Costa Rica 2009

Costa Rica Trip
November 7 - 13, 2009

Tom Pavlik
Jeff Pavlik
This was my fifth trip to Costa Rica and my brother's first.

Comments/corrections?  pavlik@comcast.net

Itinerary
Nov 7-9: Bosque De Paz Lodge
Nov 10: Selva Verde
Nov 11-12: Savegre Lodge
Nov 13: Hotel Bougainvillea

All images can be clicked to enlarge

November 7
My brother and I arrived in San Jose nearly on time. The car rental was a typical pain but we were still on the road to Bosque De Paz by 2:30pm.  Getting out of town was slow and it was raining on and off. However, we arrived at the lodge without any problems. We stopped short of the lodge to do some birding and picked up a few nice birds including Flame-throated Warbler to get the party started.

We arrived at the lodge and were greeted by the friendly owner - Fredrico. Super nice guy and made us feel very welcome without being overbearing. We still had about an hour of birding left before it got dark.  There are a half dozen hummingbird feeders and these were active with Violet Sabrewing, Purple-throated Mountain Gem, Green-crowned Brilliant and Magenta-throated Woodstar.  My first new life bird was working the shrub edge - Chestnut-capped Brush-Finch.

Chestnut-capped Brush-Finch (click to enlarge)

November 8
It gets dark early but it gets light early this time of year in Costa Rica.  It started getting light shortly after 5:00am and that's when we were up.  For better or worse, we had the place to ourselves.  A casual stroll around the deck added a few nice birds including Mountain Elania and Dusky-capped Flycatcher.  Coffee was available a little before 6:00am so we hung out and saw what came around the immediate grounds.

Breakfast was at 7:30am and after that we walked the access road for most of the morning.  The staff indicated there was a chance of Respendant Quetzel and Long-tailed Silky Flycatcher.  We saw neither.  However, one of the first new birds we did see was another life bird for me - a pair of Prong-billed Barbet.  One group of birds that was quite popular were migrant warblers from our neck of the woods in Michigan.  Wilson's Warbler was the most popular.

Violet Sabrewing (click to enlarge)

After lunch we did one of the jungle trails. It was typical jungle birding in that you don't usually see a whole lot. However, we did stumble upon a Sooty Robin but the rest of the birds were ones we were seeing around the lodge.  After we finished the jungle trail we still had plenty of time for birding the road. This time we did the portion to the left and probably walked 3-4 miles round-trip. Once again warblers were plentiful.  After the long hike we updated checklists and settled in for an excellent dinner.

November 9
Once again we were up at daybreak which gave us about 2 hours of birding before breakfast. For the most part we just worked the road. Black-faced Solitare was one of the key birds. There were still lots of warblers, Yellow-thighed Finch, and others. After breakfast we decided to give the jungle trails an honest effort. Birding was very slow. We could hear a few things now and then but for the most part it was difficult due to the limited viewing areas. We did see a Three-stripped Warbler and a Hairy Woodpecker among the few other repeat birds.

Black Guan (click to enlarge)

In the afternoon we decided to drive out of the area for a while and see what we could find at lower elevations. We headed north towards Rio Cuarto. Our first couple of stops yielded very little. I was simply turning off the road at any place that looked like it might be productive. On our third stop we hit the jackpot. I'm not sure why this spot was so special but it was just one of those time where we were in the right place at the right time. It was about 2:00pm when birding should be at the slowest part of the day. I pulled off about half way between Bajos del Toro and Rio Cuarto. There is a gas line that crosses under the road. We walked down by where the gas line was running and looked around the open area. Chestnut-sided Warbler was one of our first birds, followed by a Squirrel Cuckoo and a Sharpbill. Out of nowhere a Collard-forest Falcon came in and perched about 20 feet in front of us. He chased a few birds unsuccessfully then took off. We walked back up the road and we had birds everywhere. Slaty-capped Flycatcher, several species of warblers, Long-tailed Woodcreeper, Spot-crowned Woodcreeper, Rufous Mourner, Scarlet Tanager, and Tawney-capped Euphonia to name a few.  It was all we could do to pull ourselves away but I wanted to start heading back before it got too dark.

Some kind of "Chlosyne" Butterfly? (click to enlarge)

November 10
We needed to get to Selva Verde but in no hurry since it was only about a 2 hour drive.  I did, however, want to try to find some additional side roads where we might have some success.  After breakfast we said goodbye to our new friends at Bosque De Paz.

