11 - 25 December 1994
by Wayne Bennett
Total of ten people went. Only five of these people can be considered birders so most of the reports are from them.
On the first day we arrive in San Jose. Most of the people rented trucks to go up to Monteverde however myself and two others rented a cab to Puntarenas and then caught the bus to Monteverde. On the way to Puntarenas and in the city several birds were seen:
Scissor-tailed
Flycatcher
Great Egret
Tropical
Kingbird
Cattle Egret
Barn
Swallow
Magnificent Frigatebird
Black
Vulture
Groove-bill Ani
Turkey
Vulture
Brown Pelican
Wood
Stork
Brown-footed Booby
Ruddy Ground
Dove
White-winged Dove
Rock
Dove
Great-tailed Grackle
Eastern Meadowlark
Spent the night in Santa Elena. Birded in the village in the morning. Then went to San Gerado Research Station to stay for the week. It is a two hour exhausting hike down a very muddy road but well worth it. Research station was amazing and cheap $17 US a day including food and a guide (who was excellent). We were one of the first people to stay. Off of our balcony we had a magnificent view of Volcano Arenal (which we could only see partial bits of it until the last day). It rained for three days straight and then stopped all at once as if someone had turned the tap off.
Birds on the hike down and in Santa Elena:
Steely-vented
Hummingbird
Boat-billed Flycatcher
Yellow-thighed
Finch
Tufted Flycatcher
Slaty-throated
Redstart
Baltimore Oriole
Grayish
Saltator
Blue-gray Tanager
Collared
Redstart
White-ringed Flycatcher
Townsend's
Warbler
Common Bush Tanager
Three-striped
Warbler
Summer Tanager
We stayed at this research station for a week. The food was fabulous, fried chicken and french fries even. But alot of excellent Costa Rican food too. Can not drive down but must walk so you appreciate the food because they either walk it in themselves or on a ox cart. Alot of the birds we saw here we off the balcony but we took daily long expeditions on the trails. Trail system was knew but some very nice trails. Here is what we saw during the rest of the week (there may be some repeats.)
Turkey
Vulture
Gray-crowned Yellowthroat
Broad-winged
Hawk
Slaty Throated Redstart
Sharp-shinned
Hawk
Common Bush Tanager
Double-toothed
Kite
Buff-throated Saltator
Resplendent
Quetzal
Red-billed Pigeon
Slaty
Spinetail
Groove-billed Ani
Western
Kingbird
Long-tailed Hermit
Slaty Back Nightingale
Thrush Band-tailed Barbthroat
Yellow Throated Brush
Finch Violet Sabrewing
Yellow Faced
Grassquit
Coppery-headed Emerald
Rufous Collared
Sparrow
Great Jacamar
Olive
Sparrow
Prong-billed Barbet
Three-striped
Warbler
Red-headed Barbet
Tropical
Parula
Striped-foliage Gleaner
Townsend
Warbler
Masked Tityra
Blackburnian
Warbler
Lovely Cotinga
Great
Kiskadee
Tufted Flycatcher
Dark
Peewee
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Azure Hooded
Jay
Clay Colored Robin
Bananaquit
Golden Crowned Warbler
Golden Winged
Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Yellow Crowned
Euphonia
Crimson Collared Tanager
Scarlet Rumped
Tanager
Red Throated Ant Tanager
Black Headed
Saltator
Blue-black Grassquit
Yellow Faced
Grassquit
Rufous Collared Sparrow
Palm
Tanager
Black Guan
Brown-billed Scythe
Billed Southern Roughed
Wing Swallow
Immaculate Ant
Bird
Crested Guan
Barred
Parakeet
Squirrel Cuckoo
Blue and White
Swallow
Orange Bellied Trogon
Emerald
Toucanet
Rufous-winged Woodpecker
Cinnamon
Becard
Slaty-capped Flycatcher
Rufous-breasted
Wren
Lesser Greenlet
Black and White
Warbler
Black Throated Green Tawny
Capped
Euphonia
Blue-hooded Euphonia
Golden-browed
Chlorophonia
Silver Throated Tanager
Bay Headed
Tanager
Black Striped Sparrow
Rufous Tailed
Jacamar
Scale Crested Pygmy Tyrant
Ochraceous
Wren
Yellow Throated Vireo
Hepatic
Tanager
Yellow Throated Brush Finch
Black Faced
Soltaire
Smoky Brown Woodpecker
Spangled Cheeked
Tanager
Other notables were: White Capuchin Monkey and Jaguarundi
Hiked out on the 18th and stayed in Santa Elena (Los Pinos) for the night. Went to the Monteverde cloud forest but was not too impressed with the wildlife and too many people. However, did see a few interesting things:
Olivaceous
Woodcreeper
Black-banded Woodcreeper
Green
Hermit
Violet Sabrewing
Purple Throated
Mountain
Gem Cinnamon
Hummingbird
Bluetailed Hummingbird
You guessed it we visited the hummingbird feeder there. It is a must see.
Five of us left the others behind and headed out to Carara Park (south of Puntarenas). It is well worth the visit and I would highly recommend it. Stayed at hotel about 15 min drive from the park (Cabinas Paradise- I wouldn't call it Paradise but it was adequate).
Here is what we saw:
Blue Crowned
Motmot
Rufous Naped Wren
Montezuma's
Oreopendola
Short-tailed Hawk
Golden Chinned
Parakeet
Hoffmann's Woodpecker
White-throated Magpie
Jay Scarlet Macaw's
Painted
Bunting
Barred Antshrike
Visited Tarcol lodge, just to bird, met the owners in the park and they invited us to bird there. Very friendly people.
