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Birding in Southeastern Costa Rica- Highlights, Observations, and Recommendations

Costa Rica may be state-sized but it’s still got regions! What I mean is that this small nation has distinct areas with their own ecological and cultural flavors. That’s a fine bonus for birding, especially with regions being so close to each other.

After watching Great Green Macaws flap through warm humid airs of the Caribbean lowlands, you can head uphill and get refreshed with tanagers, Collared Trogons, and more in the cool highlands.

Collared Trogon

Go to the southeastern part of Costa Rica and you might get your bird groove on with Purple-throated Fruitcrows, Snowy Cotingas, and a bunch of toucans. Oh, and there’s that ocean too with its Caribbean waters, and a local culture strongly influenced by the descendants of Jamaican settlers.

I like it. So do lots of other locals who visit the beaches south of Limon every weekend. You might run into more people than expected but the birding’s still exciting, there’s still very good reasons to make the trip, especially in October.

These were some of our reasons and highlights for making the trip this past weekend.

Costa Rica’s First American Flamingo

Whoah! With all of those flamingos flying as far as Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, it was about time one showed in Costa Rica! Heck, we aren’t all that far from flamingo colonies in northern Colombia either. Only thing is, those birds don’t usually fly this way. They likely veer to more appropriate places, sites better suited to their hyper haline tastes.

I can’t blame the cool pink birds; they can’t exactly thrive away from shallow waters and salt pans. In Costa Rica, although we do have a bunch of tropical habitats, we don’t have much for flamingos.

Even so, they may visit on rare occasions; some fishermen claim to have seen flamingos now and then. I bet some have but none have been officially documented, at least not until the past week!

First seen on a beach near Moin, the pink star bird was refound by local birders at a roadside estuary south of Limon. When passing through the area, I suppose sort of like a flamingo, I also stop at the Estero Negro and other estuaries. These spots are no strangers to rare birds and often host something of feathered interest.

I have also figured they would to be good spots to get super lucky with a flamingo but even then, my visions were of a few birds flying by, out over the ocean. They would be distant flamingos, ones where you would exclaim in triumphant disbelief, “Holy crap! Flamingoes!! There they go….” The birds stopping and staying for a while was too much for my flamingo dreams.

Thankfully, this pink mega proved my visions wrong. It has done nothing but stay in the estuary and casually dip its serpentine neck to “baleen” feed in the shallow waters. Is it truly a wild bird or one that escaped confinement? I’m not sure but either way, Costa Rica’s first flamingo has been a fantastic automatic ambassador for birding. It’s got an easy job too; just stand around, do some foraging, and please stay alive.

The bird has also been impossible to miss. On Friday morning, when our small contingent from the Birding Club of Costa Rica arrived, it was the first thing we saw and we were very pleased to enjoy prolonged, pink-heavy views. Some other folks also watched it that Friday morning but that was nothing like the crowds on Sunday.

In typical people gathering fashion, someone had set up a food stall like they had been selling grilled chicken since the year 2000. Cars were stacked up on each side of the road, people were talking and laughing…I’m surprised no one cranked up some reggae or other loud, dance inspiring tunes. I bet someone did later on.

I mean, this flamingo shindig was turning into a real party and best of all, every person was present to see the bird (expect the vendors). Some birders were there but there were waaay more non-birders and that’s the best thing. Don’t get me wrong, I hope for all birders to see every bird but I also wish that every non-birder would convert and become bonafide birders.

Future birders?

If you’re a non-birder reading this, don’t worry, you don’t necessarily have to run out the door to see a soaring hawk, you don’t need to get a floppy hat or decorate with bird decor. You just need to see beauty in birds and have some desire or inkling to watch them in your backyard or further afield.

That’s all I’m asking, hopefully that flamingo did some natural marketing magic. It certainly looked magical.

Wattled Jacana

Yep, there was another nice tropical bird in the area! The Wattled Jacana isn’t as wild and crazy as a flamingo but it’s still a rare bird for Costa Rica. With exact instructions in digital hand, we made the 60 minute drive from Cahuita to near Gandoca, way close to the border.

We had to wait for a bit as we stared into a small, marshy cow pasture but eventually, yes, there it was. Wattled Jacana and American Flamingo in the same day! What was next? Crowned Slaty-Flycatcher? Perhaps an extra large raptor. One can avian dream after all…

Many thanks to the local birders who had found the bird. They showed us the exact spot and one even let us into his mom’s backyard for better views! He should get a medal or subscription or some other just reward.

Thousands of Swallows, Kingbirds, and Raptors (oh my!)

Flamingoes weren’t the only reason for our weekend excursion. Oh no, we were there for other birds too! You can’t go wrong with October in southeastern Costa Rica.

Migrants galore, sunnier weather than other months, and a nice big selection of resident species; I’ll take it!

I really love the swallow migration. It’s simply out of hand bird migration madness. Go birding there in October and you’ll see a near constant movement of swallows; mostly Barn, Cliff, and Bank. There’s other birds too, especially those swallow look-alikes, the Eastern Kingbird. Oh yes, they do look sort of like swallows, especially when flocks of hundreds mix and aerial mingle with the waves of swallows flying overhead.

On Sunday morning, to get an estimate of numbers, I counted swallows and kingbirds from one spot for five minutes. Extrapolating from that, during two hours, I figured at least 1,600 Eastern Kingbirds flew over along with at least 2,000 bank Swallows, and 6,000 each of Cliffs and Barns.

And honestly, those numbers are very conservative, I bet there were more. That only makes sense, the majority of the North American population of these species probably fly through Costa Rica.

Other migrants included Dickcissels, a few Veerys on their way to and near southern Brazil (where I fear climate-induced habitat destruction will seriously affect their survival), Prothonotary Warbler and a few other warblers, and lots of Traill’s and wood-pewees.

Oh yeah, there were all those raptors too- hundreds of kettling TVs and Broad-wingeds with occasional Osprey, late Swallow-tailed Kite, Miss. Kites, Peregrines, Merlin clutching its hirundine prey, a few Purple Martins and Chimney Swifts, a few Common Nighthawks, and some other birds.

If this were the 1930s, I’d probably say, “Ain’t migration grand?”

Black-chested Jay

Black-chested Jays aren’t that common in Costa Rica. Around here, they reach the northern limit of their range, the edge of their ecological existence. It can make them a challenging bird to see, especially during a brief window of birding.

Lucky for us, our window was in one of the best places to see this cool bird; Playa Negra, Cahuita. While birding near “Bridgette’s Place” (you’ll see it in Google), we had great looks at 8 of these fine year birds.

Cahuita National Park

Southeastern Costa Rica has lots of accessible habitat but it’s still nice to be able to visit a national park. Now if they could open at 6 instead of non-birdy 8, that would really help but on your hot walk, you’ll still see some birds anyways.

We actually did fairly well in the parking lot with a few fruitcrows, good raptor migration, and some migrants. On the pleasant boardwalk trail, we also saw such nice birdies as Brown-capped Tyrannulet, Acadian Flycatcher, Checker-throated and White-flanked Antwrens, and were entertained by the constant calls of Black-crowned Antshrikes.

Peer as I did into the swampy understory, I didn’t see any Agami Herons nor Rufescent Tiger-Herons. No Uniform Crakes calling back either but it was still a nice walk. If you make that hike, keep in mind that it won’t look around. After 2.1 kilometers, you’ll reach the beach (which is nice) and then have to walk back the way you came.

