4 - 10 March 1998
by Mark Lockwood
This was our third trip to Costa Rica, but our first to Monteverde and the Guanacaste region in the northwestern part of the country. Travel arrangements were made through Costa Rica Gateways. We have used their services three times and in each case everything was perfect.
We stayed at Fonda Vela in Monteverde and it is about 2 km from the reserve. The room was very nice and the food was excellent. The restaurant was rather expensive and cheaper meals are available in Monteverde. Fonda Vela has a few trails and we found birding the ground to be rewarding. We saw White-eared Ground-Sparrow, Scarlet-thighed Dacnis and Black-breasted Wood-Quail on the hotel grounds.
Early March is at the end of the dry season and Guanacaste was hot. The dry deciduous forests at Santa Rosa National Park were practically leafless. However, the wet tropical forest along the entrance road was full of birds. The highlight was a pair of Western Slaty-Antshrikes. I was able to photograph the male for the first documented record for the Pacific-slope of Costa Rica (see Lockwood, M. W. 1999. Occurrence of Western Slaty-Antshrike (Thamnophilus atrinucha) on the Pacific slope of Costa Rica. Cotinga 11).
Birding at La Pacifica was slow, but we were able to see many of our target birds. We ate all of our meal at the restaurant along the highway near the entrance to La Pacifica. The back deck overlooks the Rio Corobici. Float trips are available down the river from the "tour providers" outside of the restaurant. On the spur of the moment we decided to take one of these trips. I told the tour provider that I was interested in birds and he sold us a three-hour trip that was designed for birders. The young man who was our guide did not speak english and was only moderately familiar with the birds. The trip went down the Rio Corobici and up the much smaller Rio Tenorio. The Rio Tenorio was very calm and the birding was excellent. This raft trip was the highlight of our stay at La Pacifica.
Itinerary:
4 March - Traveled from San Jose to Monteverde, about 1 hour of birding around Fonda Vela (FV). Fonda Vela is located two km below the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve.
5 March - Morning and early afternoon birding Hummingbird Gallery and Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve (MR). Late afternoon birded grounds of Fonda Vela.
6 March - Morning birding Bajo de Tigre Trail (BT) and afternoon around Fonda Vela.
7 March - Morning at MR and afternoon at the Ecological Farm (EF) located in the town of Monteverde.
8 March - Traveled to Santa Rosa National Park (SR) and birded main road during the morning. Traveled to Hacienda La Pacifica (LP) in the early afternoon.
9 March - Birded around La Pacifica from 7:30 to 9:00 am then took a float trip down the Rio Corobici (RC) which included at side trip up the Rio Tenorio (RT).
10 March - Traveled from La Pacifica to San Jose
Trip List:
* - heard only
| Highland Tinamou | one seen at MR on the 7th; singles heard on the 5th and 7th at MR |
| Thicket Tinamou | two or three observed for at least 30 minutes at SR on the 8th |
| Neotropic Cormorant | one on the RC on the 9th |
| Anhinga | one on the RC on the 9th |
| Bare-throated Tiger-Heron | two adults and two imm. on the RC on the 9th |
| Great Blue Heron | one on a stock pond near SR on the 8th |
| Great Egret | singles at several location in Guanacaste |
| Little Blue Heron | two on the RC on the 9th |
| Cattle Egret | common |
| Green Heron | singles at LP on the 8th and 9th; one on the RT on the 9th |
| Black-crowned Night-Heron | one at LP and 20+ on the RT on the 9th |
| Yellow-crowned Night-Heron | three on the RT on the 9th |
| Boat-billed Heron | 25+ on the RT on the 9th |
| White Ibis | small numbers in the rice fields around Canas |
| Wood Stork | one enroute to San Jose on the 10th |
| Black Vulture | abundant |