We headed in the same direction as the afternoon before.  This was the pass headed north between two volcanoes.  We spent a few minutes at the hot spot from the day before and had some success but it wasn't nearly as busy as our previous visit.  However, we did find a small group of another target bird of mine - three Azure-headed Jays.  We continued north and found a dirt road off to the left (west).  This was still a few kilometers south of Rio Cuarto.  There was a sign for a park towards a river at a distance of 3km.  About half way down we got out and found quite a bit of activity.  There were more lowland birds and some of the same we would see at Selva Verde.  Items of interest were Masked Tityra, Dusky-capped Flycatcher, Barred Antshrike, Common Tody-flycatcher, Yellow-olive Flycatcher, Bay Wren, Tropical Gnatcatcher, Hepatic Tanager and many others.


White-spotted Tanmark (click to enlarge)

We continued walking down the road which turned down steep and to the left.  Walking was the best option.  We made it all the way to river with constant bird activity.  At one point we flushed a raptor which was kind enough to perch on a bare tree close enough to identify -  Barred Forest Falcon.


Once back in the car we continued the decent towards Rio Cuarto.  The habitat turned to mostly grassland and now we were in the lowlands.  Consequently, we started seeing E. Meadowlarks, Thick-billed Seedfinch, Grey-crowned Yellowthroat, Great-tailed Grackle and Montezuma Oropendola.



Eventually, we made it to Selva Verde without any problems.  After a quick check-in we covered part of the grounds.  Generally speaking it was quiet but we did see two species of poison dart frogs: Black and Green Dart Frog (Dendrobates auratus) and Strawberry Poison Dart Frog (Dendrobates pumilio).   Other hidden gems of the aves variety were Black-headed Trogan, Orange-billed Sparrow and Olive-backed Euphonia.


While Selva Verde is a nice place it's difficult to recommend to birders.  First, the birding is a little tough since the trails are typically very muddy and the paved trails are covered overhead due to the constant rain they get.  The gardens across the street are actually better for birding.  Second, the lodge is right off the main road and a constant barrage of trucks and cars takes away from the peace and quiet that you may otherwise have.  Also, there always seems to be some kind of construction or clean-up project.  Upon our arrival all I heard was hammering and a gas leaf blower.  That being said the food is good and the stone baked pizza in the outside fire pit while having a "cold one" is pretty cool.


November 11
We only spent one night at Selva Verde and the next day required a long drive to get all the way to Savegre Lodge in the central highlands.  We found our first turn off just a few kilometers from Selva Verde and wandered around.  We found a Roadside Hawk, Yellow Tyrannulet and a small group of Mealy Parrots before the weather started to get threatening.  As it turns out we had rain a bulk of the morning so we just chose to get to our next stop.


We made it to the central highlands by early afternoon and started the descent from the turnoff to Savegre.  There was ample opportunity to stop on the road and so we did.  This area is a slightly higher elevation than Bosque De Paz.  So while we had some overlap in species we also had several additional ones.  The first was a Black-capped Flycatcher followed by the common Sooty-capped Bush-Tanager.  We made to the lodge about 9km down the road and had enough time to walk the grounds and checkout the few hummingbird feeders for a little while before dinner.  We were delighted with the news from the lodge that Resplendant Quetzals were being seen right on the grounds at day break.  We updated our lists for the day and had an excellent meal.  Savegre's food is second to none in my experience in Costa Rica.

Scintillant Hummingbird (click to enlarge)

November 12
With the news of the Quetzal my brother was up before me and outside the room before I knew what was going on.  It was an easy find.  One male was moving around a bit and was easy enough to watch for as long as one wanted to.  However, there was a nearby berry bush that was attracting other nice birds including three Long-tailed Silky Flycatchers at the same time.  Included in the mix were a couple of Spangled-cheecked Tanagers, Yellow-thighed Finches, Sooty-capped Bush-Tanagers, and the ever present Wilson's Warbler.

Long-tailed Silky Flycatcher (click to enlarge)

After breakfast we decided to walk the steep trail behind the lodge.  I figured it would take us most of the morning considering we would stop for photos and birding.  Throughout the entire stay including all walks there was the persistant chip of the Green Violet-Ear (hummingbird).  It reminded me of chipmunks int he woods in Michigan in the summer.  Along the hike were pockets of birds.  The members were typically the same with perhaps one or two other species mixed in.  You could plan on seeing Flame-throated, Wilson's Warbler and probably Spangle-cheecked Tanager in most groups along with Yellow-thighed Finch, Brown-capped Vireo, Sooty Bush-Tanager and Collarded Redstart.

