It’s October 6, do you know where your birds are? I’m talking Red-eyed Vireos, Blackburnian Warblers, Northern Yellow Warblers, wood-pewees, and other species gone from their breeding grounds. I know where some of them are. I’ve been watching them in Heredia, Costa Rica, mostly in a precious patch of green space.
There have been dozens of Blackburnians flashing varying degrees of black-striped pumpkin orange. Many sally like mini-flycatchers, going full on acrobatic to catch bugs and busy the foliage. Northern Yellow Warblers have been doing some of that too, there’s usually 3 or 4 around, most seem to be drab yellowish females or juveniles.
Although REVIs are still around, it seems like most have passed through. At least I’ve been seeing less over the past few days. In September, a dozen or more would play hide and seek in the neighborhood, mostly doing the hide part. Silent and wearing natural leaf-like plumage, they have been the definition of unobtrusive.
On account of their foraging necessity, pewees have been more obvious. Perching on small dead snags or other suitable spots to watch for bugs, I’ve seen two or three most mornings. The majority are Easterns but there have been a few Westerns as well along with Empids that usually stick to the vegetation. Those smaller flycatchers have come in the form of Willow, an Alder or two, and Yellow-bellied.
There have been a good variety of other birds, a small wave of Common Nighthawks, Canada Warblers, American Redstarts, and other migrants including gnatcatcherish Chestnut-sided Warblers here for the winter duration. They’ve been joined by our first Baltimore Orioles and Summer Tanagers, and Golden-wingeds should appear any day now.
These migrants, birds that summered in the boreal and mixed forests of Canada and the USA have been sharing space with Brown Jays, Melodious Blackbirds, Blue-gray Tanagers, kiskadees and other birds while Crimson-fronted Parakeets screech overhead. They have to watch out for the Short-tailed Hawks that call high over the houses at sunny 9 a.m., and avoid the occasional Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl (I saw one with a Northern Yellow Warbler in its talons). In more forested areas, some of those migrants are flocking with antwrens, woodcreepers, and glittering tanagers as they evade Barred Forest-Falcons and Tiny Hawks.
Such is early October in Costa Rica, here’s what else a birder can expect.
Slaty Finches in the Talamancas
One of the more difficult resident species has been entertaining local birders in the high, cold Talamancas. The Slaty Finch is one of those birds that appears in the field guide but typically stays elusive. Despite the “finch” part of its name, this challenging bird is actually a tanager, one that may move around in search of seeding bamboo. Or, it just wanders around. Or, it is a low density species that doesn’t typically sing its super high pitched song unless it finds seeding bamboo.
No one really knows because this lead-colored bird is nearly impossible to study. However, one thing we do know is that it can visit seed feeders, at least on occasion and maybe seasonally?
Lately, some have been showing at Suenos Natura Birds Sanctuary along with Peg-billed Finches! Although this took place in September, they could still be around that area and might even become regular visitors. Small groups have also been seen in the Dota Valley, perhaps October is a good time of year to lay eyes on this elusive bird.
Interesting Seabirds at Puntarenas
Heading down to the coast, Puntarenas seabirding has been especially good of late. Over the past few days, local expert guide Beto Guido found a number of Red Phalaropes, Arctic Tern, and other birds rather close to the cruise ship dock. This time of year tends to be better for pelagic species near Puntarenas but Red Phalarope is especially noteworthy for Costa Rica. The presence of Arctic Tern at the Puntarenas tip and near Jaco may be an indication of additional pelagic species foraging closer to shore on account of the current El Nino.
Today would be a good day to watch from the point or take the ferry, who knows what might fly by?
Major Migration Wave in Costa Rica
Migration has been good but the peak takes place during the month of pumpkin spice. The next two weeks should be especially good with a blend of earlier migrants and the late-comers like Bay-breasted Warblers, buntings, and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks.
With luck, a birder in Costa Rica these days could also see migrant cuckoos, Veery, and Gray-cheeked Thrush among other species. At The Nest, a fantastic birding oasis owned by the folks at Lifer Tours, they’ve had both cuckoos, several Ceruleans (when they passed through in August), and many other species. I wonder what else they\ll turn up? Perhaps a skulky ground warbler named after a state that starts with a “C”?
