24th March 2026 - Day 4 - Costa Rica for Bird's Wildlife & Nature

An early morning rerun at Hotel Linda where we got to see how lucky we were to see Arenal and its puffing fumarole for a whole previous day as a rolling blanket of low cloud was hugging her outline. For the most part it was a rerun of yesterday but there were some additions and the flatter light made viewing better.  Brown-crested Flycatcher and Northern Tropical Pewee were in the Coral trees with a lone White-throated Magpie-Jay and a Cocoa Woodpecker was clambering around and onto the list. Garry picked up a Gartered Trogon about 16 miles away on a tree top and then two micro Black-necked Stilts down below around the lake while Vaux’s Swifts zipped over us like little flying cigars.  

Epidendrum sp

Social Flycatcher

Bronzed Cowbird

Red-billed Pigeon

Bananaquit

Piratic Flycatcher

Cinnamon-bellied Saltator

White-necked Jacobin

Tropical Kingbird

White-throated Magpie-Jay

Summer Tanager - so bright

Passerini's Scarlet Rumped Tanager

The seed lovers in the grasses were more obliging this morning with Thick-billed, Morelet’s and Black Variable Seedeaters and Blue Black and Yellow-faced Grassquits periodically popping into view.  I had put my moth trap on the night before and had a few things to look at.  I will try and name the in due course.

a small Sphynx sp

Geometrid sp

Swift sp

Megalopyge lampra or something similar

Amazing that the one with the dark spot looks like a Brambleshoot

Really not sure what this large fly is.  I thought Conopid but need further enquiry

One of those weird flat, very dry slugs...

We had breakfast and packed the bus and began our journey north past a gang of Black Vultures investigating the recently deceased corpse of a Coati.  There was a morbid fascination from the crew as they watched the Vulture head disappear inside its breakfast!  

Black Vulture

We were soon back on the Peninsular Road and a couple of short sessions at the roadside gave us the hoped for White-faced Nunbird high in the canopy and while Fito tried valiantly to find us something other than a lovely Broad-billed Motmot we managed to find Wedge-billed Woodcreeper, Streak-crowned Antvireo, White-breasted Wood Wrens and a rather splendid male Graceful Black-throated Trogon (its new Avilist name).  It gave us the eye as it actively hunted large Katydids and Moths.

Graceful Black-throated Trogon

Graceful Black-throated Trogon

A Buff-rumped Warbler appeared on the path where the rumped flashed like a beacon and Bare-crowned Antbirds sung and one dashed across the track leading with a spot of bright blue.  A calling Woodpecker was tracked down to a Rufous-winged and Acadian Flycatcher and a most exquisite Purple Crowned Fairy were seen above us.  That Hummer is surely one of the best.

We looped back to La Fortuna and stopped for a short walk Bogarin.  They place has expanded and the wonderful pools around the entrance have been tidied so much that the chances of crakes and such like is now remote but it keeps the normal tourists happy as they can see the Chachalacas, Basilisks and Tanagers easier.  Hey ho.  The trail was still excellent though but we lacked the time to do it justice but it did start with a strutting Rufous-naped Woodrail and a very relaxed Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth with its arms leisurely behind its head.  We were more successful with the Motmots with both Broad-billed and Keel-billed seen exceptional well and as usual we found both species suspiciously close to one another.  I still reckon that the colour morph idea holds some ground. 

Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth

Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth - lounging and chilled

Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth

Keel-billed Motmot

Broad-billed Motmot

Broad-billed Motmot - what a gape!

Broad-billed Motmot

Barred Antshrikes were being noisy and a couple of males showed very nicely although as usual the vocal Fasciated Antshrikes did not show themselves.  Rufous-tailed Jacamars and Buff-throated Saltators popped out and Orange-billed Sparrows flashed yellow epaulets from the shadows.

Rufous-tailed HB on the nest

Barred Antshrike

Rufous-tailed Jacamar

Fito found us one of the roosting Black & White Owls way above us and a few Warblers were half heartedly keeping an eye on it.  A little further on we found an obliging Squirrel Cuckoo and a Golden-winged Warbler was coming down to drink in a small stream where an Ovenbird bobbed along through the leaf litter.  The Cicada noise was astonishing in there!

