Costa Rica Trip – November 24 – December 6, 2015
This trip was a retirement gift to ourselves having survived working many
years as a High School Spanish Instructor (Sharon) and an Emergency/
Trauma Nurse (Nick). Sharon took over planning the itinerary and making
all the reservations and my job was to figure out the better birding areas
along the itinerary. We wanted to cover as many different habitats as
possible, but also be able to spend enough time at each location to try and
learn the birds.
Logistics
Flight: We were able to get a non-stop flight from Newark Airport to San
Jose, CR on United Airlines. This departed at 0730. To lessen our stress
about making the flight on time we decided to stay in Newark the night
before and take a shuttle from our motel to the airport. This was essentially
hassle free and we’re glad we decided to do this.
Ground Transportation: We decided that we wanted to drive ourselves
rather than hiring a car and driver for each day. This allowed us a little
more flexibility in our schedule. We rented through Vamos
(1-800-950-8426) they are located in downtown San Jose. Being located
away from the airport made them less expensive. They don’t rent new cars
but rent older vehicles that they maintain at their site. We rented a diesel
Toyota Forerunner that was a monster but got us through some very rough
roads. They provided us with a GPS and they were nice enough to insert all the locations that we would be visiting. Vamos also supplied us with a cooler.
Driving: Sharon loves to drive and since she is fluent in Spanish and
would have no trouble reading street signs, she gladly took the wheel. For
the most part, the road system is good, signage is good and the speed limit
is sensible. What is not sensible is the Costa Rican drivers. It was not
unusual to be passed on a double yellow line or on a curve or a blind hill. It
wasn’t like they were driving aggressively, it just seemed the thing they do.
Luckily we only had to drive in downtown San Jose once because I’m not
sure my nerves would have survived another trip through town. Sharon was
fantastic. I really don’t know how we made it through town without hitting
someone or something. There were times when we would be moving
slowly through traffic and there would be a scooter on each side of us in
our lane. Being a Trauma Nurse did not make things any better as I worried
every time I saw an adult on a scooter with not one child but sometimes
two or three hanging on or to see a child riding along carrying a gasoline
can in their arms. Of course, I never saw a helmet. Some of the roads
especially in the mountains were rough and pot-holed which made for slow
travel but easy car-birding.
Itinerary:
Tuesday, November 24
Depart Newark 7:20 am (UA 1080 L)
Arrive San Jose, Costa Rica 11:46 am
Overnight Hotel Bougainvillea
Costado Oeste Escuela Santo Tomas
113100 Santo Domingo, Costa Rica
506.2244.1414
Wednesday, November 25
Rental Car from Vamos (1-800-950-8426) delivered to hotel at 6:30 am
Visit La Paz Waterfall Gardens (on slope of Poas volcano)
Lunch at the gardens
Overnight at Chilamate Rainforest Eco Retreat
506.2766.6949
506.8.842.1171
Thursday, November 26
Chilamate Rainforest Eco Retreat
Overnight at Chilamate Rainforest Eco Retreat
Friday, November 27 – Saturday, November 28
Rancho Naturalista
Overnight at Rancho Naturalista
Tayutic, Turrialba 7150, Costa Rica Tel. 011 506 2100 1855
Sunday, November 29
Morning birding at Rancho Naturalista
Tapanti National Park (driving the Pan American Highway)
Highlands of the Cerro de la Muerte region
InterAmerican Highway to the true highlands
Down to Savegre Valley and the Trogon Lodge
Overnight Trogon Lodge, Savegre, San Gerardo de Dota, San Jose; Tel 506 (000) 22938181
Monday, November 30
Birding at and around the Lodge
Overnight Trogon Lodge
Tuesday, December 1
Carara Biological Reserve / Parque Nacional Carara
Birding the Pacific lowlands near Tarcoles
Overnight Hotel Pumlio Mountain & Ocean Hotel, Jaco, Puntarenas;
Tel +506 2643 5678
Wednesday, December 2
Morning birding in Carara Biological Reserve
Rio Grande de Tarcoles
Coastal highway
Overnight Hotel Pumilio
Thursday, December 3 – Friday, December 4
To Monteverde
Visit hummingbird and butterfly gardens
Overnight Monteverde Lodge & Gardens, 1 Toucan Boulevarde, 6941-1000, Costa
Rica
Tel: 011 506 2521 6099
Saturday, December 5
Return to San Jose
Overnight Bougainvillea Hotel (See November 24 for contact info.)