At my place, I’ve had a couple good nights of nocturnal bird movements, I’m hoping I’ll get a few more. The first and best night was an evening quietly punctuated by the peeperish calls of Swainson’s Thrushes, Dickcissels and one or two Upland Sandpipers. Any day now, weather permitting, I should also hear Veery and Gray-cheeked Thrush. I hope so because I might not see them on the ground. That’s how it’s been on other nights with lots of calling thrushes; many heard and none seen the following morning!
Down on the Caribbean slope, the hawk counters have already been tallying hundreds of birds in the annual river of raptors. The majority should start pushing through any day now; thousands of Broad-winged and Swanson’s Hawks and Turkey Vultures with lesser numbers of other species.
October Global Big Day at the Refugio Lapa Verde
Coinciding with migration and hawk counting, on October 10th, the Refugio Lapa Verde is hosting an open house/raptor festival event. I suspect it will be like the previous year’s birding shindig, one full of birds, flying raptors, local vendors and overall good birding times.
If you will be in Sarapiqui, Costa Rica on October 10th, visiting would certainly be worth your while. You may find more information at their Facebook page.
In other parts of the country, although there hasn’t been much chatter about it, we should see local birders in most corners of Costa Rica. I know I’ll be out there, not sure where yet but birding somewhere in this land of quetzals, tanagers, hummingbirds, and 100s of other bird species.
October Weather, 2026
But what about the weather? Is it going to rain? Be windy or birding under a blazing sun? No matter where you go birding in Costa Rica, I’d stick to the shade as much as possible. As for October weather, in Costa Rica, it’s always hit or miss. Towards this tail end of the rainy season, we can experience heavy rains or sunny weather or a blend of the two.
This year, with El Nino throwing a wrench into those expectations, who knows what might happen? Lately, we’ve had typical rain season weather of sunny mornings and rain in the afternoons, especially on the southern Pacific slope. Although there have been expected sunny days on the Caribbean side, there have also been heavier rains than usual (as is expected for El Nino weather). For what it’s worth, the forecast for the rest of the month predicts typical rain season weather for the rest of this week and then drier weather later in the month.
In terms of birding, that means being prepared for rain and getting in as much of your birding as possible during the early morning. It also means that if you get light rain or on and off rain in the afternoon, you can also experience good bird activity and a better chance of raptors perched in the open.
Interesting Owl Observations
On the local bird front, lately, there have been some interesting owl reports. Last month, more owl species were calling in some areas than expected, perhaps on account of odd, drier weather than usual.
Black and white Owls continue to be seen at high elevations and we can say the same for Spectacled Owl. Historically, these big owl species were largely found below 5,000 feet in elevation. That started changing some years ago, maybe around the same time toucans and other species began to move upslope, no doubt in response to warmer, climate-changed induced weather.
How do those large owls affect highland ecosystems? Do they impact smaller owl species that didn’t typically occur with them? There haven’t been any studies looking into this but I bet they do. In any case, don’t be surprised to run into either of these big owls at high elevations.
The other bit of owl news is quite the mystery! Recently, a local birder reported the undescribed Puntarenas Screech Owl from cloud forest at Villablanca near San Ramon. There’s a picture and recording and although it may sound slightly different, it sure sounds close enough to be the undescribed taxon and not a Middle American Screech-Owl. Villablanca being so far from the southern Pacific zone, just what the heck is going on here!?
Well, to add more intrigue, this isn’t the first time Puntarenas type calls have been heard in northern Costa Rica. It or something very similar has also been recorded at sites in the northern volcanoes. Although this might seem bonkers, when we look at ranges of couple other “South Pacific” bird species, finding this species in these areas might not be as outrageous as it first appears.
A classic South Pacific endemic, the Black-hooded Antshrike, also occurs at spots in Guanacaste and the northern volcanoes while Scaly-breasted Wren, and maybe a few other species also range to near San Ramon. These birds occur in a narrow band of humid forest or, patches of humid forest that locally occurs in the foothill zone of the Pacific slope. Much of it is deforested and areas that remain are little birded, maybe it’s no surprise that an undescribed owl taxon has been overlooked for that area?
When we throw climate change into the mix, that could further explain why this species has moved upslope and into the Villablanca cloud forest. The sighting is also impetus to search for it in more spots, especially any humid foothill forest on the Pacific slope.
That’s all for now but I’ll just mention that the wonderful resident birds are in their usual spots and the birding in Costa Rica is great as always. To learn more about birding sites mentioned in this post, please support this blog by getting my updated, 1,000 page ebook, “How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica”. I hope to see you here!
