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Costa Rica Birding News April, 2026

April is the spring month, the one where the flowers come back to bloom, migrating Red-shouldered Hawks flap and turn high above the thawing grounds of the Lake Ontario plain, ducks are on the move, and Yellow-rumped Warblers brighten the local birding scene. Those and kinglets, and singing sparrows, and tail bobbing phoebes.

At least that’s how I recall birding on the Niagara Frontier, in the western edges of New York State. Birds are also on the move in Costa Rica but the scene is several layers of difference. Exciting layers of migration and local birds and a change in the weather. Here’s some news about some changes and what’s been happening and expectations for birding in Costa Rica this 4th month of 2026.

Cinchona…a lack of hummingbirds

Violet-Sabrewing-male
Even the sabrewings were absent.

The construction has been completed at Cinchona and it has brought more and needed elbow room. It probably hasn’t affected the surrounding habitat too much and birds still come to the fruit feeder but the hummingbird scene is at an all time low.

The lack of hummingbirds is probably at least partly related to the lack of feeders (just one was present on the last visit), but it seems like there should still be more. Maybe there’ll be days when they are more? Sadly, lately, there haven’t been so don’t be surprised if you visit and see very few hummingbirds. If not, don’t fret, you can still find them elsewhere, maybe at a few other roadside sites higher up the road and definitely at other places.

Watch the feeder and surrounding trees though. Highlights from a recent visit included Black-breasted Wood-Quail being furtive behind the feeders, and Scarlet-thighed Dacnis among other birds.

Hot weather but rains are starting

April is hot in Costa Rica but ends with fresh, rainy airs. Instead of that March lion start and lamb ending, we’ve got April beginning like a furnace and ending like a cool shower. Sort of. In any case, visit now and you’ll get hot days but you can also expect some cloudy weather and at least some afternoon rains.

Those rains and clouds are good for birding, get out there and watch, especially after the rain stops!

Swifts are in the air

One thing that the rains bring are swifts or, better to say that the rains bring the swifts lower and into view. The aerialists were always up there, just beyond speck visibility, up there riding the highest airs or chasing storms to Panama. Who knows?

What I can say is that with the rain clouds here now, you have a good chance of watching swifts within bino viewing range. Watch for them just before the storms arrive, right at the misty edge. It’s a good way to test your skills and patience trying to identify uncommon White-chinned and Spot-fronted Swifts. Hopefully they’ll call, that makes it easier.

Raptors flying too…

April is also raptor flying time in Costa Rica. In fall, the river of raptors flows south but, in spring, it reverses course and the flow gets a big pulse in April. The birds can fly anywhere (we saw a nice group of Swainson’s on Poas) but the Caribbean lowlands are typically best.

There be Broad-wingeds, Swainson’s, TVs, Mississippi Kites, and a few other birds. As The Urban Birder says, “Look Up”!

Ground-cuckoo may still be showing at San Luis Canopy

A Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo has been showing at an ant swarm near the San Luis Canopy for some weeks now. Since they are still seeing it, apparently, local guides keep track of ant swarms and can bring you to the bird!

Although that could change at any time, one of the local guides told me that they are still seeing it as of yesterday. To see it, inquire at the San Luis Canopy (opens at 8) and expect to pay $20 per person.

Big morning of birding on the Pacific coast- 226 species by 10 a.m.

On another nice and birdy note, my partner Maryllen and I started a Big Day a few days ago. Notice I only mention “started” meaning that we ended up aborting it pretty early. That was a shame but it had to be done; all the fast car chargers had stopped working overnight (and thus stranding several drivers) and since having them available was essential to the electric car Big Day plan, we had to abort the mission.

Nevertheless, we still had an exciting, successful morning of birding and the attempt helped me realize how I could tweak it to maybe break a record. Starting at midnight at Punta Morales and birding until 10 a.m. around Carara and Tarcoles, we identified 226 species. Yes, that many and mostly in the same area. That high number emphasizes how incredibly diverse the Carara ecotone is. For myself, it also helped me realize that, given the right factors on the rest of the route, reaching 350 or even 400 species is possible in one day of birding in Costa Rica.

Check out the trip report.

I’ll be writing more about this exciting day and idea perhaps here and elsewhere, stay tuned!

Third Edition of the Garrigues and Dean Field Guide Coming Soon!

It’s official, the third edition of the Birds of Costa Rica: A Field Guide is coming out! It’ll be available in October and, based on what I’ve seen will be yet another boon for birding in Costa Rica. The authors and publisher redid many illustrations, added various behavioral and habitat illustrations, and have included all species on the Costa Rica list.

If you are headed to Costa Rica after September, you’ll want to definitely get this book for the trip.

The Costa Rica Birds Field Guide app– customizable, updated with more bird finding tips, shows 1020 plus species.

If you’d also like to have a birding app to boost your birding experience in Costa Rica (and have an Apple device), this is the one to get. I admit I work on this app but that’s also why I know why it’s such a helpful tool before, during, and after a birding trip or tour to Costa Rica.

For the recent update, I went through every one of the 1020 plus species to refine their descriptions, habitat information, and tips for seeing them. I also included more birds, images and a vocalization or two. Why more birds? Since you can fit a heck of a lot in a digital format, I figured it would also be worth including species that could occur in Costa Rica. Those would be birds like Altamira Oriole, Yellowish Pipit, some Siberian vagrants, and various pelagic species.

Sure, a birder can download the Merlin pack for free but with this app, you can make target lists, mark birds seen and heard, take notes, look at species while listening to their vocalizations, and have more accurate, updated, locally written information and tips (along with other perks).

I could say more but I’ll leave the local birding news at that for now. If you’re headed to Costa Rica soon, I hope you enjoy your trip!

To support this blog and learn about 100s of birding sites in Costa Rica, ID tips, and more, please consider purchasing my 900 plus page ebook, “How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica”. I hope to see you here!

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A Productive Morning of Birding at Villa San Ignacio

cabani's ground-sparrow

Costa Rica can be a crowded place, especially in the Central Valley. While San Jose is technically only in one part of the valley, that’s how most visitors refer to this ever popular region. It’s not the only city or town in the Central Valley but no one can blame them for calling all of the urban sprawl and winding streets and small stores and quaint churches with shaded parks “San Jose”.

From a bit east of San Jose on west to the edge of Alajuela (that’s the actual name of the city where the airport is), it all seems to blend together. At one point in time, it certainly didn’t but we could say the same about Los Angeles, Dallas, Bangkok, and so many other modern mega-cities.

