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Birding Experiences is a Costa Rican company owned and run by enthusiastic birdwatchers from CostaRica. The name of our company reflects our goals and modus operandi because we know that the best birding trips are well-rounded birding experiences. Volunteer reviewer for eBird in CostaRica.
Birders head to CostaRica to see stunners like Resplendent Quetzal , Three-wattled Bellbird , Orange-collared Manakin , fancy hummingbirds , tanagers, and literally hundreds of other birds. These and several other species might end up being armchair ticks if and when we take a closer look at their evolutionary history.
CostaRica has long been one of the more frequently visited global birding hotspots. Stable, easy to visit, and with lots of accessible habitats, its easy to see why many birders have opted to visit CostaRica on several occasions. Several birds in CostaRica could be endemic or near endemic species level taxa.
In CostaRica, we have our pewees, 6 species of them. Three live and breed here, two migrate through the country in large numbers (one of those also breeds here in small numbers), and another migrates through and winters in CostaRica. The WEWP is the other pewee that moves through CostaRica in numbers.
More than 20 species are recognized, many look similar and to throw a bit more challenging flavored sauce into the Megascops mix, there might be a few more species awaiting description. One of the more recently, officially recognized screech-owl species is the Choco Screech-Owl.
Even photos of the rarest of birds can be found, even heart-wrenching images of bird species that are no longer with us. Species like the Gyrfalcon , the aerial powerhouse of the tundra, of stunning, breeding-plumaged May warblers. These are all of the toucan species that occur in CostaRica.
They covered so much water so quickly, so effortlessly, I understood how they could wander from Hawaii to CostaRica, make steady constant progress over countless kilometers of waves and deep blue water. An expected offshore bird in CostaRica, the small bicolored shearwater was one of many targets during our 7 hour sojourn.
Another year of birding in CostaRica has come to an end, another one begins. I bet some tanager flocks will be in the cards; birding in CostaRica tends to deliver. First birds came in the form of migrants and resident species that live in an oasis of precious green space near home. 48 Hummingbird Species.
12 species of cuckoos are on the CostaRica bird list. Tortuguero- one of many excellent birding areas in CostaRica. I can’t say the same for the other especially tough cuckoo in CostaRica, the one and only Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo (or RVG as I like to call it). boat ride to Cocos Island.
In CostaRica, our July birding news usually consists of interesting sightings during the mid-summer tours. I savor the timeless experience of scanning these tropical waves for storm-petrels and lost jaegers. With around 400 species recorded for the area, yeah, it’s where we might all like to quarantine for a bit!
It rains a lot in CostaRica. Yes, we do have a dry season but that only holds sway in certain parts of CostaRica, and then there are those places that seem to be perpetually wet. Typical conditions when birding wet rainforest in CostaRica.
Go to Hispaniola and a birder has the pleasure of admiring two species of tody for the price of one, checking out the odd, mono familiar Palmchat , and listening to the parrotish calls of the White-necked Crow. Go to CostaRica and you will be looking at other birds but you can still get in some Caribbean slope birding.
Yes, the time had come to see how many of CostaRica’s hummingbird species we could find, and we had two days to work with. This oh so awesome endeavor was apparently somewhat inspired by a blog post I had written that toyed with the idea of doing a hummingbird big day in CostaRica. Green-breasted Mango.
” During migration, I also see Eastern Wood-Pewees in CostaRica. Living in CostaRica, June is just as warm as the rest of the year. Although Bobolinks are a very rare migrant, lots of other birds are possible, more than enough to rack up hundreds of species over the course of the year.
It takes a detour to reach Cano Negro Wildlife Refuge in CostaRica but oh how the trip is worth it. An uncommon species in CostaRica, it was in a brushy area that reminded me of its breeding grounds. Only two of us got a glimpse but that was enough to add it to our long list of species for the day.
She also makes a mark with her small size, one of the smallest birds in CostaRica. When you see a photo of a Snowcap, it’s easy to see why this species is a perennial top target for birding trips to CostaRica. King Vulture is regular and various other species are also possible, hawk-eagles included.
Even so, he still knew many species and always yearned to learn about the wildlife he encountered. There were also grouse, the Ruffed Grouse , and like so many other species, it just seemed impossible that I would ever see one. One such surprising experience happened with grouse.
There are three species of crow-like cotingas with odd hairdos known as umbrellabirds, the Bare-necked Umbrellabird is the one that lives in CostaRica. Ruffs from Israel, the one in CostaRica kind of looked like the top bird. Emerald Tanager -one of several beautiful tanagers that live in CostaRica.
December is not the ideal month for bird counts, at least not in CostaRica. Yes, we do have warm, tropical weather and a fancy assortment of resident and wintering species. However, in CostaRica, despite being wonderfully warm in December, the birding isn’t as straightforward as one might expect.
In our neck of the woods, marking Common Pauraque as the first species of the day, attempting to identify shorebirds in the dark of the night (not easy.), Restrictions in CostaRica keep us from driving on Saturday and that’s why we are doing all of our birding from home. and listening for owls just before dawn.
Howell and Dale Dyer and Birds of CostaRica by Dale Dyer and Steve N. An associated issue is that the Belize and CostaRica guides share many of the same descriptions of species, written by Howell. Similarly, descriptions of species repeated across volumes do not lose their accuracy with each publication.
I have just returned from CostaRica, the country about which I knew very little, despite it coming under my radar all the way back in 1999 when the “Africa – Birds & Birding” magazine published some of John Graham’s experiences from his visit in 1993. CostaRica, here I come! Does a baby go goo?
