This magnifcent Bare-necked Umbrellabird at Arenal was our inevitable bird-of-the-trip (all photos taken on this tour by Pete Morris unless otherwise indicated) ULTIMATE COSTA RICA 31 MARCH – 22 APRIL 2017 LEADER: PETE MORRIS It had been a while since I’d been to this great birding destination. Indeed 15 years had passed since my pre- vious visit with my late great friend Paul Coopmans, so it was a pleasant surprise to be asked to return to this wonderful country. Much had changed – it’s now a far more affuent and modern country, but still impeccably clean and friendly. Many new sites are now available, and in the intervening years, our average bird list has increased by nearly 20%!! I knew I’d have my work cut out to get up to speed, but I can proudly report that with the help of our very capable driver, a few excellent local guides, great help from my colleague Dani, and an excellentgroup, we did very well. Indeed this year’s Ultimate Costa Rica tour was, yet again, a highly success- ful visit to this wonderful country. As with all Birdquest tours, we focused on fnding the specialities rather than building a big list, though we still ended up recording an impressive 590 species between us, including just a handful that were heard only. This included a high percentage of the country’s specialities that were on offer on our itinerary. With its three endemic bird areas, regional endemism is a strong infuence in the Costa Rican 1 BirdQuest Tour Report: Ultimate Costa Rica 2017 www.birdquest-tours.com It wasn’t just about the rarities! More widespread species such as Sunbittern were equally appreciated! avifauna, and many of these charismatic species were among the tour highlights. Picking out the highlights from nearly 600 species is never easy, but one bird really did stand out – the unexpected superb sighting of a Bare-necked Umbrellabird which was inevitably our bird-of-the-trip! Other cotingids also delighted! Three-wat- tled Bellbirds have to be seen (and heard) to be believed, Yellow-billed and Snowy Cotingas showed well and colour was added by Turquoise and Lovely Cotingas. Nightbirds did us proud, with fantastic views of superb species such as Bare-shanked Screech Owl, Crested Owl and Dusky Nightjar. Our 42 species of humming- birds included an incredible encounter with a White-tipped Sicklebill, antswarms were attended by such char- ismatic species as Ocellated Antbird and Northern Barred Woodcreeper, and we enjoyed fne encounters with skulkers such as Thicket and Streak-chested Antpittas. But then who can forget the fashy Sunbitterns, the showy Sungrebes, the displaying Long-tailed Manakins, the amazing Snowcaps or the unique Zeledonia? Or the amazing quail-doves and variety of crakes and rails, and three species of wood-quail at point blank range!! Oh, and then there was the Resplendent Quetzal… just dazzling! In fact there were far too many highlights, so I’d better get on with the report!! Having gathered at our pleasant hotel outside of San José, we kicked off the tour with an early start and a bit of a damp squib, as most nightbirds refused to reveal their presence in the cold mountain air at Vólcan Irazú. Indeed, as the sun rose, we had little to show for our efforts other than the distant calls of a Dusky Nightjar. The daylight came quickly, and very soon we began exploring the forest patches, canyons and paramo on the lower slopes of the mighty Irazú. And very quickly the specialities came… Sooty Thrushes, Black-billed Night- ingale-Thrushes and Large-footed Finches hopped along the road, whilst the gulleys held Hairy Woodpeckers, Mountain Elaenias, wonderful Black-cheeked and Flame-throated Warblers and our frst Yellow-winged Vireo. Higher up, it didn’t take long to fnd some Volcano Juncos on the road, Black-capped Flycatchers ficked along 2 BirdQuest Tour Report: Ultimate Costa Rica 2017 www.birdquest-tours.com Two highlights from our frst morning out: Volcano Junco and Flame-throated Warbler. the hedges, numerous displaying Volcano Hummingbirds were present and other high altitude specialities we enjoyed included Fiery-throated Hummingbird, singing Timberline Wrens, Mountain Thrush, Slaty Flowerpierc- er and several groups of Sooty-capped Bush Tanagers. Moving on, our progress was somewhat hampered by a fre, meaning that we could not get to our intend- ed destination, so ‘plan b’ was activated and we sat down for an early lunch. Eucalypts burn well, and after lunch the fre was still burning, the road still closed, but Luis managed to fnd a detour and we arrived at our unimpressive looking site with not much time on our hands. Fortunately, we soon found the scarce Cabanis’s Ground Sparrow, a Costa Rica endemic (having being split from Prevost’s Ground Sparrow) and