The Greater Metropolitan Area or (GAM as it is locally referred to) hosts a fair portion of Costa Rica’s 5 million people population and yet, birds are there too. Not as many as are even marginally wilder areas but in the GAM’s parks and riparian zones, urban birds persist. There are Crimson-fronted Parakeets roosting on and screeching from buildings, Blue-gray Tanagers and Great Kiskadees calling from parks and other birds too, more than you think.

However, species numbers really jump when you finally reach a good amount of green space, especially when you can bird in fair bits of remnant forest and other habitats. You’ll find those habitats in Estes Park as well as other Costa Rica birding sites shortly after leaving the edge of the main urbanized front. One such bit of green space is at Villa San Ignacio, a small hotel situated at the edge of the urban perimeter, just northwest of Alajuela.

Villa San Ignacio is a bastion for birds because although the hotel does have some landscaped grounds, it’s done in a manner that preserves and showcases biodiversity. Unlike so many other places, this hotel also hosts several large and mature trees, especially massive figs that provide critical food for a wide variety of species.

You can also check out short and easy trails in regenerating forest and watch the skies for flyover raptors, swifts, and other birds. Some road noise reminds you that you’re still in an urban area but the wealth of birds seems to convince you otherwise or, at least show what mature trees and habitat preservation does for birds, butterflies, and more.

On Monday, I spent most of a morning at Villa San Ignacio and the birding was good as always. As per usual, it was also unpredictable with some birds appearing and others staying hidden or being no-shows. That’s normal for tropical birding, at least in Costa Rica. It’s why it’s worth staying longer and birding the same rich areas more than once, why it’s worth always watching and keeping an eye out for the unexpected.

These are some of the highlights and happenings from that morning.

Cabanis’s Ground-Sparrow

Right off the bat, we hit the local jackpot with this rare and threatened species. Shortly after 6, while walking up the road towards the upper rooms, I was happily surprised to hear the high pitched tick of this special bird.

Even better, the pair and what looked like a juvenile foraged right in the open. They didn’t stray far from the hedgerow at the edge of a green, metal fence but you can’t ask much more from these major skulkers. As is typical for this special towhee, you’ve got to see it early and get onto it quick. It won’t take long for them to get into cover and be essentially invisible for most of the day.

Short-tailed Hawks and other Raptors

Around 9, as the cicadas pumped up the volume and heat waves swirled into the tropical skies, raptors did their morning dance. Black Vultures circled and gained height, a couple of migrant or wintering Broad-winged Hawks followed suit and were followed by high flying views of Gray and Short-tailed Hawks.

No Zone-tailed that day but later on, we also had both caracaras and additional Gray Hawks. It’s worth it to keep watching above, to keep looking up (as the Urban Birder David Lindo reminds us). Other days I’ve also seen migrating Swallow-tailed Kite and Swainson’s Hawk, Peregrine Falcon, and even Double-toothed Kite.

Long-tailed Manakin and other forest birds

Down in the forest, fewer birds showed than I had hoped but we still heard and saw some things. One or two Long-tailed Manakins called, “Toledo” while White-eared Ground-Sparrows gave cascading calls from the undergrowth and Rufous and white and Rufous-breasted Wrens dueted from the vines.

Those birds stayed hidden but we did manage to see Common Squirrel Cuckoo, Olive Sparrow, saltators, Cabanis’s Wren, Barred Antshrike, Gray-headed Chachalaca, and some other species.

Indigo Buntings

One of those species,, one of those surprises, was the Indigo Bunting. Not just one either but several! An uncommon bird in Costa Rica, it was fun to see fully plumaged deep blue males, molting patchy blue males, and at least one plain sparrowish female.

We probably had 10 in total, they were either migrating through or grouping together and getting ready to migrate. One also sang its prolonged, jumbly song that we hear at this time of year in Costa Rica. I included this vocalization on the recently updated Costa Rica Birds – Field Guide app but, in checking it, I realized that I also need to include the bunting’s commonly heard call notes. I’ll probably get to that in May but hopefully sooner (I recently included better habitat information, more birding tips, and images).

Speaking of buntings, on that morning at Villa San Ignacio, I was reminded that Painted Buntings can make a call that sounds a lot like the one-noted call of a Mourning Warbler (at least to my ears). While pishing by a hedgerow, a bird responded and I figured it would be a Mourning. Much to my surprise, I found myself focusing on a leafy green female Painted Bunting! It was a good reminder to brush up on their calls.

Plain-capped Starthroat and 69 other bird species

How many bird species can you see in a day at Villa San Ignacio? I figure that varies but I can say that 70 in a morning is possible. That’s what we had on Monday and that was also lacking several regular species! Some of the other nice ones were Plain-capped Starthroat on the walk up to the upper rooms, close Cinnamon Hummingbird, Scrub and Yellow-throated Euphonias, and a bunch of other birds, many feasting on the fruiting figs.

Check out the bird list!

That constant birding activity is why I always look forward to birding back at Villa San Ignacio. Along with the good service, friendly vibe, and beautiful habitat, it’s a hard blend to beat.

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Recent Birding News and Tips from Carara, Costa Rica

Last week, I did some birding around Central America’s biggest ecotone. It’s an area where rainforest meets dry forest meets mangroves and some! It’s such a crossroads of biomes and habitats, I’m not even sure if ecotone is the right term. “Megatone” might be better but “hot birding wonderland” would also work. I’m talking about Carara, the place where the Grand Tarcoles River empties the waters of the Central Valley into the Pacific, where coastal hills capture life giving rains, and where the biodiversity is sort of astonishing.

Given the meeting of so many habitats, the high end species numbers shouldn’t be surprising but, there’s just so much, I can’t help but use superlatives. If you’re headed to the Carara area, get ready for deserved superlative birding. Going birding around there soon? You might find these bits of news and tips helpful.

Tarcoles Bridge Work

Lately, this has been some of the biggest news in Costa Rica. The Tarcoles Bridge, the one where so many thousands of tourists stop to look at crocodiles, is undergoing roadwork. And it’s not pretty. Temporary road closures and changing the two lane bridge to one lane for 24 hours a day on the main and almost only coastal route to Jaco has its consequences.

I was there on the first day of the closures and on the way back from Jaco to Tarcoles, the normally 30 minute drive took four hours.

Yes, you read that right. Four. Complete. Hours. Since then, it’s been similarly bad, sometimes better, sometimes worse. Given that this is also a vital route for commerce, workers, and students, this particular bit of roadwork is throwing a giant wrench into a lot of people’s lives.