| Turkey Vulture | common |
| Black-bellied Whistling-Duck | 200+ on a small pond west of Liberia on the 8th |
| Osprey | one or two on the RT on the 9th |
| Swallow-tailed Kite | common at Monteverde, high of 15+ at EF on the 7th |
| White-tailed Kite | one enroute to San Jose on the 10th |
| White Hawk | one seen briefly between MR and FV on the 5th |
| Common Black-Hawk | two over the RC on the 9th |
| Great Black-Hawk | one observed perched along the bank of the RT on the 9th |
| Gray Hawk | one at FV on the 6th and two over the RC on the 9th |
| Short-tailed Hawk | one, or possibly two, dark-phased birds at LP and RC on the 9th |
| Crested Caracara | several seen between SR and LP on the 8th |
| Barred Forest-Falcon | one imm. plumaged bird seen briefly on the 5th |
| Laughing Falcon | one along the RC on the 8th |
| Bat Falcon | one near Santa Eleana on the 4th |
| American Kestrel | one below Santa Eleana on the 8th |
| Gray-headed Chachalaca | one at BT on the 6th and two at EF on the 7th |
| Black Guan | at least six on the 5th and three on the 7th at MR |
| * Great Curassow | two or three heard at SR on the 8th |
| Black-breasted Wood-Quail | five seen well along the trail at FV on the 5th |
| * Spot-bellied Bobwhite | two males heard at LP early on the 8th |
| Sungrebe | one observed at length on the RT on the 9th |
| Sunbittern | one observed for at least 20 minutes at MR on the 5th |
| Limpkin | two seen on the float trip up the RT on the 9th |
| Northern Jacana | two seen flying over a rice field across the highway from LP on the 8th |
| Lesser Yellowlegs | 10+ in the rice field across the highway from LP on the 8th |
| Solitary Sandpiper | one in the rice field across the highway from LP on the 8th |
| Spotted Sandpiper | common on the RC and RT on the 8th and 9th |
| Rock Dove | common in urban areas |
| Red-billed Pigeon | three to five per day around FV |
| Band-tailed Pigeon | seven in the vicinity of FV on the 6th and four at EF on the 7th |
| Ruddy Pigeon | one observed at length on the 6th near FV |
| White-winged Dove | a few around SR and LP on the 8th and 9th |
| Mourning Dove | one below Santa Eleana on the 8th |
| Inca Dove | common at SR and LP |
| Common Ground-Dove | common |
| Ruddy Ground-Dove | a few seen en route to and from San Jose on the 4th and 10th |
| White-tipped Dove | one to three daily around FV |
| Chiriqui Quail-Dove | two, one observed at length, at EF on the 7th |
| Buff-fronted Quail-Dove | one observed at length behind the cafe at MR on the 7th |
| Orange-fronted Parakeet | common at SR and LP on the 8th and 9th |
| White-fronted Parrot | four to ten seen daily seen at FV, EF, LP, SR |
| Squirrel Cuckoo | one at FV on the 6th, two at SR on the 8th, and two along the RT on the 9th |
| Groove-billed Ani | common in disturbed habitats |
| Pacific Screech-Owl | one at LP on the 8th |
| Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl | one seen and another heard along RT on the 9th |
| Common Nighthawk | one near LP on the evening of the 8th |
| Pauraque | one heard nightly at FV, two heard and one seen at LP on the 8th and 9th |
| White-collared Swift | one at FV on the 4th and 30+ at EF on the 7th |
| Vaux's Swift | five over FV on the 4th |
| Green Hermit | three along the BT on the 6th and one at EF on the 7th |
| Little Hermit | one at SR on the 8th |
| Violet Saberwing | four to five at the Hummingbird Gallery (MR) on the 5th and 7th and one at FV on the 6th |
| Green Violet-ear | four to five at the Hummingbird Gallery (MR) on the 5th and 7th |
| Canivet's Emerald | one female at LP on the 9th |
| Steely-vented Hummingbird | one or two at LP on the 9th |
| Rufous-tailed Hummingbird | three daily at FV |
| Cinnamon Hummingbird | one or two at LP on the 8th and 9th |
| Stripe-tailed Hummingbird | two or three at the Hummingbird Gallery (MR) on the 5th and 7th, three at MR on the 5th, one at FV on the 6th |