Calle Cahuita

This road is one of a few roads in the area that passes through good forest. We only birded it one afternoon and it was kind of quiet but I would sure love to be there at dawn!

Our best bird was a male Snowy Cotinga but many other species are possible and we also had some tanagers, and various expected common rainforest birds. No Sulphur-rumped Tanagers but they should still be possible. Black-crowned Antpitta might also still occur, who knows what else?

Also known as the road to Casa Calateas, this is one of hundreds of sites covered in my bird finding guide to Costa Rica.

Costly

Yep, as with so many places in Costa Rica and the globe in general, prices have risen in southeastern Costa Rica. Some restaurants are pretty expensive and lodging is a far cry from much cheaper days.

However, there are lots of options, especially with Air BnB. If you are flexible and look enough, you can find some good deals. The same goes for places to eat. The Atlantida was good, especially for breakfast, and another place we really liked was the Restaurant and Bar Peruanita. We tried to go to the much acclaimed “Cahuita’s Taste Caribbean Soul Food” but they had run out of food! It’s a small place with home-cooked meals, make sure to get there early.

As always, when visiting southeastern Costa Rica, I wish we could have stayed longer. When I leave that birdy zone, I drive off knowing that there are many underbirded places to check, sites that might host Great Jacamar and other rare species. Which migrant birds arrived after I left? Was there a Gray Kingbird just around the corner? Uncommon and rare warblers skulking in the woods? Flamingo or not, there’s plenty of reasons to return.

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Costa Rica Birding Tips- Southern Caribbean Zone, 2023

Birding in Costa Rica is all sorts of birding goodness. Lots of birds can be seen in all sorts of places, even away from the usual spots. Sure, watching quetzals with a bunch of other smiling people is fine. Marveling over hummingbird action is some “dolce vita” indeed but, in Costa Rica, there’s more. Always lots more.

If you don’t mind traveling a bit further afield, the birding might even be better. That’s how I feel when I visit the southern Caribbean zone. That would be the part of Costa Rica south of Limon, the corner of the country with Jamaican influence, intriguing seas, and fantastic birding.

The southern Caribbean might be at its best during migration. In October, the bird movement in this area is constant, fierce, and mesmerizing. Visit when the birds are passing through and you get enveloped in rivers of raptors, massive fronts of Hirundines, and rivulets of songbirds.

Sometimes, you can also see kettles of Swallow-tailed Kites.

However, if you have to check out the Southern Caribbean in other months, not to worry. The birding is still good! It’s all about rainforest and avian residents that reside in huge crowns of massive trees. They can be hard to spot way up there but isn’t that what a scope is for? Use it to scan the canopy, use it to scan the ocean.

You’ll see stuff, you’ll see lots.

We just got back from a short trip to Puerto Viejo de Talamanca. Here’s some tips to improve your trip and help answer common questions.

How’s the birding in the Southern Costa Rica?

Expect a healthy selection of lowland rainforest birds. At times, I feel like the birding in on par with La Selva. It’s still a bit different but there’s a heck of a lot of birds to see and you don’t have to travel far to see them.

Most lowland species are present including lots of toucans, parrots, even Great Green Macaw (re-introduced), puffbirds, owls, Great Potoo, Green Ibis, yeah, you name it.

Some of the more regular, especially cool species include Purple-throated Fruitcrow, Snowy Cotinga, Central American Pygmy-Owl, Blue-chested Hummingbird, Great Potoo, Black-crowned Antshrike, and White-flanked Antwren.

birding Costa Rica

There aren’t as many tinamous and motmots seem hard to come by but there’s lots of everything else. Not to mention, when we factor in the lack of birding coverage, there’s probably more out there than we think. More Great Jacamars, probably rare species from Panama wandering in from time to time, and who knows what else?

Go birding in the southern Caribbean zone and you can expect a lot. You should also be ready for the unexpected; this region has some of the most exciting birding in Costa Rica.

When to go birding in southern Costa Rica

The best time to go birding in southern Costa Rica is whenever you visit. Yeah, April and October are the best months to experience some sweet fantastic tropical migration but the resident species are there all year long.

It tends to be a bit drier in September and October too but you should always be ready for rain.

How to get there (and driving expectations)

The birding sites south of Limon are reached by good roads. It’s pretty straightforward getting there but the main question is whether you want to drive yourself or have someone else do it.

From the San Jose area, the trip takes around four hours. However, construction and traffic can easily make it a five hour drive. Since the road to Limon is a major route for truck traffic, it’s hard to say what departure time is best. That said, I feel like it’s usually worse in the afternoon.

At the moment, there is still a lot of work being done on the section of the road between San Jose and Limon. All of that construction can slow things down but on this past trip, the main challenge was the lack of signage. I’m not talking signs that mention distances or places or any of that simple stuff. No, I mean good clear signage that shows you which lane to drive on.

At present, this two lane road is being converted into a four-lane highway. Much of it is already completed and in some places, there are four actual lanes! This is of course wonderful for driving and if the road is ever completed, the trip from San Jose to Limon might become an easy two hour trip.

At the moment, though, most of the highway is still two lane traffic. In many places, a pair of inviting, nice-looking lanes are present on the other side of the road. However, they aren’t officially open. You might see a few local cars using those yet to be opened lanes and, as you trudge behind some hefty truck, you will feel tempted to do the same. However, you need to just keep following that truck.

Because if you don’t, you might drive on a part of the road that ends with a drop off, odd concrete blocks, or other nasty ways to finish your trip. Fortunately, those seemingly open yet closed parts of the road are easy to avoid but other parts of the trip can generate anxiety.

At various spots, as you travel along, your lane may be detoured to the other side of the road. There’s little signage about it, there might be a hole or two, and you may wonder if you are about to drive headfirst, straight into oncoming traffic. Just follow the truck in front of you. At least we hope they know what they are doing.

Or, you might want to opt for a shuttle service. That would certainly be the easiest and most comfortable way to reach the southern Caribbean zone. The downside is not having a personal vehicle to visit birding sites around your destination. However, that can be fixed by renting anything from a bike to an electric moped or other small vehicles in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca.

If you do drive yourself, be sure to charge or fill up at the Hone Creek gas station. There aren’t any more after that one.

Oh, and one more thing. To keep stress on the downlow, don’t ever make the drive at night.

Where to go birding on the southern Caribbean slope?

One of the best things about this part of Costa Rica is easy access to good habitat with lots of birds. South of Limon, you’ll be happily surprised by the amount of mature rainforest right along the road.

Whether you stay in a hotel, small lodge, or rent a house, you’ll probably have good birding right there, on the grounds. For example, this past trip, we stayed at an Air BnB in the Playa Negra area. The habitat wasn’t ideal but there were still plenty of big trees and a few small streams and wet areas.

During casual birding, we had Great Potoo at night, and White-necked Puffbird, Scarlet-rumped Caciques, Red-lored Parrots, Green Ibis, and lots of other birds in the day.

Visit the Paradise Road or other roads that pass through more intact habitat and you’ll see more. During Friday morning guiding in that area, we had Black Hawk-Eagle, Snowy Cotinga (briefly), Pied Puffbird, Blue-headed Parrot, and more than 70 other species.

Where to stay?

There are honestly too many places to mention. Most hotels are small and lots of people rent houses and similar lodging. The best on-site birding is probably at Almonds and Corals, the few lodging options on Paradise Road, and any other place situated in good habitat.

But really, the birding will be good no matter where you stay. There won’t be as many species at places in the middle of Puerto Viejo but you will still be in easy striking distance of forest with lots of birds, even at the edge of town.

