Costa Rica Birding Trip Report
July 2-12, 2016
Day 10: Monday, July 11
Our last morning in Monteverde was spent exploring the extensive trail system at Curi-Cancha, another private reserve near town. One highlight of this visit was finding, with the assistance of directions provided by other birders, a baby Mottled Owl and one of its parents. Other new birds encountered during our walk included Steely-vented Hummingbird, Paltry Tyrannulet, a very photogenic White-throated Spadebill, Golden-crowned Warbler and Hepatic Tanager. An Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush was heard; we also had much better looks at a Black-headed Nightingale-Thrush than the individual encountered at Braulio Carrillo over a week ago. Before heading back into town, we made another visit to the Hummingbird Gallery; the seven hummingbird species tallied here yesterday were all present again today. After lunch at the same restaurant in town where we enjoyed lunch yesterday, we bid Monteverde goodbye and began the slow descent back down to the Central Valley. We stopped to bird a side road on our way down the mountain, adding our tour’s final species to our trip list: Nutting’s Flycatcher and a heard-only Thicket Tinamou. Back at Hotel Robledal, where this incredible tour began, we ate our tour’s final dinner, completed our final checklist count-up and made sure everyone was set for our flights home tomorrow.
Mottled Owl, photo courtesy of Ted Center