Rich Hoyer on his just completed tour of Costa Rica

Rain is good for life – the tropical forests and the residents depend on it, and that’s what we came to Costa Rica for. So when I hadn’t seen a drop in my first three days in the country, I was starting to get a bit worried that things would be too dry. I need not have feared – by the end of the tour the news came that it had been the wettest July on the Caribbean slope in 30 years, thanks to a very persistent El Niño-influenced weather pattern, and we got to enjoy more than our share of it. But there were plenty of breaks and gorgeous spells, and through the showers and occasional downpours we persisted and saw some truly fantastic birds and tropical nature.

Starting with the fabled Respendent Quetzal and several fine Talamanca endemics such as a surprisingly cooperative Wrenthrush and a spectacular view of the Fiery-throated Hummingbird’s gorget in the mountains south of San José, we then visited four lodges in great locations on the Caribbean slope.

Snowcaps bathing at Rancho Naturalista were a treat, and a very special experience with a pair of Sunbitterns on the nearby Platanillo River was memorable.  The moth sheet here was also a highlight, not only for the moths but for the birds that came in to snack, such as a a pair of Buff-throated Foliage-gleaners and a White-breasted Wood-Wren.

At Tortuguero we tried for Green Sea Turtles on an off-night (in an off-year) when none were spotted, but that was more than made up by the delightful boat rides among the palm-lined canals and lagoons, where Great Green Macaws were a surprise. A night boat ride began with a Smoky Jungle Frog, then a Central American Woolly Opossum, then a Kinkajou, and ended with two Great Potoos. As we left the national park by boat, our group’s star spotter found some Great Curassows right next to the river.

Maquenque Ecolodge’s highlights were the Scarlet Macaws that flew in and preened each other, a gorgeous Green-and-black Poison-dart Frog, and the feeders by the dining area, which we got to enjoy during the six hours of rain and storms that set in during the middle of one day. Our fabulous driver Ricardo was to thank for the cooperative Black-and-white Owl he found perched over the driveway that evening.

At Celeste Mountain Lodge, the persistent wind, fog, and rain made birding difficult at times, but one afternoon turned out very nice, and bird activity picked up on the very well-maintained forest trail, with Tody Motmot being a highlight, as well as a small antswarm with very lovely Spotted and Bicolored Antbirds and nearby the most amazing song of a Nightingale Wren.

In addition to birds was a very good mammal and critter list, with four small snakes, lots of frogs, and many great mammals such as a Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth that Ricardo spotted next to the road.

Sunbittern

A fabulous Zugana Io moth

Green-and-black Poison-dart Frog

Waiting out the rain

Passerini's Tanager...seen while waiting out the rain

Black-and-white Owl