Restaurants

Once again, there are too many places to mention but I will say that there are places for various budgets. A good number of spots are not cheap but there are also several that serve really good food.

A few of my favorites are the DeGustibus bakery (a pretty good Italian bakery that also has good sandwiches and pasta), the Pecora Nera (run by a chef from Tuscany), and a great little spot called, “Take it Easy”.

Take it Easy is a roadside, outdoor spot owned by a Rasta guy in Playa Chiquita. It’s usually open from noon and if you are looking for some quality Caribbean food, oh this place will do the trick!

We had lunch there and the rice and beans with chicken was the best I have ever had (and I have sampled a lot). The chicken was juicy, just spicy enough, and had a delicious ginger zing. Even better, the spot is right on the beach and has seating on benches where you can scan the ocean or watch birds visit big trees just across the road.

Mosquitoes…

Some places in this area can have a mosquito problem, especially house rentals. Make sure to use that repellent, ask for mosquito coils, and check for and plug any holes in your mosquito bed netting.

Planning a birding trip to Costa Rica? Consider visiting the southern Caribbean zone. This region has a lot to offer and has some of the most exciting birding in Costa Rica. To learn more about places to go birding in Costa Rica and much more, support this blog by getting, “How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica”.

I hope to see you here!

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A Fine Morning of Caribbean Lowland Birding in Costa Rica

The first guide for the birds of Costa Rica was a book written by Alexander Skutch and Gary Stiles, and illustrated by Dana Gardner. Published in the late 80s, this tome helped kick off birding tourism in Costa Rica and although its use in the field has been largely replaced by The Birds of Costa Rica by Garrigues and Dean, and the Costa Rica Birds Field Guide app, it still contains a wealth of information.

More suited for reference than use in the field, in Stiles and Skutch, in addition to detailed species accounts, we also learn about different regions and habitats. One of those regions is known as the “Caribbean Lowlands”, a part of the country that actually has very little in common with islands like Cuba or Puerto Rico. However, since this eastern section of Costa Rica does border those beautiful waters, the name has stuck, at least for birding.

It would be equally justified to refer to this part of Costa Rica as the “Eastern Lowlands”, the “Eastern Lowland Rainforest”, or, in the birding realm of things, “Green Macawlandia”. “Rainforest Wonderland Birding” would also work- that pretty much sums up the general birding experience in these warm and humid lowlands. They are lots of birds to look for, including exotic species like toucans, antbirds, puffbirds, and potoos. Bring binocs to the right places and you could see well over 100 species in a day.

Yesterday morning, I was reminded of the fine birding to be had in the Caribbean Lowlands during a couple hours around Chilamate. These were some highlights:

Both Macaws and Other Parrots Too

Seeing flyby Scarlet Macaws is always a gift. Such views have become commonplace on the Pacific slope of Costa Rica, and are regular in some parts of the Caribbean Lowlands. They only get better when you see a pair of perched Critically Endangered Great Green Macaws shortly after. Witnessing the raucous calls and flights of Mealy, Red-lored, White-crowned, and Brown-hooded Parrots was also pretty nice. Throw in views of Crimson-fronted, Olive-throated, and Orange-chinned Parakeets and the morning becomes a fine birding experience indeed.

Semiplumbeous Hawk

As the name says, the bird is not entirely plumbeous. It’s not all that common either so it was sweet to scan the treeline and find one of these small rainforest raptors. Even better, the views were accompanied by the sights and sounds of 3 toucan species, tityras, Long-tailed Tyrant, and other rainforest species Bird early in the Caribbean Lowlands and there’s almost too much to look at (just how we like it)!

Semiplumbeous Hawk

Motmots

Early morning in the Caribbean Lowlands is often accompanied by the hooting of Rufous Motmots and the hoarse calls of Broad-billed Motmots. Seeing these shade-loving birds can be another matter but we eventually managed.

Green Ibis

What’s not to like about a noisy bird with prehistoric flavor? We started the day with a bird stalking the lagoons at Quinta de Sarapiqui and wrapped up our early morning birding with another one or two filling the air with their crazy calls.

Green Ibis

Woodpeckers

The tall forests of the Caribbean Lowlands can be great for woodpeckers. In addition to the expected Black-cheeked Woodpecker, we also had Rufous-winged, a high flying Cinnamon, and a pair of Pale-billed Woodpeckers that foraged on roadside posts! We didn’t look for the beautiful Chestnut-colored Woodpecker because we had already seen it the day before.

Pale-billed Woodpecker is in the house.

There were other birds too; toucans, tanagers, White-ringed Flycatchers, and more. Even better, none required any muddy rainforest hikes, nor hardly any walking at all. We had all of this wonderful lowland rainforest while birding from easy roads, hardly even leaving the car. I can’t wait to get back and explore more site around Sarapiqui. To learn more about the best birding sites in Costa Rica and enhance your birding in Costa Rica, get “How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica”. I hope to see you here.

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Recent Observations from Birding at Finca Luna Nueva

The birding is always good in Costa Rica. Go birding where at least some forest or other native habitat is present and there will be more than enough to look at. Even so, some birding sites in Costa Rica host more birds and higher biodiversity than others, some sites host birds not found in other places. Some such birding hotspots are on the regular birding tour route but many other birding sites occur well off the main beaten path.

As with any region in our one and only planet, find the best habitat and you find the highest numbers of birds. The site known as Finca Luna Nueva shows that some of the best birding can also happen on a farm. However, no mere property used for cultivation will do, because, as Luna Nueva demonstrates, the farm has to be sustainable, surrounded by mature rainforest and second growth, and, most of all, organic.

That organic part of the equation is key, of this I am sure. I might not be able to see the difference in numbers of insects between a farm that kills insect and fungal competition with poison and a farm that does not but I can see the difference in birds. The difference in birding at Finca Luna Nueva is obvious. Crested Guans and toucans are up there in the trees, parrots, parakeets, and even Scarlet Macaws (!) fly overhead, and wrens, ant-tanagers, and so much more are calling from the vegetation.

Black-throated-Wren
The Black-throated Wren is one of the morefrequently heard wren species at Finca Luna Nueva.

Recently, I once again had the fortune of birding there for a bit. These were some of the more interesting observations from my morning of birding.

Black-and-white Owl

black-and-white-owl

This big and beautiful owl might be regular at Luna Nueva but that never stops it from being a birding highlight. Weather permitting, do some pre-dawn birding and you will probably hear one. With some luck, you might also see one in the evening or just before dawn, even right by the lodge buildings. We had great views of one that continued to call well after dawn.

King Vulture Hide (!)

A new feature at Luna Nueva, the hide is easy to visit and is starting to attract a few of the local King Vultures that are often seen circiling high above the property. Sooner or later, pictures of this fancy scavenger taken from the hide will show up on Luna Nueva’s Facebook page.

Scarlet Macaws

The conservation success story for this fantastic bird in Costa Rica just keeps getting better. Over the past decade, populations of this spectacular parrot have become established in various parts of the Caribbean slope. A few years ago, some started showing up around Finca Luna Nueva and they have chosen a certain part of the property for roosting. Don’t be surprised if you see macaws on the drive in to Luna Nueva (as we did) as well as around the ecolodge. On a related note, Finca Luna Nueva seems to provide important habitat for Psittacids in general. In addition to the macaws, we had views of all 7 other expected species in just one morning of birding.