With almost no alternatives, if you are headed to and from Jaco or even Manual Antonio, you may be in for a terribly long wait. I suggest trying to see which times are best and probably crossing the bridge at 4 in the morning or so. The current schedule is for the one lane closures to end on March 27th and to happen again from May 4th to May 9th. There will also be some nighttime full closures from March 15 to April 20th. These can happen on any night during those dates from 9 pm to 5 am.

If you plan on visiting Carara National Park, the wait might be a bit less but anything can happen, perhaps more so on weekends. The good thing is that the park is fairly close to the bridge so, if you have to cross back over to the Tarcoles Birding Lodge area, that won’t take as long as driving from Jaco. I suppose another good thing is watching birds while you wait in traffic but, that’s not exactly ideal.

Yellow-billed Cotingas from the Tarcoles Birding Lodge

Now for some good news! While watching from the overlook at the Tarcoles Birding Lodge, I had a quick, distant flyby cotinga one morning and saw two distant males the following morning! This is great news because the Carara population is so dreadfully small, it really could disappear at any time.

Seriously, there might be 5 or fewer birds still occurring in the area. Another positive sign was a recent sighting of a female by an experienced ornithologist (which makes me think he really did see one and not a tityra). What this means for birders visiting the area soon is that you might also see one by scanning for them from the Tarcoles Birding Lodge in the early morning. You’ll see other birds too, maybe even a Gray-headed Kite like the bird pictured at the top of the post (we had one).

You might also get lucky on the Cerro Lodge road, boat tour, or even in the national park but your best bet will be scanning the distant mangroves from the Tarcoles Birding Lodge or maybe Cerro Lodge too or, maybe even another new place…

More Birdy Accommodation in the Area

The new place that could turn up the cotingas as well as lots of other nice birds is a cozy BnB called “Finca Quietud”. This small place just down the Cerro Lodge road is especially suited for couples and single travelers looking for a quiet place with friendly owners, an excellent breakfast, and a nice pool.

It also has an excellent view of a wetland, mangroves, and the sea. I bet the cotingas could be seen from there along with lots of other, more expected species. On a recent visit, one of our highlights was a pair of Spectacled Owls that flew into view before dusk!

Humid Forest Species in Carara

birding Costa Rica

Regarding Carara National Park and vicinity, it seems like the trend of humid forest species becoming rarer is taking place. Unfortunately, climate change has been causing the forest to become drier bit by bit or, at least changing the amount and timing of rains. In any case, various rainforest species seem to have declined and a few have become downright rare, at least in the accessible part of the park.

You can still see a good variety of birds but many are not as common as they used to be and a few have become really tough. The more challenging ones seem to be species that require the wetter forests, birds like Baird’s Trogon (maybe the hardest hit), Orange-collared Manakin, and Golden-naped Woodpecker among some others.

Carara is still worth birding but, to see some birds, if you aren’t birding further south, you may need to look for them higher up on the Bijagual Road or, at Macaw Lodge. It tends to be wetter in those spots (in a good way for birding) but, even there, Baird’s Trogon has become much less common. To look for those birds, especially at Macaw Lodge, local guide Beto Guido is one of the better guides to go with. He birds there quite a bit and recently, even found a rare Agami Heron at the lodge!

Mangrove birding

One of the other birding bonuses around Carara is looking for mangrove species. In Costa Rica, some of those specialties include the endangered Mangrove Hummingbird, Panama Flycatcher, and Mangrove Vireo among a few others. You might get lucky with those species on a mangrove boat trip but even then, they can be easily missed.

The funny thing about those mangrove birds is that they don’t seem to be very common, even in the mangroves! Usually, mangrove sites near Playa Azul are good for them but, recently, despite giving those sites a very good check, they weren’t.

Mangrove specialties seemed oddly absent there and at another spot near Bajamar. One thing I did notice was that those unbirdy mangroves also seemed drier than usual and lacked standing water. I suspect that has something to do with it because it was the only difference compared to past visits that did readily turn up the mangrove specialties.

Also, on a recent visit to mangroves at Mata de Limon, I did see all the mangrove specialties (and heard a Rufous-necked Wood-Rail too!) and those mangroves had lots of standing water. This was a change from another fairly recent visit where they were drier (and turned up far fewer mangrove birds).

I suppose the lesson here is to lower expectations or check other sites if the mangroves look dry and, maybe take that boat trip after all.

That’s all for now, if you visit the Carara area, I hope you catch the bridge traffic at the right moment and see lots of birds. Be ready for hot weather and bring plenty of hydration (no plastic bottles allowed in the national park). As always, I look forward to getting back to that birdy megatone.

On another note, I recently updated the Costa Rica Birds Field Guide app to match most of the recent eBird taxonomic changes and made some other changes too. I’ll write a post about that this upcoming week!

To learn more about sites mentioned in this post along with 100s of other birding sites and information about birding in Costa Rica, support this blog by purchasing my 900 plus page Costa Rica bird finding ebook, “How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica”. Happy birding, I hope to see you here!

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Recent Highlights from Birding Costa Rica in the Rain

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

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

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

Sarapiqui boat ride

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

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

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

Middle American Leaftosser at Cinchona

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

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

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

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

Ornate Hawk-Eagle and Bicolored Hawk

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

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

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

Good Birds at Arenal Observatory Lodge

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

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

Rain and more rain

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

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

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

Collared Redstarts are a birder’s Turkish Delight.

Route 32 has been closed = more traffic on Route 126

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

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

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

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

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A Reminder to see These Birds in Costa Rica

Who doesn't want to see a Snowcap?

Going birding in Costa Rica? I know, like you need a reminder to see birds! You’re gonna be looking for them, you’re gonna be seeing them, and you’ll be celebrating a fine cornucopia of lifers, photos, and priceless experiences. However, this being the high season, I figured it might be useful to mention a certain set of species, a group of avian taxa worth your while.

Yes, all birds are worth your while, all birds merit connection and you watch whatever floats your personal birding boat but, you might not be so aware of the importance of the birds I’m going to cover. If so, great! If not, check this out:

Streak-chested Antpitta on the Caribbean slope

If you see a Streak-chested Antpitta in Costa Rica, there’s a good chance it’s going to be on the Pacific slope, probably at Carara. That’s great, I hope you see one or more and I wouldn’t wish you otherwise. However, if you can, it’s also worth laying eyes on Streak-chested Antpitta from the other side of the mountains.

You see, that bird is not exactly the same as the ones from Carara or Panama or further south. It’s also just enough not exactly the same to be considered a separate species. Nope, no official study yet but, based on the same number of differences used to separate related species of antpittas, those Caribbean slope birds should be given species status too.

