Costa Rica for Bird's Wildlife & Nature - Day 8 - 11th November 2024

As usual the crew assembled for a pre-breakfast amble around the grounds of La Quinta.  I had it in mind to find Chestnut-backed Antbird as I had had them here last time and amazingly one started singing down by the river and promptly hopped up into views which was good of it. The riverbanks held singing Buff-rumped Warblers down on the rocks and White-collared Manakins and Blue Black Grosbeaks were seen.

White-collared Manakin

White-collared Manakin

We quietly walked around the grounds finding Wood Thrushes and a couple of skittish Northern Waterthrushes along with a gem of an Ovenbird that bobbed along in front of us in search of worms. Back near the feeders a White-necked Jacobin whizzed through and Black-cowled Orioles were in the vines again. Time for breakfast and then the start of the long drive west towards the Pacific. The continuing poor weather had been severely battering that coast and we already knew that it was going to unlikely that we could get out on the Tarcoles and Carara NP was already a no go area.  Indeed, even Celeste that we had left behind was now closed to visitors.

Ovenbird

Ovenbird

We were especially pleased to find a Green and Black PA Frog

It became a day of many stops. The first, just over a river bridge just illustrated how much astonishing wildlife we must have been driving past for within just a few minutes we had found Sooty-faced Brushfinches, Black-headed Nightingale-Thrushes, White-necked Jacobins and Slate-throated Whitestarts and we were only about three paces from the bus. Seeing the Brushfinches before Quelitalis at the end of the trip was a real bonus.

TVs

Sooty-faced Brushfinch

Black-headed Nightingale-Thrush

A huge Owl Butterfly

A sideroad on the way up took us down into a deep valley and to a proper metal road bridge down in the bottom. Black Phoebes flicked between rocks and Louisiana Waterthrushes bobbed like streaked Dippers on mossy boulders but what about the real thing?  I had missed American Dipper on both my previous trips and was sceptical with the towering water levels about connecting again but this river was still moving nicely with lots of boulders and sure enough there was a little grey blob of Dipperyness. I got everyone on it and over the next ten minutes the pair came closer and could be head calling below us. One put on quite a show for us.  I may have done a Dipper dance but I think no one was watching.

American Dipper

American Dipper

American Dipper

Heading back up the road we stopped opposite some Heliconias and Jose said that we would give it a couple of minutes because you never know, a White-tipped Sicklebill may just call by.  It took about 15 seconds and suddenly one was there hovering then hanging onto the flowers and using that super Gonzo bill. Less that a minute later and it had moved on again; off to find the next patch of blooms on its daily circuit. Jose, Ramon and I looked shocked and I am not sure that the others knew how lucky we had just been!

On again and the view where we normally get Swallow-tailed Kites (wrong time of year this time) was still worth a stop.  An Osprey passed over us and a fast moving flock of Swifts was made up of White-collared, Vaux’s and Chestnut Collareds. 

Lunch was at the famous Cinchona Café although we had plenty of time to kill there before food time. It was spellbinding and it felt like day one all over again for the crew.  There were Hummers all around and the new ones came thick and fast with Green Hermits, Violet Sabrewings, Black-bellied HB, Coppery-headed Emeralds and White-bellied Mountain Gems along with Rufous Tails and Green Crowned Brilliants. And of course you get so close to them and can feel the whirring of their wings as they hurtle to and fro.

The Hummers were great but as usual I was taken by the larger beasts – in particularly the Black Guans with their blue faces and red eyes.  There were four Blue-throated Emerald Toucanets popping and out along with familiar Tanagers, Baltimore Orioles and pleasingly both Barbets, with the bull headed Prong-billed and a pair of showy Red-headed.  I happen to think that the female of this species has more going for it.

Black Guan

Black Guan

Black Guan

Silver-throated Tanager

Green Crowned Brilliant & Green Hermit

Prong-billed Barbet

Baltimore Oriole

Mountain Squirrel

Blue-throated Emerald Toucanet

Blue-throated Emerald Toucanet

Red-headed Barbet - female

Red-headed Barbet - male

Black Guan

Violet Sabre-wing

Coppery-headed Emerald

Coppery-headed Emerald - different angle - different looking bird!