Yellow-bellied Tyrannulet

A tiny Tyrannid might not be as eye-catching as a big, red, yellow and blue parrot but this species isn’t nearly as easy to see as a macaw. It was also interesting to see this particular species at Finca Luna Nueva because the very similar Brown-capped Tyrannulet also occurs in this area. In fact, upon seeing the pair of tyrannulets near the bamboo tower, I assumed they would be Brown-cappeds. Luckily, excellent definitive views showed that they had gray crowns and were therefore, Yellow-bellied Tyrannulets.

Sightings of this species have also occurred near Arenal. It seems that, similar to the Olivaceous Piculet, forest fragmentation also also helped this species to expand south from the Cano Negro area. How will competition play out with the Brown-capped Tyrannulet? Only time and more focused birding will tell.

Hummingbirds

It was of interest to note that hummingbirds were commonly heard and seen throughout the morning. It seemed like we were constantly seeing one or more hummingbirds chasing each other around. Yes, there are lots of hummingbirds in Costa Rica but in many places, they don’t seem to be as common as they used to be. Without focusing all that much on hummingbirds, we still had Long-billed Starthroat, hermits, White-necked Jacobin, Blue-throated Goldentail, and several Rufous-taileds. I bet more species were present, I can’t help but wonder if organic farming is especially beneficial for these high energy mini-birds.

Blue-throated goldentail
Quality optics helped me appreciate the colors of this goldentail.

Healthy and Delicious Cuisine

If you enjoy quality cuisine made with fresh local ingredients, you will love dining at Finca Luna Nueva. I know I do! The food and smoothies are fantastic and locally brewed craft beer is also available. Even better, dining might also be accompanied by views of a sloth, wood-rails, toucans, and other birds.

Luna Nueva is the perfect place to blend tropical birding with delicious organic dining as well as visiting Costa Rica with family who might not watch birds as much as you do. As always, I look forward to my next visit to this special place. Happy spring birding!

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Birding Mirador Prendas

There are more places to bird in Costa Rica than Carara, Savegre, Monteverde, Rancho Naturalista, and La Selva. All of those sites are classic, great, and worth visiting but there are plenty of other places that await exploration. One of those little visited places is Mirador Prendas. Located at 200 meters elevation on the Caribbean slope near Horquetas, this site is a local tourism destination that features a tower-like structure, restaurant, some sort of accommodation, zip-lining, and other adventurous activities.

I first learned about the place when David Segura of the Tico Birder blog wrote about it. Since he saw White-fronted Nunbird, Semiplumbeous Hawk, and other nice birds, I have wanted to check the place out for some time. This past weekend, while perusing the Sarapiqui area for migrants, Susan Blank and I decided to do a detour to the Mirador Prendas area. We didn’t get there until post-dawn chorus so it wasn’t the most accurate of scouting bird surveys, BUT, we did get a taste of the area. Here is some delicious information along with some known and expected bird highlights:

  • Access is a bit of a challenge: If you go by vehicle, you will need one with four wheel drive; high clearance would also be good. Most of the road is alright but there are a few places where a small car would be stopped. Hiking or mountain biking would also work. During wet weather, the road past the place is probably inaccessible because of slippery clay that sticks to tires and tries to glide you right off the road.
  • Habitat: There is birdy second growth on parts of the road along with pastures and two rivers at the start of the road. Those rivers can be good for Fasciated Tiger-Heron and Sunbittern (we saw the heron). Closer to Prendas, there is nice rainforest near the road. The best habitat may be past Prendas, and since it’s connected to the forests of Braulio Carrillo, the area has a lot of potential.

    Good forest just uphill from Prendas.
  • Lowland species, some foothill birds possible: The habitats probably support most lowland species, and there could be foothill birds a bit further up the road. We had a fair variety of species despite spending just one morning in the area and missing the dawn chorus.

    Brown-capped Tyrannulet was one of the nice lowland birds we saw.
  • Trails: I’m not entirely sure but I think that Prendas has trails into the forest. I hope so because they could be good for antbirds, Olive-backed Quail-Dove, and who knows what else.
  • Green Ibis: We heard one near the rivers.
  • Crested Guan: Always a good sign.
  • King Vulture: Another good sign.
  • Hawk-eagles: We didn’t have any but I would expect all three in the area.
  • Tiny Hawk: We didn’t have this one either but it looks like a good area for this little raptor.
  • Night birds: Nope, we weren’t there at night but others have had Vermiculated Screech-Owl, Spectacled owl, Black and white Owl, and Great Potoo. All of the other lowland night birds should also be present.
  • Black-throated Trogon: Not an uncommon bird but always nice to see this one. We also had Gartered, and Slaty-tailed should be there too.
  • Bat Falcon: Saw a pair of those.
  • Brown-hooded Parrot: Nice looks at this one. We also had good looks at Mealy Parrot, Olive-throated Parakeet, and White-crowned Parrot.

    A Brown-hooded Parrot hanging from a branch.
  • Antbirds: Despite a sunny, late morning, we heard Chestnut-backed and Spotted Antbirds, and saw Checker-throated Antwren, and Streak-crowned Antvireo. Other ant-following birds should also be around.

    Male Streak-crowned Antvireo.
  • Black-striped Woodcreeper: A nice lowland bird to see. We also had Northern Barred, Wedge-billed, Cocoa, and Streak-headed.
  • White-ringed Flycatcher: It was nice to see some of these lowland canopy specialists.
  • Red-capped Manakin: A sign of good forest.
  • Shining Honeycreeper and Blue Dacnis: Expected but always nice to see. Although we didn’t connect with any mixed flocks, I bet some good ones occur around there.

    This is how Blue Dacnis is usually seen.

    We were surprised to see this female down in the grass!
  • Cowbirds: Not really exciting but interesting to find several Bronze, three Giants, and ten or so Shiny Cowbirds at a cattle trough. How are they affecting resident species? Especially the invasive Shiny? Actually, Bronzed should also be looked at as an invasive since it wouldn’t have occured when there was heavy forest and no cows.

    One of the many Shiny Cowbirds we saw.

To sum things up, the rough roads make birding a bit adventurous but time and effort should yield several quality species, especially further up the road.

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biodiversity Birding Costa Rica birding lodges caribbean foothills Introduction preparing for your trip

Recent Birding Highlights from Lands in Love

Over the past week, I have been pretty busy with guiding around Carara, Lands in Love, and Braulio Carrillo. Birding overall, has been kind of slow because of the unusually dry weather on the Caribbean slope (yeah, it may be the dry season but that lack of rain is supposed to be reserved for the Pacific side), but the place has still produced some nice birds.

Forest birding has been pretty slow but still turned up a Semiplumbeous Hawk. This lowland species was also been recently reported by other guests of Lands in Love.

A Semiplumbeous Hawk watches for prey from the canopy.

Despite the sunny, happy raptor flying conditions, the only other “good” raptor species has been King Vulture seen soaring from the Loveat Cafe. That said, it’s always worth watching for hawk-eagles and who knows what else.

The trails have turned up a few mixed understory flocks with Streak-crowned Antvireo, Slaty Antwren, and Buff-throated Foliage-gleaner but not too much else. If it would rain, I bet they will be really good and oh how the Caribbean slope needs rain! Since we are talking about forests that evolved with 4,000 meters per year and rain almost every day, dry conditions are not going to do anything good for the habitat.

