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
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.
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!