March 2005 Field Journal

3.12-22 Costa Rica
Itinerary:

12 March
Dan Singer and I arrived in San José fairly well rested despite the red eye from Los Angeles given that we were inexplicably upgraded to first class on our LACSA flight (would 1E and F be OK?). Let me think about this for a moment... :-) We gathered our bags and then waited in line for about an hour or so as we needed to move our return from the 20th to the 22nd. The tica girl at the counter graciously handled this and didn't even bother to charge us the change fee! By the time we got into our rental, most of the morning was already shot, however.

We birded a few spots on the Pacific slope, mostly acquainting ourselves and ears with some of the more common local species. RUFOUS-COLLARED SPARROWS are of course everywhere, but we weren't prepared for the variety of different vocalizations that they had. A GRAY HAWK is a found near San Miguel as flock of WHITE-CROWNED PARROTS. GROOVE-BILLED ANIs are also found, the first of several locations for these. KEEL-BILLED TOUCANS are reclusive but also heard here. A small mixed flock yields a GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER. A local at the Selva Verde Lodge graciously pointes out a WHITE-NECKED JACOBIN to us. Both male and female GREEN THORNTAILs are seen at El Mirador and the GREEN-CROWNED BRILLIANTs allow approach to within a couple of feet!


Green-crowned Brilliant Heliodoxa jacula
©2005 Mark W. Eaton

13 March
A GREAT TINAMOU walking not 10 feet away from us in the garden at La Selva was a great start to our day and a PALE-VENTED PIGEON flies over with some RED-BILLED PIGEONs. Shortly after our walk begins in the morning, a PALTRY TYRANNULET is in the flowering shrubs in the garden in La Selva. A FASCIATED ANTSHRIKE is also shouting distance from the rendezvous point for the tours at La Selva. A LESSER SWALLOW-TAILED SWIFT also flies overhead while waiting for our tour to begin. A BLACK-THROATED WREN is found in the thicket in the garden. A GREEN IBIS flushes from a small creek and a NEOTROPICAL RIVER OTTER flushes as well. A RUFOUS MOURNER is heard then seen near the river bridge.

A BAND-TAILED BARBTHROAT is expertly found by our guide during the afternoon walk as is a STRIPE-THROATED HERMIT, on lek (very hard to see!). A pair of SLATY-HEADED TROGONs are excavating a termite nest to reuse for their own nest. We finished our day at the bar of the Selva Verde lodge and were rewarded with two ridiculously cooperative SUNBITTERNs, nearly tame and easily within 20 feet of us. At the bungalows, a BLUE GROUND-DOVE gives us very nice looks just before dusk.

14 March
Unfortunately, the maintenace crew of La Selva picked this morning to trim the grass at the sides of the road, of course the morning when we decided to bird the entrance road. A BRIGHT-RUMPED ATTILA provides good looks for me; finally after all of these heard birds! A BLACK-STRIPED SPARROW was very confiding at the side of the road after the maintenance crew moved on. A SCALY-BREASTED WREN sang once from an unseen location at the Virgen de Socorro and an OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER was clearly a migrant moving through. Birding was a touch slow, but we did find a PINK-BELLIED LITTERSNAKE, below, right on the road.


Pink-bellied Littersnake Rhadinaea decorata
©2005 Mark W. Eaton

15 March
A TORRENT TYRANNULET was directly below the road bridge at one the many streams in the vicinity of La Paz Falls. AYELLOW-MARGINED FLYCATCHER was well-seen, allowing good looks at the innermost tertial. A BLACK-AND-YELLOW TANAGER is a nice treat as well as are SILVER-THROATED and BAY-HEADED TANAGERs. Also, we had the following bird singing that we did not identify:

Uniidentified Song from Virgen de Socorro.wav

At the Volcan de Poas, we decided to take a walk along a seldom-used trail leading from a maintenance shed just beyond the parking lot. We were rewarded with several good birds including BLACK-BILLED NIGHTINGALE THRUSH, LARGE-FOOTED FINCH, SOOTY-CAPPED BUSH-TANAGER, PEG-BILLED FINCH and BLACK-AND-YELLOW SILKY-FLYCATCHER.

