February 2026 Archives

Recent Highlights from Birding Costa Rica in the Rain

This past week in Costa Rica has been a mix of wind, rain, sun, and AC temperatures. It’s not like that everywhere, depends on where you go but if you’ve been birding in the highlands or Caribbean lowlands, I bet you know what I mean.

It’s been one cold front after another and although I’d be lying if this northern born Niagaran said it was actually, honestly “cold”, I will admit to having worn a fleece jacket while birding. Up on 8,000 foot Poas, I wore two layers, and put on this flannel shirt thing during a boat ride on the Sarapiqui (it’s usually way hotter in that tropical domain!). Yep, cooler than normal and I can only hope that the icy northern push brought us a weird sparrow or two.

No one has found any mega vagrants yet but I’m still hoping for it. Cool weather or not, the birds are still here in Costa Rica. These are some recent highlights.

Sarapiqui boat ride

Once again, taking the Green Ship Sarapiqui boat tour paid off with fantastic looks at a Sunbittern. After spotting the bird trying to skulk behind some river grass, we boated on over, waited, and then watched it stalk the sand. Just like a Gondwana robin, it pulled worm after worm out of the ground!

Walk away views were had and we continued on but the Kagu relative wasn’t finished with us yet. In a moment, it flew upstream, showing its wild, sunburst patterned wings as it glided to a river snag. After sharing the perch with an Anhinga, the Sunbittern glided off again, back into the shadows and out of sight.

We didn’t have a heck of a lot of other birds from the boat that morning but the Sunbittern show made up for it.

Middle American Leaftosser at Cinchona

A leaftosser I saw in the Socorro area some years ago.

Seeing a mud-brown bird with tawny highlights might not seem noteworthy but when you realize how infrequently you see these birds, it can take center stage. Luck was with us when one called and showed right next to the Cinchona birding/restaurant platform/seating area. We had fantastic looks and that was especially good because we didn’t see a whole lot else.

Unfortunately, construction work was being carried out and the associated clanging and spark-flying soldering wasn’t exactly a bird friendly atmosphere. Even so, some birds still came in to the feeder! Also, by now, I would think that they’ve finished the work, I just hope that whatever they are doing doesn’t destroy more habitat.

On a related note, if you are in to hiking up a somewhat slippery road/trail, you could always explore the Old Cinchona area. This is across the street from the main cafe and up a steep driveway. Head up there and walking the old roads can be very birdy. Head to the left and uphill and you could find various uncommon middle elevation birds, maybe even Red-fronted Parrotlet.

Ornate Hawk-Eagle and Bicolored Hawk

birding Costa Rica — A picture of another Bicolored Hawk in the rain, this one from the Arenal area.

Over in the San Rafael de Varablanca area, on the La Legua road, clear skies produced a calling Ornate Hawk-Eagle. It was a distant one and did not come in to my whistling response (sometimes they do) but adult hawk-eagle a la ornatus it was. This is a good area for this species, especially on sunny days.

It’s also good for other raptors, yesterday morning, we had a juvenile Bicolored Hawk perched in the rain. It was a treat to get prolonged looks at that uncommon bird!

Good Birds at Arenal Observatory Lodge

I haven’t been birding there lately and I bet the weather is rough but, folks have also been seeing some good stuff over that way. Birders have also been treated to a subadult Ornate Hawk-Eagle and some lucky birders even got looks at a ground-cuckoo on the Waterfall Trail!

Yellow-eared Toucanet has also been seen along with lots of other nice birdies.

Rain and more rain

The cold fronts have brought constant rain to the highlands and parts of the Caribbean lowlands. Although not exactly a highlight, rain can have its birding benefits, as long as it doesn’t pour like crazy.

For example, in lightish rain, I think raptors sometimes perch more in the open (that’s not the first time I’ve seen Bicolored Hawk do that), and other birds can forage much lower and closer. Up on Poas and Varablanca, although the birding was shelter and umbrella-worthy, the bird activity was in high gear.

Bright Collared Redstarts flitted close by, Ruddy Treerunners were running up trunks, Costa Rican Warblers flitted, a quetzal called, and there was a mess of Mountain Thrushes.

Collared Redstarts are a birder’s Turkish Delight.

Route 32 has been closed = more traffic on Route 126

Ok, so this isn’t exactly a highlight but it’s still good to know. The main road from San Jose to Guapiles and Limon has been closed for several days and could still be closed in subsequent days. Hopefully not but it’s best to be aware of that possibility.

You can still drive on 126 and go past Cinchona but you won’t be the only vehicle on the road. You could run into traffic jams, especially by the Peace Waterfall. Hopefully, the main route will open back up and stay that way but, there could easily still be issues for the next few days.

