Costa Rica for Bird's Wildlife & Nature - Day 1 - 4th November 2024

We arrived the previous evening in San Jose in a biblical downpour but it had stopped by late evening and predictably Ferruginous Pygmy Owl was heard speed ‘pooping’ on and off during the night from the Robledal Hotel not that anyone’s body clock actually had a clue what time it really was!

The session the next morning began well before breakfast and Jose joined us for our first walk round. It was an eye opener for the crew as Costa Rica newbies, with every species bar Western Cattle Egret being new.

There were Great Kiskadees and Tropical Kingbirds (TKs) to welcome in the dawn with flights of Great Tailed Grackles, White-winged Doves and Red-billed Pigeons overhead and tiny Inca Doves fluttering around the lawns where Clay-coloured Thrushes probed and chunky Rufous-naped Wrens fossicked in the herbage.

Great Kiskadee

Rufous-naped Wren

White-winged Dove

Baltimore Orioles were foraging in small groups and it was good to find a pair of larger Spot-breasted Orioles performing well and even coming down to the bird table where Summer and Blue Grey Tanagers battled it out with the doves and thrushes for a bit of banana, although a very tatty juvenile Hoffmann’s Woodpecker held sway and would often approach from beneath the feeder.

Spot-breasted Oriole

Hoffmann’s Woodpecker

Summer Tanager

Summer Tanager

Blue Grey Tanager

Chestnut-sided and garish Yellow Warblers were in the canopy and up above we quickly added American Black and Turkey Vultures and a Northern Crested Caracara along with a bonus Solitary Sandpiper that few over calling.

Finsch’s Parakeets whizzed through and the local Yellow-naped Amazons actually perched up long enough to get the scope onto. Three Hummingbird species – Cinnamon, Green-breasted Mango and brief Canivet’s Emerald got the pre-breakfast proceedings off to a fine start.

Cinnamon HB - it was their first Hummingbird

Red-billed Pigeons

I called it ‘breaking them in gently’ but I could already see the stunned faces as we sat down to eat adding Cinnamon-bellied Saltators and some funky Variegated Squirrels to the growing wildlife list.

Concentrating on breakfast

Variegated Squirrel

Variegated Squirrel

Clay-coloured Thrush

Ramon had joined us and before too long we were on the road and wiggling our way out of Alajuela and north towards Arenal.  It was a much greener landscape than I had ever seen before and as we moved through we picked up our first Southern Lapwings, Yellow-headed Caracaras, Grey Hawks and Grey-breasted Martins along with a few of the species seen earlier.

It did not take too long to reach the San Luis reserve and it Tanager rich trees.  It was not quite the mad fruit fight this time but we were treated to fine close views of Blue Grey, Emerald, Golden-hooded, Silver-throated and Passerini’s Scarlet-rumped along with Common Chlorospingus, Red-legged and Green Honeycreepers, Tawny-capped Euphonias and Black-cheeked Woodpeckers dropping in for breakfast. The smiles from the crew said it all.

Green Honeycreeper

Emerald Tanager

Silver-throated Tanager - Neil Colgate

Green Honeycreeper

Summer Tanagers foraged higher up and were joined by my first Scarlet Tanager and some striking Black and Yellow Tanagers were not quite bold enough to come down to the tables but the only Speckled Tanager was all too brief.

Black and Yellow Tanager

Black and Yellow Tanager

In the trees around us a Tropical Parula was squeakily singing and Wilson’s and Chestnut-sided Warblers and Slate-throated Whitestart were feeding, the latter flashing those white tail markings as it sallied out after insects.  Rufous-tailed Hummingbirds were defending their own feeders from Green-crowned Brilliants, Crowned Woodnymphs and a single Violet-headed HB.

Crowned Woodnymph

Green-crowned Brilliant

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird - day one you look at this lovely HB - sadly it soon gets dismissed as 'only' another RTH.

Green-crowned Brilliant & Crowned Woodnymph - Neil Colgate

Green-crowned Brilliant

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird - Neil Colgate

A raptor call had Jose scanning the skies before a scuttle back up to the veranda gave us views of a Black Hawk-Eagle perched up in a dead snag!  It stayed long enough for us to see the wispy crest before taking flight, only to be mobbed by a Bat Falcon.

Black Hawk-Eagle

Oleria sp 

A furtive duo of Black-headed Nightingale-Thrush and Chestnut-capped Brush-finch added understorey interest. Before long it was time to go but not before a good look at the Blue and White Swallows on the wires and a scan for an Ornate Hawk-eagle that could be heard but not located. 

