Costa Rica 2008

Day 1 – Friday 4th April 2008
Another early start, to catch the 0620 Iberia flight from Heathrow to Madrid from where, after a wait of about two and a half hours, we boarded the plane for our 10hr 25 minute flight to San Jose. Wilf managed to blag an upgrade for the long flight, yet again ditching his mates as he put personal comfort above camaraderie! Barry, Norma, Judith and Karen sat together at the back of the plane and I had a seat somewhere in the middle with, thankfully, and empty seat next to me.
The long journey was not too arduous though we were all glad to disembark at San Jose.
Wilf, perhaps, had had the worst flight of all as he said that he had to send back his inflight meal of roast duck and have the salmon instead (whilst we had to be content with the usual Iberia fare of ‘pasta o pollo’).
Long flights are never very comfortable at the best of times but poor old Wilf also said that he found his fully reclining seat/bed to be a little hard and so had not slept all that well – our hearts went out to him!

Arriving in mid-afternoon, we were met at the airport by Simon Ellis of Birdwatch Costa Rica and our driver and guide Santiago. I had spent a couple of weeks with Santiago on my last trip to Costa Rica in 2006 and it was very good to see him again.
We set off immediately for a 30minute trip (which took 80 minutes!) to our hotel in the Escazu suburb of San Jose – home for the next two nights.

En route to the hotel we picked up the first of our Neotropical birds including Great-tailed Grackle, Tropical Kingbird, Snowy Egret, Hoffmann’s Woodpecker, White-collared Swift and the national bird of Costa Rica, Clay-colored Robin.

We had supper at the hotel at about 1930hrs and all had an early night as we were tired after the journey and had an early start the next day.

Day 2 – Saturday 5th April 2008 – Cerro del la Muerte and Savegre
Up at 0515 with coffee and a sandwich at 0545 before heading off to the highlands of Cerro de la Muerte, south of the capital.
In the hotel grounds we added Crimson-fronted Parakeet, Rufous-tailed Hummingbird and Rufous-collared Sparrow among the nine species that we saw before we boarded the bus.
We arrived at the Finca Mirador de Quetzales at 8a.m. and, before a breakfast of rice, beans and fried plantains with fresh fruit juice (a better breakfast I cannot imagine), we found a delightful Black-capped Flycatcher hunting from a barbed wire fence, as well as Sooty Robin, Mountain Elaenia, Wilson’s Warbler, Volcano Hummingbird, and a striking Flame-colored Tanager

Following breakfast we set off to look around this reserve set at 8,400ft. in the Cerro de la Muerte (Mountain of Death) in search of some of the highland specialities. The air was pleasantly cool as we headed off up the hilly track into this mid-elevation cloud-forest. We soon came across Yellow-thighed and Large-footed Finches as well as both Black-and-yellow and the more flamboyant Long-tailed Silky-flycatchers.
As we were looking at a Buffy Tuftedcheek on its nest in a hole in a tree a Black Guan flew from tree to tree nearby and as we tried to get our bins onto it our eyes were suddenly drawn skyward, to what is probably the most beautiful flight silhouette of any bird, as a couple of American Swallow-tailed Kites soared past.
But we had come here for one bird in particular, the beautiful and enigmatic Resplendent Quetzal and we were not to be disappointed as we saw seven of these gorgeous birds, so redolent of the magic and mystery of the neotropical forests. Among the birds that we saw were two magnificent males with their full adult plumage of shining metallic green, with dashes of red and white and tail feathers that must have been getting on for two feet long.
Other birds that we saw before returning for lunch included Black-billed Nightingale-thrush, Slaty Flowerpiercer, Spot-crowned Woodcreeper, Yellow-winged Vireo, Collared Redstart, Black-cheeked Warbler and Golden-browed Chlorophonia.

This had been a good first morning’s birding – I had been to Costa Rica before and have travelled quite a bit in the Neotropics and Wilf and I had been to Venezuela together the previous October - but I think that the others (whose first trip this was to Central America) enjoyed the variety of their introduction to the magical world of Neotropical birding.