There’s always lots more to say about a lot more birds but these are the ones that come to mind at the moment. On a bright note, it looks like we probably won’t have any more strong cold fronts (fingers crossed), so that should help with getting around and seeing some sunshine, at least on the Caribbean slope.

To learn more about the sites mentioned above and hundreds of other birding spots in Costa Rica, support this blog by purchasing my 900 plus page ebook, “How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica”. Happy birding, I hope to see you here!

Cold Front Birding in Costa Rica

Costa Rica is decidedly tropical. Ain’t no winter going on here and yet, recently, ice and snow touched the high parts of this birdy nation. Not exactly flurries, no playing snow king of the mountain in plowed parking lots or scraping windshields but, there was some freezing weather in certain parts places. Those would be uplifted and volcanic grown spots like 12,000 foot Chirripo Mountain and 11,000 foot Irazu Volcano.

Yeah, that infamous polar vortex up north stretched its icy fingers into Central America and I won’t be shaking its subzero hand. I’ll take a pass on birding those cold places for the moment, will at least wait until Irazu gets back to its 50 and 60 degree temps before I do any Unspotted Saw-whet Owl searching.

That’s way up in the highest parts of Costa Rica but what about the rest of the country? Can you still go birding? Of course you can! The birds aren’t going anywhere, here’s what else this and similar cold fronts bring and what to expect for birding.

Dry season? Umm…not exactly

Cold fronts like these long freezing fingers are a reminder that the “dry season” refers to the Pacific slope. In the mountains and on the other side of the country, the part where rivers flow to the Caribbean, you’ll need your umbrella. You might also need a poncho and rubber boots and a whole lot of dessicant packets for your optics because, on the Caribbean side, a cold front is a wet front.

Yes, the temps drop a bit and that is some nice respite from heat and humidity but, it’ll rain, and probably a lot. Don’t expect predictable rain either, more like annoying, light misting rain that morphs into serious heavy downpouts before eventually going back to light rain again and so on.

We’re talking wet birding but, we’re not talking no birding. Find shelter and watch from there, keep watching and waiting for the rain to slow or stop. When that happens, bird activity will jump, be ready for a wealth of avian moves.

At least wet weather sometimes encourages Sunbitterns to forage in the open!

Road closures

One unwanted side effect of heavy rains are road closures. They usually happen in mountainous areas and might not occur at all but you’d be wise to keep checking Waze. That especially goes for any travel on Route 32. The heavy rains and steep slopes on this important highway make it the road mostly likely to be closed, at least during serious cold fronts.

Other roads can close too, and some minor ones might even flood. Just be aware of where you are going, alternate routes, and not driving through flooded areas and you’ll be fine.

On a related note, the main road to Poas seems to be closed. A bridge is being replaced and might not be ready for another month or two. Hopefully, there will be a temporary bridge in place but I’m not sure of the current situation.

Windy weather

The other side effect of a cold front in Costa Rica is the wind. I’m happy to say that the wind has calmed down for the moment, hopefully it will still stay that way. When the cold front hits, it throws a constant blast of windy weather into the Central Valley and Guanacaste.

The birding becomes very challenging because the birds don’t want to deal with that wind any more than we do. To see them, you’ll have to find sheltered spots and wait for the wind to die down.

Odd birds? Any country firsts?

One exciting possibility of a cold front is it bringing some poor, lost birds to the playing field. Maybe, maybe not but given the unusual and severe push of cold weather from the north, I think it’s worth looking for them.

I would guess that the cold front might bring some ducks, gulls, or other waterbirds to Costa Rica. Other species to watch for are sparrows and other songbirds that typically winter further north. Those and wanderers like waxwings.

It will be interesting to see what local birders find these days! I’ll be looking too. If you happen to see some crazy sparrow or other odd looking bird, please eBird or Facebook it or do whatever it takes to get the word out.

Altitudinal migration

Most of all, this is how cold fronts affect birds in Costa Rica. Various species, especially frugivores, tend to migrate to lower elevations. Don’t be surprised if you see typical middle elevation birds like Silver-throated Tanagers way down in the lowlands at La Selva. There might also be White-ruffed Manakins, Black-faced Solitaires, and Black-thighed Grosbeaks.

Other birds are possible too, even things like Yellow-eared Toucanet or rare Lovely Cotingas. Keep those birds in mind when birding foothill and lowland sites right now!

Although I don’t look forward to birding in any rain, I am psyched about birding in lower elevations and looking for rarities. This cold front has got to have several birds on the move!