2006 Tour Narrative
Bird-filled mornings and a stream of butterfly diversity typified our days during this amazingly fun tour. Without encountering swarms of the colorful insects we did stumble onto some nice pockets of activity, some very little known and seldom seen species, plenty of mysteries, and in the end probably saw at least 275 species (no nets and no dissection in order to determine skippers and hairstreaks was a limitation we happily lived without) . With such a range of habitats, elevations, and plenty of activity even when the sun wasn’t shining, there was rarely a moment during the tour when we didn’t have something exciting to watch, feathered or scaled.
A pair of the beautiful and unusual White-eared Ground-Sparrows in the hotel’s flower-filled gardens, along with Plain Wrens and a Blue-crowned Motmot were a nice start to the tour. We departed for Tapantà National Park before any butterflies were active, and as we approached Orosi, migrating flocks of Broad-winged and Swainson’s Hawks were already taking to the air, some just outside our bus windows. Even before we entered the park, some activity outside but bus warranted a stop. Before long, everyone was torn in different directions with the excitement of new species. Amazing was to have both Lamplight and Doubleday’s Actinotes on low flowers in the same spot with Broad-banded Dartwhites overhead. Once in the national park, butterfly activity was slow, but we saw several gorgeous Blinking Mountain-Whites (a favorite for many) as well as a Large-spotted Oleria and a very unusual metalmark that may prove to be a species of Argyrogrammana leopardspot. We also had spectacular views of Spangle-cheeked Tanagers showing the golden iridescence on their cheeks, several Prong-billed Barbets, a White-winged Tanager, a seldom seen Scaly-throated Foliage-gleaner, our only White-bellied Mountain-gem and Golden-bellied Flycatchers while constantly being serenaded by invisible Black-throated Solitaires.
Later our first afternoon, all the next day, and the next morning were spent in high elevation cloud forests where butterflies were more abundant in the morning hours before the clouds rose form the more tropical elevations. Resplendent Quetzals were common and easy even before breakfast, and we did well with many of the specialties of these highlands, such as Ochraceous Pewee, Flame-throated Warbler, Yellow-winged Vireo and Large-footed Finch. The Yellow-thighed Finches were especially common and enjoyed, and the abundant hummingbirds, including Scintillant and Volcano, never fail to delight. Our full sunny morning amidst the bamboo-choked forest was a bonanza for many little known satyrs, such as Splendid Gemmed-Satyr, Orange-banded Pedalio and Talamanca Oxeo, a Dalla skipperling, a Celastrina azure and perhaps one of the most enigmatic of Costa Rica’s butterflies, Corrachia lecuoplaga, unusual for a metalmark in its dull colors and cloud forest habitat, while endemic to the Dota region and being a taxonomic oddity in its own subfamily. Right around the hotel we saw Sulphur-winged Parakeets fly by several times, while a Black-thighed Grosbeak, Common Mountain-White and at least a few Flame-colored Tanagers were regulars.
Our three days on the Pacific Coast at La Cusinga went by far too quickly. Our initial taste of the tropical elevations was highlighted by our first of many Blue-gray Satyrs and a Tropical Mockingbird, while a totally unexpected lifer for everyone who saw it was a Jaguarundi that loped across the road only 20 yards in front of the bus. We found that the best spot for butterflies was the blooming Sea Almond tree between the dining area and the lookout deck, especially the morning hours and especially for diverse metalmarks and hairstreaks. Basic Greatstreak, Eyed Hairstreak, Tropical Greenstreak, Sword-tailed Beautymark, two probable Pirascca species and a complete mystery Nymphidium with a broad white hindwing fringe were just some of the highlights from that one tree. From the same location, the spectacular view of the treetops and ocean added much to the bird list, including constant Brown Boobies and Magnificent Frigatebirds nesting on the distant seastack, early morning White-necked Puffbirds, Golden-naped Woodpeckers and Fiery-billed Aracaris, Costa Rican Swifts and migrating Cliff and Barn Swallows, joined by an Olive-sided Flycatcher, a Merlin, a Peregrine Falcon and a locally rare Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. But we saw plenty on a couple of the trails too, mostly the trail towards the beach and on the one that took us past the giant, ancient Ajo trees. Highlights along here included Great Tinamou (heard every day and seen a few times), a family of Great Curassows, a family of Marbled Wood-Quail, many Black-hooded Antshrikes, a displaying lek of Red-capped Manakins, one mixed flock with White-throated Shrike Tanager, another with Golden-crowned Spadebill and Dot-winged Antwren and a day roosting Spectacled Owl. Two evening owling excursions were successful with Crested, Striped and Tropical Screech-Owls and a first local record for Short-tailed Nighthawk, while the Vermiculated Screech-Owl remained heard only. The early morning chorus with Chestnut-mandibled Toucans, Bright-rumped Attilas and Mantled Howlers (our alarm clocks) were memorable. Butterflies along the trails were scattered but often spectacular. There were the Transparent Swordtails in a little sunny patch (is it ChorinEa or ChorINea?), a Great Jewelmark, a cute Remella skipper, very common Creamy Hemmarks, male and female Blue Sailors (which went unidentified until after the tour), a still unidentified territorial brushfoot chasing intruders from his elevated perch, and a very showy large skipper on a bird dropping, the Flamboyant Ant-Skipper. Our boat ride through the mangroves one morning added some interesting birds such as the endemic Mangrove Hummingbird (not the best views), Gray-headed Kite (three all at once, amazingly) and Scarlet Macaws, while on the stop at Finca Florida some great butterflies like the Starry Night Cracker and a surprise Eastern Tailed-Blue were seen. We also were lucky to be the liberators of a Common Tree Boa that had been found in a house in Sierpe.
