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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

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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!

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Birding Costa Rica birding news

Best Costa Rica Birds of 2025

Its the end of the year, do you know where your lifers are? How about best birds of the year? In birding terms, “best” is a personal issue and can mean anything from a fave feeder species (which, in Costa Rica, could be a toucan) to your personal rarest bird of the year, a bird that plucked your emotional strings orm whatever species you feel like naming “the best”.

These past 12 months, we’ve had some nice birds in Costa Rica, truth is, we always do. Thinking about it, birding in Costa Rica is sort of like seeing “best birds” every day, especially if its your first trip.

This is a place of Resplendent Quetzals, of macaws and toucans and big purple hummingbirds. A place where tropical trees can buzz and shake with mixed flock movements. Check those rocky rivers and you might see a Sunbittern, keep an eye on the sky and an Ornate Hawk-Eagle may soar into view. Costa Rica is a place of birding dreams, best birds are the norm.

Even so, some birds stand out from this past year, at least for me. Here’s some of the very best from birding in Costa Rica, 2025.

Sandhill Crane

We’ve seen lots of good birds this year but it’s hard to beat a country first. Not just a first either but a barely expected one, a species less on the mind than Altamira Oriole, Gadwall, White-tailed Trogon, or other species that live much closer to our borders.

Cranes migrate far, their wings can easily carry them further but this one barely reaches central Mexico. I’m grateful it flew to Costa Rica, more so that so many local birders could see it too.

Yellow-billed Tern

Another major mega for Costa Rica! With just two previous records, both from Cano Negro, the local birding community was pleased indeed when a Yellow-billed Tern spent some time in Guanacaste.

We got to see this South American bird too and thus add an excellent bird to our Costa Rica lists.

Short-eared Owl

Major major bird for Costa Rica, the last Short-eared Owl was one captured and released by folks in Cartago two or three years ago. Before then, it was maybe a century before then?

Last month, while surveying birds in Barra del Colorado with some other birders, local birder and national park guard Manuel Campbell saw one on the beach! It flew, they got definitive pictures and documented one of the top bird sightings of the year.

It wasn’t refound but gives hope that maybe the same or anothe rbird might be somewhere out there in the wide fields of Guanacaste? It’s be worth looking for this harrier-owl and the time would be now.

Aplomado Falcon

A few of these top tropical falcons make it to Costa Rica every year. However, most are one day wonders or never found in the first place. Cool thing about this bird is that it’s been hunting the same area for a while now. Many local birders have seen it, I hope it stays long enough to add it to the 2026 year list.

Galapagos Petrel

All pelagic birds are special but this critically endangered species ups the ante. One was seen during pelagic birding somwhere between the coast and Cocos Island. It’s a reminder of how good the pelagic birding can be on that 36 hour passage and that other megas are probably out there, waiting to be found (ie. Black-winged Petrel, Cook’s Petrel, and some other goodies I included on the Costa Rica Birds Field Guide app as possibilities).

Crested Eagle

In Costa Rica, this near Harpy is both a mystery and a mega. Mystery because we have no idea how many still live here, and mega because it’s hard to see no matter where you look for it (it also gets points for being a big raptor).

This past year, at least one was seen in forest near the Pitilla Station and another may have been seen somewhere else. The sighting at Pitilla is a first for that species in that area but, given the extensive forested habitat, is somewhat unsurprising. Even so, it’s fantastic to know that the species still occurs in that area. Could there be a breeding pair or two? Let’s hope so.

Bare-necked Umbrellabird

This crow-like cotinga is resident and regular but, it’s never easy! It’s also endangered and, like the Crested Eagle, we actually have no real count of its overall population. Using what little we know about the bird to roughly extrapolate, I would guess that 200 might live in Costa Rica. Who knows but I do know that very few are seen in appropriate habitat, and that they lack a lot of wintering habitat.

I was very pleased to start January birding with a male seen with my friend and top Irish birding guide Niall Keough at Centro Manu, see another male on the road to Manuel Brenes with friend and owner of Avocet Birding Courses, Cameron Cox and his wonderful tour group from Utah, and show a Swedish couple a young male at Centro Manu earlier this month.

Slaty Finch

Not as fancy as the birds mentioned above but still one of the best! This resident species is probably just as hard to see as an umbrellabird. It’s skulky, seems decidedly uncommon, and mostly prone to revealing itself at bamboo seeding events.