Sunday, December 6
Depart San Jose 7:00 am (UA 1554)
Arrive Newark 1:29 pm
Accommodations
Bougainvillea Hotel – Located just outside metro San Jose. We chose this place because when reviewing some of the Birding Tour Companies Costa Rica Itineraries, we noticed most would begin and end their tours here. Excellent accommodations and excellent birding on the grounds. The grounds have extensive gardens and trails and we had a hard time just leaving the room balcony to visit the trails because of all the bird activity outside our room. The hotel provided transportation to and from the airport.
Chilamate Rainforest Eco Retreat – this is in the Caribbean Lowlands along the Sarapiqui River. The area was hot and humid and we had rain off-and-on. There are individual cabins with outside hammocks. There is no air conditioning and the room fan was barely adequate. The humidity made everything sticky. There is an open dining area and the food was pretty good. The birding here is exceptional! There are extensive trails both on the grounds and within some of the nearby farmland. Guests have access to the resident naturalists and we took advantage of this. The two guides we met, both in their 20’s, were excellent birders and bird finders. I won’t forget the Sunbittern any time soon. Our cabin was close to the river we enjoyed the morning and evening flight of herons, anhingas etc. from a nearby roost.
Rancho Naturalista – this place was just incredible. Between the five star food and the five star birding it was hard to leave. We were mesmerized by the number and variety of hummingbirds and thank God I don’t use a film camera anymore. There is an extensive bird feeding area that offers fantastic views of toucans, tanagers, woodpeckers and warblers. There are extensive birdy trails throughout the grounds. There is one area that contains several small pools where hummingbirds come in the evening to drink and take a dip. This is the only spot where we saw Snowcap. Each night the staff erects a moth light and sheet and one can sit and watch the moths or return in the morning and watch the various birds picking the remaining moths off the hanging sheet. They have guides available and they do have van tours to nearby birding areas. We just stuck to the trails on the grounds. The food is excellent and it is family style dining and a good time to exchange birding info. We have considered going back and just staying there for a week
Trogon Lodge – wow, another great location. There was something like an 11 mile dirt road to the lodge and I really wasn’t expecting anything fancy. I was
completely blown away. The place was like a resort. I think the elevation was
9000ft so the bird species were completely different than what we had
experienced. The lodge is located in the middle of Resplendent Quetzal habitat and there are daily morning guided van trips to the area. We had super looks at the Quetzals. There is a nice trail system which we birded and we also walked off the grounds and birded along the roads. Because of the elevation, the hummingbirds here were different than what we had seen already. This is the only spot where we had Volcano Hummingbird. Once again, the food was excellent and the rooms cozy. I want to go back here again too.
Hotel Pumlio Mountain & Ocean Hotel – this is located in the beach town of Jaco. The accommodations are similar to a what you might expect at the Jersey shore. Nice room, pool and outside dining area. The food here was okay, but the hotel has agreements with several restaurants in Jaco which you can order from their respective menus and it will be delivered. Next to the hotel was a well kept garden area that had mot-mots and anis. Mostly we used the hotel as a base for birding in nearby Jaco.
Monteverde Lodge & Gardens – we wanted to spend at least one day in the Monteverde area because, once again, there is a different variety of birds. The road up to Monteverde was long and tough with many switchbacks, narrow at times and rocky. It was worth it. Once again the birding was excellent and lodge was outstanding. I wonder where Costa Rica gets all their exceptional chefs. We birded the grounds and nearby areas but were hampered here with unusual gusty winds 20-30 mph.
Other Birding Areas
La Paz Waterfall Gardens – we stopped here on our way from San Jose to
Chilamate Reserve. It was raining the entire time but the birding was good. They have extensive gardens and a large dining area. We concentrated on the Hummingbird Viewing area because there were some shelters there and we could stay dry. There were plenty of hummers to see with Violet Sabrewings all over. We were lucky, as soon as we entered the gardens there was a pair of Tufted Flycatchers to greet us.
