Part One
This was my first proper birding visit to Central America and with a huge birdlist that varies dramatically from one area to the next, Costa Rica seemed the perfect destination. Making use of the many trip reports (most notably Mark Gurney’s excellent Surfbirds one) and the fantastic exchange rate, an itinerary was planned out following a basic route to take in the Central Highlands, the Pacific coast and the Caribbean lowlands. We had to book our stay at La Selva in advance, and we also pre-booked our first and last night’s stay at the excellent Hotel Bougainvillea (www.hb.co.cr) which cost US$95 for a double and our stay at the Mirador de Quetzales. The hire car was also provisionally booked through Adobecar (www.adobecar.com) but as they weren’t great at replying to emails we did wonder if it would turn up – it did!
Our flight was booked through Wildwings as they came back with a good deal. In retrospect, I would double-check the transit times between the flights, as we were only given 1hr20 and literally made the flight by the skin of our teeth – in fact they’d already sold Sue’s seat to a stand-by but luckily there were others available....
For reference I used the new Helm fieldguide, Birds of Costa Rica by Richard Garrigues and Robert Dean - pretty good overall, some of the plates are not great but I’ve seen worse! It also has potential and recent splits at the end of the book which was informative. I used the Costa Rican Birdsong Sampler by David L. Ross and Voices of Costa Rican Birds by Ross & Whitney which had some very useful calls on them. I also bought a Rough Guide road map as I’d heard they weren’t readily available out there. The Lonely Planet was used for finding places to stay and was quite accurate, although the prices quoted were all about a third more expensive in reality!
We chose not to stay at Rancho Naturalista as at £85 each per night (!) this was totally unacceptable – this is Costa Rica, not London!! Most accommodation was between US$6-12pppn, La Selva was US$492 for us both for 3nights which includes all meals, and Mirador de Quetzales was US$360 for us both for 4nights which also includes all meals.
15th December
After landing late the previous evening and making our way to the lovely Bougainvillea Hotel, and despite being awoken by the monotonous call of an invisible Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, I still jumped out of bed at 5.00am and stood out on the balcony listening to the new sounds, awaiting some usable light. The first bird visible was, I’m sure, the first that many see – a Clay-coloured Robin hopping below. So, now birds were active I headed off into the gardens and a dawn chorus unlike any I’ve heard!
Dark dots in trees soon became identifiable, and lifers came thick and fast – ubiquitous Rufous-collared Sparrows, raucous Brown Jays, Inca and White-tipped Doves, Yellow and Chestnut-sided Warblers, Great Kiskadees, and the first of the hummers, Rufous-tailed. Commoner birds here included Baltimore Orioles, Tropical Kingbirds, Yellow and Tennessee Warblers, White-winged Doves and Great-tailed Grackles.
Further investigation round the rear of the gardens found the only Golden-Olive Woodpecker of the trip, Greyish Saltators, Montezuma Oropendolas and over-flying flocks of Crimson-fronted Parrots. Finally found the Birding Tower and the rotting fruit composts. Blue-crowned Motmots and Clay-coloured Robins fed from the fruit on the feeders, a fine Chestnut-capped Warbler flitted through the vines growing on the tower, and before long, a fab Prevost’s Ground-Sparrow put in an all-to-brief appearance in a tree, shortly followed by the surprisingly-large White-eared Ground-Sparrow. Excellent, my 2 want-birds before 7.00am! Makes a change! A Lineated Woodpecker in the trees near the hotel was great to watch too.
Went back to the room to awaken Sue and she reluctantly got out of bed and was thankfully impressed by the splendour of the gardens themselves and was even taken with the hummers! Another circuit gave views of Blue & Grey Tanagers, a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Plain Wrens, a Philadelphia and a Yellow-throated Vireo and as the day warmed, the vultures began to use the thermals and a loose flock of Blue & White Swallows fed overhead with Vaux’s Swifts. As we wandered back we found an unfortunate male Scintillant Hummer that had had a fatal collision with one of the windows.
Time for some breakfast and soon 10.00am came round and our hire-car turned up as arranged. We had booked a Daihatsu Terios by phone through Adobecar before we left the UK and were given a good deal at US$930. We filled in all the paperwork and as we reiterated the price stated the rep got out his calculator and I’m thinking “…here we go…” but amazingly he came back with a price of US$645 which included an extra day as we wanted to return the car later than the pick-up time!! So, not sure what happened there, but glad we didn’t have to pay up front!!