After lunch we headed to the hummingbird feeders at Savegre where, over a cup of coffee (or beer in the case of Barry and Wilf!), we had close up views of the diminutive Scintillant Hummingbird as well as Magnificent Hummingbird, Gray-throated Mountain-Gem and Green Violetear.

A light shower turned itself off and on for a while and as Wilf and Barry decided to keep to their seats near the beer Santiago took the girls and me off for a walk along the side of a small river. The habitat was a mixture of formal gardens with small areas of woodland and here we saw Spot-crowned Woodcreeper, Blue-throated Toucanet, Black-faced Solitaire, Rufous-capped Nightingale-thrush, and Tennessee and Black-throated Green Warblers.
At Savegre we also saw our first mammal of the trip, the small Alfaro’s Pygmy Squirrel.

The bus journey out of Savegre took us up a winding dirt road that had been newly ‘re-surfaced’ with a mixture of gravel and a red clay like soil. As we pulled in to the side of the road, whilst rounding a bend to avoid a four-wheel drive vehicle coming down the hill, the road gave way under the rear wheels of the bus as we felt ourselves slip a couple of feet. We didn’t have to look out of the window to know that we were stuck and when we got out of the bus it was quite clear that we wouldn’t be going any further in it.
Stuck as we were between two hills we Santiago could not get a signal on his mobile phone, so he decided to walk to the top off the hill and call for help.
Dark and a light rain had set in by the time he returned and said that he had arranged for us to be collected at the top of the hill and returned in another vehicle to San Jose. He would remain with the mud-covered bus and wait for a tractor to come and pull him out.
We were grateful to get back to the hotel by 9pm, realising that things could have been much worse. Wilf and I, who had had a minor spat earlier made things up over a beer as we all wondered how Santiago was getting on and hoped that he was not having too awful a time of it as we sat around in well-fed comfort at the hotel.

Day 3 – Sunday 6th April – Orotina, Tarcoles and the trip to Hacienda Solimar
As we sat down to a semi-open air breakfast at 6 am Santiago rolled up, needlessly apologising for last night’s little adventure. He said that he had managed to get back by 11.00pm. As we left the hotel to board the bus we stopped in our tracks and looked in amazement as the bright and shining Hyundai that greeted us. The whole bus was spotless and even the tyres had been polished! – Santiago may have got back at 11pm, but I don’t think he got to bed until a good while later than that!

We set off on our journey to Hacienda Solimar, a ranch in the Pacific north in the state of Guanacaste, that would be our base for the next three nights.
We had several stops planned for the journey, the first of which was at a dam on the way to Orotina. Here we saw a single Least Grebe about ten Black-crowned Night-Herons and Keel-billed Toucan, Yellow-crowned Euphonia, Blue Grosbeak, Yellow-crowned Euphonia, and Northern Rough-winged and Tree Swallows.
Our next stop was in the pretty town square of Orotina – the most reliable spot in Costa Rica for Black-and-white Owl as a pair have been resident here for a number of years. Whilst we all looked up into the trees trying find them, Santiago, who kept his eyes firmly on the ground, was the first to locate them by finding their droppings on the paving stones below their roost!
A pair of Rose throated Becards was weaving a nest on the end of a slender branch overhanging one of the central walkways through the park. We also saw a couple of large Variegated Squirrels and the Hoffmann’s Two-toed Sloth that must have been brought to the park at some stage and now lives there as it has nowhere else to go!

We left Orotina at about 10am and arrived about half an hour later at Tarcoles to take a trip up the river and past some mangrove swamps.
We were greeted at the small covered launch by the guide Luis and our boatman and spent the next two and a half hours in a birdwatching wonderland.
This is the dry season in Costa Rica and the water levels were low, exposing the impenetrable tangle of hundreds of mangrove roots. We saw over forty bird species (including two pairs of Mangrove Swallows using a nest box on the back of the boat, that followed us throughout the trip, returning regularly to the nests to feed their young) the highlights of which were Great Blue, Little Blue, Bare-throated Tiger, Yellow-crowned Night and the extraordinary looking Boat-billed Herons.

