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Tag: Owls

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bird finding in Costa Rica Birding Costa Rica

One Day Birding in Costa Rica = 5 Owl Species Plus Potoo

How many birds in Costa Rica can be seen in a day? The answer depends on how you go birding just as much as where you go birding. Make a focused bird run through different avian-rich habitats in different habitats and well over 100 species are probable. Go the relaxed route at one or two sites and you might not have as much but you’ll still see a lot, and might connect with a few true blue rarities.

You might see a lancebill.

However, no matter how you do your birding thing, days with multiple owls are far and few between. I’ve done all sorts of birding in Costa Rica as well as a bunch of other places but owls are always the exception. They hide incredibly well, most don’t become active until it gets dark and even then, they ghost around the woods and fields on silent, moth-like wings. No wonder we hardly ever see them! One would think owls are rare, birds that you just don’t see, just can’t see.

Truth is, owls in most places are more common than expected, they just require a different way of birding, or, in depth local knowledge. That’s how we saw so many owls on the annual Buffalo Ornithological Society owl field trip. That special, memorable day was the exception, the day when you knew you had a good chance of seeing not one or two owls but a bunch and it was all because of invaluable local knowledge.

The owl trip was an all day winter event, a time when several of us would carpool to a meeting point with Glen Coady or other Canadian birders who would then graciously bring us to several sites in and near Toronto, Ontario. There were groups of Short-eared Owls coursing over snow-covered fields, a Northern Hawk Owl or two in suburban neighborhoods, Snowy Owls, and stacks of Long-eared Owls in a waterfront park. A closer, fine toothed check of the same park might turn up a Northern Saw-whet or maybe even a Boreal Owl (!).

Eastern Screech Owls would be scoped and revealed hiding in big, craggy trees, we might get lucky and see a Great Gray Owl, and we would usually round out the day with views of Barred and a Great Horned Owl or two.

Yeah, that many owls! An incredible day indeed and one that would have been impossible without the help of expert local birders who had put in countless hours to find those birds. I’ll always be grateful to those Canadian birders, other B.O.S. birders, and my father for taking me on those memorable, magical trips.

Although laying eyes on 8 to 10 owl species in one day of birding in Costa Rica is unlikely, the same sort of local knowledge can still turn up an owl or two just about every day of your trip. Play your birding cards right and you might even see several. This past March 2nd, I had one of these rare and special days.

It started with a visit to one of more reliable places to see an owl or two; Cope’s place at Union de Guapiles. Cope often know where the owls are hanging out but as with all things birding, you just really never know if they are gonna be there! Luckily, on March 2nd, the two hoped for species were present on roosts that Cope knew of. We still had to look for a bit, still had to check a few roosts, but yes (!), ended up with great looks at Crested Owl,

followed by Spectacled Owl.

While looking for other birds, Cope had mentioned that the night before, he had also heard a Central American Pygmy-Owl calling repeatedly from a nearby site. Would we like to look for that uncommonly seen species? Oh, I think so! Shortly after arrival, while scoping Masked Tityras and other lowland species, it didn’t take long for the teensy tiny owl to start tooting and a minute later, we were looking at one. Even better, it was calling from a nest!

We got more than our fill of the bird looking at us from its nesting hole as well as views of its mate before moving on to a stake out for another nocturnal specialty, the Great Potoo. Sure enough, the large, pseudo owl was present and with that sighting, we had four nocturnal species for the morning.

After lunch at the Hacienda La Isla (very much recommended, and for birds too), we made our way back to the Hotel Bougainvillea and birded the rest of the afternoon there. Wind and sun put a damper on birding activity but it didn’t stop us from seeing a known but well hidden Mottled Owl (!). Not long after, we saw our 5th owl species for the day when a pair of Ferruginous Pygmy-owls perched in the open.

That finished off yet another memorable day of birding in Costa Rica. Now, if we had known where Black-and-White Owl was hiding at Hacienda La Isla, and knew of a spot for roosting Tropical Screech-Owl, we would have had an impressive 7 owl species (!). Oh well, those will have to wait for another day.

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Birding Costa Rica birds to watch for in Costa Rica high elevations

The Unspotted Saw-whet Owl becomes Spotted in Costa Rica

The Northern Saw-whet Owl is a tough bird to see. While growing up in western New York, I was lucky enough to live in an area where, if you were patient enough, they could be readily seen. Finding a Northern Saw-whet involved a careful inspection of every pine and spruce in sites on the southern shore of Lake Ontario during Spring migration. That meant carrying out the search during the still cold months of March and April. We sometimes found them during the winter too but Spring was the best time to look.

