2008 Tour Narrative
In Brief: 2008 marked the 22nd year (and more than 50th time) I have led a Costa Rican tour, and this small scenic country remains one of my favorite birding locations. It is remarkable how diverse and varied this tiny country is, and our total count of nearly 470 species in just twelve days of birding is testimony of the type of birding available in Costa Rica. Seven enthusiastic birders (four from the United Kingdom, one from California, and two from Ohio) joined me for what was a wonderful trip that took in the high central mountains, the Pacific lowland, Monteverde with its famous cloud forest, and the Caribbean lowlands from Arenal Volcano to the La Selva Biological Station.
In Detail: We began with a day visit to Tapanti National Park. I always like starting at this seldom visited park, which is both scenic and excellent for birding. It is always fun starting here, with nice mixed-species flocks including fancy tanagers such as Silver-throated and Spangle-cheeked, as well as specialties including Collared Trogon and Prong-billed Barbet. This year we found and got nice scope views of a Green-fronted Lancebill perched low over a small stream. We also got our only White-bellied Mountain-gem of the tour, and nearby saw a Sedge Wren (scarce in the central valley) and a nice colony of Chestnut-headed Oropendolas. On the way in to Tapanti we got our best views of Crimson-fronted Parakeets. After lunch we headed up into the Talamanca Highlands and Cerro de la Muerte.
Our two days of birding on Cerro de la Muerte was quite productive, and we saw virtually all of the “Chiriqui” endemics that this mountain range is famous for. Of course, everyone’s favorite was the Resplendent Quetzal, of which we saw seven in one day! Sometimes this splendid bird can be difficult, but this year there was a close fruiting tree, and we all had leisurely scope views of multiple males with their elongated plumes—an amazing show! After the quetzal show, the birding was much more relaxed (at least for the leader!), and we had great fun picking off all the main target birds. Some of the more exciting species we found here included White-throated Mountain-gem, Scintillant Hummingbird, Dusky Nightjar, Acorn Woodpecker, Ruddy Treerunner, Black-capped and Yellowish Flycatchers, Long-tailed and Black-and-yellow Silky-flycatchers, Yellow-winged Vireo, Timberline Wren, Flame-throated and Black-cheeked Warblers, Collared Redstart, Flame-colored Tanager, Yellow-thighed and Large-footed Finches, and Volcano Junco.
Our next destination was the Pacific lowlands near Carara National Park. En route we stopped and birded outside San Isidro in the Valle de General; although our birding stop was brief, we managed to see several species not found elsewhere on this itinerary, including Pearl Kite (nesting here for the second year in a row), Smooth-billed Ani, Pale-breasted Spinetail, and Fork-tailed Flycatcher. We also found a very nice Fiery-billed Aracari and generally had lots of birds to look at! On the drive to Carara we saw some nice raptors, including Gray Hawk, Yellow-headed Caracara, and our only King Vulture of the trip.
Carara National Park is always one of my favorite birding locations—it is a transition between the wet forest to the south and the dry forest to the north, which means it has lots and lots of birds. We spent two mornings in the park. One was spent along the “River” trail, where we had a fantastic morning beginning with a close Great Tinamou, followed by all five of the trogon species found at Carara, including the endemic Baird’s Trogon. Other nice specialties of the area we encountered included Boat-billed Heron, Bare-throated Tiger-Heron, White-necked Puffbird, Costa Rican Swift (a split from Band-rumped), Pale-billed Woodpecker, Cocoa Woodcreeper, Black-hooded and Barred Antshrikes, Dusky and Chestnut-backed Antbirds, Royal Flycatcher, Slate-headed Tody-Flycatcher, Northern Bentbill, Black-bellied, Rufous-and-white, and Rufous-breasted Wrens, Long-billed Gnatwren, and Orange-billed Sparrow. Along the forest loop trail in the afternoon and the following morning we encountered a slightly different set of birds, including several difficult-to-see species such as Streak-chested Antpitta, Black-faced Antthrush, Tawny-winged Woodcreeper, a stunning White-whiskered Puffbird, the very cute Golden-crowned Spadebill, Riverside Wren, and the endemic Spot-crowned Euphonia. Our last afternoon at Carara was spent on a mangrove boat trip, which was enjoyed by all—especially since we found a Rufous-necked Wood-Rail (the leader’s first in Costa Rica!), and several specialties such as Mangrove Hummingbird, Mangrove Vireo, and Mangrove Warbler.
