your own or with a local guide. It’s also one of many lesser known sites covered in my bird finding guide to Costa Rica. If the bamboo is seeding up that way, it’s probably also attracting tough birds like Slaty Finch and Blue Seedeater too!

As always, I could mention more sightings, birds like the Palm Warbler near La Gamba, Turquoise and Yellow-billed Cotingas, and others. There’s always a lot more to say about birds in Costa Rica, the best thing to do is visit, get into habitat and watch them. I hope to see you here!

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bird finding in Costa Rica Birding Costa Rica birds to watch for in Costa Rica

Tips for Birding Costa Rica Around Carara

During the past week, I had a long, fruitful day in the Carara area. No surprise there, that’s usually how the birding goes in that mega ecotone. While birding from Orotina to Tarcoles, near Villa Lapas, and on the Cerro Lodge entrance road, we identified 167 species. Check out the trip report!

And no, we did not enter Carara National Park; we’ll have to go birding in that fine forest another day. But how can you visit the Carara area and not bird in the national park? For the best of reasons- the area has way too many birds to see in just one day. Check out these tips to give the Carara area justice:

A Day is Great but Three Days are Always Better

We had great looks at Lesser Ground-Cuckoo on the Cerro Lodge road.

You can’t go wrong with a day of birding in the Carara area but you’re better off spending 2 or 3 nights. It’s often so hot, you might want to spend much of the afternoon in a pool anyways.

We could have easily birded the Ceiba de Orotina Road and the nearby Guacima-Bajamar area all day (with a leisurely break for lunch). Likewise, the Bijagual road has so many possibilities, you could spend two full days birding it and see 200 species. Carara National Park also merits a day or two, and you could also spend a morning or late afternoon birding by boat on the Tarcoles River (check out my Costa Rica bird finding guide and birding companion to learn more about these sites and strategies to adequately bird this area).

Spending at least two nights also makes it easier to look for the 9 species of owls and other night birds that live in the area!

The Bijagual Road is Good but Watch the Traffic

On the Bijagual Road, we had some quick and exciting birding just uphill from Villa Lapas. It was pretty hot but a bunch of birds eventually showed. However, there was also quite a bit of traffic. There’s usually some cars and trucks but there were more than usual the other day.

Make sure to park where other vehicles can go around you, especially at the few spots where you can sort of pull off the road.

Common Potoo and Pacific Screech-Owl on the Cerro Lodge Road

Last year, this pair of choice species entertained a good number of birders. This year, they are back! Actually, they never left but had changed their roosting sites. I can’t really describe exactly where they are but, if you bird there with a local guide, you should be able to see them in the day.

Bird there at night and you could see those as well as other species (Barn, Striped, Mottled, and Black and white Owls have all occurred there!).

Persistence Needed for Uncommon Mangrove Birds

Mangrove species were some of our many target birds. It took some looking but we eventually found some of them. The best were a couple of Mangrove Hummingbirds in the Bajamar mangroves. They weren’t on the main road through them (and the mangroves there didn’t look so great) but were in an area of tall mangroves with lots of arching, intertwined roots. This was on the coastal road that runs next to them.

We also found a few species in the mangroves on the road to Playa Azul. It took some looking but birds like Panama Flycatcher and Northern Scrub Flycatcher eventually showed. Although in Costa Rica, these and a few other species only occur in mangroves, ironically, they aren’t abundant. You’ll probably need to work to see them.

birding Costa Rica

The Carara area was birdy as always. No matter how much birding you do, there’s always more to see! My only regret is not being able bird each distinctive area at dawn but the solution’s a good one; take more birding trips to the area. Happy birding, I hope to see you here!