gained some excellent views of this charming bird. Most other species were largely ignored in my focus on the sparrow, but we did also enjoy our frst Cabanis’s Wrens as well as Finsch’s Parakeets, Variable Seedeaters (of the Blackish form) and Buff-throated and Greyish Saltators. Having lost time to the fre, we were soon on our way again, continuing our journey to the foothills of the Talamanca Mountains and to Rancho Naturalista. With only one night at Rancho Naturalista, we were keen to get there in time to witness the hummingbird pools in action, and we arrived just in time to do so. For the next hour or so we watched a procession of birds visiting the stream, and these included our frst fabulous Snowcaps, an obliging pair of Tawny-throated Leaftossers, Wood Thrush, Kentucky Warbler and a number of other hummingbirds such as Green Hermit, Crowned Woodnymph and Black-eared Fairy. It was already quite dark at the secluded pools, and many of the above birds were actually watched in the spotlight! Our pre-dawn start the next morning saw us enjoying coffee and snacks on the veranda before making our way down to the moth lamp with our excellent local guide, Harry. It was a strange spectacle as we watched moth-savvy birds taking advantage of the easy pickings. Plain-brown and Spotted Woodcreepers, Buff-throat- ed Foliage-gleaner, Plain Antvireo, Red-throated Ant Tanagers, Yellow-bellied and Slaty-capped Flycatchers, White-breasted Wood Wren, Kentucky Warbler and Orange-billed Sparrows all made many visits, coming right out into the open on occasions. It took a while, but eventually our main target, the localized near-endemic Tawny-chested Flycatcher, made an appearance, and showed extremely well. We then explored the forest for a while, soon fnding confding Dull-mantled Antbirds, Rufous Mourner, and an unusually cooperative North- ern Schiffornis. White-ruffed and White-crowned Manakin proved easy to fnd though the singing Zeledon’s Antbirds proved a little more tricky. Canada and Golden-crowned Warblers showed up along with a Brewster’s Warbler (hybrid Golden-winged x Blue-winged Warbler), and we spent some time playing hide-and-seek with a pair of Purplish-backed Quail-Doves which kept wondering off every time we saw them! With a number of good birds in the bag, we returned for a hearty breakfast, and having packed up and said goodbyes, Harry took us to a couple of nearby birding spots. One of these proved to be a trip highlight as a stunning pair of Sunbitterns 3 BirdQuest Tour Report: Ultimate Costa Rica 2017 www.birdquest-tours.com Two of the tour’s early specialities... the endemic Cabanis’s Ground Sparrow and the localized Tawny-chested Flycatcher. attended their chicks in a nest, even doing the full wing fashing in response to some Black Phoebes in the riv- er. Wow!! Nearby, we found the localized White-throated Flycatcher, which soon gave good views in the scope, as well as Olive-crowned and Grey-crowned Yellowthroats, Passerini’s Tanagers and our only Black-headed Saltators of the trip. We then continued our journey back towards Cartago before making our way up the Pan-American highway. The gloomy skies and rain that had been threatening was now upon us, and as we made our way up onto Cerro de la Muerte, it really was a pretty gloomy picture. We paused at Paraiso Quetzales, and enjoyed some wet Admirable and Fiery-throated Hummingbirds, and as the rain beat down, continued on to the lovely Savegre Hotel. The rain had lightened a little, and some of us ventured out for a while, enjoying the antics of Acorn Woodpeckers and Flame-coloured and Silver-throated Tanagers at the feeders, Yellow-thighed Finches The gorgeous Fiery-throated Hummingbird... one of the best! 4 BirdQuest Tour Report: Ultimate Costa Rica 2017 www.birdquest-tours.com We were delighted to fnd a family of Spotted Wood Quails. hopping around on the ground, and smart Long-tailed Silky Flycatchers, and we also found Stripe-tailed Hum- mingbirds and Grey-tailed Mountain-gems feeding on the copious fowers in the garden. Early the following morning, we again explored close to our hotel. The lovely gardens and numerous birds were impressive. Slaty Flowerpiercers, Yellowish Flycatchers and Ruddy-capped Nightingale-Thrushes played in the fowers, Blue-throated Toucanets and a Black Guan searched for fruit, a pair of Dark Pewees posed nicely, Scintillant Hummingbirds were seen, and before long we found our frst stunning Resplendent Quetzal. Now that really is a bird that makes an impression, no wonder Roger Tory Peterson called this “the most beautiful bird in the New World”! Not far from there we found a pair of Spotted Wood Quails looking after their four chicks and enjoyed remarkably intimate views of these stunning birds.