Also present were Roseate Spoonbill, White Ibis and Wood Stork.
As we were relaxing and taking in the sight of the herons and shore birds whilst Ospreys and Mangrove Black Hawks circled overhead, Luis shouted something to the boatman who threw the engine into reverse, taking us back a few feet before bringing the boat to a stop. Luis pointed into the thick tangle of mangrove roots where we could see some movement. The bird moved again and then stood up giving us a clear view – it was a Rufous-necked Wood-Rail an uncommon and extremely elusive species that we were lucky to see. I had my camera handy but only managed to get a shot of it scratching its bottom! – but at least the rufous neck is clearly visible in the snap!
Many of the migrant warblers had not yet departed for North America and we saw Prothonotory Warbler as well as several Yellow Warblers and some of the lovely rust-headed subspecies of Mangrove Warbler.
There were about 400 Brown Pelicans at the mouth of the river and several Magnificent Frigatebirds flew overhead.
Among the 4 species of Kingfisher we saw 2 lovely little American Pygmy Kingfishers.
Southern Lapwings have colonised Costa Rica in the past eight or so years from South America, via Panama, and we saw four of them on the river bank with a small group of about 8 Black-bellied Whistling Ducks.
There were about 8 or 9 large American Crocodiles either in the water or basking on the river banks and we were entertained for a while by a delightful pair of Crab-eating Racoons.

We left the boat with great reluctance and wondered how we were going to ward off the sense of anti-climax that we feared would greet us at our next stop – but as this was at a delightful seafood restaurant on the shores of the Pacific Ocean the pleasure of the morning just continued!
After a lovely lunch Santiago took us to some nearby woods to walk it off. He whistled in a Ferruginous Pygmy Owl and during the course of the walk we added Scarlet Macaw, Violaceous and Black-headed Trogons, Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher, Cherrie’s Tanager, Black-crowned Tityra, Crested Guan and Red-legged Honeycreeper to our list.
We arrived at Hacienda Solimar shortly before dark and although we were shown to our rooms by candlelight the electricity came back on about an hour after our arrival.

Day 4 – Monday 7th April 2008 - Hacienda Solimar and Salina Conchal
Following a 6.30am breakfast we set off at 7am for a walk through open ranchland and dry gallery forest with our guide and rancher, Demetrio.
With over 55 species on our morning walk it was hard to keep up with so many new birds – although I had been to Costa Rica before this was my first visit to the dry northern Pacific area of Guanacaste – but highlights for me were Pacific Screech Owl, Crane Hawk, Pauraque, Yellow-olive Flycatcher and very good views of the always wary and elusive Thicket Tinamou.

Following lunch and a siesta back at the ranch – the day’s birding followed the general pattern of out at 7am and back by midday, followed by another excursion at 3.30pm – we headed off in the afternoon for a visit to the fascinating salt pans of Salina Conchal, about a 20 minute drive away.
It was very interesting to watch the water being evaporated from shallow lagoon like pans before finally being pumped into small pans on top of a brick built oven for the final water evaporation. The salt is removed with long-handled wooden shovels to great white mounts before being sent off for processing. (It was just a shame that when we got back to the ranch that evening and looked at the salt on the table, we saw that it bore the label ‘Product of Italy’!). Mmm. – international trade.

At the salinas there were good numbers of waders including Whimbrel (c.120), Grey Plover (60+), Black-necked Stilt (c.50), Western (30), Least (2), Spotted (8) and Semipalmated (30) Sandpipers as well as Semipalmated Plover (4), Short-billed Dowitcher (1), Marbled Godwit (1), Ruddy Turnstone (12) and Willet (c.35). There was also a flock of over 80 Laughing Gulls and a Solitary Royal Tern.

Day 5 – Tuesday 8th April 2008 – Hacienda Solimar
The morning was spent in a long search for the uncommon Elegant Trogon in dry hill forest. After nearly five hours of frustrating searching, where would could hear the bird without getting a glimpse of it, we finally managed to catch up with a lovely male who showed well for about three minutes before vanishing into the forest. We also heard two or three Collared forest Falcons calling but only Wilf managed to get on one of them as it flew low and fast through the trees.
Other species that we saw included Turquoise-browed Motmot, Long-tailed Manakin, Plain-capped Starthroat and Great Crested Flycatcher
After a tiring morning’s long walk we were glad to get back to the ranch house for a refreshing glass of homemade lemonade.

