Costa Rica - The Middle Elevations

Holiday time again and our usual compromise of somewhere with birds for me and a bit of culture, sun and shopping for Sue. The result this year, Costa Rica and a TUI one week Grand Tour followed by a week relaxing at an all inclusive hotel on the coast. Plenty of birding at all the stopovers, including at the all inclusive, a bit of culture along the way and best of all, not too many shopping opportunities. Start Date 19th November.


                                                        Costa Rica - Grand Tour

Birding time will always be restricted on these trips, two or three hours most morning from dawn until breakfast, an hour or so late afternoon, plus opportunities on the organised tour events such as the boat trips and the farm, forest and hanging bridges walks. This year I even managed to get permission for a day out birding during the second week, using a local Costa Rican guide. More on that in a later blog.

The Clay-coloured Thrush  -  the national bird of Costa Rica

Our group of twenty met up late afternoon, after the long flight from the UK and headed off to our first destination at the Borinquen Mountain Resort. A nice enough place, but for me it was a bit of a disappointment. I had expected to be at the Hacienda Guachipelin and had researched the birding around that area. We also had to make an early start the next morning, to get back to the Guachipelin for the days activities, so I lost out on most of my first mornings birding.


The Middle Elevations referred to in the blog header? Costa Rica is split into a number of climatic zones. The Middle Elevations being around the foothills of the volcanic spine running down the centre of the country. It forms the border between the Pacific and Caribbean slopes with cooler temperatures and higher rainfall.

Turkey Vulture

I did get to see a few birds that first morning, there were around forty Turkey Vultures over the grounds before the sun had risen. It seemed funny to see raptors soaring in the pre-dawn light, but then I suppose, as carrion eaters, they are looking for something that died during the night rather than something to kill.


A small group of Groove-billed Ani, members of the cuckoo family, were my first unusual birds. A Coati, foraging in the gardens, was also a reminder that I was not in England.

Groove-billed Ani

Coati

We were joined at breakfast by a number of White-throated Magpie-Jays and there were distant views of a pair of Grackles and a White-tipped Dove.

White-throated Magpie-Jay

White-throated Magpie-Jay

Female Great-tailed Grackle

Not the best start to my bird list but worse was to follow, as I had allowed Sue to talk me into going horse riding instead of birding. Bad idea, last time I was on a horse we ended up in a gallop and I lost both stirrups and the reins. I'm probably lucky to still be alive. This time I managed to get to the end but then my foot got stuck in the stirrup as I was getting off. I managed to fall into what I can only assume was a small pool of horse piss. All part of the entertainment!

Still, I digress, the birding really started when we arrive at the accommodation for the next two nights, The Arenal Springs Resort close to the Arenal Volcano National Park. A great location with upmarket chalets set in neat gardens with good views of the volcano and with an impressive bird list.

A lot of the birds were easy to recognise but the Tyrant Flycatchers always had me double checking. These pictures make the Great Kiskadee and the Social Flycatcher look very different but in the field it is not always that obvious. When you add in the Boat-billed, Rusty-margined, White-ringed, and Gray-capped Flycatchers, which all look very similar it can be a bit of a challenge.

Great Kiskadee

Social Flycatcher

Other birds were easier to spot with many showing little concern when people passed close by them.

Tropical Mockingbird

Buff-throated Salator

Bananaquit

Streak-headed Woodcreeper

A rather wet Rufous-collared Sparrow

Blue-gray Tanager

Tropical Kingbird

Birds varied from the very small, around 10cms as in the two below up to the Crested Guan at 90cms (3 foot for those still pre metric).

Variable Seedeater which I initially took to be a butterfly

Common Tody-Flycatcher

Crested Guan

No Hummingbird feeders in the grounds which was a bit of a disappointment but then the locals seemed to prefer the Hummingbirds feeding naturally rather than relying on humans for food. I suppose I agree but I have to confess to a few regrets later in the tour, when we passed within a few kilometres of the La Paz Waterfall Gardens and I thought of all the pictures I was missing (26 different species of Hummingbird recorded there).

Fortunately we had a Rufous-tailed Hummingbird holding territory in the tree outside our chalet and there were a few good picture opportunities despite the frequent rain showers.

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird

and another just outside the hotel grounds along with what looks like a Scaly-breasted Hummingbird.

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird

Scaly-breasted Hummingbird

As part of the tour we had a trip out to the Mistico Hanging Bridges Park. I had great hopes of the birding around the walk but unfortunately we had constant rain and drizzle. It didn't spoil the walk but it did mean that the birds were keeping a low profile.

We saw a few including a couple more of the Rufous-tailed Hummingbirds but it could have been better. A brighter day would give more birds showing and better light for pictures but I guess it would also bring in the tourists and then I would only get annoyed at all the people disturbing my peace. Perhaps better to find your own tourist free area.

Black-mandibilled Toucan

Brown Jay

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird in the rain

Another or the same? Rufous-tailed Hummingbird in the rain

We did see a Rufous Motmot on the walk but I got better pictures later in the holiday and there was a Blue-black Grassquit at the Don Juan Educational Farm that we also visited.

Blue-black Grassquit

So ended our couple of days in the middle elevations. I needed more time. There was so much more to see and we hadn't even visited the highland areas.  Still the tour goes on and we were on our way down to the Caribbean coast and the Tortuguero National Park with a stopover at La Quinta Sarapiqui.