List from Tarcol and surrounding area:
Royal
Tern
Sandwich Tern
Magnificent
Frigatebird
Laughing Gull
Black
Skimmer
Brown Pelican
Anhinga
Olivaceous Cormorant
Wood
Stork
Roseate Spoonbill
White
Ibis
Yellow Crowned Night Heron
Great Blue
Heron
Tricolored Heron
Snowy
Egret
Cattle Egret
Great
Egret
Bare Throate Tiger Heron
Green-backed
Heron
Northern Jacana
Black Bellied
Plover
Short-billed Dowitcher
Willet
American Oystercatcher
Black Necked
Stilt
Whimbrel
Wilson
Plover
Ruddy Turnstone
Solitary
Sandpiper
Spotted Sandpiper
Dunlin
Sanderling
Yellow Headed Caracara
In Carara again:
Great
Tinamou
Common Black Hawk
Snail
Kite
Crested Caracara
Peregrine
Falcon
Gray Hawk
Ospery
Inca Dove
White-tipped
Dove
Gray-chested Dove
Scarlet
Macaw
Mealy Parrot
Red Lored
Parrot
White-fronted Parrot
Orange Chinned
Parakeet
Squirrel Cuckoo
Lesser
Nighthawk
White Collared Swifts
Gray-breasted
Martin
Northern & Southern R.w. Swallow
Mangrove
Swallow
Little Hermit
Purple Crowned Fairy
Baird's
Trogon
Violaceous Trogon
Black Throated
Trogon
Ringed Kingfisher
Amazon
Kingfisher
Belted Kingfisher
Green
Kingfisher
Lineated Woodpecker
Pale Billed
Woodpecker
Chesnut Mandibled Toucan
White-whiskered
Puffbird
Hoffman's Woodpecker
Streaked Headed
Woodcreeper
Plain Brown Woodcreeper
Black Banded
Woodcreeper
Chesnut Backed Antbird
Black Hooded
Antshrike
Rose Throated Becard
Masked
Tityra
Dusky Fly Catcher
Black Capped Fly
Catcher
Common Tody Flycatcher
Black Bellied
Wren
Red-legged Honeycreeper
Golden Hooded
Tanager
White Shoulder Tanager
Tropical Gnatcatcher
Stayed in the area for 2 and 1/2 days and then headed to La Selva. On route we stopped at Poas Volcano and La Paz waterfall. Had interesting birds at each stop.
Poas La Paz
Mountain
Robin
Green Fronted Lancebill
Black and Yellow Silky
Flycatcher American Dipper
Slaty Flower
Piercer
Torrent Tyrannulet
Sooty Capped Bush
Tanager
Black Phoebe
Volcano
Hummingbird
White Collared Swifts
Fiery Throated
Hummingbird
Our last stay was in La Selva for two days. Excellent trail system and amazing birds. Expensive though compared to Costa Rican standards. We paid $35 US per night (we are all students). I must say if you have a student card bring it because there are many discounts to be had. We had an excellent guide, Paco, who took us around. All of us were entomologist so we knew to watch out for Paraponera or the Bullet ant which its sting is very painful. The birds that we saw here are:
Rufous
Motmot
Collared Aracari
Keel-billed
Toucan
Black Cheeked Woodpecker
Plain Brown
Woodcreeper
Wedge-billed Woodcreeper
White-collared
Manakin
Snowy Cotinga
Yellowish
Flycatcher
Black Capped Pygmy Tyrant
Mistletoe
Tyrannulet
Canada Warbler
Blue
Dacnis
Golden Hooded Tanager
Plain Colored
Tanager
Variable Seedeater
Semiplumbeous
Hawk
Blue Ground Dove
White Fronted
Parrot
Mealy Parrot
Crowned
Woodnymph
Yellow Bellied Elaenia
Veery
Yellow Billed Cacique
Shining
Honeycreeper
Green Honeycreeper
Red Throated Ant
Tanager
Black Faced Grosbeak
We saw many other birds but we had seen these birds at other places so I did not put them out. On the way to San Jose we stopped in a Braulio Carillo. It too was amazing. We hiked around the ranger's station and got some new birds.
Yellow Eared
Toucanet
Emerald Tanager
Silver Throated
Tanager
Speckled Tanager
Black and Yellow
Tanager
White-shoulder Tanager
White Lined
Tanage
Ashy-throated Tanager
Stayed in San Isidero over night before we went home. On the last day I had brown jay as one of my last bird. Overall on the trip we had 386 species (294 myself with 227 lifers as I am a beginner).
Someother notables were: Spider Monkeys (La Selva), Howler Monkey's (Monteverde), White Capuchins, Agouti's, Coati's, Porcupine Spp., Sloths, Gray Fox, Alligators, Jaguarundi's, Peccaries, White-tailed Deer.
People on the trip, Me (Wayne Bennett), Jeff and Angela Skevington, Sean Blaney, Brian Pornfret, Gord Vogg, Dave Bennett (no relation), Dave Caloren, Terry Crabe, Anne Marie Cooper.
I am sorry for the length of this report but as you can see I did
not
put all of the birds down but only the ones that I had
seen.
I will try and post just the whole list at a later date if people are
interested. If you have any questions or comments, please feel
free to contact me.
Wayne Bennett
wbennett@evbhort.uoguelph.ca
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Wayne
Bennett
Phone: (519) 824-4120
Dept. of Environmental
Biology
Ext. 3936/4847
University of
Guelph
Fax: (519) 837-0442
Guelph, Ontario
Canada
Email: wbennett@evbhort.uoguelph.ca
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