In the afternoon we searched some dry lowland forest for the large Spectacled Owl; Demetrio found one of these impressive birds roosting obligingly at shoulder height and giving us excellent views.
The woods opened up into an area of grassland with a shall lagoon that held over 100 Black-bellied Whistling Ducks as well as four Muscovy Ducks.
There were also large numbers of Northern Jacana together with about 15 Wood Storks Bare-throated Tiger-Heron, Roseate Spoonbill, Laughing Falcon, Anhinga and Limpkin
Several American Crocodiles lazed at the water’s edge and a White-tailed Deer passed by close to the water.

On the way back to the ranch house Demetrio took a diversion through the ranch to an area of dry pasture with large scattered trees. Here he showed us nine superb Jabiru Storks and six White-tailed Kites all settling down to roost in the tree tops for the night.

Day 6 – Wednesday 9th April 2008 – Hacienda Solimar to Selva Verde
A day of travelling cross country from the Pacific to the Caribbean side. Wilf had not felt well for two or three days and I did not feel tip-top and so did not mind the thought of a day in the bus!
We left the lovely surroundings of Hacienda Solimar at 7.30 arriving at Lake Arenal, with its impressive active volcano, about 90 minutes later. We stopped at a couple of spots around the lake for Gray-headed Chachalaca and a Hoffmann’s Two-toed sloth that was making its way slowly along a telephone cable, probably having climbed one of the posts thinking it was a tree.
From the bus we also saw our first Chestnut-headed and Montezuma Oropendolas as well as a Broad-winged Hawk.
We arrived at the Selva Verde Lodge at 2.30pm and went for a short walk through the grounds with Santiago where we found an amusing and weird looking little Black-capped Pygmy Tyrant together with Streak-headed Woodcreeper, Amazon Kingfisher, Summer Tanager and Gray-chested Dove.
I had an early night to try to sleep off my mild feeling of unwell as I wanted to be on good form for the next few days birding and was looking forward to seeing our guide, Luis Vargas, again.

Day 7 – Thursday 10th April 2008 – Selva Verde and Rio Sarapiqui
Behind me I heard a familiar voice ‘Jonatan ¿como estas?’ It was good to see Luis again. As we strolled around the grounds of Selva Verde and the Botanical Gardens we caught up with each other's latest news whilst getting in some good birding. We began with a Dark Pewee on the river bank in front of the bar. Other new birds for the trip included Snowy Cotinga, Fasciated Tiger Heron, Piratic Flycatcher, Red-throated Ant-Tanager, Collared Aracari, Slaty-tailed Trogon, Plain-colored Woodcreeper and Chestnut-sided Warbler.

In the afternoon we headed to nearby Chilamate to pick up the boat for our second river trip of the tour, down the Sarapiqui and Puerto Viejo rivers.
We had the surprising sight of an albino Amazon Kingfisher sitting next to a normal coloured one on a dead tree in mid-river.(See photograph in the Costa Rica 2008 album of the Photo Gallery). We also saw a couple of the very large Ringed Kingfishers and added Buff-rumped Warbler, Northern Waterthrush, Long-tailed Tyrant, Mealy Parrot, Eastern Kingbird, Bright-rumped Atilla and Crimson-collared Tanager to our list. We also saw a couple of groups of Lesser White-lined Bats roosting on tree trunks overhanging the water.