That said, I did hear one singing on Irazu last week, the Nochebuena area seems to be somewhat good for them (that means it might be recorded on 20% of trips to that area!). Lately, folks have also been seeing two or three on the Roble Trail at Savegre.

Those are the notable, “best” birds that come to mind although I’m sure there’s lots more. I’m tempted to call the crane my best bird of 2025 but any other bird shared with fellow birders, especially folks I have guided, are also the best. I hope to see you in 2026, wishing you happy birding and and abundance of health and happiness!

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bird finding in Costa Rica Birding Costa Rica birding news

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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Birding Costa Rica birding news

Costa Rica Birding News, April, 2025

April is just around the corner and with it comes one of Costa Rica’s biggest avian waves; a massive movement of birds that starts in South America and flows all the way to Canada. On the way, the birds ebb through Costa Rica, sometimes in trickles, other times in fantastic streams and rushes. These spring migrants include many of the birds that winter in South America, warblers, tanagers, cuckoos, flycatchers, and others that make their home in tropical forests shared by utterly fantastic avian diversity.

After having spent the winter in dry forest and mangroves in northern South America, like flying mangos, flocks of Prothonotary Warblers brighten the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica. Keep watching and you’ll also see Tennessee Warblers, plenty of Blackburnians, and smaller numbers of Ceruleans. Flocks of Eastern Kingbirds join millions of Purple Martins, and Barn, Bank, and Cliff Swallows heading north while groups of Baltimore Orioles and Scarlet and Summer Tanagers decorate the trees.

I hope to see these soon.

We don’t get the cornucopia of songbirds that sing in Central Park but the show’s still pretty darn good. Highlights also include rivers of raptors, and a fine host of resident birds.

Visit Costa Rica soon and you’ll have a chance to witness some of this bi-annual birdiness. Here are some other things to be aware of.

Poas National Park is Closed Indefinitely

You’ll probably have to go elsewhere for Fiery-throated Hummingbird.

First and foremost, if you plan on visiting Poas, you can’t and probably won’t be able to for some time. After volcanic activity picked up these past few weeks, the national park has been closed indefinitely. I’m not sure if they also closed part of the main road there but that wouldn’t be surprising, that’s what happened the last time Poas threw rocks out of its crater.

Lately, the volcano has been shooting up plumes of ash, vapor, and gases, and vulcanologists have also warned that it could have even more explosive eruptions. In the meantime, I’m not even checking to see if the main road is open up to the park gate. It just seems too risky!

If you have bought tickets for Poas, you can get a refund by visiting the same government website where you purchased them.

No More Feeders at La Georgina

Back before feeders were demonized in Costa Rica, this high elevation site offered close views of Fiery-throated and other high elevation hummingbirds at close range. Although you can still see smaller numbers in their garden, it’s nothing like the fantastic, tourist magnet displays we used to see.

I’m not sure when they took their feeders down but I can say that none were there in late February and probably won’t be up again any time soon. I suspect that authorities required or pressured the place to remove them because that’s how they interpreted the law and/or believe that such feeders keep hummingbirds from pollinating local plants.

Yes, seriously. There’s no real basis and it’s a shame but at least they haven’t been making as many businesses take down feeders lately.

The ones at La Georgina were likely removed some time ago but I figured I would mention that here as a reminder especially because I probably mention that they have feeders in my Costa Rica bird finding book and site guide.

Excellent Photo Opportunities at Hotel de Campo, Cano Negro

On another, more accessible note, the Hotel de Campo at Cano Negro has upped their game for bird photography. The bird photo action in their large gardens has always been impressive but recent improvements kick things up a notch.

The hotel now also offers a covered bird photography area that has seating and excellent views of a water feature as well as natural perches that attract a variety of species. Expect lots of quality captures from this site soon! That’s in addition to boat tours in the wildlife refuge that give good chances at Sungrebe, a host of beautiful kingfishers, and lots of other birds.

Excellent Urban Birding in Los Chiles

The excellence in birding continues near Cano Negro at Los Chiles. After a few bouts of quality birding in this northern town, I’m tempted to call it the best urban birding in Costa Rica. Granted, Los Chiles is small and isn’t exactly surrounded by concrete but it’s still a town, one with a heck of a lot of birds.