Costa Rica Nature Pavilion – this was an easy drive from nearby Chilamate
Reserve. It is an old pineapple plantation run by an American father and son team. I understand it has changed its name since we visited but I don’t know what it is now called. The “Nature Pavilion” consists of a house with a huge deck with hummingbird and fruit feeders all around. It is really set up for photography tours and we did run into a German Photography Tour while we were there. There had to be a few hundred thousand dollars in camera equipment on that deck.
PN Tapani – This a park near Rancho Naturalista we stopped at as we headed out to the Trogon Lodge. I would have like to have spent more time here as we saw several new species in the short time we were there including several tanager species we didn’t see again. Rancho runs vans trips here with a naturalist.
Paraiso Quetzal Lodge – this was a small lodge about thirty minutes from the Trogon Lodge. We didn’t know about this place beforehand but were told about it from a couple of birders we met at Trogon Lodge. I’m glad we did, as it is one of the best places to see Fiery-throated Hummingbird essentially at arms length.
Fiery-throated Hummingbird 2015-12-01 Paraiso Quetzal Lodge, Costa Rica
Fiery-throated Hummingbird Paraiso Quetzal Lodge, Costa Rica
PN Carara – this is a large national park near Jaco. Very birdy. As we were about to head off onto the trails here, we were approached by a man with binoculars and carrying a scope who asked if we wanted to hire a guide. It’s not something we usually do, but I’m glad we did. We negotiated a price and he took us to a section of the park that was not busy with tourists. He was a guy born to Costa Rican parents in Germany, loved the N.Y. Giants, had been to Vet Stadium to see an Eagles-Giants game and really knew how to find birds. He really worked hard to make sure we got good looks at some of the more skulking species. It was a great experience birding with a local.
Jaco – this is pretty much a surfing town much like some of the towns along the New Jersey and Delaware beaches. We birded some agricultural area outside of town where we found seedeaters and several species of flycatchers. The guide we had at Carara lived in Jaco and agreed to take us birding around some of his favorite places. He took us to a friend’s backyard that had a few roosting Boat-billed Herons, he showed us an area with Scarlet Macaws feeding on fruit and a cool wetlands area where we had kingfishers, herons and frigatebirds.
Hummingbird Gallery – this was small gift shop along the long road to
Monteverde. There were about thirty hummingbird feeders with hummers all over the place. It was challenging but fun.
Curi-Cancha Refugio – We loved this place. It was nearby our Monteverde Lodge and extremely birdy. Every trail had something new either a new tanager or flycatcher or a toucanet or a Collared Forest-Falcon or
another wintering North American warbler. We walked the trails for four hours and could have kept going. Got to get back here.
Photography – the opportunities for good photos were frequent. I was using a straight 400mm lens. Before leaving on the trip, I debated whether to bring a flash, I didn’t, and it would have made a big difference in some situations. The rainforests were dark and I was using an ISO 2000-6400 to get enough light. Of course, the images were grainy and I was able to correct most of them with Lightroom, but I was definitely disappointed that I didn’t have a flash in some situations. Bring several batteries and SD Cards. The most images I took in one day was 635.
Field Guide – we used THE BIRDS of COSTA RICA by Richard Garrigues & Robert Dean. A nice book. I had used A Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica by Stiles & Skutch when I was birding in Belize & Panama but it’s a heavy field guide. I didn’t listen to any audio tapes beforehand and I should have.
Insects – hardly a problem except in the humid areas and even there, they were hardly noticeable. Might be helpful to peruse the book Neotropical Companion to gain some awareness of the insects you don’t want to mess with (Bullet Ants). We frequently encountered Leaf Cutter ants but no Army Ant swarms. I’ve experienced Army Ant swarms in the tropics before and they can agttact 15-20 species or more that feed on the insects the ants are scattering. Keep your eye and ear out for these ant swarms, they’re really cool to experience.
Reptiles and Mammals – I was a bit disappointed in not seeing more of each. I was really hoping for a Tapir. We did see a few species of monkeys and bats.