Back to birds. Although I haven’t seen any Snowcaps at Lands in Love recently, flowering Erythrinas have been attracting Blue-throated Goldentail and should bring in some other nice hummingbirds. The best hummingbird, though, was a White-tipped Sicklebill heard and briefly seen on the beginning on the main trail. There are a lot of Heliconias in that area so keep an eye out for this mega hermit creature.

One day, antswarms were pretty good in the habitat right below the cabins. We saw a few Bicolored, at least three Ocellated, and a couple of Spotted. Other birds may have been with the ants as well but it was too difficult to look into the habitat to see them.

Spotted Antbird.

A rear view of that Spotted Antbird.

Speaking of that dense habitat, there were also one or two Sepia-capped Flycatchers, Northern Bentbill, Black-faced Anthrush, the usual Black-throated Wrens, White-collared Manakin, Red-throated Ant Tanager, and Black-headed Tody Flycatcher calling from the canopy.

As is typical for the area, we also had good looks at Tropical Parula.

Outside of the forest, we have had good looks at plenty of Black-mandibled and Keel-billed Toucans, occasional Crested Guans, oropendolas, and a good variety of edge species. One of the best were a pair of Great Curassows feeding on guava fruits at the edge of a horse pasture! It was fascinating to watch the male fly into a low guava tree to then knock the fruits to the ground. He then flew down to feed on them along with the female.

A bad hand held shot of a male Great Curassow in a Guava tree.

It was also nice to get looks at a pair of Gray necked Wood Rails hanging out at the ponds.

It’s the type of place where you always see something good. I can’t wait to go back so I can find Keel-billed Motmot, ground cuckoo, and other rarities.

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Bird Lands in Love for Some Seriously Good Birding in Costa Rica

I posted about birding at Lands in Love a few months ago and just have to do it again. It’s hard not to post about this overlooked birding destination because I am pretty sure that it’s one of the best sites in Costa Rica for birding. A short morning of recent birding there keeps me convinced that it has a lot to offer for both beginning birders, people who have been birding for decades, and even in country guides. I went there the other morning for the most part to record bird sounds, get a picture of a Lanceolated Monklet, and just scout the trails.

I knew that the monklet is there because our group found one in September and on that trip, the high quality of the habitat was also evident. In addition to lots of foothill primary rainforest, Lands in Love is also a great site for birding simply because it’s easy to get there. You don’t have to hike along some slippery trail or bounce along a horrible rough road. All it takes is a drive along the scenic paved road between San Ramon and La Fortuna to get to Lands in Love, tell them you would like to bird on the trails, pay an entrance fee ($5 was the most recent fee), and start birding. Of course you can also stay there and that’s even better because the habitat has grown up around the rooms and attracts a wide variety of edge species along with several forest birds and such wanted species as Snowcap, Crested Guan, and Crimson-collared Tanager.

Who doesn't want to see a Snowcap?

Or a Crimson-collared Tanager?

When I arrived the other day, I first stopped along the road that goes from the highway to the lodge. This road passes through various stages of second growth with older forest in gullies. Although I haven’t birded that area very much (in part because there are very few areas to park- would be much better to walk although you either go uphill or down), it has a lot of promise because the area was filled with birdsong the other morning. Among the several species that were heard were Thicket Antpittas, Black-throated Wren, Bicolored Antbird, Yellow-billed Cacique, Slaty-capped Flycatcher, and several other birds. It’s very birdy and who knows what else might turn up?

Habitat along the entrance road.

I saw a few Slaty-capped Flycatchers.

Down at the lodge itself, Crested Guans were feeding in trees next to the reception, lots of other birds were active, including a Smoky-brown Woodpecker. However, I wanted to spend most of my time in the forest so quickly made my way to the Ceiba trail to see what I could find.

The birdy reception at Lands in Love.

On another trip, I hope to spend a morning just watching from one of the overlooks to see which raptors and canopy birds turn up!

Once inside the forest, things quieted down but that’s par for the course in primary forest. The birds are there but they quiet down shortly after dawn, are way up there in the canopy, or keeping a low profile in the understory. I did see and hear some nice species but even if I hadn’t seen birds, it was a treasure to walk on trails through beautiful primary rainforest with clear streams and biodiversity all around.

One of the birds I had hoped to assess and find was Keel-billed Motmot. To do so, I used playback just to see if a bird would respond. Birds did respond but every time, it was one or two Broad-billed Motmots, a closely related species with an extremely similar call (I have yet to learn how to separate them). The Broad-billeds were pretty common but I do know that Keel-billed has been recorded there so I wonder if it’s using some slightly different habitat?

Saw probably six of these.

While looking for the motmot, I saw several Kentucky Warblers, ran into a few understory flocks with Streak-crowned Antvireos, Checker-throated Antwren, Buff-throated Foliage-gleaner, Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher, Tawny-crowned Greenlet, Sulphur-rumped Flycatcher, and Tawny-faced Gnatwren. Understory flocks like this are a sign of healthy forest and have unfortunately disappeared from much of the forests at the La Selva station. Another species that seemed to be moving with one or two of those flocks was the Song Wren.

In fact, the forest turned out to be very good for this uncommon species as I had at least 3 different groups. Three other quality rainforest species I encountered were Golden-crowned Spadebill (had 3 or 4), Spotted Antbird, and Scaly-throated Leaftosser (2 or 4 birds total). No canopy flocks but I’m sure they occur. As far as canopy birds go, I did see a tree full of quietly feeding toucans and heard Green Shrike Vireo. Oh yeah, and I did find a monklet! It was in a different place than the one from the birding club trip so may have been a different individual altogether. Try as I might, I could not find the thing though! The song was quite ventriloqual and the bird may have been singing from high overhead.

Once the monklet stopped singing, I gave up on seeing it and walked back out of the forest hoping for army ants. I actually found some near the cabins but there weren’t any birds with them! After this, I birded a bit more along the road on the way back up to the highway with nice activity of various edge and some forest species, and ate a pita with falafel and hummus at the great Loveats Cafe.

Had nice looks at a pair of Barred Antshrikes. Always nice to see this common species.

Spishing brought in this Common Tody Flycatcher.

Expect lots of these in humid forest areas.

In that short morning, I had over 100 species. Go there, you will see a lot!

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biodiversity Birding Costa Rica caribbean foothills caribbean slope Introduction

A Brief Trip Report from Guiding El Tapir and Quebrada Gonzalez One Day and the Poas Area the Next

This past weekend I had the privilege of guiding a client to foothill sites on Saturday and the Poas area the next. I hope to give you an idea of what that’s like in the following report:

Saturday

After a last minute check to make sure I am properly equipped with birding and guiding gear, I hit the road and happily drive through dark, empty streets. The lack of traffic is relaxing and an absolute contrast to most times of the day. I see a shape fly by somewhere between Heredia and Santo Domingo and figure that it was probably a Tropical Screech Owl. I get to the Hotel Bougainvillea just before 5, meet up with my client and off we go.

After slowly descending through the wonderful forests of Braulio Carrillo National Park, we pull in to El Tapir. As expected, a male Snowcap shows shortly thereafter. We see several of these dream-like bird along with such other hummingbird species as Violet-headed Hummingbird, Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, Bronze-tailed Plumeleteer, White-necked Jacobin, and Crowned Woodnymph.

Male Snowcap

A female Crowned Woodnymph.

