Pacific slope

Cerro Lodge is one of the main accommodation options for birders visiting the Carara area. It’s also one of the only real options but that doesn’t take away from its value in terms of proximity to the park, service, comfort, and (best of all), good, on-site birding. Given that reforestation efforts have resulted in more birds at the lodge itself, more fruit feeders, hummingbird bushes, and an overlook that can turn up everything from raptors, macaws, parrots, parakeets, Yellow-billed Cotinga (typically distant), trogons, and flyby Muscovy Duck, don’t be surprised if you feel completely satisfied with birding from the lodge restaurant. But, if you feel like stepping off the lodge property, get ready for more great birding on the road that runs in front of Cerro Lodge.

This road gets birdy by way of patches of roadside dry forest, second growth, mango orchards, fields, a small seasonal marsh, and a flat, floodplain area near the Tarcoles River. As one might expect, that mosaic of habitats has resulted in a fair bird list, and I suspect that several other species could show. In addition to a wide variety of common edge species, these are some other key birds to look for:

Crane Hawk

This raptor might be the star of the Cerro Lodge bird assemblage. Although not exactly abundant and never guaranteed, the lodge and the road are probably the most reliable sites in Costa Rica for this species. In this country, the raptor with the long, red legs prefers riparian zones with large trees in lowland areas, mostly on the Pacific slope. The proximity of the Tarcoles River to the road and the lodge apparently works well for this cool bird because it’s seen here quite often. If you don’t get it from the restaurant, a day of focused birding on the road should turn up one or more of this nice raptor. In addition to both caracaras, other raptors can also show up including Short-tailed, Zone-tailed, Common Black, and Gray Hawks, Gray-headed Kite, Plumbeous Kite, and Collared Forest-Falcon. Down in the floodplain, keep an eye out for Pearl Kite.

Muscovy Duck

It might not seem exciting but it’s still worth knowing that this area is a good one for wild Muscovy Ducks. One or more can fly over the lodge, road, or be visible from the lodge restaurant. The abundance of this species probably varies with water levels in the surrounding area. I usually see one or more flybys in the morning but there are times when I haven’t seen any, and I recall one morning when more than a dozen were seen from the restaurant.

Double Striped Thick-Knee

If you still need this weird one, watch for it in open fields anywhere on the road, but especially in the floodplain area just before dawn.

Striped Cuckoo and Lesser ground-Cuckoo

The Striped is regular from the lodge and along the road and the ground-cuckoo is probably increasing.

Owls

Although Black and White used to be a given at the lodge, unfortunately, it’s not as regular as in the past. It still occurs in the area though and does still visit the lodge on occasion. Other owl species that can show up include Barn, Spectacled, Mottled, and Pacific Screech. Striped is also heard and seen from time to time. The most common owl species is Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl.

Various dry forest species

Many dry forest species are common at the lodge and along the road including stunners like Turquoise-browed Motmot and Black-headed Trogon.

The motmot

The trogon

These two can occur at the lodge and anywhere on the road along with species like Stripe-headed Sparrow, Brown-crested and Nutting’s Flycatchers, and White-lored Gnatcatcher. Checking spots with dense vegetation and a more forested aspect can turn up Olive Sparrow, Banded Wren, Royal Flycatcher, and even Stub-tailed Spadebill. Beauties like Blue Grosbeak and Painted Bunting are also regular in scrubby habitats along the road.

Stripe-headed Sparrow

White-lored Gnatcatcher

White-necked Puffbird

This cool bird seems to be increasing at this site and is now regular along the road and even at the lodge itself.

Macaws, parrots and the like

Thankfully, Scarlet Macaws are doing very well in Costa Rica. While watching them fly past and perch in trees at and near Cerro, you can also watch for flyby Yellow-naped, White-fronted, and Red-lored Parrots, White-crowned Parrots, Orange-fronted and Orange-chinned Parakeets, and, when certain trees are seeding, hundreds of Crimson-fronted Parakeets. At times, Brown-hooded and Mealy Parrots can also occur for a fine Psittacine sweep.

This stunner is always around.

