Costa Rica was our last country of the trip. I was looking forward to going home, but wanted to finish the trip off strong with several more life birds. We visited two places in Costa Rica. We started in the north at the Papagayo Peninsula where we met up with family. We all shared this big, luxurious house with a pool and an ocean view. I was so busy playing around with my cousins that I didn't get to do much birding. Instead, we went to the beach and mostly just relaxed by the pool.
I was lucky enough, however, to see this huge BARE THROATED TIGER HERON on our property. Life bird!
I was lucky enough, however, to see this huge BARE THROATED TIGER HERON on our property. Life bird!
Also sighted in front of the house - five trogons! This BLACK HEADED TROGON was a new one for me.
I also saw SLATY TAILED TROGONS, which I believe is the most common trogon in Costa Rica.
As I was observing the Slaty Tailed Trogon, I noticed a small bird in the same tree. I thought the trogons were so cool so I didn’t pay much attention to the small bird, but when I looked, it was my best bird in Costa Rica. An amazing LONG TAILED MANAKIN!!! This bird has blue wings, a red crown and a super long tail. I didn’t pay any attention to the trogons after that.
But the day I saw the most lifers in the North was during our river boat cruise down through Palo Verde National Park. We saw huge iguanas, crocodiles, monkeys and my life bird LAUGHING FALCON.
On our way back to the house we saw some BLACK NECKED STILT, NEOTROPIC CORMORANT, LEAST GREBE and WATTLED JACANA outside the resort property. Below is a shot of the stilt.
The most fun day was when we took a boat to a deserted beach. While the staff cooked us lunch I got to drive the jet ski, paddle board, kayak and snorkel. Everyday we had a cook make a huge breakfast for us and sometimes we would even have a chef cook us a fancy dinner. We were only supposed to have two days in the northern part of the country, but we were having such a good time that we stayed for four.
After our stint in the North, we drove six hours to southern Costa Rica near the Osa Peninsula. I noticed that the terrain in the north was very dry with yellow grass and trees. When we got further south the terrain immediately changed to green, mountainous rainforest. Usually people come to Costa Rica and stay in fancy resorts on the beach and go on tours and have people cook for you and blah blah blah. But when we went south we saw the real Costa Rica. There are no tourists or fancy resorts. The houses were very simple, just a few wooden boards cobbled together with tin roofs. I can't imagine the houses standing after a big storm. The school was just a tiny tin hut in the middle of an empty field. The grocery stores are small rooms with concrete walls and very limited food options. On this trip, we didn't often have a relaxing vacation. We usually stayed away from tourists and instead, lived near the locals. We did what they did. We lived the way they do. We ate what they ate. We experienced what was like to really live in that country. A lot of times, I felt out of my comfort zone, but it was the only way to really understand what the rest of the world is like.
We drove up the bumpiest, craziest, steepest hill I have ever been on to reach the house. You have to have a 4x4 or you won't make it up the hill. We arrived and from the house saw nothing but trees. Nature was everywhere. Monkeys, birds, snakes, bugs, everything. The hot water is heated by the sun. You can't flush the toilet paper down the toilet. You have to be really careful to preserve water. Wildlife comes up to the house and sometimes even in the house. There were several flowers next to the house and I would watch the hummingbird movement in the mornings. It was crazy! I bet I saw hundreds of hummers in the four days I was there. The problem is that there are approximately 55 species of hummingbirds native to Costa Rica and they are hard to identify which is why I have so many mystery birds today.
We drove up the bumpiest, craziest, steepest hill I have ever been on to reach the house. You have to have a 4x4 or you won't make it up the hill. We arrived and from the house saw nothing but trees. Nature was everywhere. Monkeys, birds, snakes, bugs, everything. The hot water is heated by the sun. You can't flush the toilet paper down the toilet. You have to be really careful to preserve water. Wildlife comes up to the house and sometimes even in the house. There were several flowers next to the house and I would watch the hummingbird movement in the mornings. It was crazy! I bet I saw hundreds of hummers in the four days I was there. The problem is that there are approximately 55 species of hummingbirds native to Costa Rica and they are hard to identify which is why I have so many mystery birds today.
Yes, I know I should have done a lot more studying before I arrived. If anyone has any insight into what these birds are, please do let me know!
Our place was not far from Tortuga Beach. Tortuga means "turtle" and it's named this because sea turtles come to this beach to lay their eggs. We didn't see any turtles, but I did see a RINGED KINGFISHER, SNOWY EGRET and WHITE IBIS (see below).