The nearby rainforest is pretty quiet but we still see a few Black-faced Grosbeaks, Emerald Tanager, flyby Mealy Parrots, scope a few Brown-hooded Parrots, see Cinnamon Becard, and a few other birds. It’s so quiet, though, that when the clock says “7”, I decide that we might as well check a few sites down the road. We drive 5 minutes to a small, birder-friendly diner (known as Chicharroneria Patona) and have a drink while scanning the forest canopy on both sides of the road. That turns up a juvenile Gray Hawk, Black-mandibled Toucan, Collared Aracari, Black-cheeked Woodpecker, and a few other birds including an unexpected flyby Peregrine Falcon. I also notice a flowering Inga and as hoped, a few hummingbirds are coming and going from this tree. Although coquette fails to show, we do see both male and female Green Thorntails. Since it’s quiet there too and knowing that this is my client’s only chance at Caribbean slope birds, I decide to drive down the hill and into the lowlands.

Although we can’t really access any good forest, we can and do scan rainforest canopy a few hundred yards away and bird the open areas. We pick up open country flycatchers like Gray-capped, Social, and Great Kiskadee, see a pair of flyby White-crowned parrots, hear but don’t see Orange-chinned Parakeets, and see some other edge species like Common Tody Flycatcher and Clay-colored Thrush. Just as we are beginning to drive off, serendipity strikes as I spot a trio of large birds flying towards us. A moment later, I realize my hunch was correct and we watch a pair of Great Green Macaws and their offspring fly overhead! They made nary a sound and seemed out of place as they flew over a busy bus station and roadside restaurants (or perhaps those, and not the macaws, were our of place).

We then head back up hill to the Patona Diner to check the flowering Inga once again along with the forest canopy. No such luck with Crimson-collared Tanager or other targets so we head on up to Quebrada Gonzalez Ranger Station now that it’s officially open. After paying the entrance fee, we see a student group head start walking the loop trail so we cross the highway and start walking the Ceiba trail instead. Overall, things are pretty quiet (not too much of a surprise since the most active time in the forest is from 6 to 8 in the morning) but we do see Dull-mantled Antbird, Broad-billed Motmot, and run into a bit of a mixed flock that mostly stays in the canopy. It has Black and Yellow Tanager, Tawny-capped Euphonia, and a few other good birds.

A close look at a Broad-billed Motmot.

Checking the streams doesn’t turn up anything more than Buff-rumped Warbler but as we move on, we get good looks at Streak-crowned Antvireo and Checker-throated Antwren.

A female Streak-crowned Antvireo.

The overlook appears to be promising as always and we actually spot a couple non vulture raptors far off above a ridge but they just don’t come close enough for identification. One of them was either a Short-tailed Hawk or a rare Black and White Hawk Eagle but it never came close enough to say for sure!

Continuing on, we head down the trail all the way to a stream crossing on the lower part. The trail is kind of rocky on the way down but if you hit a mixed flock here, you might get excellent looks at some canopy birds. We didn’t but did see Ochre-bellied Flycatcher, brief looks at Tawny-crested Tanager and a few other species. On the way out, we got looks at one of the many Pale-vented Thrushes in the forest but not much else. We then checked the sky for King Vulture sans success and saw a hawk-eagle species in the process but as soon as I glimpsed the hawk eagle, it went into a long stoop and out of sight! I’m pretty sure it was an Ornate Hawk Eagle but only saw it at a distance for a half of a second (yeah, frustrating).

It was then off to lunch at the Patona. The only downside to that small diner is the near constant sound of blasting air breaks on trucks that rumble on by. The birding can be good though, and they like watching birds so I like to support them. Lunch was good and filling and we may have seen a few other species there at that time but I don’t recall too much from the Patona at mid day. However, as usual, one of the owners told me about the birds he had seen that day. He is a birder sans binos and I need to get him some optics because he sees everything from umbrellabird to White Hawk, Sunbittern, and who knows what else.

After lunch, we headed back to Quebrada Gonzalez to do the loop trail around 1:30 in the afternoon. Yep, that’s a quiet time but we still got great looks at Black-headed Nightingale Thrush, White-bellied Wood Wren, and a few other birds including Tawny-faced Gnatwren. Mostly, we were hoping for mixed flocks and a ground bird or two but we got rained out before we could do much else. Just before the rain, hopes were raised when I heard Bicolored Antbird but it was too far off the trail to see and we didn’t see any ants. The army ants were probably far into the forest (and who knows what else was with them!). Just luck of the draw when it comes to army ants.

Fortunately, the rain didn’t last too long and we were awarded with another male Snowcap at flowering bushes and Speckled Tanager while waiting for it to stop. We ventured back into the forest a bit after three and bird activity was picking up (and got close looks at Carmiol’s Tanager and White-throated Shrike Tanager) but the calling Striped Woodhaunters just wouldn’t come close enough to see them before we had to leave to be out of the forest before closing time at 4! Yep, closed during prime birding hours thanks to bureaucracy typically trumping common sense and good service.

White-throated Shrike Tanager

After checking the stream near the highway once more and seeing nothing, I decided that it would be worthwhile to check the Patona diner again. This turned out to be a good choice because we were awarded with nice looks at Scarlet-rumped Cacique, oropendolas, Green Honeycreeper, Crimson-collared Tanager, and a few other birds. The drive back was uneventful, had little traffic, and we got back to the Bougainvillea around 5. Although we had originally planned on going to Irazu the following day, after talking about it, we figured that Poas would be more productive, so that’s where we went.

Crimson-collared Tanager

To be continued…

Here is our list from the day:

Species seen- 81 Species heard only- 17
Cattle Egret Orange-chinned Parakeet
Black Vulture Short-billed Pigeon
Turkey Vulture Black-throated Trogon
White-tailed Kite Keel-billed Toucan
Gray Hawk Striped Woodhunter
Peregrine Falcon Russet Antshrike
White-tipped Dove Bicolored Antbird
Brown-hooded Parrot Chestnut-backed Antbird
Mealy Parrot Slaty-capped Flycatcher
White-crowned Parrot Black-headed Tody Flycatcher
Great Green Macaw Lesser Greenlet
Groove-billed Ani Stripe-breasted Wren
White-collared Swift Bay Wren
Green Hermit Band-backed Wren
Stripe-throated Hermit Louisiana Waterthrush
Snowcap Silver-throated Tanager
Bronze-tailed Plumeleteer Olive-backed Euphonia
Rufous-tailed Hummingbird
White-necked Jacobin
Violet-headed Hummingbird
Green Thorntail
Violet-crowned Woodnymph
Purple-crowned Fairy
Broad-billed Motmot
Collared Aracari
Chestnut-mandibled Toucan
Black-cheeked Woodpecker
Wedge-billed Woodcreeper
Streak-headed Woodcreeper
Streak-crowned Antvireo
Checker-throated Antwren
Dull-mantled Antbird
Common Tody-Flycatcher
Ochre-bellied Flycatcher
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Rufous Mourner
Tropical Kingbird
Great Kiskadee
Social Flycatcher
Gray-capped Flycatcher
Cinnamon Becard
House Wren
White-breasted Wood-Wren
Pale-vented Robin
Clay-colored Robin
Black-headed Nightingale Thrush
Swainson’s Thrush
Wood Thrush
Tawny-faced Gnatwren
Bananaquit
Golden-winged Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Buff-rumped Warbler
Black-and-yellow Tanager
Speckled Tanager
Emerald Tanager
Plain-colored Tanager
Golden-hooded Tanager
Olive (Carmiol’s) Tanager
White-throated Shrike-Tanager
White-shouldered Tanager
Tawny-crested Tanager
Passerini´s Tanager
Crimson-collared Tanager
Palm Tanager
Blue-gray Tanager
Green Honeycreeper
Shining Honeycreeper
Summer Tanager
Scarlet Tanager
Golden-hooded Tanager
Variable Seedeater
Orange-billed Sparrow
Black-faced Grosbeak
Black-cowled Oriole
Montezuma Oropendola
Chestnut-headed Oropendola
Scarlet-rumped Cacique
Baltimore Oriole
Tawny-capped Euphonia
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Little Known, Promising Sites for Birding in Costa Rica : The El Zota Research Station