I’m pretty sure the Birds of Costa Rica by Dyer and Howell mention this along with several other likely splits. They don’t mention exactly where to see it but that’s not really the scope of a field guide anyways. It needs large areas of mature rainforest and one of the best sites is Quebrada Gonzalez. Although I haven’t had as many there as I used to, it still occurs.

Sharpbill

Like the antpitta mentioned above, this species also has disjunct populations in need of detailed studies. They don’t live near each other, sound different, and look different so, there might be 3 or 4 species involved.

If you saw one of those more common and easy ones in Brazil, I’m sorry but it’s probably not the same species. If splits eventually happen, the subspecies in Costa Rica and Panama will very likely be elevated to species status (and I’n guessing probably subsequently red-listed as Vulnerable).

Watch for this special bird in mixed flocks and fruiting trees in foothills and middle elevations, especially at Skytrek, the San Gerardo Station at Monteverde, and Tapanti.

Elegant Trogon

It’s worth seeing this bird because those Arizona and Mexican trogons were split from it. Yep, if you saw one from Cave Creek or wherever, that is currently known as a Coppery-tailed Trogon.

To see Elegant Trogons in Costa Rica, watch for them in dry forest on the Nicoya Peninsula and in Guanacaste. Rincon de la Vieja is a good spot as is Santa Rosa National Park.

Paint-billed Crake

I mention this cool looking little gallinulish bird because it seems to be more common in Costa Rica than previously believed. Nope, not exactly common and it moves around but, you go to the right place and do the work, you have a fair chance of seeing one.

Try wet rice fields just about anywhere but especially in the Ciudad Neily area. They can also occur in dense vegetation along ditches and other odd wet spots.

Ruddy Pigeon

birding Costa Rica

This one’s a bit debatable but, I think it’s still worth mentioning. Although the Ruddy Pigeon has an official big range in South America, most of those birds live in the steamy lowlands. So what are they doing in cloud forests and high elevations in Costa Rica and Panama?

Exactly, how come “our Ruddys” live so high and cold when the other ones aren’t? It might because they aren’t quite the same species. Yeah, they sound similar but then again, not exactly and, vocalizations aren’t everything so…even if you have seen them in the Amazon, it would be good to see this bird in Costa Rica too.

Volcano Hummingbirds on Poas and Irazu

If you do any high elevation birding, there’s a fair chance you’ll be living the bino/camera life on Cerro de la Muerte (The good old “Mountain of Death”). You’ll see Volcano Hummingbirds but, what you won’t see are Volcano Hummingbirds with pinkish or rose gorgets. That’s cause those little jammies live on other high mountains; one on the Irazu-Turrialba massif and the other one on Poas and Barva Volcanos.

They are still considered the same species but, it wouldn’t be surprising if more detailed studies split them into separate species. Fortunately, they are pretty easy to see. Watch any high elevation vegetation on Irazu and Poas and you should see both. Watch for large bugs that are actually tiny hummingbirds. Oh yeah, and make sure you watch for them above 2,200 meters to rule out the similar Scintillant Hummingbird (more or less).

Ochre-breasted Antpitta

Have you seen Shakira and those other dancing Ochre-breasted Antpittas in Ecuador or Colombia? I hope so but I also urge you to see the one that lives in Costa Rica. Yeah, it’s still the same species but, yet again, more detailed studies could easily split it.

I mean, it looks a bit different, sounds slightly different, and has quite the disjunction range so, it could be split. Unfortunately, it is not an easy bird to see in Costa Rica. Try quality middle elevation forests such as El Copal, Hotel Quelitales, and Tapanti.

Azure-hooded Jay and Slaty-backed Nightingale-Thrush

You’ll want to see these beautiful cloud forest birds anyways but, it’s also good to know that the ones in Costa Rica and Panama are waiting to be split from birds in other parts of their range.

The jay isn’t easy or common but, if you watch for it high quality cloud forest, you might see them. The nightingale-thrush is much easier in middle elevations, if skulky.

Ashy-throated Chlorospingus

This is an uncommon and cool bird to see, even if it’s not as brightly colored as the Emerald Tanagers it often flocks with. It might be a future split or, might not be but, since it only lives in quality habitat, looking for it is birding in the best of places. Nope, not the easiest of birding but, foothill rainforest with chances at uncommon species like Yellow-eared Toucanet and so on and so on.

There’s lots to see in Costa Rica and you don’t need to see these species but, if you want to see some likely splits, these are some good ones to go after. There’s also taking closer looks at Nutting’s Flycatchers to see if the very cryptic Salvadoran Flycatcher also occurs but I can’t blame you for leaving that ponderous task to local birders or another trip.

No matter what birds you look at or how you go birding, I hope to see you here!

To learn more about sites mentioned in this post and how to find these and more than 900 other birds in Costa Rica, consider supporting this blog by purchasing my 900 plus page Costa Rica bird finding guide, “How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica”.

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The Most Biodiverse Areas for Birds in Costa Rica

Planning a birding trip to Costa Rica? You might be wondering which are the most biodiverse areas for birds. It’s a fairly common question and a good one. After all, what birder wants to go to the least biodiverse areas for birds? That high avian diversity is one of the main reasons birders visit Costa Rica, some other reasons being “quetzal”, “Wrenthrush”, “umbrellabird”, and “Snowcap”.

In general, the more birds the better and, in that, Costa Rica fits the bill. No, we aren’t the most avian diverse nation on the planet but, we do have a heck of a lot of birds per square kilometer (or mile or league). With most also being quite accessible, it’s no wonder Costa Rica is a top destination for birding tourism. So, which areas have the most bird species? Which areas outperform for avian diversity?

In a sense, I could just say “the entire country”. From the Central Valley, Costa Rica is small enough for me to drive an hour or two in a few different directions and reach vastly different avifaunas. Seriously, as I write, there are over 700 bird species within a radius of 50 miles. It’s true! In a show of obsession for accuracy or curiosity or getting carried away with playing with Google Earth, I measured a 50 mile line stretching from my home in San Francisco de Heredia and made a circle.

I discovered that I am still amazed by the short distances created by a straight line in Costa Rica and, that my 50 mile birding radius encompasses everything from dry forest habitats to Monteverde, Carara, Caribbean lowlands, foothill forest as far as Turrialba, part of the General Valley, and the near continental shelf edge offshore from Quepos. In other words, I’m, smack in the middle of a heck of a lot of bird species. Within this Google Earth area, I counted 598 resident bird species and 160 migrants. Since I left out non-annual vagrants including the Aplomado Falcon currently hunting south of Jaco, there’s probably a few more.

