Costa Rica Birding Trip Report
July 2-12, 2016
Day 7: Friday, July 8
We birded a bit around the hotel grounds before breakfast, adding several new birds: Streaked Flycatcher, Scaly-breasted and Riverside Wren and Yellow-throated and Spot-crowned Euphonia. After breakfast, we drove to a roadside trail providing access into Carara National Park. The trail was quite muddy from overnight rains, but still passable. Though Scarlet Macaws were briefly seen in flight yesterday when we arrived at the hotel, we were able to observe a pair today that was perched relatively close to the trail. Other birds encountered during our walk included Crane Hawk, Ruddy Quail-Dove, Gray-chested Dove, Turquoise-browed Motmot, Barred Antshrike, Slaty Antren, Chestnut-backed Antbird, Northern Bentbill, Slate-headed Tody-Flycatcher, Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher, White-winged Becard, Black-bellied and Rufous-breasted Wren, Gray-headed and White-lined Tanager and Blue-black Grosbeak. Golden-naped Woodpecker, Baird’s Trogon and Orange-collared Manakin were heard-only. Near the end of the trail, we were forced to pause as a parade of Collared Peccaries darted across our path.
Scarlet Macaws, photo courtesy of Ted Center
After lunch, we headed to the beach, followed by a much-anticipated boat cruise on the Tarcoles River. The beach had Scarlet Macaws (!), along with more expected species such as Magnificent Frigatebird, Brown Pelican, Neotropic Cormorant and Laughing Gull. Our boat cruise took us first to the mouth of the river, then up a mangrove channel and finally upriver towards the national park. We found most of the specialties of this estuarine habitat, including Double-striped Thick-knee, the endemic Mangrove Hummingbird (only seen by a few participants), Panama Flycatcher, Mangrove Vireo, Mangrove Swallow and the Mangrove race of Yellow Warbler. Other new additions included Plumbeous Kite, Common Black-Hawk, Blue Ground-Dove, Lesser Nighthawk, American Pygmy Kingfisher, Yellow-naped Parrot, Pale-breasted Spinetail, Rose-throated Becard, Rufous-browed Peppershrike and the always-impressive White-throated Magpie-Jay. There was also no shortage of American Crocodiles along the river.
Bare-throated Tiger-Heron, photo courtesy of David Schaffter
We encountered an impressive assortment of water birds, including Black-belled Whistling-Duck, Wood Stork, Bare-throated Tiger-Heron (including two birds engaged in a major squabble), Great Blue, Little Blue, Tricolored, Green and Boat-billed Heron, Great, Snowy and Cattle Egret, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, White Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill, Purple Gallinule, American Oystercatcher, Black-bellied, Collared and Wilson’s Plover, Spotted Sandpiper, Willet, Lesser Yellowlegs, Whimbrel, Ruddy Turnstone and Royal, Sandwich and Elegant Tern. A pair of Turquoise-browed Motmots coming and going from their riverbank burrow provided great photo-ops, as did the flock after flock of Scarlet Macaws that streamed over the river as the sun set behind us. It was a memorable end to a fantastic day.
Turquoise-browed Motmot, photo courtesy of Ted Center