Costa Rica is a small country and has been a popular birding destination since sometime in the 80s but it still holds a surprising number of little known, little birded sites. Given that we are talking about a place with political boundaries roughly equivalent to those of West Virginia, how can this be? Why don’t we know about the birding possibilities in every nook and cranny of this Central American nation? The answer to that can be summed up with three main reasons. In no particular order, they are:

  1. Access: Although the road situation has greatly improved in the last five years, before that time, a lot of the better hinterland birding sites were perhaps best accessed by mule or a Land Rover. Nowadays, it’s not much different for some areas and the uplifted, naturally broken young lands in this part of the world also present challenges to getting around and into various birding sites. I suppose I should also mention that most of the national parks have few trails and since they are treated more as wildlife preserves, most areas in national parks are actually off limits.
  2. Number of birders: There are birders who live in Costa Rica but we don’t have nearly as many birding people with time and resources to scout various parts of the country throughout the year. Oh, how I wish we did because then I would have more opportunities to twitch crazy vagrants and the like. That way, someone could find that Rufous-crested Coquette, a Swallow Tanager, and a Brown-chested Martin not too far from my home and I could just go on over and see them. On second thought, since I have so little free time to chase birds, I would probably be in a near constant state of frustration so never mind, don’t find those rarities without me!
  3. Tour routes: Logistics determine where tours go perhaps more so than the birds themselves and few tours leave the main birding circuits. That leaves little room for additional knowledge of other birding sites and likely explains why so many visiting birders choose the Hotel Bougainvillea as their place to stay near San Jose, and the Sarapiqui area for all of their Caribbean lowland birding rather than venturing further afield to such excellent lowland areas as Laguna del Lagarto and Maquenque, or the Puerto Viejo de Talamanca/Manazanillo area (although Sarapiqui is much closer, sorry but the birding at La Selva is truly not what it used to be).

I suppose another factor is habitat destruction in so many areas that are accessible. Don’t be fooled by the marketing put out by the tourism institute, a lot of forest in Costa Rica has been cut down and we really need to reforest in many areas to maintain the country’s biodiversity, especially in places that should host incredible lowland rainforest instead of hot cattle pastures and pineapples fields where anis and TKs play but not much else.

Looking for birds in deforested areas on the way to El Zota.

Despite that unfortunate bit of info, there is hope for both better knowledge of additional birding sites in Costa Rica and people who want to restore ecosystems and live in a sustainable fashion. Actually, everyone except maybe sociopaths would prefer to live sustainably if they could see how unsustainable land diminishes quality of life, especially for their descendents and other future people. But, in the meantime, we do have those who not only care but work hard to make a difference. El Zota Research Station is one of those very special places and I can’t recommend going there enough.

A small wetland at El Zota.

Situated just outside of Barro Colorado Wildlife Refuge (which means that it’s kind of more protected than other places even though people live there),  El Zota used to be a cattle farm. In the 1980s, this was pretty much common practice in lowland rainforest areas of Costa Rica. People didn’t know what else to do with the land so the forest was cut down, some of the wood was used, and the rest was turned into cattle pasture with some cultivations. The owner of El Zota started out like that but somewhere along the way, he decided that he would rather preserve most of his property than leave it to the cows. That decision has resulted in many hectares of former pasture being converted back into forest. In fact, I could hardly believe that one area I visited used to be pasture.

This forest used to be pasture.

We had these Honduran White Bats in that reforested area.

He also established trails through the habitats on his farm, has let many areas regenerate, and has a nice tract of primary rainforest. Oh, and he also keeps people from hunting on his property and tries to work with neighbors to hopefully convince them to regenerate forests and conserve biodiversity. The place is mostly used by student groups but birders are more than welcome and if you go there, get ready for some exciting birding, herping, and possible encounters with some choice wildlife. I base that statement on a short weekend trip to the place that I did withe the local birding club. As with any biodiverse place, one leaves feeling that he or she had barely scratched the surface. I feel that way when birding Laguna del Lagarto,  Lands in Love, or other excellent sites and El Zota was no exception. As my friend Robert Dean put it, “the place has lots of potential”. I couldn’t agree more, especially since Tapirs are fairly common there (we didn’t see one but saw lots of tracks), all cats are present including Jaguar (we found scat), and the station features habitats as varied as a big lagoon to primary rainforest and various stages of second growth. It’s the type of place that might even turn up a Harpy Eagle or other very rare lowland bird species and it’s that sort of exciting possibility that urges me to return.

Some of the Birding Club of Costa Rica birding at El Zota

So, after all of that talk, here is some truly useful information and other impressions:

Birds and wildlife

  • Lots of monkeys: We were seeing monkeys more often than most other places in Costa Rica, especially Spider Monkeys. It’s a sign of good habitat, little or no hunting, and tells you that many birds are also possible.
  • Red-throated Caracara: Ok, I couldn’t keep this one in. Although I missed this very rare bird species, other people on the trip heard at least two not too far from the lodge. Despite doing a lot of looking and listening in the same spot at other times, we did not get them again but the fact that they were recorded is still pretty big news for birding in Costa Rica.
  • Very birdy second growth: We had quite a few birds while walking along the road through the farm on our first afternoon and on our last morning. These were expected Caribbean lowland species like Black-faced Grosbeaks,

    A Back-faced Grosbeak at El Zota.

    Chestnut-colored, Cinnamon, Pale-billed, Rufous-winged, and Black-cheeked Woodpeckers,

    A Cinnamon Woodpecker.

    A Pale-billed Woodpecker.

    various flycatchers, Blue Dacnis, Plain-colored Tanager,

    We saw several Plain-colored Tanagers.

    Pied Puffbird, trogons, Collared Aracari, Black-headed Tody-Flycatcher, both motmots, heard Slaty-breasted Tinamou, and so on. It seemed like lots of other stuff could show up.

    There were a few Pied Puffbirds around.
  • Black and white Owl at the lodge and other night birds: We almost had to not look at a pair that called both nights right at the lodge cabins. Israel, the resident guide (he knows a fair number of birds but is more into herps) said he was surprised that we didn’t get the Great Potoo because it’s often present right at the lodge.
  • Quiet primary forest: The primary forest was maybe 6 kilometers from the lodge so we were brought there by truck in the early morning.

    Getting on the truck.

    Inside the forest.

    There were amazingly few birds overall but I still think the forest has serious potential because a couple of hours in primary rainforest never gives a fair idea of the birds that actually occur. We still managed to hear Great Green Macaw, White-necked Puffbird, and Black-capped Pygmy Tyrant, and see both motmots, trogons, Black-crowned Antshrike (the new name for Western Slaty Antshrike),

    Black-crowned Antshrike

    Tawny-crested and White-shouldered Tanagers, Red-capped Manakin, both motmots, and others. This was also where we had the Jaguar scat.

  • A nice big lagoon: More like a lake, they usually have a canoe so you can check it out and find things like Sungrebe and small kingfishers. Although we didn’t see those, they surely occur. We did have one or two Green Ibis for consolation.

