First an apology. I have had to rush this report at the request of a few fellow travellers who are off to Costa Rica later in February! I am off with another excursion from 19th to and including 26th February hence a bit of a rush!!!
Please accept apologies for less description than I intended and also lack of dates against each species to cross reference against locations. I hope to do some edit work sometime after the 27th Feb.
I hope the trip report will be of interest and due to the size I have entered it into seperate posts for ease of reading.
Costa Rica Bird Trip Report
Spanish Nature – 25th January to 10th February 2008
Costa Rica – Savegre – Rancho – La Quinta (La Selva) – Arenal – Punta Leona
Trip Report Author – Peter Jones
www.spanishnature.com
Picture graceful, tall mountains, their tips wreathed in clouds, their slopes enveloped by majestic trees; imagine sprawling inland valleys of lush green meadows with rushing rivers and arching waterfalls; aquamarine water lapping glistening beaches; balmy breezes cascading over the stunning plateaus, and down below the dense jungle whitens in a blanket of mist and steam; conjure up a vision of a population whose smiles reveal their inner happiness and pride in their land – Costa Rica. Keith Taylor
Planning your route, not giving too great a distance from one location to the next, is the key to getting the very best out of what is arguably one of the world’s finest birding destinations – Costa Rica. We had spent time in doing pre-tour visits and research to maximise bird species and combined this with finding the best available accommodation in prime locations. The results were relaxed, comfortable and hugely rewarding. We took time to enjoy all the species encountered and after our day’s labour were able to be at peace in great surroundings and gave ourselves time to relax with great cuisine and of course a ‘few’ bar-side drinks! Birds and relaxation were the main objectives of the tour and all clients agreed it also produced outstanding value for money. Clients also had several opportunities to enjoy their own company and do their own thing, a real change from most people’s experience of group tours!
Our journey began with the drive from San Jose to Savegre, a famous destination where Resplendent Quetzals are probably most numerous in all of Costa Rica. We certainly considered our first destination as an important location, not only for Quetzals, but a must to gain important Chiriqui Highland Endemics. The lodge was bordered by the beautiful mountain river Savegre and pristine Oak Forests provided the backdrop for the duration of our stay here, Paramo habitat in the higher reaches of the valley provided good birding for alpine species.
From Savegre we made our way to Rancho Naturalista located on the Caribbean slope and again chosen for some great specialities such as White-vented Euphonia, Brown Violet-ear etc., not to mention great food and a spectacular display at the feeding station. It’s a shame this location has had some pretty tough press, sure there are concerns for the management of the gardens and forest area, but the place is still a great location to stay and the food as excellent as ever. A drive down to the river valley produced our first Sunbittern of the tour and also a difficult bird the Dull-mantled Antbird.
Our journey from Rancho to La Quinta allowed stops and a picnic lunch by the Rio Corinto and Rio San Jose, the later producing a stunning fly-by and stop by another Sunbittern! The closeness of this individual caused great excitement and I couldn’t help thinking how much it’s shape resembled a Bustard, strange thought but not to anyone who knows me! The journey also produced a very close encounter with the beautiful White Hawk. Again the accommodation at La Quinta was excellent and the hotel grounds provided good birding with Spectacled Owls proving a great favourite with us all. A visit to the La Selva Biological Reserve soon had the listers busy and our species total was greatly increased by this excursion. The most notable birds for me during this stay were Tiny Hawk and one from my wish list Sungrebe.
From La Quinta it was off to Arenal Lodge Observatory, a truly remarkable landscape and full of great birding potential. ‘Nearly’ always a good outing here is the Arenal Hanging Bridges. However on this occasion the surrounding woodlands were stifled by high humidity and lots of the usual species became extremely hard to track down. We did manage a couple of star birds a soaring King Vulture and the most difficult of all Motmots Keel-billed Motmot gave close and prolonged viewing! Trogons also starred during our stay with Slaty-tailed, Orange-bellied, Black-throated and Violaceous all showing well. Here we also had large numbers of Emerald Tanager, a great little bird. The whole of our stay here was dominated by the spectacle of the active volcano and this was entrancing especially at night.