Birds
Even though I’ve also birded in Belize and Panama, I still got a bit overwhelmed with the rush of new birds and songs. I also forgot how difficult it can be at times to try and find a bird in the thick forest. I’ve actually have been down on my hands and knees to try and see some birds. To me, the Woodcreepers all look alike and continue to be the hardest family for me to separate and identify. We were also excited to see the number of North American warblers wintering there. I was doubly excited to see some of our skulking warblers like Kentucky and Mourning, feeding out in the open only a few feet away.
| Species List 225 | Number of Days Seen | Max Number Seen |
| Little Tinamou |
1 |
1 |
| Muscovy Duck |
1 |
1 |
| Gray-headed Chachalaca |
3 |
5 |
| Crested Guan |
1 |
1 |
| Spotted Wood-Quail |
1 |
1 |
| Rock Pigeon |
2 |
40 |
| Red-billed Pigeon |
2 |
4 |
| Ruddy Pigeon |
1 |
3 |
| Inca Dove |
3 |
2 |
| White-tipped Dove |
2 |
2 |
| White-winged Dove |
2 |
6 |
| Groove-billed Ani |
1 |
5 |
| Squirrel Cuckoo |
1 |
1 |
| Common Pauraque |
1 |
2 |
| White-collared Swift |
1 |
2 |
| Vaux’s Swift |
4 |
5 |
| Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift |
2 |
4 |
| White-necked Jacobin |
4 |
10 |
| Green Hermit |
6 |
3 |
| Long-billed Hermit |
2 |
2 |
| Stripe-throated Hermit |
1 |
1 |
| Lesser Violetear |
3 |
4 |
| Purple-crowned Fairy |
3 |
1 |
| Green-breasted Mango |
3 |
2 |
| Green-crowned Brilliant |
2 |
4 |
| Talamanca Hummingbird |
1 |
3 |
| Fiery-throated Hummingbird |
1 |
5 |
| Purple-throated Mountain-gem |
3 |
6 |
| White-throated Mountain-gem |
1 |
4 |
| Magenta-throated Woodstar |
3 |
4 |
| Volcano Hummingbird |
1 |
3 |
| Scintillant Hummingbird |
1 |
2 |
| Violet-headed Hummingbird |
1 |
2 |
| Scaly-breasted Hummingbird |
1 |
1 |
| Violet Sabrewing |
5 |
5 |
| Bronze-tailed Plumeleteer |
3 |
2 |
| Crowned Woodnymph |
2 |
2 |
| Stripe-tailed Hummingbird |
1 |
3 |
| Coppery-headed Emerald |
3 |
5 |
| Snowcap |
2 |
1 |
| Steely-vented Hummingbird |
1 |
1 |
| Rufous-tailed Hummingbird |
8 |
6 |
| Blue-throated Goldentail |
1 |
1 |
| Killdeer |
1 |
1 |
| Spotted Sandpiper |
2 |
1 |
| Sunbittern |
2 |
1 |
| Wood Stork |
1 |
1 |
| Magnificent Frigatebird |
1 |
15 |
| Anhinga |
1 |
2 |
| Neotropic Cormorant |
4 |
30 |
| Brown Pelican |
1 |
2 |
| Bare-throated Tiger-Heron |
1 |
1 |
| Great Blue Heron |
3 |
1 |
| Great Egret |
4 |
1 |
| Snowy Egret |
3 |
6 |
| Little Blue Heron |
3 |
10 |
| Tricolored Heron |
2 |
2 |
| Cattle Egret |
3 |
50 |
| Green Heron |
1 |
2 |
| Yellow-crowned Night-Heron |
1 |
1 |
| Boat-billed Heron |
1 |
2 |
| White Ibis |
1 |
3 |
| Green Ibis |
1 |