On a recent trip, in addition to a Great Potoo that serenaded us during dinner, we also had fantastic views of flyover Jabirus, Black-collared Hawks, a fine stream of river raptor Swainson’s Hawks, Broad-wingeds, and TVs, and other species, right from the parking lot of our small hotel, the CyC Cabinas.

birding Costa Rica

After a short drive to the main river dock, two hours of morning birding consisted of constant, fantastic birding activity. Dozens of parrots and parakeets of 7 species perched in adjacent trees and flew overhead, kingfishers zipped by (including at least one American Pygmy Kingfisher), Green Ibis posed, Spot-breasted Wren sang, woodpeckers perched in perfect light, and so on and so on. This bonanza of birds mirrored my experience there in October, one that also included an excellent array of birds in a short period of time.

Not to mention, Los Chiles is also very close to the wetland hotspot known as Medio Queso.

Nice Birds on the San Rafael Varablanca Road

Heading up to higher elevations, a recent morning trip to the San Rafael (or La Legua) road turned up several quality species. Although we only had one brief view of a quetzal (I usually see more), we had great looks at Great Black Hawk, Northern Emerald Toucanet, several Prong-billed Barbets, various hummingbirds including Coppery-headed Emeralds (they seemed to have moved upslope), and other expected upper middle elevation birds.

Best of all, we heard a Three-wattled Bellbird, likely a young male, calling from forest where the asphalt ends. Each year, a few bellbirds are reported from this area; likely a remnant of a much larger historical population that probably declined in synch with forest destruction in their Central Valley wintering grounds.

Check out the eBird list: eBird Checklist – 29 Mar 2025 – san rafael road – 69 species

Shorebirds Coming Soon

Being on the cusp of April also means that shorebirds will be here soon. Actually, they already are and lots of them but April seems to be the height of shorebird migration and a good time to find less common species like American Golden Plover and Hudsonian Godwit.

In April, I wish I could go shorebirding every day because that would increase my chances of finding much rarer species that surely occasionally pass through Costa Rica. If you are shorebirding in Costa Rica and see any funny looking shorebirds, any suspected Sharp-taileds or weird looking stints, please take pictures and ask questions later!

Cabanis’s Ground-Sparrow Habitat Destroyed in Heredia

On a sad note, part of the Central Valley around Heredia continue to lose green space. It’s no surprise but it’s still shocking and tragic. Around Heredia, the demand for housing is so high, it seems to only be a matter of time before every tree and last speck of vegetation on most coffee farms is obliterated. They do it to turn former farms and other green space into treeless housing areas decorated with overpriced concrete boxes.

Yesterday, while driving past on a street where a rare shaded coffee area has hosted many migrants, Cabanis’s Ground-Sparrows, and other birds, I was greeted with a large area shorn of trees. As befitted the destruction, smoke was in the air and no birds were present. No more singing Yellow-green Vireos, no Brown Jays, no wintering birds or migrants. How many ground-sparrows were essentially eliminated? A bird for which we have no accurate population estimate but one that is not commonly seen in most of its extremely restricted range? I have seen similar destruction on the road above Finca Rosa Blanca (who thankfully protect a lot of important habitat), and at various other sites.

I took this picture where its habitat was wiped out.
Before this was turned into smoking ruins.
Yet another vital piece of urban green space destroyed, perhaps furthering a species towards extinction.

I fear the same thing will keep happening to most of the last green spots in much of the Central Valley, everywhere from between Curridabat to Alajuela. What this means for visiting birders is that even though you see eBird sightings of Cabanis’s Ground-Sparrow around Heredia, know that most of those sites are under threat. Go and look for the bird and it might be there or, you might visit and find smoking vegetation or a bunch of concrete houses.

I’m sorry to end that news on a low note but I won’t shy away from reality. On a higher note, there’s still lots of great birding waiting for you in Costa Rica. I hope to see you here!

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Birding Costa Rica birding news

March Birding in Costa Rica- Expectations and Target Birds

You might see a Three-wattled Bellbird around there.

March is a major birding month in Costa Rica. Up in this birdy nation, every month is a good month but the third month never fails to rock. We got an excellent mix of cool resident birds, wintering species, and a few of the first migrants. Birds are also starting to sing more, and the weather is nice too.

Birding Costa Rica in March? Here’s some of what to expect and target species.

Very little rain

Normally, the dry season starts back in December. This winter, the rains barely tapered off in January and we still got unheard showers in February. By March, the height of the dry season is usually in full force but what about this year? Anything’s possible but it looks like this March is going to stay dry.

That’ll make travel and birding easier but midday birding will probably be a challenge. Get up and out there early, by 6 at the latest!