From Arenal we journeyed to the Pacific slopes and made our way down to Punta Leona. The accommodation, although a resort, was excellent and the grounds rich in animal and birdlife. Scarlet Macaw was seen daily and other on-site specialities included Fiery-billed Aracari, Mangrove Black Hawk and Rufous-naped Wren. From our base we were able to visit Tarcoles Bridge, Tarcoles River and Carara National Park with ease. The diversity of the area and wide range of species just provided the icing on our cake, with the Carara NP being a wonderful experience and the very close views of both Red-capped and Blue-crowned Manakins proving something special for one and all. Mangrove Warbler and Hummingbird together with American Pygmy Kingfisher also made our lists look respectable.
Our final journey took us back to San Jose after we had opted for another river trip at Torcal! Our hotel in San Jose was the Bougainvillia and what fantastic gardens they had! Tropical Screech-Owl entertained, but a pair of Blue-crowned Motmots were not to be outdone, chasing all and sundry from the feeder tables. A surprise bird for me was White-eared Ground Sparrow, and discussing this later, apparently this and Prevost’s Ground Sparrow are seen more regularly here than elsewhere in the Central Valley. This last night stop made for the perfect wind-down and ideal preparation for the long journey home.
Edited Daily Accounts (further species/dates in species listing)
Day One January 25th – San Jose – Savegre
A day for liaisons at San Jose Airport and transfer to Savegre. The journey through heavy traffic in San Jose took its toll and normally a couple of hours journey took 3, but included a stop at a local supermarket to stock up on such absolute essentials as chocolate and chocolate.
Day Two January 26th – Savegre
Although weary from the previous day’s travel, we were all well rested so after a leisurely breakfast we walked downstream and around the grounds of our most excellent lodge. We were entertained, as we were on all our days in Costa Rica, by the floating Turkey Vulture (so reminiscent of Marsh Harrier in flight) and Black Vulture, with Osprey and Red-tailed Hawk also soaring in the heights. A cluster of Swallow-tailed Kites wheeled their way overhead and as they turned and the sun caught their undersides we all marvelled at their beauty. Downstream we added some great birds and for me Torrent Tyrannulet took some beating, but of course the awaiting Resplendent Quetzals were to figure foremost as most people’s star of this area. With White-collared and Chestnut-collared Swifts flocking overhead we also managed a range of hummers including Green Violet-ear, Gray-tailed Mountain-gem, Magnificent Hummingbird, Scintillant and Volcano Hummingbird. Acorn and Hairy Woodpeckers together with Emerald Toucanet and Spot-crowned Woodcreeper were regulars in the woodland part of walk and Ruddy Treerunner seemed to enjoy the company of passing flocks. Our rarity for the day was Townsend’s Warbler, but we also had some difficult species such as Silvery-fronted Tapaculo, Barred Becard, Ochraceous Wren and Spangle-cheeked Tanager. With a host of other species we counted our first day as a great success.
Day Three January 27th – Savegre Highlands
What a lazy bunch, yet another slow start after a relaxing and complete breakfast. Not so much a walk this morning, but a waddle on full stomachs! We had great fun at the beginning of our walk being accompanied by an extremely confiding Collared Redstart, whether he recognised great people when he saw them or was just real friendly who knows? Later the bird was joined by another and our interest only waned when spotting Ruddy-capped and Black-billed Nightingale-Thrush quickly followed by our one and only sighting of Zeledonia (Wrenthrush)! We headed up the mountain road later in the morning and Golden-browed Chlorophonia made another appearance and we also heard another bird from the previous day a Rufous-browed Peppershrike. Resplendent Quetzals put on a great show in a fruit tree next to the river and gave real open views. Flights from the fruit tree gave us all a colour spectacular. Brown-capped Vireo and Flame-throated Warbler were again good sightings and today we saw Summer Tanager, a sight to behold on virtually every subsequent day of the tour. While watching American Dipper we also had our first Louisiana Waterthrush. Mountain and Sooty Robin were frequent encounters and Black-throated Green Warbler were evident at most stops of the day. In the afternoon we hitched a lift in an open truck and journeyed into the upland Oak Forest looking for a couple of difficult species. Apart from again having great views of Resplendent Quetzals we dipped badly on our targets of Costa Rican Pygmy-Owl and Silver-throated Jay, but there you go, you have to leave good reasons for visiting again! Still we did manage our only sighting of Black-faced Solitaire and had a flyby of a juvenile Ornate Hawk-Eagle.