| Coppery-headed Emerald | a pair at the Hummingbird Gallery (MR) on the 5th and 7th |
| Purple-throated Mountain-Gem | 10+ at the Hummingbird Gallery (MR) on the 5th and 7th |
| Green-crowned Brilliant | 10+ at the Hummingbird Gallery (MR) on the 5th and 7th |
| Magenta-throated Woodstar | three or more at the Hummingbird Gallery (MR) on the 5th and 7th |
| Ruby-throated Hummingbird | one female at LP on the 9th |
| Black-headed Trogon | singles at EF on the 7th, SR on the 8th and LP on the 9th |
| Elegant Trogon | four at SR on the 8th |
| Orange-bellied Trogon | two seen and several heard at MR on the 7th |
| Resplendent Quetzal | three on the 5th and five on the 7th at MR |
| Blue-crowned Motmot | common around FV, one at SR on the 8th |
| Turquoise-browed Motmot | common around LP |
| Amazon Kingfisher | a female on the RT on the 8th and a male near LP on the 9th |
| Prong-billed Barbet | two seen and several others heard on the 7th at MR |
| Emerald Toucanet | common around Monteverde, including MR, FV, BT and EF |
| Keel-billed Toucan | two seen below Santa Eleana on the 8th |
| Hoffmann's Woodpecker | fairly common around FV, LP and SR |
| Golden-olive Woodpecker | singles at EF and FV on the 7th |
| Pale-billed Woodpecker | a pair at SR on the 8th |
| Red-faced Spinetail | three or four at MR on the 7th |
| Spotted Barbtail | three on the 5th and one on the 7th at MR |
| Ruddy Treerunner | one on the 7th at MR |
| Streak-breasted Treehunter | five or six at MR on the 7th |
| Olivaceous Woodcreeper | two at MR on the 7th |
| Northern Barred-Woodcreeper | on at SR on the 8th |
| Spotted Woodcreeper | three or four at MR on the 5th |
| Streak-headed Woodcreeper | one at TB on the 6th |
| Western Slaty-Antshrike | a pair observed at length at SR on the 8th |
| Slaty Antwren | a female at MR on the 7th |
| * Silvery-fronted Tapaculo | three heard at MR on the 7th |
| Southern Beardless-Tyrannulet | two below MR on the 5th |
| Yellow-bellied Elaenia | one observed on the 6th and 7th at FV |
| Mountain Elaenia | three to five daily at FV |
| Olive-striped Flycatcher | one at MR and below MR on the 7th |
| Slate-headed Tody-Flycatcher | one at SR on the 8th |
| Yellow-olive Flycatcher | one at LP on the 8th |
| White-throated Spadebill | one at MR on the 7th |
| Royal Flycatcher | one at SR on the 8th |
| Yellowish Flycatcher | two on the 5th and three on the 7th at MR |
| Dusky-capped Flycatcher | singles at BT and near FV on the 6th |
| Nutting's Flycatcher | three or four at SR on the 8th |
| Brown-crested Flycatcher | three or four at LP on the 8th and 9th |
| Great Kiskadee | uncommon in disturbed habitats throughout |
| Boat-billed Flycatcher | one at SR on the 8th |
| Social Flycatcher | common around FV and elsewhere |
| Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher | two, one near FV and one on the grounds of FV, on the 6th |
| Tropical Kingbird | common id disturbed and open habitats |
| Scissor-tailed Flycatcher | very common around LP, 20+ flew over on the evening of the 8th |
| Masked Tityra | fairly common at FV |
| * Three-wattled Bellbird | heard daily while staying at Monteverde |
| Long-tailed Manakin | two males at BT on the 6th, one male at EF on the 7th, a pair at SR on the 8th, and two males observed/heard repeatedly at LP on the 8th and 9th |
| Philadelphia Vireo | one at SR on the 8th |
| White-throated Magpie-Jay | three at Rancho Grande (turnoff of Interamerican hwy to Monteverde) on the 4th, several enroute to SR on the 8th, two at SR on the 8th, three to five daily at LP |
| Brown Jay | very common around FV, BT and EF |
| Azure-hooded Jay | singles observed at MR on the 5th and 7th |
| Gray-breasted Martin | six at Liberia on the 8th |
| Mangrove Swallow | five+ seen on the float trip, mostly along RC |
| Blue-and-white Swallow | five around FV every evening |