Those taloned, wide-eyed sprites migrated along the lake shore instead of flying out over the evening waves and hid themselves in dense conifers to avoid daytime predators like Red-tailed Hawks. However, just because I lived in a “good” area to see Saw-whets didn’t translate to dozens of sightings. You could search for hours and come up with nothing but pine needle pricks and the encouraging yet disappointing signs that other owls had come and gone. It was always a great day when you could find at least one Saw-whet and it always helped to have more than one person looking.

Away from lake shores and known stake-outs, I have heard Northern Saw-whets in such places as Algonquin Park in Ontario, Canada, the Adirondacks, Washington State, and the upper peninsula of Michigan. But why talk about a bird that doesn’t live in Costa Rica? Why bother with a bird that can’t be seen in southern Central America?

I mention the Northern Saw-whet because as difficult as it is to see that cutest denizen of mixed hardwood forests, a lot more birders have laid eyes on it that one of its southern cousins. In fact, a lot of birders probably aren’t even aware that a Saw-whet Owl sans spots exists. That’s perfectly reasonable given the difficulty in seeing the Unspotted Saw-whet Owl. Compared to the Northern Saw-whet, I bet that it’s at least ten times more difficult to see if not a hundred times more difficult. Unlike the small spotted owl of northern forests, ye olde Unspotted does not provide us with the luxury of sizeable migratory populations. As far as is known (and that is precious little), it stays put in high elevation habitats of southern Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Panama.

This means that if you want to find one, you have to head on up to the cold, often rainy places where it occurs, and stumble around at night while repeating a short whistled “toot” over and over. Yep, an endeavor reserved for the stout of heart or folks inflicted with bird-crazy foolishness. I would like to claim that I am of the former ilk (because that sounds more heroic) but I know in my heart that it’s probably the latter category that pushed me to walk around the cold, dripping, dark night forests on Cerro de la Muerte and move to another country far from home. To find the Unspotted Saw-whet, it seems like you have to not only be bird-crazy but also have about 100 times the patience and determination needed to see its northern sister.

In keeping with their mysterious nature, Unspotted Saw-whets haven’t been prone to turning up in the same places where they are found. Whether because they have moved on or because they only call and respond to calls at some unknown time of the year, you just can’t waltz on up to the exact place where one was seen several years in the past and refind them with a whistle or two. Well, at least that hasn’t been the case until recently.

After five years (!) of searching on and off for the near-mythical Unspotted Saw-whet Owl, guide and pro birder Ernesto Carman located two Unspotted Saw-whet Owls on Turrialba Volcano and at least one on Irazu Volcano in September, 2012. Not only was he happy to share the information, but he also offered to accompany myself and a few other people to try and see it! Although he hadn’t been seeing it on every visit, this was certainly the closest thing to a staked out Saw-whet ever since a nest had been studied several years ago (at Paraiso de Qetzales) so we jumped at the chance.

That “we” was myself, Robert Dean (who wanted to head up there immediately since this was his number one wanted species), Susan Blank, Johan Kuilder, and Ineke van Leeuwen. We had also planned on meeting up with a South African friend of ours but somehow missed him by a matter of minutes. In any case, after a bit of caffeinated beverages and baked goods at a bakery in Pacayas, we drove the scenic winding road on to the village of La Pastora and met up with Ernesto and his wife (I am ashamed to say that I don’t remember her name) at 5 PM.

birding Costa Rica

The start of the road up to Turrialba Volcano at La Pastora.

Up the road towards Turrialba we went as dusk fell. We got out at one of the sites (a park-like area of scattered trees and pasture at 2,400 meters elevation) and were serenaded by Dusky Nightjars and Bare-shanked Screech-Owls as day turned into night. For the next hour and a half, we listened and whistled for the owl at two areas where he had the birds with nary a response. At one point, the rain started falling and all of us had private thoughts of failure. I was almost ready to try and be happy with the Barn Owl we had glimpsed until the sky cleared up and the air grew still. When that happened, we drove back to the first site and were immediately greeted by the faint yet distinct sound of an Unspotted Saw-whet Owl!

birding Costa Rica

Searching for the Unspotted Saw-whet Owl. Sorry about the lack of photos. Looking for owls at night doesn’t work so well for digiscoping.