Our place was not far from Tortuga Beach. Tortuga means "turtle" and it's named this because sea turtles come to this beach to lay their eggs. We didn't see any turtles, but I did see a RINGED KINGFISHER, SNOWY EGRET and WHITE IBIS (see below).
On our last day of the trip I went birding around the town of Sierpe. Caesar, our guide, showed up on a bike. Costa Rica is not rich and many people don't have a car so they must walk or bike to their destination. It must be hard to access different birding spots on just a bike. But we started off strong with a group of BLACK BELLIED WHISTLING DUCKS and a BRONZY HERMIT. The Bronzy Hermit is a type of hummingbird with a long curved bill. This was a new bird for me and only Caesar's second sighting. A RIVERSIDE WREN flew in a nearby tree and it was my first ever sighting! We arrived at a field where we saw a pair of SCARLET MACAWS and a CINNAMON BECARD which were both good birds. Next we followed a secret trail through the jungle. The jungle, with its dense foliage can make sightings tough and really hard to spot birds. You hear more than you see. The only good birds we got on the trail were PALE BILLED WOODPECKER and BLUE CROWNED MANAKIN. We totaled 41 species with almost half of them identified by their call.
Overall, I really liked Costa Rica. I especially liked the quietness of our house in the south. It was great to not hear anything but nature. It also gave us more time to think about the overall year. It was hard to believe that it was time to go home. We had an amazing year, especially for the birds. Here’s an answer to a question you have probably been wondering for a while now: Why do I love to bird?
I like the competitive nature of birding. I like listing and trying to get as many species as I can. I also try to get more species than other people and get a top ranking on local birding lists for any given area. Another thing I like is that birding is unpredictable. You never know how many or what types of birds you will see. You could see 10 birds or 70; the rarest bird of the day could be as common as a House Wren or as exceptional as a Resplendent Quetzal.
I keep a camera with me so I can take pictures of a cool bird, a rare bird, a life bird, or an unidentified bird. It is important to have binoculars so you can see the small details and distinguish one bird from another. Birding is often challenging. It can also be frustrating, like the trip I took with my dad for my 11th birthday. I birded for six hours at some very productive spots and got less than 20 species. Then there are days like in New Zealand with the Black Stilt. I did a lot of prep work and careful planning and saw 11 of these critically endangered birds, one twentieth of the bird's population. That was an amazing day!
Bird List for Costa Rica Life List 646 (21 life birds in Costa Rica)
Great Kiskadee X
Red Crowned Woodpecker X
Yellow Green Vireo 1
Blue Gray Tanager X
Cinnamon Hummingbird X life bird!
Canivet's Emerald 1 life bird!
Laughing Falcon 1 life bird!
Turquoise Browed Motmot 2
Turkey Vulture X
Black Vulture X
Northern Jacana 1 life bird!
Southern Lapwing 1
Lance Tailed Manakin 1 life bird!
Neotropic Cormorant 1 life bird!
Black Headed Trogon 2 life bird!
Blue and White Swallow 2 life bird!
Green Heron 3
Bare Throated Tiger Heron 3
Great Tailed Grackle X
Clay Colored Robin X
White Winged Dove X
Orange Chinned Parakeet 20
Rufous Naped Wren life bird!
Brown Pelican 30
Magnificent Frigatebird X
Ruddy Ground Dove X
Rufous Tailed Hummingbird 12
White Necked Jacobin 3 life bird!
Rufous Breasted Wood Rail life bird!
Tropical Kingbird X
White Ibis 3
Passerini's Tanager X
House Wren 2
Scarlet Rumped Cacique 1
Masked Tityra 2
Fiery Billed Aracari 4 life bird!
Chestnut Mandibled Toucan 4
Green Kingfisher 2
Cattle Egret 1
Blue Dacnis 3
Black Striped Sparrow 1
Snowy Egret 1
Ringed Kingfisher 1
Costa Rican Swift 1 life bird!
Tropical Gnatcatcher 1
Bronzy Hermit 1 life bird!
Slaty Tailed Trogon 1
Cinnamon Becard 1 life bird!
Red Legged Honeycreeper 2
Golden Naped Woodpecker 2 life bird!
Riverside Wren 1 life bird!
Blue Crowned Manakin 1
Wood Stork 6
Black Bellied Whistling Duck 7
Pale Billed Woodpecker 3 life bird!