16 March
BLACK GUAN was fairly easy to see along the main trail at Monteverde. Our first pair of RESPLENDENT QUETZALs were somewhat distant if well-seen from the main trail. Later in the day, we'd have another pair close enough that the male filled my entire binocular field! RED-FACED SPINETAILs are seen throughout the day, both on the main trail and on the river trail. A LINEATED FOLIAGE-GLEANER is deep in the shadows along the river trail.

Perhaps one of the most surprising sightings was a STRONG-BILLED WOODCREEPER, a well-seen bird along the river trail at Monteverde. Normally, this is a Caribbean slope bird, but it's status on the upper Pacific slope is unclear. At least four SILVERY-FRONTED TAPACULOs are calling unseen at various locations at Monteverde. At the very top of Monteverde, we had a very cooperative OCHRACEOUS WREN perch not five feet from Dan's head! COLLARED REDSTART is striking; we would see several more in the Savegre Valley and at Cerro de la Muerte.

The nocturnal walk turned out several interesting things including the GROUND ANOLE below.


Ground Anole (?) Anolis humilis
©2005 Mark W. Eaton

17 March
We were disappointed not to have Bellbird at Monteverde, but discovered that they had not arrived yet. They are altitudinal migrants and still hadn't made the trek from lower elevations to Monteverde. However, we did run into a very knowledgeable and helpful local guide, Melvin Leitón, who tolds us where to find the Bellbirds not far from Monteverde. They were on a farm only about 8km from Monteverde called Fincal Miguel Lito. We drove down this morning and Señor Lito, who speaks no English, graciously took us on a personalized tour of his farm. We tried largely in vain to communicate, being constantly distracted by the Bellbirds vocalizing in the area, but eventually a male THREE-WATTLED BELLBIRD flew over for good looks. Dan found another bird that we got in the scope a little later on.

RUFOUS-AND-WHITE WRENs are found in small numbers at Finca Miguel Lito; they were more common in Carara N.P. With some effort, we do find a pair of LONG-TAILED MANAKINs singing on tandem from an exposed perch in the San Luis Valley. WHITE-EARED GROUND-SPARROWs are present in small numbers as well. A quick stop at the public square in Orotina yielded both BLACK-AND-WHITE OWLs, on the lower branches of the tallest trees in the square. Street vendors can be quite helpful finding the birds if they are not immediately obvious.


Black-and-white Owl Ciccaba nigrolineata
©2005 Daniel Singer

18 March
We find our first (of many) CHESTNUT-BACKED ANTBIRDs in the parking lot at the Villa Lapas. YELLOW-HEADED CARACARA is pretty easy to find in more open areas at Carara National Park. From the highway bridge over the Rio Tárcoles, we get fair looks at a COLLARED PLOVER, a long-time nemesis bird for me. SCARLET MACAWS are easy to see and even easier to find anywhere near the river. SCALY-BREASTED HUMMINGBIRD is seen but hard to identify from Dan Gardner's plate in Stiles and Skutch. An AMERICAN PYGMY-KINGFISHER provides us with walk-away looks from only twenty feet from the first overlook along the river trail. A pair of ROYAL FLYCATCHERs comes across the trail, with crests fully-expanded! ORANGE-COLLARED MANAKINs are seen on lek at several locations. Herps are well-represented including the COMMON BASILISK LIZARD below.