Practically running up the road in pursuit, the vocalizations grew in volume and buoyed our hopes. Would it stay long enough to see it? Please don’t fly!! The tooting suddenly stopped but then quickly started up again before disappointment could grab us and we followed Ernesto’s lead as he strode down into a pasture. Stumbling and falling over cow-chewed hummocks, logs, and wet grass, we tracked the bird down into a gnarled highland tree. One light then two were shining up into the branches but like its northern relative, it was hidden in the densest bunch of sticks. No matter where we shone the lights, we still couldn’t see it and then all of a sudden, there is was as it flew mothlike into the air!

A small tawny, uniform owl fluttering around in pursuit of some insect, there could be no mistake. That was the incredibly tough Unspotted Saw-whet Owl and realization set in that some of us could claim it as a seen lifer. Realization also set in, though, that not everyone in the group had seen it nor did we want to merely see it in flight. Heck, we didn’t even see its face or watch it stare at us with mesmerizing, predatory eyes!

Fortunately, the owl decided to hang around and call and Ernesto quickly got onto it with a beam of light. This time it stayed and all of us got prolonged, 15 minute, solidly soaking views of the Unspotted Saw-whet Owl! It called. It looked at us, We oohed and ahhed over its whitish brows, long wings (down to the tip of the tail), dark eyes, and possibility of it being a young bird searching for territory. Ernesto recorded its song and after we got our fill of this super tough and little known bird, we marched back up through the pastures to the cars and celebrated with champagne.

Ok, so the champagne is a fib but Robert did at least celebrate with 2 bottles of Guinness Stout that he so graciously shared with us. We thanked Ernesto, gave him a donation for his efforts and to support any possible Unspotted Saw-whet Owl projects, and then it was back down the mountain with a major tick and unforgettable experience under our belts.

Will the birds stick around? I don’t know but Ernesto is keeping an eye on them. Maybe we can find more on Poas and Barva? I am pretty sure I heard one call on Poas in similar habitat earlier this year…

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Birding Costa Rica Introduction lowlands Pacific slope

Costa Rican Owls: Black and White Owl (Ciccaba nigrolineata)

All owls are very cool birds. If Fonzie was a birder he would give a resounding two thumbs up, “Aaaeeyyyyy” for Owls. They are way up there on the bird coolness scale because:

1. They are raptors: All raptors are automatically cool; even Common Buzzards and Red-tailed Hawks.

2. They are nocturnal.

3. They can see in the dark.

4. We hardly even see them even where they are common.

Of the 16 species of owls that have occurred in Costa Rica, the Black and White Owl is one of the most stunning. Like its name says, it is as black and white as an oreo cookie. It also has an orange bill and legs to brighten thing up.

They occur from the lowlands to middle elevations (1,500 meters) and are mostly found in humid forested areas. A bird of the forest interior as well as forest edge, their distribution is probably limited for the most part by availability of large trees for nesting and their main food source; large insects bats. Here is a link to an article that describes how Black and White and the related, similar sized Mottled Owl avoid competition by food source. In short, the Mottled takes rodents while the Black and White sticks to bats. Black and White Owls are sometimes seen around streetlights located near primary forest or old second growth. They might prefer microhabitats where it is easier to catch bats. Places like tree-fall gaps and forest edge. In fact, the only places I have heard and seen Black and White Owls at night are in just such situations such as the soccer field and buildings at OTS (open areas surrounded by old second growth), and at streetlights adjacent to old second growth at nearby Selva Verde and Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui. Where I have seen Black and White during the day, though, is where 1,000s of people (birders and non-birders alike) have seen Black and White Owls; at the main plaza in Orotina.

The plaza owls and their offspring could be the most frequently seen owls in the world.

Orotina is a small town in the hot, humid foothills of the central Pacific slope. Not far from Carara, the surrounding area hosts some humid forest and dry forest species. The main plaza is like other plazas in Costa Rican towns; busy and noisy, a meeting place for everyone in town under the shade of several large trees.

Despite all of the people activity, it has also hosted a pair of Black and White Owls since at least 1998. They can be found roosting in any of the trees and can be surprisingly difficult to find. The quickest way to see them is to ask the plaza ice cream vendor, “Victor Hugo”. He may have been the first person to find the owls in the plaza. He usually knows where they are and might also attempt to sell you real estate as happened on my past visit. Even if you don’t want to buy land and become an Orotinian, at least buy an ice cream or “shaved ice” from him if he shows you the owls.