In CostaRica, although I did spend a memorable one years ago in the Osa Peninsula where flocks of parrots flew into the mangroves while we feasted on turkey, pie, and the works, we have no actual Wild Turkeys , nor an official Thanksgiving. That last little bit is also why we call it “Turkey Day”! Ain’t I great?
This is also why so many of the birding tribe travel to watch birds, a good number of which eventually make it to CostaRica. Like Resplendent Quetzals … A good number of birders who make it to CostaRica visit a small, roadside diner located in the middle elevations of the Caribbean slope. Check out the toucanets.
It would be uber cool to lay eyes on a rare lifer, on species that only seem to live on the pages of a field guide but isn’t that somewhat discriminatory? And why spend time only looking for one or two species when those hours could be used to put binos focused on a few dozen? Aren’t all birds worth watching?
It was easy enough to participate, all anyone had to do was watch birds and record the number of species identified using eBird. CostaRica is one of those places. One of my favorite birding shirts from CostaRica, this was from a Christmas Count near Sam Ramon and yes, Speckled Tanagers were seen. Starting late.
The prospect of identifying a certain number of species in a given amount of time pushes us to pay more attention to birds no matter what the circumstances (although I suggest keeping the exclamations about species identifications to yourself during such solemn situations as funerals, graduations, and watching episodes of The Sopranos).
CostaRica enjoys an international reputation as an iconic birding location, bursting with epic Neotropical species and breathtaking natural attractions. Understandably, certain lodges have, over the years, come to be associated with the Costa Rican birding circuit.
Northern Emerald Toucanets in CostaRica are sometimes considered a separate species known as the Blue-throated Toucanet. I was reminded of that fact on June 23rd during the first official bird count at the Locos por el Bosque Reserve in Montserrat de Coronado, CostaRica. This bad boy beauty isn’t even rare!
These are the summer months of the northern hemisphere and yet this time of year in CostaRica is known as the “invierno”, Spanish for “winter” However, no matter how adapted I become to the local culture, I just can’t use that word in CostaRica. Sound nice?
In CostaRica, October is our May. We might not get the variety of a New Jersey autumn but we do get major numbers of species that winter in South America. However, this year, we opted for a site that could also give a chance at Great Jacamar and a few other key resident species in addition to migrants.
Eddy Rabbitt sang about loving a rainy night but in CostaRica, hummingbirds love a rainy day. Despite spending my fair share of soggy birding days in the tropics, I hadn’t realized just how much hummingbirds do love the rain until a recent experience at the Catarata del Toro , central CostaRica.
That might not sound like much but trust me, in CostaRica, this is major. If you can drag yourself away from the feeder, walk the trail and you might get lucky with Uniform Crake while looking at Rufous-tailed Jacamars , wrens, Olivaceous Piculet , wintering wood warblers, Barred Antshrike and various other species.
It was that way for my first Indigo Bunting (a male that absorbed all light and sang in morning wet forests of northeastern Pennsylvania in 1979), and my first Brown Noddy seen from a ferry in CostaRica earlier this year. However, it was also one that I never expected to see in CostaRica.
“CostaRica borders two oceans. The country has a healthy list of pelagic species. There are no pelagic trips” That ironic pseudo-haiku almost sums up pelagic birding in CostaRica. No mere pipit, this buy breaks with tern tradition by sporting a crazy red bill and a long, white moustache.
This is why the Yellow Warblers and Baltimore Orioles of summer don’t linger to experience October 31st, and even late fall migrants like kinglets and sparrows move to slightly warmer regions. Many of them come to CostaRica because even when it rains, it never really gets cold this far south of the Tropic of Cancer.
CostaRica led the charge long ago to define what ecotourism could really look like. What then does it take for an ecolodge to bring something fresh and new to the current array of Costa Rican destinations? You’ll find multiple species of each on the property. Destinations CostaRica eco-lodge Finca Luna Nueva'
Our trip to CostaRica has come to an end, and sadly, it ended with one of the best weeks of birding in the entire year. There is no way this week could have been as excellent as it was without a huge amount of help from the CostaRica Birders and their “network”. I am saving the quetzal story for the end of this posting.
At least most of the resident species can still be seen right along the road, you just have to keep an eye out for cyclists and vehicles on their way up and down the volcano. The following examples are some of the birding experience that awaits on Poas Volcano, CostaRica: The Voices of Understory Birds.
21%: CostaRica. The high position of CostaRica comes as no surprise and yet, with more than one fifth of the total votes, I was a bit surprised how strong its 1st place is. Interestingly, the respondents felt no need to further elaborate why, presuming that everyone knows why they should bird CostaRica.
Whatever the case, there are some serious quality birds lurking in the wetlands and woodlands of Cano Negro, CostaRica. Cano Negro is one of CostaRica’s two largest wetlands. Different types of marshes form, different types of birds use them, and some of them are ones very hard to come by elsewhere in CostaRica.
In this first installment, I will focus on my impressions and experiences in the highlands portion of our tour. Many Nearctic species and families reach their southern terminus in the Northern Central American Highlands, such as Common Raven , Red Crossbill , Steller’s Jay , and even Brown Creeper. We were off to a great start.
In the northern hemisphere, the combination of migrants, resident species, and higher frequency of bird song makes it much easier to identify more birds, compared to say, August, so if you want to get really crazy and go for a Big Day record, spring is the time to go for it. They got all three potoo species in CostaRica.
I reside in CostaRica, the country is roughly the same size as West Virginia, but I rarely make it to some parts of this birdy nation. It’s not just wonderful because there’s all sorts of species to look for, including a few for which distributions in CostaRica are more or less restricted to that region.
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