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.