Black-bellied Hummingbird

Down below us there were many Clay-coloured Thrushes picking around the dropped fruit and we briefly saw both Chestnut-capped Brushfinch and Buff-fronted Quail-Doves. The weather kept closing in and the waterfall was occasionally in view.

A reflective two minutes silence

Another pounding waterfall allowed for some touristy photos but even here the steep banks held Red-headed Barbets, Common Chlorospingus, Wilson’s Warblers and a clumsy group of Yellow-thighed Finches that crashed around in front of us.  Strengthening rain saw us retreat once again.

The heavy rain returned but we kept on the plan to find other spots to search for highland birds. Another river added both Yellowish and Northern Tufted Flycatchers as well as a couple of Black Guans and yet another new Hummingbird with a Purple-throated Mountain Gem.

Up into the cloud and a rather random roadside stop in the driving drizzle at Varablanca saw us looking at a Verbena hedge where glints of hummershimmer caught the eye within seconds.  We were treated to dazzling views of Lesser Violetear and Purple-throated Mountain Gems and two of the micros with shiny metallic orange gorgetted Scintillants and carmine throated Poás-Barva Volcanos. I had not seen this particular Volcano before but more of that later in the trip.  Slaty Flowerpiercers nipped in and out and onto the list.  It was turning out to be quite a day.

Purple-throated Mountain Gem

Poas-Barva Volcano

Poás-Barva Volcano

Poás-Barva Volcano

Onwards and down into the outskirts of San Jose but even here our luck continued and a convenient pull over at a hardware shop saw us piling out to watch a group of three Fiery-billed Aracaris just loafing in a tree above the shops! The locals even came out for a look at what we were watching.

Fiery-billed Aracaris

Fiery-billed Aracaris

Fiery-billed Aracaris

We looped around the north side of the city before turning onto the Tarcoles Lodge road. Several stops and walks along the track were most productive.  I was taken aback by how green everything was.  This area is crispy and dry when I have visited before. The margins held little parties of Morelet’s Seedeaters and Stripe-headed Sparrows and Blue-vented Hummingbirds while Turquoise-browed Motmots hunted from the wires and Scrub Euphonias, Streak-backed Orioles and Yellow-throated Vireos were found in the bushes.

Turquoise-browed Motmot

Stripe-headed Sparrow

Blue-vented Hummingbird

Elegant Blue and White Magpie-Jays  moved through the trees and a cloud of Orange-fronted Parakeets dreaded out of a feeding tree and we suspected that a Bat Falcon was to blame. A local caretaker on his moped stopped to ask if we had seen any Owls. With a negative reply he offered to take us into the empty property he was looking after and promptly showed us a Pacific Screech Owl staring down at us with baleful eyes. Two Double-striped Thick-knees watched us from under the same trees. Our official trespassing did not last long and we were soon back in the van for the last mile to the lodge passing a brood of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks on the way on a small roadside flood.

Black-bellied Whistling Duck

White-throated Magpie-Jay

White-throated Magpie-Jays

Orange-fronted Parakeet

Orange-fronted Parakeet

Pacific Screech Owl 

Double-striped Thick-knee

Pacific Screech Owl - Ramon Monge

Costa Rican Swifts made low passes showing off their very pale rumps and Pacific Scarlet Macaws powered off towards the river and its Mangroves where they roost followed by the three Amazons.

Pacific Scarlet Macaws

It was dusk by the time we arrived and the view from the breakfast area was immense and it had cleared enough that we could see Brown Pelicans cruising along the coast miles away and watch the various Parrots continue with their roost flights. Soon the evening contingent appeared and as far as you could see there were Lesser Nighthawks sailing effortlessly back and forth across the expansive vista.

Lesser Nighthawks

We went out that evening for dinner and were all scarred by the size of the portions of fried shrimp that arrived.  The chap who manned the rope (not a barrier) at the start of the road to the lodge was very grateful for the doggy bag we brought him!