Birds of Costa Rica

I was introduced to Costa Rica via a family vacation I took back in January of 2003. We fell in love with the place and went back in February of 2008 and we hope to revisit soon. In addition to the many birds seen and photographed, we also got to see some other interesting fauna. Here is a brief report from these trips:

January 2003

A few weeks after I purchased my Digital camera, I talked my wife and two daughters into a trip to Costa Rica. All three of them have no interest in birding, but the all-inclusive resort (Allegro Papagayo Occidental) offered a huge pool, many activities and a chance to get away somewhere warm in the middle of winter. I knew Costa Rica was a birding paradise, but I had no idea on what I would find at the resort. I did some research on the web, only to find out that the region we were heading to (Guanacaste) was not known as a birding hot spot. I knew that I could not spend much time away from the resort (see wife and kids), so I figured that the only chance I had in taking pictures of birds was around the resort itself. So off we went to the unknown hoping for the best. And what a trip it turned out to be!

The resort was built just a couple of years ago in a beautiful setting facing the Pacific Ocean and surrounded by a tropical forest. When we got to our room, I walked out to the balcony. The view was magnificent, but best of all, I saw my first photo subject of the trip feeding at a tree just a few yards away. I ran back in, unpacked my photo equipment and proceeded in taking pictures of bird #38, a Streak-backed Oriole. That tree produced six species of birds during my stay!!

I was able to get in a routine that allowed me to take many pictures and still spend a lot of time with my family. I would wake up before 6am, explore the area next to the resort for a couple of hours, come back and wake everyone up so that we can have breakfast. After breakfast, we would spend some time at the pool or ocean, and then have lunch. The gang would then head back to the room for a nap and I would spend time exploring the surroundings.

The forested area next to the resort produced a number of new species. Banded Wren, Squirrel Cuckoo, Black-headed Trogon, Steely-vented Hummingbird as well as Gray Hawk, Summer Tanager, Tennessee Warbler, Inca Dove, Great Crested Flycatcher, Cinnamon Hummingbird, Black Vulture, Hoffmann's Woodpecker, Yellow-naped Parrot and Blue Grosbeak.

The beach area also productive some nice birds: Green and Ringed Kingfisher, Brown Pelican, Magnificent Frigatebird and Whimbrel (seen daily).

There were a number of bird species that could be found foraging in the trees and grounds of the resort as well. Orange-fronted Parakeet, Stripe-headed Sparrow, White-lored Gnatcatcher, Common Ground Dove, Social Flycatcher, White_winged Dove, Streak-backed Oriole, Rufous-naped Wren, Great-tailed Grackle and Yellow Warbler did not seem to be bothered by the presence of tourists... On the last day of our stay, I saw 4 White-throated Magpie Jays fly in to feed on some type of bananas in trees at the entrance of the resort.

Finaly, we took a 1/2 day excursion to near by Palo Verde National Park that included a boat ride through one of the park's rivers. In addition to some close looks of Alligators, I got to see and photograph Mangrove Swallow, Tropical Kingbird, Little Blue Heron, Wood Stork, Boat-billed Heron, Black-crowned and Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Bare-throated Tiger Heron, Great Kiskadee, Anhinga, Great Egret and Osprey.

February 2008

My second trip to Costa Rica was decided upon in a very short period of time. We went back to the same resort (Allegro Papagayo Occidental) since we loved everything about it the first time around. I decided to look for a guided bird tour in the Guanacaste region in order to maximize my bird count. After some research on the internet, I came across some glowing reports on Carlos Luis Jimenez. I contacted Carlos and we agreed on a birding excursion to Heliconias Lodge and family outings/semi-birding trips to Palo Verde and Arenal. Carlos was great in both roles (birding/tour guide) and I highly recommend him to anyone who is looking for a guide in NW Costa Rica. His web site is website: http://www.ecoexplorercr.com/index.php and his email address is ticomonklet-at-yahoo.com (replace -at- with @).

The beach at the resort produced my best shots of the trip ( Reddish Egret, Tricolored Heron, Whimbrel ) as well as ( Black Vulture, Crested Caracara, Greater Yellowlegs, Snowy Egret, Spotted Sandpiper, Brown Pelican, Belted and Ringed Kingfisher, Great-tailed Grackle, Black-necked Stilt and Green Heron).

Once again the grounds in and around the resort had good variety of birds ( Melodious Blackbird, Turquoise-browed Motmot, Orange-fronted Parakeet, Summer Tanager, Western Tanager, Stripe-headed Sparrow, Inca Dove, White-winged Dove, Tropical Kingbird, Rufous-naped Wren, Blue Grosbeak, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Social Flycatcher, Streaked-backed Oriole, Orchard Oriole, Baltimore Oriole, Tropical Gnatcatcher, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Yellow-throated Vireo, Great-tailed Grackle, Great Kiskadee, Great-crested Flycatcher, Common Pauraque ). I am sure there was more to be had but I spent more time at the pool this time around.

Our first excursion with Carlos was to Palo Verde National Park. On the way to the park, we visited a nesting colony of Montezuma Oropendola (hanging nests similar to those of the Baltimore Oriole but in much greater scale). A quick stop at the city of Filadelphia's small central park produced Blue-gray Tanager, a cooperative Streaked-backed Oriole, White-winged Dove, Cinnamon Hummingbird. At the park we saw Wood Stork, Bare-throated Tiger Heron, Great Blue Heron, Little Blue Heron, Green Heron, White Ibis, Tropical Kingbird, Anhinga, Boat-billed Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron, Belted Kingfisher, Great Black Hawk, and a flyover Jabiru. On the way back to the hotel we stopped in a wetland area where we saw Limpkin, Northern Jacana and Black-necked Stilt.

Next day was the big birding trip to Heliconias. I got picked up by Carlos at the resort at around 4:30am right after I took a picture of a resting Common Pauraque. On the way to the lodge we spotted a Laughing Falcon and as we neared the entrance, we picked up Bronzed Cowbird, Black-cowled Oriole, Keel-billed Toucan, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Black Vulture and White-collared Seedeater. As we entered the Rainforest we were greeted by an inquisitive Spotted Antbird. This was followed by looks at Barred Woodcreeper, Long-tailed Manakin, Yellow-eared Toucanet, Scale-crested Pygmy Tyrant, Shining Honeycreeper, Black-thighed Grosbeak, Black-throated Trogon, Slaty-tailed Trogon, Violet-crowned-Woodnymph, Cinnamon Woodpecker and 3 vocal White-fronted Nunbirds. After lunch we walked around the cleared fields and we had King Vulture, Green Honeycreeper, Clay-colored Robin, Montezuma Oropendola, Blue-and-White Swallow, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Groove-billed Ani, Variable Seedeater, Common Tody Flycatcher, Blue-black Grassquit, Blue-black Grassquit, Yellow-faced Grassquit, Ruddy Ground Dove, Red-legged Honeycreeper, Greyish-Saltator and Summer Tanager. On the way back to the resort we made a couple of stops to pick up Olivaceous Cormorant, Snail Kite, Double-striped Thick-knee and Scissor-tailed-Flycatcher.