Common Basilisk Lizard Basiliscus basiliscus
©2005 Mark W. Eaton

Below is some jungle noise near dusk from Carera National Park:

Jungle Noise from Carera NP, Costa Rica.wav

19 March
First thing in the morning, I'm futzing with the iPod while the rest of the group watches three SHORT-TAILED NIGHTHAWKS fly in. At the turn-off from the highway into Villa Lapas, there are several low-flying Chaetura that, with patience, are identified was COSTA RICAN SWIFTs. Immediately after lunch, Hugh finds us a MANGROVE CUCKOO in the trees immediately next to the highway bridge over the Rio Tárcoles. A pair of RUFOUS-TAILED JACAMARs are nesting in the root ball of a fallen tree along the river trail. CHERRIE'S TANAGER is spotted; the male appears to be indistinguishable from a male Passerini's Tanager other than by voice; fortunately, both a female is present as well as the birds are vocalizing. The BLACK SPINY LIZARD below was quite accommodating.


Black Spiny-tailed Iguana Ctenosaura similis
©2005 Mark W. Eaton

Among the many highlights on the boat trip through the mangroves were several MANGROVE BLACK-HAWKs. The adults showed quite a bit of brown in the upperparts, but whether this would be identifiable anywhere outside of mangroves is another matter. But the undoubted highlight was a RUFOUS-NECKED WOOD-RAIL, ultimately well-seen by everyone on the boat trip. Amazing! A MANGROVE HUMMINGBIRD provides only fair looks for most people, but the looks at a TURQUOISE-BROWED MOTMOT are langorous.

20 March
Hugh finds us a RUDDY QUAIL-DOVE deep in the forest on the Figure Eight Trail. As well, we get great looks at a WHITE-WHISKERED PUFFBIRD. Hugh finds another great bird with the elusive BLACK-FACED ANTTHRUSH deep under cover on the same trail. Finally, a STREAK-CHESTED ANTPITTA calls unseen from somewhere even deeper in the forest. A GOLDEN-CROWNED SPADEBILL causes some confusion; in the field it is browner than depicted by Dana Gardner in Stiles and Skutch. A RUFOUS PIHA calls, but there is no chance of actually seeing it. RIVERSIDE WRENs are easy to hear calling; getting a good luck proves more difficult. Amazingly, we find a pair of SHINING HONEYCREEPERS, with both the yellow legs of the male and the prominent blue streaks of the female having been clearly observed.

21 March
RUDDY PIGEON is fairly easy to locate in the Savegre Valley and we get good looks at a DARK PEWEE, near a mixed flock that included FLAME-THROATED WARBLER. YELLOW-THIGHED FINCHes can be teasted out of dense thickets. BLACK-CAPPED FLYCATCHER is also fairly easy to see both in the valley and higher up. Birding was quite nice at the Hotel Georgina with FIERY-THROATED and VOLCANO HUMMINGBIRDS plentiful along with a SLATY FLOWERPIERCER in the garden just below.


Slaty Flowerpiercer Diglossa plumbea
©2005 Daniel Singer

Below the Georgina, we have a BLACK-CHEEKED WARBLER and, amazingly enough, a WRENTHRUSH puts in an even briefer appearance. TIMBERLINE WRENS were calling in a bamboo thicket near the summit of the Pan American highway; with patience we got great looks and photos as well! VOLCANO JUNCO is surprisingly hard to find, requiring a drive all the way up to the transmitters at the summit of Cerro de la Muerte. A BLACK-THIGHED GROSBEAK is found on a perch at the lower end of the Savegre Valley.

Night birding was particularly good that evening on the upper road, with a total of four BARE-SHANKED SCREECH-OWLs (two seen, two more heard) at the first fairly-flat section above the steep canyon. Further up the entrance road (nearing the Pan-American Highway), we had several DUSKY NIGHTJARs, including one very well-seen.

22 March
After birding the main trail above the Savegre Lodge and finding a couple of BROWN-CAPPED VIREOs as well as a few PHILADELPHIA VIREOs, we reluctantly return to our car for our return to San José.

Complete Trip Report

More Photos from Costa Rica

3.27 SF Birds
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