1 |
| Black Vulture |
10 |
25 |
| Turkey Vulture |
10 |
10 |
| Osprey |
2 |
1 |
| White-tailed Kite |
1 |
1 |
| Common Black Hawk |
1 |
1 |
| Roadside Hawk |
1 |
1 |
| Short-tailed Hawk |
1 |
1 |
| Swainson’s Hawk |
1 |
1 |
| Red-tailed Hawk |
1 |
1 |
| Resplendent Quetzal |
1 |
9 |
| Slaty-tailed Trogon |
2 |
1 |
| Gartered Trogon |
3 |
2 |
| Lesson’s Motmot |
3 |
2 |
| Turquoise-browed Motmot |
1 |
2 |
| Ringed Kingfisher |
2 |
2 |
| Amazon Kingfisher |
3 |
1 |
| Green Kingfisher |
1 |
1 |
| White-whiskered Puffbird |
1 |
6 |
| Rufous-tailed Jacamar |
1 |
1 |
| Red-headed Barbet |
1 |
1 |
| Northern Emerald-Toucanet |
2 |
1 |
| Collared Aracari |
1 |
2 |
| Yellow-throated Toucan |
1 |
1 |
| Keel-billed Toucan |
1 |
1 |
| Acorn Woodpecker |
1 |
5 |
| Black-cheeked Woodpecker |
2 |
2 |
| Hoffmann’s Woodpecker |
3 |
2 |
| Pale-billed Woodpecker |
1 |
1 |
| Barred Forest-Falcon |
1 |
1 |
| Crested Caracara |
1 |
2 |
| Yellow-headed Caracara |
1 |
1 |
| Bat Falcon |
1 |
1 |
| Red-fronted Parrotlet |
1 |
2 |
| Orange-chinned Parakeet |
1 |
2 |
| White-crowned Parrot |
1 |
2 |
| Red-lored Parrot |
2 |
4 |
| Yellow-naped Parrot |
1 |
2 |
| White-fronted Parrot |
1 |
4 |
| Mealy Parrot |
1 |
4 |
| Great Green Macaw |
1 |
2 |
| Scarlet Macaw |
3 |
2 |
| Crimson-fronted Parakeet |
3 |
45 |
| Black-hooded Antshrike |
1 |
2 |
| Dot-winged Antwren |
1 |
2 |
| Dusky Antbird |
1 |
2 |
| Tawny-throated Leaftosser |
2 |
1 |
| Plain-brown Woodcreeper |
1 |
1 |
| Wedge-billed Woodcreeper |
1 |
2 |
| Northern Barred-Woodcreeper |
1 |
2 |
| Cocoa Woodcreeper |
1 |
1 |
| Spotted Woodcreeper |
1 |
1 |
| Streak-headed Woodcreeper |
3 |
1 |
| Plain Xenops |
1 |
3 |
| Buff-throated Foliage-gleaner |
2 |
2 |
| Mountain Elaenia |
1 |
1 |
| Slate-headed Tody-Flycatcher |
1 |
1 |
| Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher |
1 |
1 |
| Sulphur-rumped Flycatcher |
1 |
1 |
| Tufted Flycatcher |
2 |
2 |
| Ochraceous Pewee |
1 |
1 |
| Tropical Pewee |
1 |
1 |
| Least Flycatcher |
2 |
1 |
| Yellowish Flycatcher |
1 |
1 |
| Black Phoebe |
3 |
1 |
| Dusky-capped Flycatcher |
1 |
2 |
| Great Crested Flycatcher |
1 |
1 |
| Great Kiskadee |
9 |
4 |
| Boat-billed Flycatcher |
2 |
2 |
| Social Flycatcher |
4 |
2 |
| Streaked Flycatcher |
2 |
1 |
| Tropical Kingbird |
10 |
4 |
| Western Kingbird |
1 |
2 |
| Scissor-tailed Flycatcher |
1 |
12 |
| White-collared Manakin |
2 |
2 |
| Orange-collared Manakin |
1 |
4 |
| Masked Tityra |
2 |
2 |
| Cinnamon Becard |
1 |
1 |
| Rose-throated Becard |
1 |
1 |
| Yellow-throated Vireo |
1 |
1 |
| Philadelphia Vireo |
3 |
2 |
| Red-eyed Vireo |
1 |
2 |
| Brown Jay |
2 |
3 |