Day Four January 28th – Savegre – Rancho
After an ‘early’ morning walkabout (which gave good views of Yellow-bellied Siskin) we tucked into a hearty breakfast before setting-off to locate a couple of specialist birds. We needed to give ourselves time to find a few species at a couple of locations before heading to our next destination Rancho. We headed high and south climbing above the clouds into the highlands. Our first stop soon produced one of our targets the remarkably confiding Volcano Junco. Our next stop also produced the desired result, quite a contrast from yesterday, when we found the fabulous Fiery-throated Hummingbird. We broke our journey to Rancho with a few stops and a couple of waterside stops gave us the rare Lesser Scaup among White-tailed Kite, Northern Jacana, American Coot, Kildeer, Lesser Yellowlegs, Willet, Spotted Sandpiper and Blue-winged Teal. Yellow-billed Cacique made a show which was to be our only sighting of this bird on the tour. Arriving at Rancho then our hummer total immediately improved with excellent views around the feeders of such notable birds as Stripe-throated Hermit, White-necked Jacobin, Green-breated Mango, Violet-headed Hummingbird, Black-crested Cocquette, Violet-crowned Woodnymph and the to be ever-present and aggressive Rufous-tailed Hummingbird. Around the feeders were probably excessive numbers of Gray-headed Chachalaca and these were joined by a bullying gang of Brown Jay with good numbers of Montezuma Oropendola making for a busy time at the feeders. Before retiring for the night we heard Mottled Owl, but the little bugger escaped any attempt to get a decent viewing!!
Day Five January 29th – Rancho
It was up at dawn for the bird breakfast served at Rancho! The first new bird was seen overhead a Broad-winged Hawk and coming to the feeders we had the usual gangs of Gray-headed Chachalaca, Brown Jay and Montezuma Oropendola, the later being joined by the smaller Chestnut-headed Oropendola. New hummers included Snowcap, Green Hermit, Violet Sabrewing, Brown Violet-ear, Green Thorntail, Bronze-tailed Plumeleteer and Magnificent Hummingbird. We took a walk around the forest area and grounds after breakfast and this produced some tour firsts including Violaceous Trogon, Squirrel Cuckoo, Collared Aracari, Black-cheeked, Golden-olive, Lineated and Hoffman’s Woodpeckers, Brown-billed Scythebill, Plain Antvireo, Masked Tityra, a splendid White-ruffed Manakin, the rare Tawny-chested Flycatcher, Band-backed Wren, Swainson’s Thrush, Golden-crowned Warbler and the difficult White-vented Euphonia. The forest area both in the morning and late afternoon gave us a good selection including a host of Tanagers. Rose-breasted Grosbeak and Black-striped Sparrow also figured on a extremely good days birding. Few would not have concerns about the way Rancho looks to be headed i.e. It is becoming increasingly an island surrounded by cleared areas, plus the management of both the gardens and forest trails leave an awful lot to be desired, but it is still a great place to stay and worthwhile. We hope Tim and Christal are given the chance to make much needed improvements and intend to visit again next year.
Day Six January 30th – Rancho – Platanillo - Catie
Through consensus we again rose early and before breakfast visited the moth-trap to view a number of species feeding around the area of the trap on insects. Tawny-chested Flycatcher was seen at very close quarters and this particular site remains one of the best in Costa Rica for seeing this bird. We also had close views of Hepatic, White-shouldered Tanager with also good views of Blackburnian Warbler! After breakfast we headed down to the river valley and a track which led us to more secluded forest and riverside views. We hadn’t been at the river for more than a minute when we heard the plaintive calls of Sunbittern. After we located the bird we were able to spend time enjoying this strange bird and beautiful wing markings as it flew from one rocky outcrop to another, fantastic! In the forest area we were able to get decent sightings of Crimson-fronted Parakeet and saw a large flock of Sulfur-winged Parakeet. Perhaps the most difficult bird of the day was great views of Dull-mantled Antbird. We also managed Russet Antshrike, Plain Antvireo, Checker-throated Antwren and Slaty Antwren all difficult birds. Other good birds were Slaty-capped Flycatcher, Band-backed Wren, White-breasted Wood Wren, Tropical Gnatcatcher, Blue-black Grassquit and Blue-crowned Motmot. After a fine lunch and after we were rested we visited the botanical gardens of Catie. Waterbirds figured well at this site with good views of Purple Gallinule, Northern Jacana, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Boat-billed Heron, Cattle Egret, Green Heron, Little Blue Heron and Great Egret. We had good showings by White-fronted Parrot, Groove-billed Ani, Black and White Owl, Pauraque, Vaux’s Swift, Amazon and Green Kingfisher, Rufous-winged and Lineated Woodpecker, Northern Barred, Cocoa, Spotted and Streak-headed Woodcreeper. A couple of real bonus birds were Plain Xenops and Yellow-margined Flycatcher.