Yes, definitely 700 plus bird species within 50 miles so how come I haven’t recorded that many this year? That stems from a fair percentage of those birds being rare or hard to detect, and me not having visited certain areas long enough this year to see them (such as the open ocean and a few other choice spots).

With all those birds in mind within such a short distance, we could say that the most biodiverse area for birds in Costa Rica is Costa Rica itself but, since we can’t travel “as the crow flies”, we’re better off talking about much smaller areas. These are the ones that come to mind.

The Carara Zone

streak-chested-antpitta

The Carara area is arguably the most avian diverse area in Costa Rica. It’s got a trick up its sleeve but, there’s no other site of similar area in Costa Rica (or Middle or Central America) that harbors as many bird species.

The crazy bird numbers don’t come from the national park although the mature, protected forests do play a vital role. They stem from Carara being a massive ecotone that blends dry forest with rainforest, mangroves, second growth, and wetlands. Yep, all those habitats all very close to each other. The end result is massive bird diversity (along with other stuff).

Monteverde

Male Three-wattled Bellbird.

This famous and heavily visited area is also a major hotspot. Sort of like Carara, all those birds living there are explained by sizeable areas of mature, protected cloud forest, some slightly lower elevation forest on the Caribbean slope, and dry forest habitats on the Pacific side.

In other words, Monteverde is also an ecotone of sorts, one with hundreds of bird species. In the past, when we did Christmas Counts there, I think we routinely turned up more than 400 species.

Poas Route 126

While the high elevations on Poas Volcano don’t host as many species as other areas in Costa Rica, when we also consider a surrounding area that includes dry/moist habitat birds in the Central Valley and middle elevation and foothill habitats on the adjacent Caribbean slope, we’re talking a lot of bird species.

This general area also having some of the most accessible birding to the Central Valley also earns points.

Bijagua

The Bijagua/Volcano Tenorio area also racks up the bird species. Like Monteverde and Carara, it likewise acts as an ecotone where dry habitats meet mature, wet foothill rainforest. Throw in some small wetlands and a trail or two that reaches cloud forest and we have a huge number of bird species. There might be around 400 possible.

Sites with Foothill and Lowland Forest

The other main sites in Costa Rica with major bird diversity are any place that combines foothill rainforest with lowland rainforest and/or cloud forest. Foothill and lowland forest on their own are always high diversity. Combine the two and you’ll have more than enough birds to look for even during a week of birding.

Emerald Tanager

Sites that come to mind are Rancho Naturalista, Hotel Quelitales, Reserva Las Brisas, parts of the Osa, Esquipulas, the remote Pitilla Biological Station, the Arenal area, and the San Vito area.

Wait, but what about Las Selva or Tortuguero or the Osa and the La Gamba area? Yes, those areas have lots of birds too, are fantastic, and you’d be birding wise to visit them. However, when talking about similar-sized areas that have ecotones, those sites seem to have more species. No matter what, as long as you bird in good habitat when birding Costa Rica, you can’t go wrong!

To learn more about birding at the sites mentioned above and many others, support this blog by purchasing my 900 plus page ebook “How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica”. I hope to watch birds with you here in Costa Rica!

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Raptor Festival at the Refugio Lapa Verde, Costa Rica

Raptor Festival! Who doesn’t love the sound of a festive gathering that celebrates raptorial birds? Such venue are destined to be cool. And it was. We nearly missed the gig but thanks to a casual Facebook check Friday evening, I noticed a quick, short video that mentioned the second annual raptor festival taking place at Refugio Lapa Verde, October 18th.

That sounded fun and it was free but yikes! We were talking the following day and although the LapaVerde Refuge is straight line close, sans flying car, getting there would mean 2 hours driving up and over the Central Cordillera mountain range (a common situation in Costa Rica). That actually isn’t so bad, especially if you like watching birds; the route passes through a few different life zones that hide 100s of bird species.

It’s the getting back part that can be tiresome (and whoah nelly, read on to hear about that challenge) as well as the leaving early enough part to get there in time (if you like to sleep in). However, on Saturday morning, we shrugged off any worries about those potentially challenging parts of the trip and made our way to the festival. Here’s how that day went along with recommendations and other hopefully helpful tidbits.

The height of fall migration in Costa Rica

This is it, third week of October in Costa Rica, the major final push of birds headed here and onward to the rich wintering forests of South America. See them while you can, see if you’ll get lucky with a quick cuckoo sighting or ironic, non-red Scarlet Tanager flocks and kingbird movements.

There’s also the raptors, the thousands of TVs and Swainson’s Hawks and Broad-wings soaring overhead, many of which pass over the hawkwatch at the Refugio Lapa Verde. Those big winged flyers are the main reason for the raptor festival but there’s other birds too, hiding and foraging in the vegetation of the refuge.

Even before we left for our cross mountain drive, I went looking for those migrants. I did my usual brief walk in our neighborhood, one that passes near a rare adjacent farm and narrow riparian zone. The Traill’s Flycatcher sallying down to the cut grass, a few pewees, Dickcissel, my first Bay-breasted Warbler of the year and a few other birds were a reminder of peak migration happening. A quick message from another local birder who had heard tons of Swainson’s Thrushes passing over pre-dawn skies was another reminder as were the birds we saw later that day.

An important, multi-faceted refuge

The Lapa Verde Refuge is privately-owned protected land that encompasses some of the last sizeable remaining areas of Caribbean lowland rainforest in Costa Rica. Just across the road from the Selva Verde forests and northwest of La Selva, the habitat is also loosely connected to other patches of forest that eventually reach the Nicaraguan border.

These connections and location make the refuge an ideal area to help conserve the Great Green Macaw. We need more reforestation for better forest connections outside of the refuge but Ecovida (the organization that owns and manages the refuge) has certainly been doing an excellent job.

Since 2013, through active reforestation and just letting the forest grow back on its own, they have reforested more than 300 hectares. The remaining 1500 hectares protects older rainforest, swamps, and other wetlands. This wealth of habitats is of course ideal for maintaining the complex biodiversity native to northern Costa Rica including important second growth habitats used by warblers and other small migrant birds (the same type of habitat frequently eliminated for pineapple farms).

Great Green Macaws and more

Thanks to the forests in the refuge, Great Green Macaws are regular (we saw several during our visit), and most expected lowland species have been recorded. This includes Slaty-backed Forest-Falcon (rare), Tiny Hawk, Ornate Hawk-Eagle, Snowy Cotinga, puffbirds, motmots, and more.