| Southern Rough-winged Swallow | abundant at LP |
| Barn Swallow | a few over the rice fields near LP on the 8th and 9th |
| Rufous-naped Wren | four at SR and LP on the 8th; up to nine at LP on the 9th |
| Rufous-breasted Wren | one at EF on the 7th |
| Rufous-and-white Wren | two at EF on the 7th |
| Banded Wren | three at SR on the 8th and one at LP on the 8th and 9th |
| Plain Wren | three at BT on the 6th and EF on the 7th |
| House Wren | common in disturbed habitats around FV, BT, and EF |
| Ochraceous Wren | one seen briefly at MR on the 7th |
| Gray-breasted Wood-Wren | common at MR |
| White-lored Gnatcatcher | one at SR on the 8th |
| Black-faced Solitaire | 15+ at MR on the 5th and several on the 7th |
| Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush | two at EF on the 7th |
| Slaty-backed Nightingale-Thrush | two at MR on the 5th and 7th |
| Mountain Robin | three per day at FV and eight at MR on the 7th |
| Clay-colored Robin | one or two daily at FV |
| White-throated Robin | one at MR on the 7th |
| Golden-winged Warbler | single males at BT and FV on the 6th and MR on the 7th |
| Tennessee Warbler | common around FV |
| Yellow Warbler | common at LP |
| Chestnut-sided Warbler | single near FV on the 6th |
| Black-throated Green Warbler | two or three per day at and near FV |
| Black-and-white Warbler | two or three per day at and near FV |
| Ovenbird | singles at EF on the 7th and SR on the 8th |
| Mourning Warbler | an imm. female at SR on the 8th |
| Gray-crowned Yellowthroat | single males at BT on the 6th and FV on the 7th |
| Wilson's Warbler | abundant at MR, FV, BT and EF |
| Slate-throated Redstart | common around MR, FV, BT and EF |
| Collared Redstart | five at MR on the 5th and two on the 7th |
| Golden-crowned Warbler | three at BT on the 6th |
| Rufous-capped Warbler | two at BT on the 6th and five at EF on the 7th |
| Three-striped Warbler | common at MR on the 5th and 7th |
| Bananaquit | two at the Hummingbird Gallery on the 5th and 7th, two at MR on the 7th |
| Silver-throated Tanager | one at MR on the seventh |
| Spangle-cheeked Tanager | two at MR on the 5th |
| Scarlet-thighed Dacnis | three near FV on the 6th and a pair at FV on the 7th |
| Red-legged Honeycreeper | at least five near FV on the 6th and two at FV on the 7th |
| Golden-browed Chlorophonia | eight near FV on the 6th and a pair at the Hummingbird Gallery on the 7th |
| Yellow-throated Euphonia | common in and around FV |
| Blue-gray Tanager | a pair seen daily at FV |
| Olive Tanager | one at FV on the 7th |
| Summer Tanager | one at FV on the 7th and LP on the 9th |
| Common Bush-Tanager | abundant at MR on the 5th and 7th |
| Buff-throated Saltator | one at BT on the 6th |
| Rose-breasted Grosbeak | one at FV on the 4th and 7th |
| Blue Grosbeak | one below Santa Eleana on the 4th |
| Indigo Bunting | five at SR on the 8th |
| White-naped (Yellow-throated) Brush-Finch | two at FV on the 4th, one at BT on the 6th and two near FV on the 7th |
| Chestnut-capped Brush-Finch | one at MR on the 7th |
| Black-striped Sparrow | one at BT on the 6th and two at LP on the 8th |
| White-eared Ground-Sparrow | one at FV on the 5th-7th, three near there on the 6th, six+ at BT on the 6th and eight at EF on the 7th |
| Variable Seedeater | one near FV on the 6th |
| Yellow-faced Grassquit | common at FV |
| Rufous-collared Sparrow | common at FV |
| Red-winged Blackbird | common in the rice fields near LP |
| Eastern Meadowlark | about 10 in pastures below Santa Eleana |
| Great-tailed Grackle | abundant |
| Bronzed Cowbird | many in the outskirts of San Jose on the 10th |
| Streak-backed Oriole | one male at LP on the 9th |
| Baltimore Oriole | seen in small numbers (2-5/day) in most locations |
| Yellow-billed Cacique | two near FV on the 4th |
| House Sparrow | a few in urban areas |
191 species + 4 heard only
Mark Lockwood
Austin, Texas 78745
mwlockwood@juno.com