Day 8 – Friday 11th April 2008 – Braulio Carrillo National Park and pasture land at Puente de Chilamate
A six o’clock start and breakfast on the bus as we set off for the Braulio Carrillo National Park.
Inside the park we stopped at a garden full of flowers to search for hummingbirds and were rewarded with super views of these often difficult to see little birds – we saw a superb male Snowcap together with Violet-headed Hermit, Rufous-throated Hummingbird, Green Thorntail, White-necked Jacobin and Crowned Woodnymph.
Driving further into the park we stopped at Quebrada Gonzalez (Gonzalez Ravine) where we walked through what must be some of the most beautiful rain forest on Earth. The rainforests of the Caribbean are just how I’d always imagined rainforest to be when reading about them as a small boy – dense forest floor thick with small palms; enormous trees laden with vines, epiphytes, orchids and mosses; the whole place crammed full of vegetation.
Birds in rainforests tend to travel around in flocks, hunting and feeding as they go (in much the same way as mixed flocks of tits and nuthatches move through our temperate woodland) and although we did not come across any large groups, by the end of our walk we had seen, among other birds, an impressive number of those most lovely of Neotropical birds, the Tanagers; we had seen Passerini’s, Golden-hooded, Olive, Black-and-yellow, Tawny-crested, Emerald and Dusky-faced.
The odd thing was that, as we had not come across any sizeable flocks, the morning had seemed a little disappointing until I looked back over what we had seen. Other sbirds included Wedge-billed and Strong-billed Woodcreepers, Stripe-crowned Antvireo, Black-headed Nightingale-Thrush, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Chestnut-backed Antwren and another hummingbird - Blue-throated Goldentail.
We were also fortunate to come across a group of probably six Black Spider Monkeys, the largest primate of the region.

Our afternoon trip was to the lovely open pasture with scattered woods by the Puente de Chilamate. The open nature of the landscape and clear visibility made birding here much easier than in the dense rainforest of the morning.
Both Olive-crowned and Gray-crowned Yellowthroats were present together with White-crowned Parrot, Olive-chinned and Orange-Chinned Parakeets, Lineated and Black-cheeked Woodpeckers and both species of Tityra.

Day 9 – Saturday 12th April 2008 – La Selva Biological Research Station
Our day was taken up with morning and afternoon visits to this world renowned research station. Walking quietly along one of the forest trails we came across a Great Tinamou with two young. The bird characteristically froze when it sensed our presence and we were able to get some good views of one of the most elusive of forest species.
We added Red-rumped and Rufous-winged Woodpeckers to our list.
We were also treated to exceptionally fine views of a pair of White-whiskered Puffbirds and a Rufous-tailed Jacamar
A group of twelve of more Collared Peccaries crossed our path in the forest and we also had super views of a Central American Agouti - ‘better than chicken’ we were informed by Luis!
Back at Selva Verde Lodge we watched a Neotropical River Otter hunting in a pool in one of the streams that runs through the grounds whilst a couple of Black River Turtles basked on a nearby log.

Day 10 – Sunday 13th April 2008 – Virgen de Socorro, Poasito and home
We had a 6am walk with Luis, before leaving Selva Verde, to look for the Sun Bittern that had so far eluded us. We crossed the bridge over the Sarapiqui finding Black Phoebe and Scarlet-rumped Cacique on the way. Scanning across the exposed stone bed of the river, at its dry season low, we heard a whistling call – ‘Sunbittern’ said Luis. We soon located it as it hunted among the smooth riverbed rocks and were able to admire it for a quarter of an hour before we had to leave.

Our first stop on the return journey to San Jose airport was at La virgin de Socorro where a couple of bridges cross the Sarapiqui. Here we were looking for a couple of mountain river specialities, American Dipper and the diminutive, grey, Torrent Tyrannulet both of which we found with greater ease than on my last visit. We also added nine other species to the trip list including Chestnut-capped Brush-Finch, Barred Hawk, Red-faced Spinetail and Tufted Flycatcher.
From here we passed by the La Paz waterfall and stopped at Vera’s Café (with a magnificent view across the forested hills and another waterfall cascading down the mountain side out of the lush forest) where, over a cup of coffee, we brought our hummingbird total to twenty three species with the addition of Violet Sabrewing and Green-crowned Brilliant.

We stopped at Poasito for a picnic lunch before the final leg of our journey to the airport and from the bridge over the ravine we added the final two species to our trip list - Prong-billed Barbet and Purple-throated Mountain-Gem (our twenty-fourth hummingbird species of the trip).