Costa Rica

Day 1, Thursday March 14th

An early start, I met John & Janet at London Bridge station for the 07.05 train to Gatwick. We checked in and were quickly through security so there was time for breakfast before heading to the gate. Boarded our BA flight to San Jose, departed at 11.05 and arrived at 16.35 local time. The first bird of the trip was a Great-tailed Grackle which we saw walking from the plane to the terminal building. We met up with our guide, Kevin and the rest of group apart from one who was already at hotel. After a short drive to the hotel we had dinner.

Day 2, Friday 15th

With the first bird heard singing at 05.15, most of us were out early exploring the grounds before the meet up time of 6am. At first it was just the common birds: Clay-coloured Thrush, Great-tailed Grackle and Great Kiskadee but as the light improved other birds began to wake up and we added Hoffmann’s Woodpecker and the main target for the pre-breakfast birding – Spot-breasted Oriole. Two superb orange and black icterids that we were unlikely to see anywhere else on the trip were now showing well in the trees in the hotel grounds.

Spot-breasted Oriole

A Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl flew in before the rest of the group assembled in the gardens. After a catch up for the latecomers we then saw a Yellow Warbler, the first American warbler of the trip, along with a couple of doves, Wood Stork and Cinnamon Hummingbird before it was time for breakfast.

Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl

Red-billed Pigeon

White-winged Dove

The first hotel which we saw little of apart from the grounds

We packed up our bags and left at 7.20, heading off to La Paz. 

Looking back to San Jose

It’s a big tourist spot and we had to get wristbands before we were allowed in to go birding. First up was an obliging Bat Hawk that flew in and landed above the reception building. We made straight for the hummingbird feeders and gave them some time before exploring a few trails in the extensive grounds. The feeders held four hummers while new birds came thick and fast on the trails, from Swallow-tailed Kite to Slaty-backed Nightingale-Thrush along with various warblers, flycatchers and tanagers. Good birds included Yellow-thighed Brushfinch, Sooty-faced Finch and Costa Rican Warbler.

Chestnut-capped Brushfinch

Coppery-headed Emerald

Grey-breasted Wood-wren

Blue Morpho

We stopped for an early buffet lunch and then explored some more trails before leaving at 1pm. We only had a short drive down the road to our next stop: a feeding station at a restaurant. It was already packed with other birders but we found room to view the birds coming into the free handouts. Hummers included Crowned Woodnymph and Black-bellied Hummingbird while taking the fruit were the stunning Scarlet-rumped Tanager and Yellow-winged Tanager.

Black-bellied Hummingbird

Costa Rica's national bird: Clay-coloured Thrush

Red-headed Barbet

Red-legged Honeycreeper (male & female)

Yellow-winged Tanager

Baltimore Oriole

Common Chlorospingus (nee Bush-Tanager)

Prong-billed Barbet

Scarlet-rumped Tanager

Silver-throated Tanager

Blue-throated Toucanet

Buff-throated Saltator

Palm Tanager

Red-tailed Squirrel

We made a few other stops en route, one on a bridge where a Torrent Tyrannulet bounced around the boulders along a river with a Louisiana Waterthrush picking its way along the bank, then by a small lake where we found a Mourning Warbler along with Slaty Spinetail and Common Tody-Flycatcher.

Dipping on Dipper

The old bridge

The most bizarre stop of the day was where we changed drivers, as Alex joined us for the rest of the trip. He led the way into a large supermarket where an American Barn Owl was roosting high above the door. It wasn’t clear whether it could get out at night to hunt or if it flew around the aisles to look for prey or even to snatch up the latest bargains.

Black Phoebe

Cinnamon-bellied Saltator

Eastern Meadowlark

As we approached Arenal Observatory Ldge it was getting on for dusk and a Common Pauraque appeared by the roadside. Once we’d checked in, half the group were staying in cabins a mile back down the road so we were constantly being shuttled around. Persistent rain meant we didn’t go looking for owls after the evening meal and log. It had apparently been raining non-stop for the past couple of days and it would continue to do so throughout our stay here.