Monteverde was the next section of the tour, but first we spent most of one day mopping up as many of the “Guanacaste” specialties as we could in the northwest. The day was capped off by a stunning Jabiru nest at Solimar, but was also highlighted by a number of fun birds, including an amazing Lesser Ground-Cuckoo that sat in the open for us while we filled our flash memory cards with many photos; other goodies included Double-striped Thick-knee, Turquoise-browed Motmot, Gray-headed Kite, Nutting’s Flycatcher, Banded Wren, White-throated Magpie-Jay, Streak-backed and Spot-breasted Orioles, and Stripe-headed and Olive Sparrows. A nice selection of shorebirds at Ensenada Lodge (where we lunched) and at Solimar included several Muscovy Ducks, Harris’s Hawks, and more Bare-throated Tiger-Herons you can shake a stick at.
Monteverde is always a beautiful place to visit despite the crowds, and we did very well for birds. The stunning cloud forest produced more great views of Resplendent Quetzal, close up Black Guan, Orange-bellied Trogon, Lineated Foliage-gleaner, Slaty-backed Nightingale-Thrush, Three-striped Warbler, Slate-throated Redstart, and Chestnut-capped Brush-Finch, to name just a few. The hummingbird gallery was excellent as usual, with all the Monteverde specialties present, among them Magenta-throated Woodstar, Purple-throated Mountain-gem, Green-crowned Brilliant, Stripe-tailed Hummingbird, and the amazing Violet Sabrewing! Perhaps the best birds were a small covey of Black-breasted Wood-Quail, and “in-van” views of a Chiriqui Quail-Dove!
It was then off to the Caribbean lowlands, where we hoped to encounter a completely new set of birds. We once again included a night’s stay at the Arenal Volcano area and, for the second year in a row, a visit to the Hanging Bridges. What a beautiful trail, and the birding is pretty fantastic as well. We found some incredible birds along the trail, including Spotted, Dull-mantled, and Immaculate Antbirds, a Nightingale Wren, Broad-billed Motmot, and along a nearby road a pair of Bare-crowned Antbirds (only my second in Costa Rica!), as well as lots of toucans and parrots.
Our main destination on the Caribbean side was Selva Verde Lodge, which gave us good access to La Selva Biological Station and Braulio Carrillo National Park. La Selva was fantastic as usual, especially the entrance road, which was for many of the group their favorite place to bird. We actually made three visits to the entrance road, where we encountered new and different birds each time. Some of our favorites included the female Snowy Cotinga (finally!), Semiplumbeous Hawk, Yellow-tailed Oriole, Pied Puffbird, Bright-rumped Attila, White-ringed Flycatcher, Passerini’s Tanager, and Black-headed Saltator. Our walk inside the station, as usual, produced a number of fun (large) birds. Amazingly, we saw three different Great Curassows, both Great and Slaty-breasted Tinamous, both Broad-billed and Rufous Motmots, Blue-chested Hummingbird, Bronze-tailed Plumeleteer, Western Slaty Antshrike, and the diminutive Black-capped Pygmy-Tyrant. La Selva is always fun! Nearby we stopped for both Nicaraguan Seed-Finch and Olive-crowned Yellowthroat. Our visit to Braulio Carrillo was a bit wet, but we managed to do the trail twice and see many specialties only found in the foothills. Best birds there included nice views of a Lattice-tailed Trogon and several foothill tanagers, such as Emerald, Tawny-crested, Olive, and White-throated Shrike-Tanager. We had incredible views of a Black-headed Nightingale-Thrush, and at the nearby hummingbird garden we saw THREE male Snowcaps! What a bird!
We finished the trip with a visit to La Virgen del Socorro and the La Paz Waterfall Gardens. The hummingbird feeders produced a couple of new hummers—Brown Violet-ear and Black-bellied Hummingbird—bringing the trip total to an amazing 37! The tanager feeders at the waterfall gardens produced in-your-face views of Silver-throated Tanager, Tawny-capped Euphonia, and both Baltimore Oriole and Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Perhaps the bird of the day was the several Crimson-collared Tanagers we saw, as well as the excellent “typical” lunch we were served!
Unfortunately, the trip had to end, and the trip back to San Jose was followed by a final dinner at our comfortable hotel. We all recited our top three birds of the tour, and once again, Resplendent Quetzal took top honors. Other favorites included the very cute Common Tody-Flycatcher we watched building its nest at La Selva, the amazing Sunbittern we saw at Monteverde, and of course the male Snowcap—one of the world’s most stunning hummingbirds.
- Gary Rosenberg
Updated: May 2008