Although Agami Heron, Rufescent Tiger-Heron and some other birds aren’t on the list, I’m sure they are at least occasionally present too, probably just in less accessible spots.

On our visit, we didn’t see too much but our birding was also limited to sunny mid-day weather and a short tour mostly meant to educate visitors about the refuge. Even so, we still encountered several expected warblers (as well as a beautiful male Prothonotary), other migrants, some migrating kettles, King Vulture, and some other birds.

Raptor celebration

In addition to free tours to learn about the refuge, festival attendants also enjoyed everything from DJ’d music to face painting, story telling, and an honest to goodness magic show. There was a lot going on and it sometimes got loud but I was impressed!

Local kids had also submitted artwork, there were vendors selling arts and crafts, a Vortex optics stand with binos and scopes to sample, snow cones, and other raptor festival foods.

Although we didn’t stay until the finale, the festival ended with a concert and fire juggling! We made up for missing that by watching the fun folks from dance around in identifiable raptor costumes. As was befitting their aggressive nature, the Ornate Hawk-Eagle and Black and white Hawk-Eagle also chased a couple of kite flying kids around.

The Ecovida hawkwatch tower

Part of our tour included a visit to the refuge’s crown jewell; the hawkwatch tower. Situated on a hill, it provided a fantastic view of the surrounding forests and skies. It somewhat reminded me of canopy towers in the Amazon, I’d love to be up there pre and post dawn. It would also be the perfect spot to do a big sit and raise funds for refuge projects.

Although we weren’t at the tower at an ideal time, the counters do see many thousands of raptors during the migration season along with lots of other cool birds.

Visiting the refuge

The raptor festival was an open house, fun, celebratory event but that’s not the norm. It seems like the refuge is mostly there for research and protecting habitat. Although their site does mention ecotourism and they do receive visits, there’s not a lot of information about entrance fees and so on.

If interested in visiting, it would be best to contact them to get the full deal. I’ll also be doing that and including that information in the next update for my Costa Rica bird finding book. I’ve already got a list of other places to update and include, it’s amazing how many new birding sites pop up for well-birded Costa Rica!

What I can say is that if you do visit, you should have a fair chance at a wide variety of lowland birds while watching from their trails and the tower.

The insane drive back

On another note, the drive back wasn’t as easy going as the drive there. Not quite. Driving up and over the mountains in dry weather and daylight is another world compared to doing that at night and in pouring rain.

The problem with night driving there and in much of Costa Rica is the lack of illumination coupled with a concurrent lack of painted roads with reflectors. That’s bad enough in the driest of weather but when you throw in slick roads and constant rain, you’re faced with a potentially life and death situation.

Seriously. It’s hard to see the edge of the road and if you venture off of it, you’re vehicle will likely be rolling down the mountain. Luckily, the rain was too bad on our drive up and, by taking it slow and easy, we made it to the to without too much anxiety. However, from there, as we descended towards Alajuela, the rain got heavier to the point of deluge level craziness with some road flooding (albeit shallow enough to drive through). Add in other drivers, some of whom insist on passing and it’s no wonder we ran into an accident. Not us thank goodness but it did close the road and made us take a detour to get back on track.

The moral of that story is to avoid driving at night in Costa Rica, especially in mountains and during the wet season. Fortunately, you don’t really have to and it’s much easier during the dry season. Happy birding, I hope to see you here!

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Recent Mega Birds in Costa Rica

What’s a mega bird? Aren’t all birds intrinsically mega? Who invented the “mega” term anyways? Alas, as with much of the birding-associated lexicon, we’ll probably never know who that unintended mover and shaker was. Worse, we don’t know which bird species provoked them to coin the term nor, how they deployed it.

That doesn’t really matter but it would be nice to know. For those of us interested in birding history, we wouldn’t mind knowing if they said, “That Red-footed Falcon is a real mega”!, or if they were so beyond mind blown by focusing in on a choice elusive and unexpected species that they could utter nothing more than a hazy dazed and eye-glazed “Mega…”.

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This is my poor photo of a mega RVG Cuckoo. The blurry nature of the photo seems fitting for its highly elusive nature (at least that’s what I tell myself).

Whatever the case, we got the word and it must not be abused. Or, heck, birding is pretty much ruleless, use it however you want. This is your birding life after all, you bird how you do. However, if “we” were so inclined to define “mega”, in my opinion (decidedly not IMHO because that sounds too much like a dang pancake chain), I would say that the word refers to particularly unexpected, automatically rare, and/or especially elusive birds.

In other words, a surprise bird sighting to knock your birding socks off and give you a personal thrill. Megas would be birds like the Harpy Eagle, Yellow Rail, and the Bukidnon Woodcock (yeah, that’s real). On account of their elusive and ultra sneaky nature, the Neomorphus ground-cuckoos also fit the mega bill as do localized and ultra rare birds like the Cherry-throated Tanager (although that one might merit mega-mega or triple mega crown status, there’s like two dozen left).

The megaist of the mega birds would be species believed to be extinct, awaiting rediscovery, or that have never been previously seen. Kinglet Calyptura is a prime candidate along with maybe an unknown bird or two in remote parts of Bolivia.

As for Costa Rica, we got our own set of megas, a few of which have been recently seen.

Aplomado Falcon near Jaco

Although this lanky falcon isn’t rare on the global page, it’s always a mega for Costa Rica. We probably get a few each year and one or two might be briefly seen. They seem to be juveniles likely wandering in from the north and don’t usually stay long.

A few days ago, one of those choice cool falcons was found by Tina Van Dusen, a local birder in the Playa Hermosa, Jaco area. This isn’t the first mega she has found, we’re glad she keeps looking and reporting the birds she turns up around Playa Hermosa!

This falcon has been hanging out in the open fields near Mistico, a housing site near Playa Hermosa. Thankfully, a good number of local birders have seen it, I hope it sticks around long enough for me and Maryllen to see it too.

If you go, watch for it perched on posts, on top of lone trees, or flying around the fields. If you see a gaggle of birders, that might work too.

Crested Eagle at Pitilla Biological Station

Whoah! Yes! The just as difficult, slightly smaller version of the Harpy was seen by experienced local birders at Pitilla Biological Station. Although they don’t have a picture, their description is spot on and they have enough experience with other raptors to make the right call.