    Nice big lagoon.
  • Raptor migration: We saw some raptors migrating through the area.
  • Frogs: Although we didn’t go look for them, I was hearing frogs all of the time so I bet it’s a good area for them!


    Not a frog but a small Fer-de-Lance. See if you can find it!
  • Enticing bird list: The bird list has such very good species as all three hawk eagles, Speckled Mourner, and Gray-headed Piprites.

    This shy Semiplumbeous Hawk is one of many resident raptors on the list.
  • Not sure about antbirds: On a low note, several antbird species are not on the bird list and we didn’t get them either. That’s not to say that they aren’t there but El Zota might not be good for Ocellated Antbird and other forest based antbird species.

Some lodge info

  • Good food: We enjoyed nice, country Tico fare and were treated to a delicious barbecue on our last night.
  • Basic but good rooms: Rooms are basic but this a research station and the place is meant to be enjoyed outdoors.

    One of the lodge cabins.
  • Low cost: The rooms might be basic but the beds are comfortable and guess how much you pay to stay there? How does $40 per person per night sound for lodging with 3 meals and access to excellent birding? Sounds like a bargain to me!
  • Four to five hours from the San Jose area: It takes around four or five hours to get there without doing any birding on the way. Four wheel drive is needed for the final 6 kilometers of road but the station can help with transportation.
  • Proximity to Barro del Colorado: Before heading home on Sunday, we checked out some of the road into Barro del Colorado. The road was good and the habitat looked even better with nice primary forest and some interesting wetlands. I sure would love to bird there early in the morning! El Zota can also arrange boat tours in the refuge. Since it’s basically a pristine wilderness area that is almost certainly visited by both large eagles, yeah, I want to do that some day.

    Good habitat on the road through Barro del Colorado.

I wonder when I will get back to El Zota. Hopefully soon but if any readers of this post happen to go, please leave a comment with a link to a trip report and or/summary of highlights so the world can know what you saw!

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The Veragua Rainforest Christmas Count (part one)

Not many birders make it down to southeastern Costa Rica. Although the towns of Puerto Viejo de Talamanca and Cahuita are major stops on the backpacker circuit, you don’t see many people walking around with roof prism, light-gathering optics. Birdwatchers are a rare sight in the southeast because they get their Caribbean lowland fix at La Selva and other sites in the Sarapiqui region. I can’t blame them for rarely straying south of Guapiles. I mean even if La Selva has lost a bunch of understory species, it still is the Caribbean lowland birding site that is closest to San Jose and fits nicely into Costa Rican birding itineraries that also include a visit to Arenal.

Since other birders rave about the Sarapiqui region in their trip reports, why go anywhere else for Caribbean lowland species? Well, not that you shouldn’t visit Sarapiqui, but just because you read about the area in trip reports doesn’t make it the only site in Costa Rica for Caribbean lowland birds. It’s good birding around there for sure but it’s not as wild as the forests near Limon. While the port city itself isn’t exactly a booming birding destination, there are several, little known sites in southeastern Costa Rica that offer up some pretty exciting birding. I have talked about the great birding around Manzanillo in the past and always yearn to get back to that birdy lowland village. This past weekend, I got the chance to check out another exciting southeastern site and similar to my feelings about Manzanillo, I can’t wait to go back!

The place is a fairly new ecotourism and research project called “The Veragua Rainforest” and if you can go birding there, by all means, do it! Since the place opened, local birders have been raving about it. Excellent lowland forest, Sulphur-rumped Tanagers, awesome mixed flocks, and big birding potential. When I got the chance to participate in this year’s Christmas count, I jumped at it like a hungry antpitta hopping after a big, juicy worm. Not only would I get the chance to check out Veragua, but I also had the opportunity to get 600 species for the year.

Plans were made, gear was packed, and on Friday morning, I drove on down with friends who were also participating in the count. Despite taking our time, stopping for coffee, running into road work, and doing a bit of birding on the way, it still took just 3 and a half hours to get there. If you drove straight to the place from San Jose and ran into little traffic, I bet it would be 2 and a half hours. As you leave the main highway to Limon, forested ridges and patchy habitat near the road can turn up a bunch of lowland species. Although the beautiful sunny morning resulted in little bird activity, on the day of the count, birds like Snowy Cotinga, Blue-headed Parrots, and Sulphur-rumped Tanagers were seen so that might give you an idea of the quality birding on the way in to Veragua.

Scene from the road to Veragua.

The road eventually went from asphalt to gravel and stones but it was still navageable by two-wheel drive vehicles. A guard greeted us upon arrival at the gate to Veragua.

After verifying that we were there for the count, we drove on in to one of the better birding sites in Costa Rica. The entrance road passed through lowland forest that had been selectively cut at some time in the past. At a glance, it doesn’t appear to have affected the birding too much and I bet spending a day on this road would turn up a wealth of lowland species.

How would you like to bird along this road?

Marcos, one of Veragua’s excellent guides, showed us around on Friday. While waiting to take the tram down to the Rainforest Giants Trail, we hung around their hummingbird garden and watched several Blue-chested Hummingbirds in action. It was nice to be in a place where this species outnumbered Rufous-taileds.

A Blue-chested Hummingbird posing for a picture.

While waiting for our tram ride down into a beautifully forested canyon, we actually added a new bird to the Veragua list in the form of a flyover Wood Stork. King Vulture also made an appearance but the White and Barred Hawks that are often seen from the tram were no-shows. Down at the bottom, a boardwalk passes beneath massive old growth trees, heliconia patches that sometimes hold White-tipped Sicklebill, and flanks a rushing river.

The excellent Rainforest Giants trail at Veragua.

Although we didn’t find Spot-crowned Antvireo (a localized species in Costa Rica) a canopy flock of medium-sized birds entertained us from above. Montezuma Oropendolas, Scarlet-rumped Caciques, and a couple of Black-striped Woodcreepers foraged high overhead with a Cinnamon Woodpecker, tityras, Black-cheeked Woodpeckers, and the star of the show, White-fronted Nunbird. While this orange-billed, clownish creature has disappeared from many areas in Costa Rica, it’s still fairly common at Veragua. A few lucky birders in our group also managed to see an Olive-backed Quail-Dove.

As the afternoon wore on, we took the tram back up to the top of the canyon and put the focus on mixed tanager flocks. A group of birds that frequents the trees around the reception was quickly located and several lucky birders got great looks at Sulphur-rumped Tanager. Incredibly, I missed that would be lifer despite looking in the same tree! I just happened to be scanning through several Plain-colored Tanagers when the Sulphur-rumped was seen and it took off before I could find it. Oh well, at least Rufous-winged Tanager was new for the year.

Other new 2011 species were Chestnut-collared Swift and a very obliging Great Potoo that entertained count participants by calling from a spotlit perch near the parking lot. It’s apparently there most nights and might take advantage of the insects and bats that come to a lit-up moth sheet. After dinner, we received information about our routes, got our boxed lunches, and also got the news about breakfast. It would be ready at 3:30 a.m. and most of us were scheduled to leave by 4. I would be hitting the Brisas de la Jungla site with two other guys. The plan was to drop us off at 4:30 a.m. and pick us up at 4:30 p.m. A long day of birding awaited and it might include grueling marches through the humid lowland heat and clouds of mosquitoes. I had to be prepared by getting a good night’s rest so I hit the sack by 7:45 and tried to sleep.

to be continued…