Black & White Owl - Ramon Vargas

Leaf Cutter Ants

Tree termites

White-lined Bat sp

Grey-headed Chachalaca

Tiny Paper Wasps

While our lunch was prepared we were easily distracted by the main pond where Emerald Basilisks lounged and a female Great Curassow surprised everyone with her entrance. A Green Heron hunted along the back edge and an American Pygmy Kingfisher came in to feed and was not fussed about all the attention.  This can be a tricky species to connect with well so our having two close up encounters was very special.  The only Hummers were the rather understated Scaly-breasted but I do like the fact that they have a proper little song that reminds me of a Reed Bunting.

American Pygmy Kingfisher

American Pygmy Kingfisher

Emerald Basilisk

Great Curassow

Red faced Dragonlet - Erythrodiplax fusca

Onwards and upwards passing through the farmland, pasture, Pineapple and citrus groves and aside from the regular roadside birds we did see several Crested Caracaras and a single Red-breasted Meadowlark in a furrowed field.

As they day drew on we arrived at Medio Queso to catch our boat out onto the river and marshes.  There is now a shiny bridge over the river and no longer a had pulled ferry.  The trip up and down the slow moving waterway was as magical as ever with the golden hour illuminating everything to one side and silhouetting to the other.

Herony things were at the fore with Great Blue, Little Blue, Tricoloured, Black-crowned Night, Boat-billed, Bare-throated Tiger and Green Herons along with Great, Snowy and Cattle Egrets, three diminutive Least Bitterns and an astonishing 15 Pinnated Bitterns.  There seemed to be one of the latter wherever you looked.

Great Egret

Great Egret

Great Egret

Bare-throated Tiger Heron

Bare-throated Tiger Heron

Great Blue Heron

Boat Billed Heron

Green Heron

Green Heron

Green Heron

Pinnated Bittern

Pinnated Bittern

Pinnated Bittern

Pinnated Bittern

Least Bittern

There were Wood Storks, Roseate Spoonbills and White Ibis amongst the distant throng of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks and Northern Jacanas were dotted around the floating vegetation.  Common and Purple Gallinules fed out in the open but it took a little more effort than usual to connect with the tiny Yellow-breasted Crakes but we all managed excellent views in the end.  White-throated Crakes trilled but remained out of sight.

Wood Storks

Wood Storks

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks

Common Gallinules

Northern Jacana

Purple Gallinule

Crake watching

Neotropic Cormorants were in the riverside trees and the prehistoric looking Anhingas with them would suddenly drop straight down and under the water rather than flying off.  A family of Pied-billed Grebes was a good find but they kept their distance and the Limpkins that we saw were even further away!  Pale-vented Pigeons were the pigeon of choice out here as usual.

Anhinga

Pied Billed Grebes

Scanning through the passing Turkey and Black Vultures gave us our Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture as it hunted low over the marsh and two Black-collared Hawks gave me the best views I have had of the species here and we even saw one adeptly pluck a fish from the surface.  Unusually, Snail Kites were a constant feature and we counted six which included a stunning adult that gave us a hard stare with its cherry reds.

Black-collared Hawk in the landscape

Black-collared Hawk

Snail Kite

Snail Kite

Snail Kite

Snail Kite - juv

Kingfishers zipped to and from with mighty Ringed, Green and Amazon and surprisingly four Belted too which is not a species I have seen here before.   There was plenty of small bird action too with all the usual yellowy flycatchers along with a splendid Fork-tailed too while Grey-crowned Yellowthroats sung from the riverside and popped up now and then while the hoped for Nicaraguan Grackles were easily found as males displayed around us but to be honest the male Red-winged Blackbirds had a little bit more pizazz.

Great Egrets with 100s of Whistling Ducks beyond

Ringed Kingfisher

Ringed Kingfisher

Green Kingfisher

Amazon Kingfisher

Pale Vented Pigeon

Red-winged Blackbird

Nicaraguan Grackle

With the sun dropping below the horizon we pootled back to the bank where Ramon was waiting for us, after another magnificent evening on the river which never disappoints.   

We stopped back in town on the way out where a Great Potoo was perched up in a big tree pretending to be a stump. It would not be long before it headed out on the hunt and a second bird flew over us like some giant Nightjar crossed with a a Harrier and landed on a telegraph pole.  They have such a different profile once they are alert and active. 

Great Potoo

Great Potoo in hunt mode

The long bump back to our the Natural Lodge at Cana Negro did not produce any more nightbirds this time but the road is now so bumpy and dusty that trying to shine torches as we joggled along was pretty difficult!

A very late dinner and then a crawl to the rooms for some sleep.