Costa Rica: Feb. 25 to March 11, 2010
Photos by leader Mark Garland
To download a copy of the trip species list in pdf format, click here.
February 25: Arrival day in San Jose, though some of our travelers chose to come one or two days early. This proved to be a wise decision, as snowstorms in New Jersey caused anxious moments for several travelers and two travelers, unfortunately, were delayed by three days due to weather-related flight cancellations. The rest of us enjoyed the magnificent gardens of the Bougainvillea Hotel, tracking down some of the local birds such as Blue-crowned Motmot, Grayish Saltator, Rufous-collared Sparrow, and Blue-gray Tanager.
February 26: We crossed over the mountains through Braulio Carrillo National Park, birding the luxuriant forest of the Caribbean slope at a couple of stops. The day was cloudy with occasional mist, ideal for birding this habitat. Many tanagers and hummingbirds were highlights, including Black-and-yellow Tanager, Speckled Tanager, Green Thorntail, and Violet-headed Hummingbird. After lunch we arrived at the wonderful Sueño Azul lodge, where an afternoon stroll introduced us to many local creatures, from Green Basalisk Lizards and Variegated Squirrels to a variety of birds in the forest, pastures, and wetlands.
February 27: A full day in the Caribbean lowland rain forest, with much time spent at the world-renowned La Selva Biological Station. We searched for birds, mammals, and reptiles while learning about the ecology and diversity of this megadiverse habitat. Highlights from the day included “Blue Jeans” Poison-arrow Frogs, Bay Wren, 3 species of Toucan, Semiplumbeous Hawk, Olive-backed Euphonia, Red-footed Plumeleteer, and a long, fabulous view of Great Tinamou. An afternoon walk around the lodge grounds yielded great views of White-ringed Flycatcher and Blue-black Grosbeak, among others.
February 28: There was some heavy rain this morning, but we relaxed under the lodge roof and still found some birds. Late in the trip many of the travelers commented that they had very much enjoyed seeing the rain forest during a rainstorm – how convenient that we could enjoy this from under a roof! The rain didn’t persist all day, however, and between the lodge grounds and a return to La Selva we enjoyed great looks at a number of interesting birds, including Fasciated Tiger-Heron, Great Currasow, Plain Xenops, and Black-capped Pygmy-Tyrant.
March 1: An early morning walk around the lodge grounds was punctuated by a small flock of Great Green Macaws perched within view of the open-air dining room. A short drive took us to our next lodge, Rancho Naturalista, in time for lunch. Next we enjoyed birds from this lodge’s famous porch – Slaty Spinetail, Black-cheeked Woodpecker, Black-headed Saltator, and others. A short walk around the grounds wrapped up the day.
March 2: A full day at Rancho Naturalista and the nearby riverside trail at La Mina yielded a day’s list of about 120 species of birds. Highlights for many was a pair of Sunbitterns that we watched display and then mate. Other noteworthy birds we found included White-throated Flycatcher, Plain Antvireo, White-crowned Manakin, and White-ruffed Manakin. Eleven species of hummingbirds were certainly a highlight as well.
March 3: Red-throated Ant-Tanager, White-breasted Wood-Wren, and Tawny-chested Flycatcher were among the birds we observed early this morning at Rancho Naturalista before we headed for the highlands. In the Savegre Valley we enjoyed birds along the creek, including American Dipper and Torrent Tyrannulet, while walking to a spot where we enjoyed our first views of Resplendent Quetzal, a legendary bird we all hoped to view here in the mountains.
March 4: We enjoyed a gorgeous morning in the mountains, walking a ridgetop trail through a forest dominated by enormous oak trees. Swallow-tailed Kites soared over the ridge as we tracked down forest birds including Ruddy Pigeon, Collared Redstart, Ruddy-capped Nightingale-Thrush, and Golden-browed Chlorophonia. A Streak-breasted Treehunter was uncharacteristically conspicuous in the trailside forest, providing all with a great look at this normally secretive species.
March 5: A day of extremes. We left the Savegre Mountain Lodge and rode to the 11,000 foot highland plains of the Cerro de la Muerte, where we tracked down Fiery-throated Hummingbird, Volcano Junco, and a few lucky members of the group spotted Peg-billed Finch. A few hours later we were at sea level next to the Pacific Ocean. We arrived at Rancho Casa Grande and then enjoy an afternoon walk along the rain forest trails of this delightful lodge. Little Squirrel Monkeys, rare in most of Costa Rica, are common in this region and we enjoyed great looks at these charismatic primates. Birds are here too, of course, and afternoon sightings included Chestnut-backed Antbird, Black-hooded Antshrike, and Cocoa Woodcreeper.
March 6: Early morning began with dynamite scope views of Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl and a great forest walk. En route to our next lodge, Villa Lapas, we stopped at a roadside pull-out where we found, quite literally, a tree full of Scarlet Macaws. After checking into the lodge we headed to the Tarcoles River and headed onto the water by boat for a 3-hour trip through the mangroves and other wetlands near the river’s mouth. Birds were everywhere – a few great finds were American Pygmy-Kingfisher, Prothonotary Warbler, Panama Flycatcher, Mangrove Vireo, and Painted Bunting.
March 7: Sunrise saw our group already on the trail, traveling along the Skywalk, a trail featuring 5 suspension footbridges that provide eye-level views of the rain forest canopy. Sightings here included Slaty-tailed Trogon, Dusky Antbird, and a Bright-rumped Attila near its trailside nest. We headed into Carara National Park in the afternoon, enjoying great views of Orange-collared Manakin, Boat-billed Heron, and a White-faced Capuchin Monkey feeding contentedly on a trailside banana tree.
March 8: En route to our next lodge, Bosque de Paz, we stopped in the town of Orotina where we
visited one of the Black-and-white Owls that live in the town square. Our afternoon walk through the magical forest of Bosque de Paz gave us many memorable moments, including a Green-crowned Brilliant hummingbird that inspected our clothing for red or yellow patches, hovering through the middle of our group.
March 9: Feeder-watching is part of every visit to Bosque de Paz, and this year we watched the antics of Chestnut-capped Brush-Finch, Black Guan, Common Bush-Tanager, Yellow-thighed Finch, and a colorful array of hummingbirds. Walks along trails and quiet back roads here in the mountains yielded great views of many migrant and resident birds.
March 10: Our last full day in Costa Rica was relaxed. Morning at Bosque de Paz mixed short walks with more feeder-watching: Agouti and White-nosed Coati are two mammals that frequent the feeders here along with the birds. Lunch was at the craft town of Sarchi, and then we returned to the Bougainvillea, with time for birding in the gardens prior to the festive farewell dinner.Costa Rica Adventure.
---- Mark Garland