Short Billed Pigeon 2
Yellow Crowned Euphonia 2
Lesser Swallow Tailed Swift X
Mangrove Swallow 1
Palm Tanager 1
Red Lored Parrot X
Streaked Flycatcher 1
Brown Chested Martin X life bird!
Scarlet Macaw 4 life bird!
Variable Seedeater 2
Gray Headed Chachalaca 1
Barid's Trogon 2
Great Tinamou 2
Little Tinamou 1
Long Billed Gnatwren 6
Roadside Hawk 1
Blue Crowned Motmot 1
Swallow Tailed Kite 2 Last Life Bird Of The Trip :(
73 Species Total
Overall, I really liked Costa Rica. I especially liked the quietness of our house in the south. It was great to not hear anything but nature. It also gave us more time to think about the overall year. It was hard to believe that it was time to go home. We had an amazing year, especially for the birds. Here’s an answer to a question you have probably been wondering for a while now: Why do I love to bird?
I like the competitive nature of birding. I like listing and trying to get as many species as I can. I also try to get more species than other people and get a top ranking on local birding lists for any given area. Another thing I like is that birding is unpredictable. You never know how many or what types of birds you will see. You could see 10 birds or 70; the rarest bird of the day could be as common as a House Wren or as exceptional as a Resplendent Quetzal.
I keep a camera with me so I can take pictures of a cool bird, a rare bird, a life bird, or an unidentified bird. It is important to have binoculars so you can see the small details and distinguish one bird from another. Birding is often challenging. It can also be frustrating, like the trip I took with my dad for my 11th birthday. I birded for six hours at some very productive spots and got less than 20 species. Then there are days like in New Zealand with the Black Stilt. I did a lot of prep work and careful planning and saw 11 of these critically endangered birds, one twentieth of the bird's population. That was an amazing day!
Bird List for Costa Rica Life List 646 (21 life birds in Costa Rica)
Great Kiskadee X
Red Crowned Woodpecker X
Yellow Green Vireo 1
Blue Gray Tanager X
Cinnamon Hummingbird X life bird!
Canivet's Emerald 1 life bird!
Laughing Falcon 1 life bird!
Turquoise Browed Motmot 2
Turkey Vulture X
Black Vulture X
Northern Jacana 1 life bird!
Southern Lapwing 1
Lance Tailed Manakin 1 life bird!
Neotropic Cormorant 1 life bird!
Black Headed Trogon 2 life bird!
Blue and White Swallow 2 life bird!
Green Heron 3
Bare Throated Tiger Heron 3
Great Tailed Grackle X
Clay Colored Robin X
White Winged Dove X
Orange Chinned Parakeet 20
Rufous Naped Wren life bird!
Brown Pelican 30
Magnificent Frigatebird X
Ruddy Ground Dove X
Rufous Tailed Hummingbird 12
White Necked Jacobin 3 life bird!
Rufous Breasted Wood Rail life bird!
Tropical Kingbird X
White Ibis 3
Passerini's Tanager X
House Wren 2
Scarlet Rumped Cacique 1
Masked Tityra 2
Fiery Billed Aracari 4 life bird!
Chestnut Mandibled Toucan 4
Green Kingfisher 2
Cattle Egret 1
Blue Dacnis 3
Black Striped Sparrow 1
Snowy Egret 1
Ringed Kingfisher 1
Costa Rican Swift 1 life bird!
Tropical Gnatcatcher 1
Bronzy Hermit 1 life bird!
Slaty Tailed Trogon 1
Cinnamon Becard 1 life bird!
Red Legged Honeycreeper 2
Golden Naped Woodpecker 2 life bird!
Riverside Wren 1 life bird!
Blue Crowned Manakin 1
Wood Stork 6
Black Bellied Whistling Duck 7
Pale Billed Woodpecker 3 life bird!
Short Billed Pigeon 2
Yellow Crowned Euphonia 2
Lesser Swallow Tailed Swift X
Mangrove Swallow 1
Palm Tanager 1
Red Lored Parrot X
Streaked Flycatcher 1
Brown Chested Martin X life bird!
Scarlet Macaw 4 life bird!
Variable Seedeater 2
Gray Headed Chachalaca 1
Barid's Trogon 2
Great Tinamou 2
Little Tinamou 1
Long Billed Gnatwren 6
Roadside Hawk 1
Blue Crowned Motmot 1
Swallow Tailed Kite 2 Last Life Bird Of The Trip :(
73 Species Total