This isn’t just an automatic mega sighting by merit of the species involved, it’s also a fantastic mega sighting because we have no idea how many (few) Crested Eagles still occur in Costa Rica. One had never been seen in that area before but it’s the least bit surprising that they saw one where they did. Pitilla is one of the most remote, intact, accessible areas of lowland and foothill rainforest on the Caribbean slope. Not by coincidence, it’s also the only place where both Speckled Mourner and Ocellated Poorwill have been recently seen and not that far from a Harpy Eagle sighting in 2017.

All these species are indicators of healthy, intact habitat, the main question I have is where that Crested Eagle came from. Did it wander in from somewhere else? Are there a few hanging on in the remote forests of the northern volcanoes? Hopefully there are enough to maintain a small population.

Gray-headed Piprites at Rancho Naturalista

The piprites is another classic mega for Costa Rica. Although it used to be slightly more frequent, the mini pseudo manakin has never been common and is weirdly local. The reasons for its localization are surely not the slightest bit weird for the bird but they sure are evasive for us humans.

It has become very hard to predict where this bird might occur other than at its known and regular haunts. The best haunt seems to be a site near Turrialba where local guide Steven Montenegro regularly sees it. Other regular spots are in that same general region including one of the best known birding lodges in Costa Rica; good old Rancho Naturalista.

Yes, recently, one was seen there, hopefully, it will stick around for lots more birders to see it. If not, you could always contact Steven or try Vista Aves; the guide there also knows sites for this unassuming mega.

Migrating Swallows and other birds from the north

No, they don’t fit the mega definition but what can I say? Watching dozens of swallows fly over the house was a mega experience for me, especially after a short, successful hospital stay. I’m still alive and so are they; Cliff Swallows with deep chestnut throats, Bank Swallows looking svelte, and beautiful peach Barn Swallows zipping from the fields of Ohio straight on through Costa Rica.

Wood-pewees hawking bugs from perches, the first of many Baltimore Orioles and Summer Tanagers getting reaccustomed to their tropical side of life, and good numbers of cheerful chipping Yellow Warblers. In which forests did the flycatchers sing their lazy summer songs? Where did the orioles and tanagers flutter in June maples and oaks? Where did the warblers grace the northern willows?

I like to know but no matter right now. It only matters that they made it here and, if they stay, that they survive the winter in these tropical realms.

To learn more about birding at the sites mentioned in this post while supporting this blog, check out my bird finding guide for Costa Rica. I hope to see some mega birds with you here!

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News and Tips from Recent Birding in Costa Rica

A few days ago, I returned from a week of birding in Costa Rica. This wasn’t any old week of excellent birding at commonly visited hotspots like Arenal, Sarapiqui, and Cano Negro. No, this was a target road trip, a custom birding voyage structured around “the missing”. Those hallowed species would be any birds not seen on previous trips to Costa Rica.

As such, they could only be encountered at scattered locations, typically, places too far flung to visit on previous trips. But, we had already birded the close spots, had already seen most of what could be seen relatively nearby (and even then, not all!). Reaching the far off places had become necessary, at least if we wanted to see funny sounding birds like Stub-tailed Spadebill, Elegant Trogon, and Ivory-billed Woodcreeper.

In a birding nutshell, we went from the Sarapiqui lowlands to cloud forest in the central highlands, on to Liberia in northwestern Costa Rica, and then way south to the gateway to the Osa and Ciudad Neily (and then back, as well as a day trip to Centro Manu). The following reflects some of the highlights and tips from this custom birding journey, more or less following the timeframe of the trip.

Cerulean Warblers and some other migrants

I was hoping to catch up with the annual fall passage of mini sky-blue beauties. The height of their movements coincided with our birding days, I figured we’d probably see a few but, since this is birding, you just never know!

Fortunately, it all worked out, birding probability paid off in three places. There were the brief glimpses of pleasant greenish backed females and a neatly breast banded male in Centro Manu (where they consort with Lesser Greenlets- scandalous), the bold female that uncharacteristically showed in eye level vegetation at Tirimbina, and the fantastic, very welcome male that gave perfect views at Cinchona.

Although not quite so glamorous, other migrants were around too; a handful of Red-eyed Vireos, Blackburnians, Black and white Warblers, pewees, and a few others. In southern Costa Rica, there was also a bunch of Sulphur-bellied Flycatchers. It was pretty cool and birder dreamy to see a dozen doing their hefty flycatcher thing in one special tree!

Tirimbina- still great for Great Tinamou and antbirds

We spent a morning at Tirimbina to look for various fairly challenging lowland birds. Luckily, some made an appearance. One of the best was one of the birds that this private refuge is often good for- yee friendly whistling Great Tinamou. After a juvenile had flushed, we were pleased to see an adult doing us a favor by sticking around for great views.

Other nice target birds included antwrens, antvireos, and seriously lucking out with Ocellated Antbird. In roughly the same spot where I had encountered an antswarm nearly a year before, lo and behold, I see a couple streams of Army Ants trying to sneak by!

After careful investigation and whistling like an Ocellated, thankfully, two of the wonderfully spotted, blue-faced birds appeared for some fine looks.

Fair birding on the San Rafael de Varablanca road

The cloud forest next to Braulio Carrillo National Park weren’t quite as birdy as I would have liked but, then again, I probably expect too much. No quetzal but we did have excellent views of Black-breasted Wood-Quail, had a nice mixed flock, and heard White-fronted Tyrannulet.

This site always turns up some good stuff, I cover it and lots of other places in my Costa Rica bird finding ebook, “How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica”.

Visiting Santa Rosa National Park

Santa Rosa National Park is an excellent, big area of tropical dry forest in northern Costa Rica. It’s around 35 minutes north of Liberia and worth the visit!

We went there hoping for several dry forest species and indeed, lucked out with Thicket Tinamou on the main road, Ivory-billed Woodcreeper, and Stub-tailed Spadebill among other birds. Although it was overall fairly birdy everywhere, some of the best spots were the old growth dry forest on the drive in, and the loop trail near the Casona.

You can stop on the main road but be very careful of speeding vehicles. Also, although the entrance road doesn’t have a gate, you still need to make reservations in advance and pay the fee at the park entrance (only with cards and only from 8 to 330). Reservations were easy enough and the park rangers were also very friendly and helpful.

Las Trancas- not as accessible, not as good

Las Trancas is the name for a farming area on the road from Liberia and the airport to the Playa Hermosa area. In the past, rice fields there have been excellent for Jabiru, rails, and more. Unfortunately, as I saw from this recent sojourn, most of the rice has been converted to unbirdy sugar cane and the side roads are gated.

Needless to say, we didn’t have much there. However, the other part of the farm that still has rice fields and birds can still be visited albeit with a local guide. We paid a brief visit and managed distant Jabiru and a few other birds. To check this great area out and maybe see Spotted Rail, contact local guide Javier Perez Chaves.

