Costa Rica’s got a lot of birds in store, a heck of a lot avian waiting to be admired. Tanager flocks in the wet, mossy foothills, a host of hummingbirds, several stunning trogons, Ornate Hawk-Eagles calling above tropical forests…yeah, it’s a pretty nice birding scene.
A lot of birds for sure but, as with all places, Costa Rica also has its bunch of rare bird species. These can be birds that are honestly few in number and/or ones that are challenging to come by no matter how much you look for them. It’s just the way it is, just the way the birding ball bounces. Take the Agami Heron for example. Unlike so many other conspicuous members of that savagely elegant family, Agamis buck the “look at me out here in the open trend”. Big time.
Instead, they took a serious note from their antbird eco-neighbors and went dark side on us. What I mean is they’re skulkers. Not like a bittern or a casually shy Green Heron either but major, professional skulk material. Yep, no standing in an open marsh for these fancy long beaks. The Agami way is more about staying motionless in dark, forest shadows. Staying wary and sticking to the shade. I guess they’re shy about showing that beautiful jade and chestnut plumage. Whatever the case, unless you visit an Agami Heron breeding colony, you hardly ever see one.
And that’s pretty weird because, as we have recently been discovering, they’re are not at all rare in Costa Rica.
Yeah! Not rare at all! Just ridiculously skulky.
Until recently, the general birding public in Costa Rica were only aware of two or so main breeding colonies, each of which are in Caribbean coastal swamps. Although it didn’t actually make sense, it seemed like those were the sole or main breeding Agami colonies in Costa Rica. Thanks to recent discoveries, we can now forget about that crazy idea. As it turns out, a major Agami colony numbering in the hundreds was found in northern Costa Rica, sort of near Bijagua.
Yes, hundreds and that’s not all. Shortly after, another colony numbering in the hundreds was found at another spot (I think at or near Maquenque). Um, if the counting is correct, the known breeding colonies add up to at least 1,000 birds. Since there are likely more colonies out there, even if they are much smaller, it means we’ve got a pretty good number of Agami Herons roaming the Caribbean lowlands.
And that makes sense because when you bird their habitat enough, you do end up seeing them. For example, despite Centro Manu being more of a foothill site, Agami Heron is regular along the semi-swampy, forested streams. Despite Cope’s rainforest being rather small and impacted by people, Agami occurs in the forested, swampy parts. The prized heron has also turned up at tiny Bogarin in La Fortuna, and on the La Selva entrance road. In in other words, when you look long enough for them in appropriate habitat (get into ninja birding mode), you end up seeing them.
Thanks to their ultra skulky, ninja-bird ways, seeing an Agami Heron isn’t a piece of cake but, if you find yourself looking into a forested stream or edge of a shaded lagoon in the Caribbean lowlands, take a closer look. There’s a good chance an Agami Heron is standing somewhere in the shadows.
However, if you visit Costa Rica from June to August, you can also go the much easier, far more photogenic route. That’s when the birds are nesting and the spectacle is straight up mind blowing. Instead of skulking in the dark, at their colonies, Agami Herons perch and display in the open and can even fly back and forth and squabble with each other. After only seeing them briefly in sub-standard conditions or just not seeing them at all, it’s almost too much to handle! At the moment, there are at least two options for experiencing the happy madness of an Agami nesting colony. All are on private land and require payment and prior reservations. For more information contact them directly:
Katira colony- Agami Island. Visits can also be arranged with Onca Tours.
There’s also a third colony somewhere in the Maquenque Reserve area in northern Costa Rica. Eventually, this one should also be accessible for visits.
This also means I have to update my bird finding guide for Costa Rica. Hopefully I can do that soon; Costa Rica is so birdy, there’s always more birding information!