10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2021

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 Costa Rica and you will be looking at other birds but you can still get in some Caribbean slope birding.

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Costa Rica Puerto Rico Birds Owls 264

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 24, 2022

December is not the ideal month for bird counts, at least not in Costa Rica. Yes, we do have warm, tropical weather and a fancy assortment of resident and wintering species. However, in Costa Rica, despite being wonderfully warm in December, the birding isn’t as straightforward as one might expect.

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Costa Rica Eagles Blackbirds Species 250

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 15, 2020

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 Costa Rica.

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Costa Rica Birds Woodpeckers Species 264

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 13, 2021

12 species of cuckoos are on the Costa Rica bird list. Tortuguero- one of many excellent birding areas in Costa Rica. I can’t say the same for the other especially tough cuckoo in Costa Rica, the one and only Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo (or RVG as I like to call it). boat ride to Cocos Island.

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Costa Rica Panama Cats Washington 260

10,000 Birds

JUNE 8, 2019

” During migration, I also see Eastern Wood-Pewees in Costa Rica. Living in Costa Rica, 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.

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Costa Rica Species Birds New York 201

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 7, 2021

She also makes a mark with her small size, one of the smallest birds in Costa Rica. 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 Costa Rica. King Vulture is regular and various other species are also possible, hawk-eagles included.

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Costa Rica San Jose Birds Farming 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2021

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.

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Costa Rica Chickens Pennsylvania Litter 264

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 11, 2021

It takes a detour to reach Cano Negro Wildlife Refuge in Costa Rica but oh how the trip is worth it. An uncommon species in Costa Rica, 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.

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Costa Rica Wildlife Tennessee Owls 230

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2020

In Costa Rica, 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!

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Costa Rica Birds Thailand Farming 221

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 4, 2020

There are three species of crow-like cotingas with odd hairdos known as umbrellabirds, the Bare-necked Umbrellabird is the one that lives in Costa Rica. Ruffs from Israel, the one in Costa Rica kind of looked like the top bird. Emerald Tanager -one of several beautiful tanagers that live in Costa Rica.

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Costa Rica 2019 San Jose Eagles 197

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2019

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?

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Costa Rica Panama Birds Nicaragua 203

10,000 Birds

MARCH 21, 2015

Birders head to Costa Rica 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.

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Costa Rica Species South America America 218

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 26, 2017

I have just returned from Costa Rica, 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. Costa Rica, here I come! Does a baby go goo?

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Costa Rica San Jose Serbia Africa 186

10,000 Birds

MAY 12, 2018

It was easy enough to participate, all anyone had to do was watch birds and record the number of species identified using eBird. Costa Rica is one of those places. One of my favorite birding shirts from Costa Rica, this was from a Christmas Count near Sam Ramon and yes, Speckled Tanagers were seen. Starting late.

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Costa Rica 2018 Colombia Collecting 170

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 18, 2020

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).

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Costa Rica 2020 Morals Farming 262

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 28, 2015

In Costa Rica, 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?

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Costa Rica Turkey Ecuador Hunting 177

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2018

Northern Emerald Toucanets in Costa Rica 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, Costa Rica. This bad boy beauty isn’t even rare!

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Costa Rica San Jose Eagles Birds 140

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2018

These are the summer months of the northern hemisphere and yet this time of year in Costa Rica 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 Costa Rica. Sound nice?

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Costa Rica Birds Parrots Species 144

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 9, 2014

It rains a lot in Costa Rica. Yes, we do have a dry season but that only holds sway in certain parts of Costa Rica, and then there are those places that seem to be perpetually wet. Typical conditions when birding wet rainforest in Costa Rica.

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Costa Rica Birds Parrots Experiments 219

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 28, 2017

In Costa Rica, 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.

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Costa Rica Parrots Farming Birds 165

10,000 Birds

MARCH 7, 2015

Yes, the time had come to see how many of Costa Rica’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 Costa Rica. Green-breasted Mango.

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Costa Rica San Jose Zoos Owls 210

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2018

Whatever the case, there are some serious quality birds lurking in the wetlands and woodlands of Cano Negro, Costa Rica. Cano Negro is one of Costa Rica’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 Costa Rica.

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Costa Rica Chile Birds Owls 100

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2015

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 Costa Rica earlier this year. However, it was also one that I never expected to see in Costa Rica.

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Costa Rica Pennsylvania Birds North America 150

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 13, 2014

Eddy Rabbitt sang about loving a rainy night but in Costa Rica, 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 Costa Rica.

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Costa Rica Bears Shelters Experiments 157

10,000 Birds

JUNE 13, 2015

“Costa Rica 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 Costa Rica. No mere pipit, this buy breaks with tern tradition by sporting a crazy red bill and a long, white moustache.

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Costa Rica Birds Dolphins Rescue 157

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 17, 2018

That might not sound like much but trust me, in Costa Rica, 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.

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Costa Rica Owls Eagles Rights 126

10,000 Birds

APRIL 15, 2017

Knowing that I wouldn’t yell for him to come quick if we were seeing regular species like the endangered Great Green Macaw , toucans, or even a Bare-crowned Antbird , Robert wasted no time in racing down the stairs. The high mountains of Costa Rica and Panama are the realm of this royal bird. eBird helps with this.

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Costa Rica Albuquerque Eagles Rats 100

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 4, 2017

I reside in Costa Rica, 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 Costa Rica are more or less restricted to that region.

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Costa Rica West Virginia Panama Virginia 100

10,000 Birds

MAY 28, 2016

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 Costa Rica.

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Costa Rica Birds Israel Research Center 100

10,000 Birds

JULY 23, 2024

Fitz used his free time to observe the many hummingbirds in his mother’s flower garden and soon, with the help of the internet he was able to identify the various species. His interest soon grew to include other species of birds developing a love for wildlife and especially bird photography.

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Trinidad Costa Rica Panama Whales 196

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 18, 2021

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, Costa Rica: The Voices of Understory Birds.

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Costa Rica Birds Cows Hunters 262

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 21, 2018

Our trip to Costa Rica 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 Costa Rica Birders and their “network”. I am saving the quetzal story for the end of this posting.

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Costa Rica San Jose Chinchillas Family 190

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 26, 2021

The Arenal Observatory Lodge & Spa in La Fortuna de San Carlos, Costa Rica has a rich history as a birding-friendly eco-lodge. This also makes the Arenal Observatory Lodge an ideal location for wildlife observation in Costa Rica.

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Costa Rica Reptiles Mammals Research 155

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 27, 2018

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 Costa Rica because even when it rains, it never really gets cold this far south of the Tropic of Cancer.

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Costa Rica Bats Egypt Falcons 167

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 23, 2011

Costa Rica 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.

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Costa Rica San Jose Sanctuary Protection 172

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2019

21%: Costa Rica. The high position of Costa Rica 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 Costa Rica.

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Papua New Guinea America Costa Rica Sri Lanka 214

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2021

In 2012, I reviewed The Jewel Hunter , an absorbing narrative in which author Chris Goodie travelled throughout Asia, Africa, and Australasia to observe and photograph every Pitta species in the world. Hummingbird species, on the other hand, number in the hundreds.

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Costa Rica Brazil Bolivia Ecuador 264