The skies darkened but the rain held off and several brief roadside stops gave the crew excellent views of Short-tailed and Harris’s Hawk along with Broad-winged Hawks, Caracaras, Vultures, a selection of herons, egrets and a couple of Wood Storks and fast moving flocks of both Finsch’s and Orange-chinned Parakeets.

Short-tailed Hawk

Short-tailed Hawk - Neil Colgate

Crested Caracara - Neil Colgate

Yellow-headed Caracara - Neil Colgate

We reached La Fortuna as the heavens opened and sought refuge with some very tasty pizza with Scaly-breasted Hummingbird, Bananaquit and Rufous-collared Sparrow sneaking onto the list as they fed under the cover of the restaurant. Tropical Mockingbirds, Ruddy Ground-Doves and Social Flycatchers appeared on the wires as the rain let up and two big Green Iguanas had opted to stay in their canopy lounging spots.

The rain at last stopped and we moved just 100m up the road to Bogarin where a Green Heron and several damp Grey-headed Chachalacas (Choco-lattes as they became known) greeted us. A similar selection of Tanagers were on view with the addition of the subtle Palms and a Russet-naped Wood-Rail strolled across the path as we set out for our short circuit.

Grey-headed Chachalacas

Grey-headed Choco-lattes

Russet-naped Wood-Rail

Red-legged Honeycreeper

Red-legged Honeycreeper

Red-legged Honeycreeper

Red-legged Honeycreeper

Blue Grey Tanager

Red-legged Honeycreeper - Neil Colgate

Red-legged Honeycreeper - Neil Colgate

Two Brown-throated Three-toed Sloths were quickly found much to the delight of the gang – so much to take in on a first day but there was so much more to come with a pair of Black and White Owls that were cautiously keeping an eye on us and a host of ground level species to find with a female White-collared Manakin, spotty Swainson’s Thrushes, Kentucky and Bay-breasted Warblers, metallic chinking Orange-billed Sparrows, a Broad-billed Motmot that sat still and ignored us, shining green Rufous-tailed Jacamars and calling Dusky-capped Flycatchers.

Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth

Broad-billed Motmot

Bay-breasted Warbler

Black and White Owls

Up above us there were more warblers, tanagers and Swainson’s Thrushes, and American Redstart was added while a bare tree with a Grey Hawk in it had attracted a host of passerines happy to have a go it.  There were once again various tanagers and honeycreepers but we also found Olive-backed and Yellow-throated Euphonias, Scarlet-thighed Dacnis, Black-headed and Buff-throated Saltators, Lesser Greenlets and Yellow-olive Flatbills all trying to persuade the raptors to move along.

 Grey Hawk - Neil Colgate

Red-lored Amazons, Montezuma Oropendolas and Yellow-throated Toucans could be heard deeper into the woods and down at our feet several diminutive Strawberry Blue Jeans Frogs were found in the leaf litter while back at the pool the Chachalacas had moved in on mass and a Northern Waterthrush bobbed around on a rock in the pool where another Green Heron fished.

Emerald Basilisk  - Neil Colgate

Strawberry Blue Jeans

Muscovy Duck

Green Heron

Heliconias sp - Neil Colgate

Northern Waterthrush - Neil Colgate

Back around the edges there were Hummers to be found with Rufous-tailed and Scaly-breasted and at least two tiny male Black-crested Coquettes which zipped around and defended favourite perches.  A Long-billed Starthroat was another welcome Hummer addition.

Black-crested Coquette

Long-billed Starthroat - Neil Colgate

Black-throated Saltator - Neil Colgate

Russet-naped Wood-Rail

Not too far to go and with Arenal actually appearing from the cloud were stopped for a quick pic. Little did we know that it would be on view for the next couple of days!  A much better photo opportunity a while later proved to be a very birdy stop (like many were) with a mixed flock of hunting Barn, Blue and White and Northern and Southern Rough-winged Swallows along with Vaux’s and Lesser Swallow-tailed Swifts. Finsch’s Parakeets showed well and a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher was perched up on a stick for an age but never did fly out after anything.

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 

The final push and then up the long track to the Arenal Observatory Lodge.  We checked the rivers for Fasciated Tiger-Herons but had no joy but still saw several Black Phoebes and a few Social Flycatchers on the way. A quick dump of the bags after check in and then out onto the big veranda with all the majesty of the volcano rising un fettered by cloud above us. 

A Stripe-throated Hermit still had the energy to sup at the Verbena and the Great Curassows were in for a last noisy fruit snack before bedtime. Way off in the jungle the Crested Guans were quarrelling before settling down while the Great Tinamous were sending out their tremulous songs into the still night air.

It was quite an emotional arrival for the group and I left them there to soak it all in before reappearing for dinner.