BONUS SNOWY PLOVER AT CALDERA!

As befits the find, this subtitle gets the big letters. During low tide, a sand bar forms in the lagoon at Mata de Limon (aka Caldera). Sometimes it has several birds, other times no but it’s always worth checking. On September 9th, that checking paid off with a very rare for Costa Rica Snowy Plover.

The bird was distant and the sun was hot but carefully scoping that bunch of Semi Plovs was worth the sweat and staring. Ghost pale, think dark beak and gray legs…year bird success!

I doubt it will stick around that spot but you never know. I hope it turns up again, might be in Tarcoles.

Cotingas at Rincon de Osa

In Costa Rica birding circles, Rincon de Osa is known as the place to be for Yellow-billed Cotinga. Thanks to two fruiting figs, it most definitely was on our visit. Belying their scarce and possibly critically endangered status, the surreal white birds swooped back and forth, sometimes near eye level. Most were males, I only saw one, maybe two females at most.

Turquoise Cotinga was also present but, amazingly, we missed it by an inch! As we watched the white birds, another birder was taking pictures of the blue one on the other side of the tree. He assumed we had seen it and, sadly, the birds snuck off and never came back, not even on the following morning.

Quiet birding at Rincon de Osa

On another note, overall, the forest birding at Rincon was pretty quiet. Yes, we still saw Crane Hawk, Gray-lined Hawk, and some other good birds but it was pretty quiet. I only hope that’s related to season and not fewer birds but, I worry. On past visits, I have easily recorded 100 plus species in a few hours.

An absence of owls and other night birds

In general, we had every few nocturnal birds. If we would have looked more, we probably would have found some but, checking a couple nights turned up nothing, not even a Pauraque.

Ciudad Neily rocks and birding rolls

This small city in southern Costa Rica was birdy as ever. The “hospital road” had Savannah Hawk and other regulars but no dice with Paint-billed Crake (maybe too wet to concentrate them?). Unfortunately, the Coto area was too flooded and muddy to access but the birding just outside of town was good.

Parrots and other birds flew over town at dawn and dusk and roadside birding in forest just outside of town was productive for a good number of rainforest species. As a bonus, we also had great looks at Central American Squirrel Monkeys!

After Ciudad Neily birding, we made the long drive back to San Jose, thankfully, with nary an incident. Speaking of incidents, lately heavy rains have caused local flooding near Fortuna and other places, and landslides on the Route 32 San Jose-Guapiles highway. Be careful and make sure you get your birding in during the sunny morning! By 1 or 2, the weather takes a drastic turn and pours down buckets.

Happy birding, I hope to see you here! Here’s a trip report to whet the appetite.

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A Morning of Birding at Villa San Ignacio

I’ve written about Villa San Ignacio before, it’s easy to write about it again. For the visiting birder, this small hotel has more than nice rooms and great service. The place is a quick 15 to 20 minute drive from the airport and, even better, the hotel grounds are birdy habitat in their entirety.

Huge fig trees, mangos, and native “cedars” shade the gardens near the rooms while second growth covers a few short trails that approach a stream. Although you can’t reach the flowing water, you can get close enough to hear it. Bird there in the morning and you’ll also hear a good number of edge and moist forest species.

Today, I guided at Villa San Ignacio in the morning and it went a little something like this:

Five Wrens a Singing

In Costa Rica, wren diversity is up there. Bird any forested area at low or middle elevations and you’ll hear several of this vociferous bunch. Today at Villa San Ignacio, I had the usual five species that whistle from riparian zones and other vegetation in the Central Valley.

Rufous-backed Wren

Today, Rufous-and-white Wrens were singing the most and, unusually, we had good looks around the volleyball court. Rufous-breasteds also sang but, as per usual, kept to the dense vine tangles. Carolina looking Cabanis’s Wrens sang from the dense second growth while Southern House Wrens (fun to say that!) and played around buildings and Rufous-backed Wrens (also fun) did their babbleresque actions throughout the property.

Fair Hummingbird Action

Today, hummingbirds were alright especially considering the low number of suitable flowers. Porterweed bushes were the main nectar source along with a small number of additional flowering plants. Several Blue-venteds fed and chased each other at the Porterweed, especially around the volleyball court. By the main buildings, another Porterweed patch hosted a Cinnamon, and Rufous-taileds trilled and bounced around the rest of the property.

Cinnamon Hummingbird

In the dry season, flowering trees also attract Green-breasted Mango, Blue-throated Goldentail, and Plain-capped Starthroats. Fortunately, a couple of those starthroats were still around; we managed to see one on a high perch at the tail end of the morning.

No Manakins or Ground-Sparrows but a Yellow-billed Cacique

Despite plenty of whistling for manakins, I heard nary a response. Same goes for the ground-sparrows. Usually, I at least hear a White-eared but not today. I’m not sure where the Cabanis’s go either, hopefully just hiding back in the thick stuff.

I figure the manakins moved off to better feeding areas, I figure that was also why we didn’t see any tityras. The birds probably found better fruiting trees elsewhere but, they’ll surely be back. On a positive note, we did hear and see a Yellow-billed Cacique, a bird I rarely if ever see at Villa San Ignacio.

Lineated Woodpecker, Lesson’s Motmots, and other Common Birds

This morning also had a fair array of common edge and Central Valley species. We had nice looks at Hoffmann’s and Lineated Woodpeckers, Lesson’s Motmots, Boat-billed Flys, kiskadees, Blue-gray Tanagers, Chestnut-capped Warblers, Squirrel Cuckoo, saltators, Common Tody-Flys, and others.

We also enjoyed Gray-headed Chachalacas, Streak-headed Woodcreeper, Brown Jays, and Barred Antshrike among others.

High Flying Raptors

Once it warmed up enough, vultures soared overhead and were joined by Gray and Short-tailed Hawks. Those are the usuals at Villa San Ignacio but it pays to keep looking up. On other birding days, I’ve often seen Zone-tailed Hawk and other things can occur, even birds like Double-toothed Kite, Swallow-tailed, Kite and the odd Hook-billed Kite!

It was a fine morning of birding at Villa San Ignacio. In common with so many birding sites in Costa Rica, you never really know what you’ll see. There’s some seasonal variation and forested riparian zones and other green space have various birds wandering in and out of the area. In other words, it’s always good and a great place to start and end your birding time in Costa Rica.

Here’s the eBird list from today and a link to my Costa Rica birding site guide. I hope to see you here!