White-throated Magpie-Jay

Last but not least, watch for this spectacular jay on the road and at the lodge feeders.

Enjoy birding at Cerro and vicinity, I hope to see you out there! Please see an updated bird list below:

List of birds identified at Cerro Lodge and the road in front of the lodge, with abundance as of 2017
This list probably awaits more additions, especially from the more heavily wooded area on the northern part of the property.
c- common, u- uncommon, r – rare, vr- very rare and vagrants

Please send additions to the list or rare sightings to [email protected]
Area covered includes the vicinity of Cerro Lodge and the road to Cerro Lodge from the highway to where it dead-ends on the river flood plain.
Keep in mind that the abundance of various species is likely changing due to the effects of climate change.

Great Tinamou	r
Little Tinamou	u
Muscovy Duck	u
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck	u
Blue-winged Teal	r
Masked Duck	vr
Gray-headed Chachalaca	r
Least Grebe	r
Magnificent Frigatebird	u
Wood Stork	c
Anhinga	u
Neotropic Cormorant	u
Bare-throated Tiger-Heron	c
Great Blue Heron	u
Great Egret	c
Snowy Egret	u
Little Blue Heron	c
Tricolored Heron	u
Cattle Egret	c
Green Heron	c
Boat-billed Heron	r
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron	r
White Ibis	c
Roseate Spoonbill	u
Black Vulture	c
Turkey Vulture	c
King Vulture	r
Osprey	c
Pearl Kite	r
Hook-billed Kite	vr
Gray-headed Kite	r
Double-toothed Kite	r
Plumbeous Kite	c
Tiny Hawk	vr
Crane Hawk	u
Gray Hawk	c
Common Black-Hawk	c
Broad-winged Hawk	c
Short-tailed Hawk	c
Zone-tailed Hawk	u
Swainson’s Hawk	r
Red-tailed Hawk	r
White-throated Crake	vr
Purple Gallinule	c
Gray-cowled Wood-Rail	u
Double-striped Thick-Knee	u
Southern Lapwing	u
Killdeer	u
Northern Jacana	c
Black-necked Stilt	u
Solitary Sandpiper	u
Spotted Sandpiper	u
Lesser Yellowlegs	r
Pale-vented Pigeon	vr
Red-billed Pigeon	c
White-winged Dove	c
White-tipped Dove	c
Inca Dove	c
Common Ground-Dove	c
Plain-breasted Ground-Dove	r
Ruddy Ground-Dove	c
Blue Ground-Dove	r
Squirrel Cuckoo	c
Groove-billed Ani	c
Lesser Ground-Cuckoo	r
Mangrove Cuckoo	u
Barn Owl	u
Spectacled Owl	r
Mottled Owl	u
Black and White Owl	c
Pacific Screech Owl	c
Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl	c
Striped Owl	r
Common Pauraque	c
Lesser Nighthawk	c
Northern Potoo	vr
White-collared Swift	c
Chestnut-collared Swift	u
Black swift	r
Spot-fronted Swift	r
Vaux’s Swift	u
Costa Rican Swift	u
Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift	u
Long-billed Hermit	r
Stripe-throated Hermit	u
Scaly-breasted Hummingbird	c
Canivet’s Emerald	u
Steely-vented Hummingbird	c
Blue-throated Goldentail	c
Cinnamon Hummingbird	c
Rufous-tailed Hummingbird	c
Charming Hummingbird	r
Mangrove Hummingbird	vr
Ruby-throated Hummingbird	c
Plain-capped Starthroat	u
Green-breasted Mango	c
Slaty-tailed Trogon	r
Black-headed Trogon	c
Gartered Trogon	c
Lesson’s Motmot	u
Turquoise-browed Motmot	c
Ringed Kingfisher	u
Belted Kingfisher	r
Green Kingfisher	u
Amazon Kingfisher	r