So after packing up our gear and getting some directions from the very helpful desk staff we headed off. 2hrs and a few irate words later, we’re still in San Jose….this place has a definite lack of road signs (a problem not only in the cities as we were to find out!) In desperation we found a taxi driver and, despite a lack of speaking each others’ languages properly, finally got him to lead the way to the freeway! He was very nice and took us right to it for a paltry fee of $3! So now we’re on the Pan-American heading southwards, and experiencing the highs and lows of Costa Rican driving! The road winds up and down through the mountains, which is fine unless you’re caught behind one of the many fume-spewing lorries…and the road varies from lovely and smooth to rutted and potholed, but not as bad as some reports make out.
About 2hrs later and in another downpour we arrived at the Hotel Mirador de Quetzales and checked into our basic but comfy cabin with wonderful views over the hills, a view that changed minute by minute as the clouds rolled in and out of the valleys and further emphasizing our altitude of 2650m! Be warned the ramp up to the parking area for the cabins is very steep and narrow – so Sue gave everyone a laugh as she didn’t quite have enough oomph to get up in one go..!! This place overlooks Quetzal’s Paradise which has its own trails and guides and a busier hummer feeder. The Mirador is a great family-run place, the people all very friendly with only the manager Carlos really speaking any English, the children play outside and the dogs are great too – especially those 4 puppies, none of which looked like the mother or supposed father…!
After wrapping up warm, a stroll up to the mirador lookout provided further stunning views and a great pair of Black & Yellow Silky-Flycatchers. Around the restaurant Mountain and Sooty Robins, Flame-coloured Tanagers, Black-capped Flycatchers, Sooty-capped Bush-Tanagers, Yellow-winged Vireo and a fine Slaty Flowerpiercer all vied for attention. The hummer tally rose by two with gorgeous Fiery-throated and the impressive Magnificent visiting the feeders lower down. A few birds remained hidden – Resplendent Quetzal called from the valley, Spotted Wood-Quail and Grey-breasted Wood-Wren from way behind the cabins. A lovely meal in the restaurant was shared by us and the few other guests all seated round the roaring (eventually!) log fire and we talked ‘til way too late! As we turned in, a Bare-shanked Screech-Owl and Dusky Nightjar called from far below, but I was far too tired by now….
16th December
An early start after a cosy night’s sleep – the cabins are thankfully fitted with electric heaters – it was time to investigate the new dawn chorus outside. The first lifer came in the shape of a party of active and super-cute Collared Whitestarts (redstart seems such a misnomer), followed by a Black-billed Nightingale-Thrush and Large-footed Finch. Movement in the trees turned out to be a Spot-crowned Woodcreeper and an excellent Buffy Tuftedcheek with a couple of Black-throated Green Warblers up there too and a small flock of Barred Parakeets screeched noisily overhead.
Then I happened to look at our car and found the front tyre to be as flat as possible…hmmm, lots of kids around here and I remember the sort of things I used to do (is this payback??!) oh well, a quick tyre change later and all was fixed.
We met fellow guests, ex-Brits John and Barbara in the restaurant, and headed out with Carlos for our quetzal walk, which is included with your stay. He led us down to the exit of the Robledal trail and we turned off left into some more open ground and there, glistening emerald and scarlet in the sunshine was a fantastic male Resplendent Quetzal!! Over the next hour we watched at least 2 males feeding and flying from tree to tree, oblivious to our presence, their unbelievable tails animated by the breeze.
Other diversions included manic Volcano Hummers zipping around us, a Black Guan flapping into one of the fruiting trees and as we returned to the hotel a pair of Golden-browed Chlorophonias by the path. Not a bad morning!
After a yummy traditional breakfast of gallo pinto, Sue and I walked the entire Robledal trail. It’s quite up & down and muddy in places but passes through some great forest. The weather was very changeable too which all added to the fun! Best birds were Yellow-thighed Finches, Flame-throated Warblers, Ruddy Treerunners, a Barred Becard and Yellow-bellied Siskins over the viewpoint. Sue did well and found another showy pair of Quetzals. Wilson’s Warblers were the most obvious birds, along with numbers of Black & Yellow Silky-Flys and Black-capped Flys. At the end of the trail an Ochraceous Wren, Hairy Woodpecker and Black-cheeked Warblers gave themselves up, but not so the ever-calling Zeledonias (nicer name than Wrenthrush don’t ya think?) Singing Green Violetears were very much in evidence in this area also.
Back to the cabin as the rain started to fall heavily, another lovely late lunch and dinner (all 3 meals are included and you can pretty much juggle the times about within reason), followed by some veranda birding which yielded a nice male Peg-billed Finch in the bushes in front of the cabin and Southern Rough-winged Swallows and White-collared Swifts overhead. A quick walk below provided a nice flock of gorgeous Spangle-cheeked Tanagers.
More to follow....
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Part Two
17th December
The constant rain tapping monotonously on the roof was not a welcome start to the day, as today was the day we planned to visit Cerro de la Muerte. A nice breakfast with tanagers and thrushes out on the feeders, a later-than-planned departure saw us on the fog-bound highway heading ever upwards. A couple of U-turns later and we found a promising looking turn-off back at km89.5. The road became seriously muddy as it inclined and another vehicle came sliding backwards round the corner!
