Costa Rica Birding Trip Report
July 2-12, 2016
Day 5: Wednesday, July 6
The Savegre Valley’s marquee species was at the top of this morning’s agenda and we headed out before breakfast in hopes of finding it. Assembling at an up-valley roadside location where its favorite food (a fruit in the avocado family) is located, we didn’t have to wait long before our target, a female Resplendent Quetzal, appeared and began feeding. A short while later, her mate joined her; both birds provided us with spectacular looks. An Emerald Toucanet feeding in the same tree added to the colorful show.
Resplendent Quetzal (male), photo courtesy of Ted Center
We returned to the hotel for breakfast; a Stripe-tailed Hummingbird was observed at the restaurant feeders. Afterwards, we reassembled for a walk along the Savegre River to search for other valley specialties. We checked every vantage point up and down the river, hoping for an American Dipper, but never found one. We saw plenty of other birds, though, including Barred and Sulphur-winged Parakeet, Spot-crowned Woodcreeper, Mountain Elaenia, Yellowish and Golden-bellied Flycatcher, Yellow-winged and Brown-capped Vireo, Gray-breasted Wood-Wren, Black-faced Solitaire, Mountain Thrush, Black-cheeked Warbler, Collared Redstart, Spangle-cheeked Tanager, Yellow-faced Grassquit, Common Chlorospingus, Chestnut-capped Brushfinch, Yellow-thighed Finch and Melodious Blackbird. A trogon found on the way back to the hotel was first thought to be an Orange-bellied, but it was later determined that the orange belly wasn’t quite orange enough, so it had to be a more-expected-for-this-location Collared Trogon.
Spangle-cheeked Tanager, photo courtesy of Ted Center
After lunch, we drove back up to the Pan American Highway to try for higher elevation species. Our first stop was at Paraiso de Quetzales Lodge, whose feeders attract Fiery-throated Hummingbirds. Several individuals of this stunning hummingbird were present. A Black-and-yellow Silky-Flycatcher was also spotted, as were a couple of Large-footed Finch. We spent the rest of the afternoon birding along Providencia Road, a side road providing access to quality habitat away from the highway. Andrew heard the soft call of a Wrenthrush inside a stand of bamboo, so he had us all take up positions inside the stand to see if we could catch a glimpse of this highly secretive bird. It responded quite nicely to a recording of its call, affording extremely satisfying views for all of us huddled together in breathless anticipation. Other birds seen with various degrees of satisfaction during this walk included Ruddy Pigeon, Silvery-fronted Tapaculo, Buffy Tuftedcheek, Barred Becard and Ochraceous and Timberline Wren.
Fiery-throated Hummingbirds, photo courtesy of David Schaffter
It was dark by the time we headed back down the road to the hotel. We stopped along the way at a location that in the past was good for both Bare-shanked Screech-Owl and Dusky Nightjar. Andrew played a recording of the nightjar, but it elicited no response. He then tried a recording of the owl; almost immediately, some in the group thought they heard a response from a nightjar. We shined our lights around and discovered that sitting on a fence post, just a few feet from the bus, was a Dusky Nightjar! At least one photo was obtained before the bird flew up to the top of a nearby electrical pole. Andrew, also hoping for a photo, climbed up on top of the bus in an attempt to coax the bird down from its lofty perch, but it wouldn’t budge. He also couldn’t get any response from an owl. Oh, well, one out of two night birds isn’t so bad!