| Blue-and-white Swallow |
2 |
15 |
| Southern Rough-winged Swallow |
2 |
6 |
| Barn Swallow |
2 |
15 |
| House Wren |
3 |
1 |
| Rufous-naped Wren |
1 |
4 |
| Rufous-and-white Wren |
1 |
1 |
| Cabanis’s Wren |
1 |
1 |
| Bay Wren |
1 |
1 |
| White-breasted Wood-Wren |
3 |
2 |
| Gray-breasted Wood-Wren |
1 |
2 |
| Long-billed Gnatwren |
1 |
1 |
| Wood Thrush |
2 |
1 |
| Mountain Thrush |
1 |
2 |
| Clay-colored Thrush |
9 |
10 |
| Sooty Thrush |
1 |
3 |
| Black-and-yellow Silky-flycatcher |
1 |
2 |
| Long-tailed Silky-flycatcher |
1 |
1 |
| Golden-browed Chlorophonia |
2 |
1 |
| Yellow-throated Euphonia |
2 |
4 |
| Olive-backed Euphonia |
1 |
2 |
| Tawny-capped Euphonia |
1 |
1 |
| Yellow-bellied Siskin |
1 |
7 |
| Sooty-capped Chlorospingus |
2 |
7 |
| Common Chlorospingus |
2 |
5 |
| Black-striped Sparrow |
1 |
2 |
| Orange-billed Sparrow |
5 |
5 |
| Rufous-collared Sparrow |
4 |
10 |
| Eastern Meadowlark |
1 |
2 |
| Montezuma Oropendola |
6 |
15 |
| Orchard Oriole |
1 |
1 |
| Baltimore Oriole |
8 |
6 |
| Bronzed Cowbird |
1 |
1 |
| Great-tailed Grackle |
8 |
35 |
| Northern Waterthrush |
2 |
1 |
| Golden-winged Warbler |
2 |
2 |
| Black-and-white Warbler |
1 |
2 |
| Prothonotary Warbler |
2 |
2 |
| Flame-throated Warbler |
2 |
2 |
| Tennessee Warbler |
9 |
2 |
| Mourning Warbler |
2 |
1 |
| Kentucky Warbler |
1 |
1 |
| American Redstart |
1 |
2 |
| Tropical Parula |
1 |
1 |
| Blackburnian Warbler |
1 |
1 |
| Yellow Warbler |
6 |
3 |
| Chestnut-sided Warbler |
8 |
6 |
| Black-throated Green Warbler |
2 |
2 |
| Rufous-capped Warbler |
2 |
4 |
| Costa Rican Warbler |
3 |
2 |
| Buff-rumped Warbler |
2 |
1 |
| Wilson’s Warbler |
3 |
2 |
| Slate-throated Redstart |
1 |
2 |
| Collared Redstart |
1 |
2 |
| Summer Tanager |
9 |
3 |
| Flame-colored Tanager |
1 |
2 |
| Red-throated Ant-Tanager |
1 |
2 |
| Black-faced Grosbeak |
1 |
5 |
| Rose-breasted Grosbeak |
1 |
1 |
| Blue-black Grosbeak |
1 |
1 |
| White-shouldered Tanager |
1 |
1 |
| Crimson-collared Tanager |
1 |
2 |
| Scarlet-rumped Tanager |
3 |
4 |
| Blue-gray Tanager |
6 |
4 |
| Palm Tanager |
1 |
4 |
| Golden-hooded Tanager |
4 |
3 |
| Spangle-cheeked Tanager |
1 |
2 |
| Bay-headed Tanager |
1 |
1 |
| Silver-throated Tanager |
1 |
1 |
| Scarlet-thighed Dacnis |
1 |
1 |
| Red-legged Honeycreeper |
3 |
4 |
| Green Honeycreeper |
1 |
2 |
| Slaty Flowerpiercer |
1 |
2 |
| Blue-black Grassquit |
1 |
7 |
| Thick-billed Seed-Finch |
1 |
2 |
| Variable Seedeater |
3 |
4 |
| Morelet’s Seedeater |
1 |
2 |
| Bananaquit |
5 |
6 |
| Yellow-faced Grassquit |
1 |
2 |
| Buff-throated Saltator |
4 |
1 |
| Grayish Saltator |
1 |
2 |
| House Sparrow |
2 |
5 |
Justabirder 