As the clouds briefly lifted in the high winds the radio masts were visible so at least this was the right road! Luckily we had 4wd so off we set and had no problems at all. We parked up near the first buildings and were soon watching tame Volcano Juncos hopping around us, plentiful Volcano Hummers everywhere, a pair of Peg-billed Finches but a frustratingly elusive Timberline Wren never did show itself…grrrr
Back at the mirador, we agreed with Carlos to take us out into the Dota Valley tomorrow and to take me out for a walk to find Zeledonias. He’s a really nice guy and knows his local birds well. As we walked the trail, hearing a non-responsive Z, a super loud call next to the path revealed the presence of a Silvery-fronted Tapaculo which showed briefly before diving back into the undergrowth. A Black Guan leapt up from the path in front of us and a pair of Grey-breasted Wood-Wrens finally showed well. Nice little mixed flocks included gorgeous Flame-throated Warblers and Ruddy Treerunners. A nice couple of hours.
As evening fell, Sue and I grabbed the spotlight and headed out to track down the Dusky Nightjars. Sure enough we found one flying around below and then were treated to excellent views of at least 4 birds as I whistled them in, one coming so close its wings brushed my face as it hovered by me!
18th December
Another early start saw us meet up with Carlos and driving in our car to the Dota Valley which isn’t far up the highway. The road down toward San Gerardo is quite rough in places (especially when wet!), very twisty and climbs and falls rapidly. The weather was much nicer down here too and as we drove past a house with a huge flowering shrub in its front garden we pulled over as Carlos had heard one of the target birds for today, Long-tailed Silky-Flycatcher, and sure enough a fine specimen hopped around in a tree before flying out with another and alighting further away atop a pine tree giving good ‘scope views.
The aforementioned shrub contained busily-feeding Grey-tailed Mountain-gems, Green Violetears, Rufous-tailed and Volcano Hummers and a Mountain Elaenia. Heading downwards we encountered another couple with their guide whom Carlos knew looking at something near the river. We joined them and were soon enjoying great views of a gorgeous male Collared Trogon. The area also produced great views of another Golden-browed Chlorophonia, Tufted, Yellowish and Yellow-bellied Flycatchers, Hairy and Acorn Woodpeckers and various warblers including Black & White, Wilson’s, Tennessee and a Flame-throated.
Soon after we arrived at Savegre Mountain Lodge, parked up in the carpark and checked out the feeders where numerous Magnificent Hummers, with Green Violetears, more Grey-tailed and 2 male Purple-throated Mountain-gems, and quite a few Scintillant Hummers all vied for attention and posed for photos.
A walk down the main trail didn’t produce that much as time was getting on now, but we still turned up a gorgeous Black-thighed Grosbeak, Silver-throated Tanagers, a Louisiana Waterthrush, 2 Black-faced Solitaires, Common Bush-Tanagers and lots more Wilson’s Warblers! In the skies, a flock of noisy Sulphur-winged Parakeets flew down the valley whilst vultures and Chestnut-collared Swifts flew over it.
The walk itself was very nice and led to a couple of fab waterfalls. The journey back seemed a lot shorter than the one coming, even with a couple of near misses with the locals on the narrow road with that precipitous drop either side…!
After a welcome lunch back at the cabins, and seeing as the rain that likes to cling to these high mountains had relented, I set off in search of the Z, with Sue electing to laze about in the sun! I followed the same route that Carlos had taken me previously and heard Z’s calling in roughly the same places, and at one time so very, very close to the path. A nice Ochraceous Pewee was a bonus and more views were had of 4 Quetzals and 2 Black Guans. A Silvery-throated Tapaculo called loudly about 1m off the path but remained invisible...
I reached the end (well, officially the start) of the Robledal trail and as I pondered the inevitable dip, a Zeledonia gave its whistle from just down the main path where, helpfully, the tree roots and undergrowth are at head height. I whistled back at it as I cautiously backtracked...it answered…so did I…now it was really close and must be right on the edge of the path….it called again...I raised my bins to my eyes to scan the tangle of tree roots and vines and there it was!! Fantastic – looking like a cross between a giant goldcrest and a pitta! Out with the video and got about 10s of ok footage, with it calling too before it hopped in deeper – talk about leave it to the last minute!!
So, elated and not even caring it was raining again, I returned victorious to the cabin. As darkness fell, Sue and I took the spotlight and camera out and got some great shots of the Dusky Nightjars and as we ate dinner, Carlos came in with a male in his hand that he’d just caught! Amazing views and as always, seemingly so small when in the hand.