American Pygmy-Kingfisher	r
White-necked Puffbird	c
Yellow-throated Toucan	r
Keel-billed Toucan	vr
Fiery-billed Aracari	r
Olivaceous Piculet	r
Hoffman’s Woodpecker	c
Lineated Woodpecker	c
Pale-billed Woodpecker	u
Bat Falcon	r
Merlin	r
Peregrine Falcon	u
Collared Forest-Falcon	u
Crested Caracara	c
Yellow-headed Caracara	c
Laughing Falcon	c
Crimson-fronted Parakeet	c
Orange-fronted Parakeet	c
Orange-chinned Parakeet	c
White-crowned Parrot	c
Brown-hooded Parrot	u
White-fronted Parrot	c
Red-lored Parrot	c
Mealy Parrot	r
Yellow-naped Parrot	c
Scarlet Macaw	c
Barred Antshrike	c
Olivaceous Woodcreeper	u
Streak-headed Woodcreeper	c
Cocoa Woodcreeper	u
Northern Barred Woodcreeper	r
Northern Beardless Tyrannulet	c
Southern Beardless Tyrannulet	r
Paltry Tyrannulet	u
Northern Bentbill	r
Stub-tailed Spadebill	r
Royal Flycatcher	r
Yellow-bellied Elaenia	u
Yellow-olive Flycatcher	c
Greenish Elaenia	c
Common Tody-Flycatcher	c
Bright-rumped Atilla	c
Tropical Pewee	u
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher	c
Willow Flycatcher	c
Alder Flycatcher	u
Panama Flycatcher	r
Great-crested Flycatcher	c
Brown-crested Flycatcher	c
Nutting’s Flycatcher	c
Dusky-capped Flycatcher	c
Boat-billed Flycatcher	c
Great Kiskadee	c
Social Flycatcher	c
Streaked Flycatcher	c
Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher	c
Piratic Flycatcher	c
Tropical Kingbird	c
Western Kingbird	r
Eastern Kingbird	u
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher	u
Yellow-billed Cotinga	r
Three-wattled Bellbird	vr
Long-tailed Manakin	u
Rose-throated Becard	c
Masked Tityra	c
Black-crowned Tityra	c
Scrub Greenlet	vr
Lesser Greenlet	u
Yellow-throated Vireo	c
Philadelphia Vireo	c
Yellow-green Vireo	c
Red-eyed Vireo	r
White-throated Magpie-Jay	u
Brown Jay	c
Cliff Swallow	c
Southern Rough-winged Swallow	c
Northern Rough-winged Swallow	c
Barn Swallow	c
Bank Swallow	c
Mangrove Swallow	u
Gray-breasted Martin	c
White-lored Gnatcatcher	c
Tropical Gnatcatcher	c
Long-billed Gnatwren	u
Rufous-naped Wren	c
Rufous-breasted Wren	u
Banded Wren	u
Rufous and white Wren	u
Cabanis’s Wren	c
House Wren	c
Clay-colored Robin	c
Swainson’s Thrush	c
Wood Thrush	u
Tennessee Warbler	c
Yellow Warbler	c
Hooded Warbler	r
American Redstart	r
Prothonotary Warbler	u
Rufous-capped Warbler	c
Chestnut-sided Warbler	c
Black and White Warbler	c
Northern Waterthrush	c
Gray-crowned Yellowthroat	c
Summer Tanager	c
Western Tanager	u
Blue-gray Tanager	c
Palm Tanager	u
Cherrie’s Tanager	r
Gray-headed Tanager	u
Red-legged Honeycreeper	c
Stripe-headed Sparrow	c
Buff-throated Saltator	c
Grayish Saltator	u
Bananaquit	u
Blue-black Grassquit	c
White-collared Seedeater	c
Variable Seedeater	c
Rose-breasted Grosbeak	c
Blue Grosbeak	c
Indigo Bunting	u
Painted Bunting	u
Dickcissel	u
Eastern Meadowlark	c
Red-winged Blackbird	u
Melodious Blackbird	c
Great-tailed Grackle	c
Baltimore Oriole	c
Orchard Oriole	u
Bronzed Cowbird	c
Montezuma Oropendola	u
Yellow-crowned Euphonia	u
Scrub Euphonia	c
Yellow-throated Euphonia	c

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.