The sun was shinning, the tour group were beginning to gel and our fantastic tour guide Andres was ensuring that everything ran smoothly.

Costa Rica - The Caribbean Slopes

Travelling from the Arenal area over to Tortuguero on the Caribbean Coast we stopped over for one night at La Quinta Sarapiqui and had a brief guided walk around the La Selva Biological Station. What can I say, La Quinta may not have been the best accommodation on the tour but the bird feeding table and tropical gardens were a birders paradise.

The lodge is actually an island of forest in what for Costa Rica is a fairly intensively farmed area but it is very close to the Sarapiqui River and a couple of huge national parks so the catchment area for birds is very big.

There to greet us when we arrived "El Yigüirro" the Clay-colored Thrush, the national bird of Costa Rica. Apparently chosen for its song at the start of the rainy season rather than its colourful appearance.

"El Yigüirro" the Clay-colored Thrush

A group of seven or eight Collard Aracari landing on the feeders proved particularly challenging. With rain, low light and fast moving birds, I failed to get a single sharp picture. Fortunately for me one landed in a tree above the feeders where there was a bit more light.

Collared Aracari

Exposure proved to be an ongoing problem whilst taking pictures in forested areas. At home I rarely move away from ISO 200-400, in Costa Rica I often ended up using ISO6400 and then hand holding at around 1/15 sec. You can get the exposure right for the bird and you have a good chance of getting a sharp picture but then any stray light coming through the forest canopy will totally burn out part of your picture.

More birds around the feeders

Golden-hooded Tanager

Female Bullock's Oriole

 I may have misidentified the Bullock's Oriole. It looks right to me but my trusted copy of the Birds of Costa Rica says that these are restricted to the Pacific side of the mountain range, so they should not be at La Quinta. So possibly a Baltimore Oriole?

Crimson-collared Tanager

Female Green Honeycreeper

Male Green Honeycreeper

Passerini's Tanager

Female Passerini's Tanager

Female Red-legged Honeycreeper

Male Red-legged Honeycreeper in non-breeding plumage

Black-cowled Oriole

Red-throated Ant-Tanager

Black-cheeked Woodpecker  -  cleared everything off the feeding station

Our walk along a short track at La Selva Biological Station was again accompanied by dull conditions and rain showers but then it is a rain forest so it is only to be expected. As with the hanging bridges the birds were keeping a low profile but there were a few good species about.

Broad-billed Motmot

This one was a bit of a surprise. I thought it was a Rufous Motmot when I was taking the picture. It was only afterwards that I noticed the blue chin. More of a surprise was the fact that the bird sat still, whilst our group of twenty walked past within 10 feet of it and with most stopping to take plenty of pictures.

Broad-billed Motmot

Long-tailed Tyrant - a long way off and silhouetted against the sky but a great bird to see

Slaty-tailed Trogon

White-whiskered Puffbird

Less than a day at this location. A Gray Hawk seen, a kingfisher over the ponds but not enough of a view to identify it.  So much to see and so much missed. La Quinta is surrounded by fields and tropical forest and would have kept me busy for at least another day. The Sarapiqui River, La Selva and the national parks would have kept me busy for weeks.

Next Blog Tortuguero and the Caribbean coast.

Costa Rica - The Caribbean Coast

Costa Rica's national park system is a network of protected rainforests, tropical dry forests, cloud forests, marine areas, and wetlands. It is a world leader in conservation policies with protected areas that encompass over 25 percent of its total landmass - the highest in the world and we were on a mission to see as much of it as we could in a week.

Our next stop was at the Pachira Lodge in the heart of the Tortuguero National Park. There is no road into Tortuguero town with all transportation relying on boat travel on rivers and lagoons. Real David Attenborough stuff! Well, perhaps not quite, but certainly an unusual and enjoyable part of the holiday.

The lodge itself, was a much better standard than I had expected and the grounds and surrounding tropical forest again offered great birding opportunities. It was difficult taking photographs from the fast moving boat as we travelled into the area but a more leisurely cruise arond the lagoons the next day turned up some good birds.

Great Egret

A Great Egret Andrea alba a different name to the Great White Egret Casmerodius albus found in England but along with sub species Eastern, Western, African, and American Great Egrets, all at the moment are considered  to be the same species. There is the possibility of these being split, at some point in the future, as the latest DNA evidence becomes available and is considered.

Snowy Egret

A Snowy Egret, similar to our Little Egret but showing more extensive yellow on the feet and lower legs and brighter yellow lores.

Northern Jacana

Bare-throated Tiger-Heron

Bare-throated Tiger-Heron

Green Kingfisher - poor picture but my only Kingfisher from the trip

Little Blue Heron

The lodge itself was set in an area of primary and secondary forest growth with very little light penetrating the lower levels. It was a case of photograph something in the tree tops or find a bird that was willing to sit and pose.

Common Black Hawk

Montezuma Oropendola

With a name like Montezuma Oropendola it had to be one of the target birds for the trip. I saw them a couple of times but always high in the trees and shielded by foliage.

White-collared Manakin

Female White-collared Manakin

Bronzy Hermit

And there is always the odd occasion when you are just too close and cannot get the bird in the frame.

Purple-throated Fruitcrow

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

There were also views of Magnificent Frigatebirds, Pelicans, Osprey and an Anhinga during our time there, plus a few birds I had already recorded.

Once again we were moving on. The next instalment covers our journey back to the Pacific coast via San Jose.