Collarded Redstart (click to enlarge)

At the higher elevation the habitat turned from brushy with occasional tree to a  more wooded/jungle  habitat.  Not long after we ran into a huge mixed flock of birds.  Besides the previously mentioned birds there were also Collard Trogan, Buff-throated Floiage Gleener, Black-cheecked Warbler, Golden-browed Chlorophonia (wow!), Ruddy-capped Nightingale-Thrush, Large-footed Finch and several other species we already had.


Ruddy-capped Nightingale Thrush (click to enlarge)

We returned for an excellent lunch and afterwards walked the main road.  About the only item of interest was a Torrent Tyrannulet along the river.  We then decided to walk the long road again behind the lodge.  We definitely got our exercise for the day.  We did not have quite the success we had that morning but still a nice walk.  There were few butterflies -- maybe because no plants seemed to be in bloom or maybe too high an elevation.


November 13
This was another travel day.  The first stop after breakfast was to try to find Volcano Junco and Timberline Wren as an even higher elevation.  This would be off a side road back up on CR2.  While we made an attempt it was raining too hard and we gave up and headed back towards San Jose where we would spend our last night before heading home.  On the return to San Jose area we stopped at Tapanti National Park.  I have been there twice before and had some success.  However, it always seems to be raining here and such was the case today.  Birds were fairly active but there was little we hadn't already seen.  Dark Pewee and Red-eyed Vireo were among the few additions.

We followed directions through the east side of San Jose to get to Hotel Bougainvillea.  On the website it looked like a nice place to stay but the more we drove through the city the more skeptical I became.  One of the reasons for staying here is that they advertised several acres of gardens on their grounds that were suppose to hold several species of birds including Prevost's Ground Sparrow.

We pulled into the hotel entrance and my opinion quickly improved.  We left the jungle lodges behind and were now at a somewhat luxury hotel.  The gentleman at the desk mentioned the grounds and we got our stuff to the room as quickly as possible and out the back of the hotel to explore.  The gardens were indeed very nice and there were a number of birds around considering we were in a major metropolitan area.  Besides the constant squawking of Sulphur-winged Parakeets we came upon a Blue-crowned Motmot which seemed out of place.  After some additional searching we finally found a single Prevost's Ground Sparrow - quite striking.

We retired to nice dinner in the hotel and headed to the airport very early the next morning.

The List:
* On a personal note, I passed the 400 species mark (403) for Costa Rica with 26 additions.


HERONS, EGRETS AND BITTERNS
Great Egret
Little Blue Heron
Snowy Egret
Cattle Egret

NEW WORLD VULTURES
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture

OSPREY
Osprey

HAWKS, EAGLES AND KITES
White-tailed Kite
Northern Harrier
Great Black-Hawk
Roadside Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk

FALCONS AND CARACARAS
Crested Caracara
Yellow-headed Caracara
Barred Forest-Falcon
Collared Forest-Falcon

GUANS, CHACHALACAS, CURASSOWS
Black Guan

PIGEONS AND DOVES
Rock Pigeon
Band-tailed Pigeon
Pale-vented Pigeon
Red-billed Pigeon
White-winged Dove
Ruddy Ground-Dove
White-tipped Dove

PARROTS
Crimson-fronted Parakeet
Sulphur-winged Parakeet
White-crowned Parrot
Mealy Parrot

CUCKOOS
Squirrel Cuckoo
Groove-billed Ani

SWIFTS
White-collared Swift

HUMMINGBIRDS
Green Hermit
Western Long-tailed Hermit
Stripe-throated Hermit
Scaly-breasted Hummingbird
Violet Sabrewing
Green Violet-ear
Stripe-tailed Hummingbird
Rufous-tailed Hummingbird
Purple-throated Mountain-gem
Gray-tailed Mountain-gem
Green-crowned Brilliant
Magnificent Hummingbird
Magenta-throated Woodstar
Scintillant Hummingbird
Volcano Hummingbird