19th December
Our final morning, so I nipped out before breakfast down the main path and had views of a pair of Quetzals, heard Zeledonia and Tapaculos. We settled up our outstanding bill for the guiding and beers which came to US$50 for the both of us. We bade goodbye and set off back along the Pan-American toward San Jose, stopping for fuel and to get the tyre sorted. The guys at the garage filled it with air and couldn’t find a leak so came to the same conclusion that someone had let it down. One piece of advice we were given was if confronted with another flat tyre on the road, not to stop and to continue on it until reaching a garage as car crime can be quite rife in Costa Rica (although thankfully we had no experience of it). Just use common sense and don’t leave anything of value in the car at any time – wouldn’t do it at home would you??
Reaching San Jose was again another nightmare direction-wise as there’d be a sign for the place you’re heading to, and then nothing at all!! Odd that the Pan-American Highway – which runs from Alaska to the tip of bloody Argentina – wasn’t built around the city but stops and starts either side of it!! After faffing around for ages, we finally got on the right road by looking for the airport and eventually began to head west on Hwy3 towards the Pacific with weather becoming progressively more sunny and warm as we continued.
We had a quick stop in a picturesque roadside café for lunch and soon afterwards found ourselves turning off towards Orotina. Now the roadsigns came into their own again, with one sign announcing we were in Orotina. Excellent, find the town square with the bandstand opposite the church. No problem. Now find the owls…..hmmmm, lots of Montezuma’s Oropendolas in their truncated hanging nests but no-one seems to know anything about any owls which seemed a little odd. So, a bit pissed off, decided to head for the coast once again. A little further down the road was another sign saying Orotina 4kms..! We’d been in San Mateo so bugger, no wonder there weren’t any owls!!
So we turned off into towards the town and found our way to the very small and crowded town square which also has a bandstand and is opposite a church…! As soon as I was spied with binoculars I was directed to a low branch in the tree basically above my head and there was the famous pair of Black & White Owls, all dapper with bright yellow legs and bills. Fantastic! We only went one at a time to view as it was too busy to leave the car unattended with all our stuff in it.
So, with even Sue suitably impressed, we left and reached our goal of Tarcoles about an hour later. Crossed the famous bridge thronged with croc-watching tourists and after missing the turn finally found the town. We checked out a few options here and along the main road, but plumped for staying at the uninspiring Hotel Carara, which had the added bonus of the constant presence of Scarlet Macaws flying over and feeding in the beachline trees.
The room was ok with a fan, and we got a deal for staying 2 nights. We dumped our stuff and walked out to the beach which was rocky and covered in black sand, so not very picturesque! Offshore glided literally hundreds of Magnificent Frigatebirds and Brown Pelicans, the former often drifting low along the coast and over the hotel. Royal Terns patrolled the seashore with a few Laughing Gulls moving up and down too. 2 nice Yellow-naped Parrots flew into a tree and soon a raucous party of 6 macaws arrived and noisily fed in the treetops too. Excellent birds, the intimacy between the pairs very touching…amazing to watch them as they should be seen, a real priviledge.
We drove down towards the river mouth, and more by accident we found the right road and ended up by Tarcoles Lodge, which looked totally abandoned!! A short boardwalk used by the local fisherman juts out over the riverbank, so after asking them if it was ok to go out, I set my ‘scope up at the end. A good selection of birds were on view, including Yellow-headed Caracaras, Bare-throated Tiger- and Yellow-crowned Night-Herons, Green, Tricoloured, Little and Great Blue Herons, Snowy and Cattle Egrets, Neotropic Cormorants, Anhingas, Hudsonian Whimbrels, Least and Spotted Sands, Black-necked Stilts and Belted and Green Kingfishers. On the riverbanks a noisy Northern Waterthrush was nice, Pale-vented Pigeons flew into the mangroves, Mangrove Swallows fed over the water and a singing Boat-billed Flycatcher was near the Tarcoles Lodge feeder.
As we drove back we stopped at various places along the road getting Orange-chinned and Orange-fronted Parakeets, a fly-over Roseate Spoonbill, Rufous-naped Wrens, Summer Tanager, Blue Grosbeaks, Streaked Flycatcher and Ruddy Ground-Doves exploding up off the road at every turn.
We ate that night a couple of buildings down from the hotel. Lovely food at a reasonable price and a lovely owner, who couldn’t do enough for you and, when we ordered beer, would be seen getting onto his bike and cycling into the village for some!! A couple of toads hopped through giving the cats a fright! The hotel has no liquor licence due to its proximity to the church….! As we walked back, a Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl started calling way off.
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Part 3 on its way
Hi,
Nice start to the report. I've enjoyed it so far. Keep it coming! We go out to Coast Rica in July - 12 weeks. Can't wait!
Cheers
Martyn