Day Seven January 31st – Rancho – Rio Corinto – Rio San Jose – La Quinta
Today saw our departure for La Quinta, our base for the next 3 nights and we were all looking forward to visiting the surrounding areas including La Selva Biological Reserve. We had plenty of time to take a last look at the hummer feeding stations and take in Snowcap et al for the last time. We stopped at a couple of rivers en route and were lucky enough to have fantastic views of Sunbittern whilst eating our packed-lunch!! We managed a couple of new birds in Fasciated Tiger-Heron and our only sighting of the tour for Black-crowned Tityra. We also had our last look at Tropical Gnatcatcher. Next to one of the rivers we saw Rufous-capped Warbler and our first Olive-backed Euphonia, but with everyone taking in the change of scenery and simply relaxing, then the journey proved to be enjoyable and relatively quiet on the bird front.
Day Eight February 1st – La Quinta – La Selva Biological Reserve
Yet again we were blessed with first rate accommodation and food. The complex had been very well laid out with exceptional gardens, lakes and river frontage. Feeders were kept stocked and local birds easy to find, including a resident pair of Spectacled Owl! The gardens also contain a butterfly house for those interested and normally Hoffman’s two-toed Sloth is in the grounds. Anyway enough rambling and on to the high point of the day a visit to Selva BR. We hadn’t ventured far into the park before we had several new species including Great Tinamou, Great Blue Heron, Green Ibis, both Gray-headed and Hook-billed Kite, Crested Caracara, Laughing and Bat Falcon, Pale-vented Pigeon, Gray-chested Dove, Red-Lored Parrot and Mealy Parrot, a superb Vermiculated Screech-Owl, Short-tailed Nighthawk, Gray-rumped and Lesser Swallow-tailed Swifts, Slaty-tailed Trogon, Broad-billed Motmot, Rufous-tailed Jacamar a real beauty, White-necked Puffbird and the gloriously outrageous Chestnut-mandibled Toucan. And so our list grew and grew a superb venue for such an array of species. Our bird for the day was the rare Tiny Hawk! Later in the day we also had some notable species including White-winged Becard and Snowy Cotinga, but also a joy to see were Red-capped and White-collared Manakin, but a favourite with me was Long-tailed Tyrant. We ended up with a few more goodies and among these were Gray Catbird, Pale-vented Robin, Yellow-crowned Euphonia, Scarlet-thighed Dacnis and Black-faced Grosbeak. I am loathe to mention it amongst such illustrious company, but we also managed our first House Sparrow!!!
Day Nine February 2nd – La Quinta – Sarafiqui – La Virgen - Cinchona
We had a fairly leisurely breakfast as we had made arrangements to take our first river trip of the tour and didn’t have to be on board till around 09:00am. I have to admit to scheduling this trip based on purely selfish motives. I have dipped badly in the past on that elusive bird Sungrebe, so listening to locals I had decided we ‘should’ relax with a nice boat ride! We of course clocked-up a few expected firsts such as Mangrove Swallow, Bare-throated Tiger-Heron, Neotropical Cormorant and Anhinga, but I guess everyone enjoyed just sitting back and watching the world drift by. We did have great views of Gray-necked Wood-Rail, Band-tailed Barbthroat, Coppery-headed Emerald, Collared Trogon, Cinnamon Becard, Rufous Mourner, Yellowish Warbler, Yellow Tyrannulet, but yes and a thousand yeses, yer man spotted Sungrebe, yep in the flesh so to speak and cruising completely unfazed by the close proximity of the boat and an overexcited birder yours truly!!!! I have to say, a bit like the Sunbittern, the Sungrebe seems a strange mixture reminiscent of half diver and half duck! Onward and upward from our boat trip we ventured high into the surrounding mountains and were able to get a few more sought after species namely Red-headed and Prong-billed Barbet. We also had our best views at Cinchona of Green Thorntail. As a finale to our day we had super views of the pair of Spectacled Owls at our accommodation.