Other birders

March being a high time for birding in Costa Rica, expect to run into a fair number of birders, especially at hotspots like La Selva, Carara, Monteverde, and Arenal.

It’s all good, the more birders out there the better! Hopefully those extra eyes will find a ground-cuckoo, Crested Eagle, and Sharpbills.

Flocks of American Swallow-tailed Kites

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More birders aren’t the only aspect of March birding in Costa Rica. Tis also the season for migrating Swallow-tailed Kites. Good numbers are already here and we can expect more passing through.

This means that if you think you see a hundred Swallow-tailed Kites soaring together, you aren’t hallucinating. Enjoy the elegance defined and see if you can pick out some Mississippi Kites.

Shorebirds on the move

Shorebirds have also started to move. More pass through these lands in April but we do have migration happening! There be rare birds out there too. A reminder came in the form of two American Avocets seen at the Punta Morales salt ponds this past week, and a Hudsonian Godwit from Nicaragua.

If you see any shorebirds that don’t seem to fit, that seem subtle out of places, take pictures and post them! Maybe you’ll find Costa Rica’s first Little or Red-necked Stint, Siberian Sand-Plover, or Bar-tailed Godwit. Other birdies are possible too, I bet all have landed here once in a great while.

Quetzal songs

Resplendent Quetzals can sing throughout the year but they may sing more in February and March. I say “sing”, and that is technically true but, this ain’t no Nightingale melody.

Quetzal vocalizations are more like mellow whistles, cackles, and weird barks. In any case, visit Costa Rica now and you’ll probably hear them. That’s good because it also helps you find and see this magnificent bird!

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Three-wattled Bellbirds!

Another sonorous March bird is one of Costa Rica’s major targets; the Three-wattled Bellbird. Visit now and you have an excellent chance of seeing this wild and crazy cotinga (aren’t they all?). You still have to go to the right places but, the males will be calling.

The best way to see them is to go with local birders who have them tracked down, or by visiting Monteverde, Las Tablas, Manuel Brenes Road, or a few other spots. Even then, you’ll have to be patient to locate a visible calling male.

Great birding in the usual places

There’s also the usual, fun birding at any number of sites. Go birding in places with good habitat and you’ll see a lot! You’ll also see quite a bit in various hotel gardens but, many of those birds will be common edge species. To see more, visit sites with mature forest at different elevations and on both sides of the mountains (as well as a marsh or two).

ornate hawk eagle

Hit the best spots and you could find yourself parsing out a mixed flock rushing through the canopy, watching high flying hawk-eagles, glimpsing quail-doves, and encountering ant swarms. If you are wondering where to go birding in Costa Rica, while eBird does give some good ideas, always remember that birds are where the habitat is.

In my bird finding guide for Costa Rica, I provide a local perspective for a high percentage of those sites (along with identification and tips to find birds in Neotropical habitats). It’s especially helpful for birders doing Costa Rica on their own but birders on tours might like it too.

Happy birding, I hope to see you here!

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Birding Costa Rica birding news

Costa Rica Birding News- December, 2024

Costa Rican Pygmy-Owl from the side.

Are you going birding in Costa Rica? If you’ve never been, I hope you visit soon. If you’ve already been, you already know what to expect and I also hope you visit soon. No time to wait to bring the binos to this birdy place!

Whether your birding time in Costa Rica is nigh or in a few months, this information may help:

The wet season was rough but it seems over

We’re on the cusp of the high season and the birds are happening. That’s not really news, birds are always happening in Costa Rica but since some folks wonder if you can see birds in Costa Rica at other times of the year, well…yes you can.

Lots.

However, if you were birding Costa Rica this past November, you would have been watching them with an umbrella. Maybe a boat too. The rains were torrential, several lowland areas experienced flooding, and, tragically, a number of people lost homes and belongings. It was so bad, I’m guessing that quite a few roads in lowland areas now have large holes and other damage.

The good news is that the rains have ended, at least for the Pacific slope. It’ll probably still be pouring in the mountains and on the Caribbean slope but that’s normal from now to February. Be ready for it but you should also still be ready to see lots of birds.

Highland birds down low

In Costa Rica, we get a lot of altitudinal migration, especially during the winter months. These days, there’s been quite a few birds lower then usual, even species like Northern Emerald Toucanet. It makes me wonder what choice birds might be frequenting the foothill rainforests at Quebrada Gonzalez? I’m eager to check it out!