TROGONS AND QUETZALS
Black-headed Trogon
Collared Trogon
Resplendent Quetzal

KINGFISHERS
Amazon Kingfisher

MOTMOTS
Blue-crowned Motmot

BARBETS
Red-headed Barbet
Prong-billed Barbet

TOUCANS
Blue-throated Toucanet
Keel-billed Toucan
Black-mandibled Toucan

WOODPECKERS
Acorn Woodpecker
Black-cheeked Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Rufous-winged Woodpecker
Golden-olive Woodpecker
Pale-billed Woodpecker

OVENBIRDS
Spotted Barbtail
Ruddy Treerunner
Scaly-throated Foliage-gleaner
Streak-breasted Treehunter
Buff-throated Foliage-gleaner

WOODCREEPERS
Long-tailed Woodcreeper
Olivaceous Woodcreeper
Black-banded Woodcreeper
Spot-crowned Woodcreeper

TYPICAL ANTBIRDS
Barred Antshrike
Slaty Antwren

COTINGAS
Sharpbill

TYRANT FLYCATCHERS
Yellow Tyrannulet
Mountain Elaenia
Torrent Tyrannulet
Olive-striped Flycatcher
Slaty-capped Flycatcher
Common Tody-Flycatcher
Yellow-olive Flycatcher
Tufted Flycatcher
Dark Pewee
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Alder Flycatcher
Yellowish Flycatcher
Black-capped Flycatcher
Black Phoebe
Rufous Mourner
Dusky-capped Flycatcher
Great Crested Flycatcher
Great Kiskadee
Boat-billed Flycatcher
Social Flycatcher
Tropical Kingbird
Masked Tityra

SWALLOWS
Gray-breasted Martin
Blue-and-white Swallow
Southern Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow

SILKY-FLYCATCHERS
Long-tailed Silky-flycatcher

WRENS
Bay Wren
House Wren
Ochraceous Wren
Gray-breasted Wood-Wren

MOCKINGBIRDS AND THRASHERS
Gray Catbird

THRUSHES
Black-faced Solitaire
Black-billed Nightingale-Thrush
Ruddy-capped Nightingale-Thrush
Wood Thrush
Sooty Robin
Mountain Robin
Clay-colored Robin

GNATCATCHERS
Tropical Gnatcatcher

CROWS AND JAYS
Brown Jay
Azure-hooded Jay

OLD WORLD SPARROWS
House Sparrow

VIREOS AND ALLIES
Yellow-throated Vireo
Yellow-winged Vireo
Brown-capped Vireo
Philadelphia Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Rufous-browed Peppershrike

FINCHES, SISKINS, CROSSBILLS
Yellow-bellied Siskin

WOOD WARBLERS
Blue-winged Warbler
Golden-winged Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Flame-throated Warbler
Tropical Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Louisiana Waterthrush
Gray-crowned Yellowthroat
Wilson's Warbler
Canada Warbler
Slate-throated Redstart
Collared Redstart
Black-cheeked Warbler
Three-striped Warbler
Buff-rumped Warbler

BANANAQUIT
Bananaquit

TANAGERS AND ALLIES
Common Bush-Tanager
Sooty-capped Bush-Tanager
Red-throated Ant-Tanager
Hepatic Tanager
Scarlet Tanager
Summer Tanager
Flame-colored Tanager
Crimson-collared Tanager
Passerini's Tanager
Blue-gray Tanager
Palm Tanager
Olive-backed Euphonia
Tawny-capped Euphonia
Golden-browed Chlorophonia
Silver-throated Tanager
Bay-headed Tanager
Golden-hooded Tanager
Spangle-cheeked Tanager
Scarlet-thighed Dacnis
Green Honeycreeper
Shining Honeycreeper
Red-legged Honeycreeper

BUNTINGS, SEEDEATERS, ALLIES
Blue-black Grassquit
Thick-billed Seed-Finch
Yellow-faced Grassquit
Slaty Flowerpiercer
Yellow-thighed Finch
Large-footed Finch
Chestnut-capped Brush-Finch

SPARROWS, TOWHEES, JUNCOS
Orange-billed Sparrow
Prevost's Ground-Sparrow
Rufous-collared Sparrow

SALTATORS, CARDINALS AND ALLIES
Buff-throated Saltator
Black-headed Saltator
Rose-breasted Grosbeak

BLACKBIRDS, ORIOLES, GRACKLES, ETC.
Great-tailed Grackle
Bronzed Cowbird
Baltimore Oriole
Black-cowled Oriole
Yellow-billed Cacique
Montezuma Oropendola