On the long drive to our next destination on the Caribbean side of the country we started with a Mangrove Hawk nest with chicks next to the roadside and finished the morning at Los Cusingos, the home of the late Alexander Skutch. We saw a couple new birds here, Streaked Saltator and the very showy Orange-collared Manakin, but this was a fantastic spot for butterflies. Two kinds of eighty-eights, including the almost unknown-in-Costa Rica Four-spotted, at least two kinds of preponas, female and male Red Banner, Dingy and Sky-blue Greatstreaks, Frosted Catone, a fast-flying Orion and several leafwings and morphos at the bananas were just some of the highlights here. A short afternoon stop at a restaurant part way up the mountain provided amazing views of a Purple-crowned Fairy piercing flowers right below the deck while the giant, purple Violet Sabrewings elicited some wows.
Our first full day on the east side was spent at La Selva, but not before our first of three early mornings enjoying birds on our hotel grounds. An amazing number of Green Ibises had invaded the region and their bugling calls could be heard from almost anywhere, a Fasciated Tiger-Heron fished from the river, Montezuma Oropendolas flew to and from their nesting tree, Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks departed their tree roost and a White-throated Crake poked its head out of the grass for some. We also stopped by the El Tigre marsh this first morning, but that was later upstaged by our second stop there the last day. La Selva maintained its reputation as a natural history wonderland. We started with Eastern Kingbird, Snowy Cotinga, Black-cowled and Yellow-tailed Orioles, Black-faced Grosbeak and Long-tailed Tyrant and progressed to Fox-faced Lenmark, Creamy Crescent and a Banded Peacock snagged by a Common Tody-Flycatcher. The forest trails were typically quiet, punctuated here and there by exciting finds, such as Mexican Cycadian, an amazingly tame Great Curassow, Extroverted Theope, Black-capped Pygmy-Tyrant (amazing views, finally), Yellow-tufted Prepona, Semiplumbeous Hawk, Many-spotted Blue-Skipper, Broad-billed Motmots, flitting Transgressive Satyrs, our fifth Double-toothed Kite and misleading Two-banded Tiger-Crescent. Strawberry Poison-dart Frogs, Central American Whiptails, a Black River Turtle and an intently foraging group of Central American Spider Monkeys were more highlights from this fantastic place. One last attempt at owling on the hotel grounds this night was a success with Common Pauraque and a very close Vermiculated Screech-Owl.
The next morning up at 1600 feet elevation in the foothills offered a completely different set of species for us. Butterfly activity was actually high already at 7:00, with greenish flowers at the Quebrada Gonzales parking lot providing nectar for Orange-spotted Hemmark and Many-spotted Daggerwings at first, followed by sightings of Circle-spot Sister and a fabulous Ray-fringed Metalmark. A pair of Dull-mantled Antbirds were singing there too. The group that took the rigorous loop trail came back with sightings of Helvetican Diaphs, a pair of Yellow-eared Toucanets, some fast-moving tanager flocks that included Black-and-yellow, Dusky-faced, Speckled, Bay-headed and Tawny-crested Tanagers, a pair of Lattice-tailed Trogons and an immature Ornate Hawk-Eagle. Back at the bridge, the moment many had been waiting for happened: a Blue Orb Morpho floated by, a hologram of sparkling blue. Later in the morning, a stop at the Stachytarpheta thickets of the El Tapir gardens gave us an unusually high elevation Blue-chested Hummingbird as well as Violet-headed Hummingbird, Green Thorntail and two Black-crested Coquettes, the highly ornate male in a literal head-to-head with the thorntail as they rose several yards in a vertical standoff. The other prize from here was a rarely seen Graphic Beauty, perched high on a vine, the spotting scope offering a view of its turquoise blue upperside. Later in the afternoon on the lodge’s extensive acreage we watched Gold Rim Swallowtails at the Warsewiczia flowers, while Slaty Spinetails carried food to a nest. Though owl imitation in the humid tropics usually doesn’t elicit a very strong response, we experienced a wonderful exception of a busy mob of about 20 species and 36 individuals, including White-vented Euphonia, Bay-breasted Warbler, White-collared Manakin and Purple-crowned Fairy. A Rufous-winged Woodpecker, originally thought to be a Golden-olive by voice, may have also been part of this mob.
Our last day dawned mostly overcast, so it wasn’t meant to be a day for many butterflies. But our first stop at El Tigre marsh was hopping with activity, including Nicaraguan Seed-Finches, more Green Ibis, a calling Gray-breasted Crake and a Pinnated Bittern. Our stop at La Virgen de Socorro began very quiet, with distant calling Immaculate Antbird, roadside Least Rayed Skippers, a Golden-winged Warbler, a Red-faced Spinetail and a Black-headed Tody-Flycatcher, but at the bottom of the hill things began to pick up with Slaty-backed Nightingale-Thrush showing well, as well as Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher, Black Phoebe, American Dipper, Cryptic Beauty, Striped Sombermark, Rayed Sister, Three-banded Tiger-Crescent and a stunningly fresh and cooperative Waiter Daggerwing. Lunch at La Paz Waterfall Gardens was a nice finale, where the hummingbird feeders were abuzz with several new species for the tour, including the endemic Coppery-headed Emerald, Brown Violet-ear, Purple-throated Mountain-gem and lots of Black-bellied Hummingbirds. The banana feeders had lots of Silver-throated Tanagers, a pair of the enigmatic Sooty-faced Finches and several Common Morphos. After a stroll though the informative and fun giant butterfly house we made our way back to Santo Tomás for our farewell dinner. As an addendum, those with later flights on the last day cruised the gardens of the Bougainvillea Hotel one last time and found Prevost’s Ground-Sparrow right where we had looked 11 days earlier.