If you are birding lowland areas, give any fruiting trees a good check. There could be a rare Lovely Cotinga or two in the Sarapiqui region along with other species more typical of middle elevations.

Lowland owls high

Over the past ten years or so, owls more typically associated with warm, tropical forests have been appearing at much higher elevations. Spectacled Owl and Black-and-white Owl have been found as high as Irazu and the Dota Valley, and Middle American Screech-Owl has occurred at the Observatory Lodge.

Who knows what sort of effects these range expansions might have on Bare-shanked Screech-Owls and various other highland biota? In the meantime, don’t be surprised if you find these large owls at high elevations and if so, please eBird them!

Redhead in Guanacaste, Snowy Plover in Tarcoles, what else is out there?

Tis the season for rare birds too, at least for birders who reside in Costa Rica. Recently, a male Redhead was found at Hacienda Vieja Wetlands in Guanacaste, and a Snowy Plover was seen at the Tarcoles River mouth.

The Redhead is a major rarity in Costa Rica. I hope it’s a sign of other odd ducks on the horizon (might I wish for a country first Gadwall?). We’ll know soon enough as more local birders look for them.

The Snowy Plover is rare but much more regular than the Redhead. It has appeared at the Tarcoles River on other occasions but this year, it’s a lot more difficult to see. The river mouth has moved quite a bit and sadly, the best spots are only accessible by boat. Some good areas can also be viewed from near the end of the Guacalillo Road but it’s kind of a long and rather desolate drive.

With luck, that plover and other good birds will appear on the beach at Tarcoles, especially at the mouth of the small Tarcolitos River (more like a stream easily accessed from Tarcoles).

There have also been a scattering of sightings of rare warblers for Costa Rica and I’m sure there’s some other very rare stuff that has touched down on these birdy shores. I hope to find some.

A whole lot of traffic going on

Whether visiting Costa Rica now or soon, traffic is the current reality. All we can do is know when and where it’s worst and avoid those situations. Anywhere in the Central Valley is bad; if you are on the road from 6 to 9 and from 4 to 6, it won’t be pretty.

It’s also gotten steadily worse in other places, especially parts of the Pacific, mostly on roads to and from beach areas. If you can, do not drive up to the Central Valley on Sunday afternoon. If so, you’ll be wasting time in an ongoing, slow-moving parking lot. The same goes for driving down to the Pacific on Friday.

Bringing US Dollars? Make sure the bills are in perfect condition

Yes, the currency in Costa Rica is the Colon but pretty much all places will also accept US dollars. However, they might not give the best exchange rate and, now, more places probably won’t accept bills unless they are in perfect condition.

That’s sort of been happening for a while now but expect it to get worse. Recently, when I tried to deposit US bills into my bank account, the teller handed several right back to me! These bills weren’t dirty or defaced or anything, all they had were minute tears and one had a bit of writing on it. Nope, wouldn’t accept them. So, I don’t know if other banks act the same or how stores will act but I never had my bank refuse bills before.

I suspect it’s tied to announcements that big stores and banks can no longer accept damaged bills in the USA but whatever the reason, if you do have to bring dollars to Costa Rica, make sure they are in perfect shape. Of course, the easiest solution is paying everything with cards. That’s what locals mostly do, so much so, it’s gotten to the point where small places usually lack change.

The Costa Rica Birds Field Guide App is updated

Unspotted Saw-whet Owl Costa Rica bird app

Have you noticed that eBird now uses “Northern House Wren”, “American Barn Owl” and that Cooper’s Hawk has lost its Accipiter status? There’s been a bunch of taxonomic changes happening and several birds in Costa Rica have been affected. One of the happy changes was splitting Brown Booby into two species. See one of the Pacific? That’s a Cocos Booby my friend! Scan one from a Caribbean shore? You got Brown Booby on your Costa Rica list!

To keep up with those changes, in November, I helped update the Costa Rica Birds Field Guide app. In addition to new bird names, the app also has a bunch more photos including several birds in flight, vocalizations for at least 870 species, some other edits, and now includes 1021 species and subspecies. It’s got a bunch more than the actual bird list because I wanted to also include various species that could show up in Costa Rica.

As always, I could say a lot more about the birding in Costa Rica. I’ll just mention that there’s always lots of birds to see, most are accessible, and get ready to have fun because this country is like a birding and bio wonderland! I hope to see you here!

To learn more about birding places mentioned in this post and hundreds of other sites to see birds in Costa Rica, support this blog by purchasing my 900 plus page ebook, “How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica”.