Birding at Valley

Toucan Valley is located in an intermontane valley in the Southern Pacific Zone of Costa Rica. Elevation at the village varies from about 1,000 to 2,500 ft. (300- 600 mts.). The village itself sits on 30 acres of disturbed habitat comprising homes, gardens and roads. The village is surrounded by over 700 acres of primary rainforest. The birding here is primarily edge birding, which is among the most productive birding habitats anywhere.

The list presented here has been compiled over many years and in every season. There are currently 175 species on the list. The vast majority of the on the list are seen in the village proper. Also included here are birds you may see while coming up and down the road that connects Toucan Valley to the Costanera (Route 34) and along Route 34 between Palmar Norte and Uvita, which are the towns most of us use to shop. These species are printed in green. Generally, these are lowland species that don’t come up to our elevation.

Birding at Toucan Valley can be amazingly easy. My husband and I have seen over 100 species without even leaving our deck. However, there are several habitat types within the village: forest edge, disturbed scrubland, community vegetable garden, tended ornamental gardens and fruit forest. Each habitat has its characteristic birds, and you can increase your list by moving around.

Naturally, not everything is here all of the time. When you look at the list, many of the species will be very familiar to you if you are a North American birder. These are your breeding birds. They winter here or transit through here to go even further south to winter. But a Summer Tanager or a Baltimore Oriole is beautiful, no matter where you see it.

We recommend that you invest in a good field guide to the Birds of Costa Rica. The one by Richard Garrigues and Robert Dean has served us well. It is a Zona Tropical Publication and is available is both English and Spanish. You can find it on Amazon.com as well as other sellers of bird books. You can also find it for sale here in Costa Rica.

Birding in Costa Rica is strongly influenced by the great variety of elevations Costa Rica has. Near to us, we recommend a guided boat trip on the Sierpe River. There you will see lots of lowland birds including waders that aren’t on this list at all. Herons (including Boat-billed) Egrets, and Tiger-Herons. Also at lower elevations you may see easily some species that are much rarer in the village. Scarlet Macaw is a ready example.

Sandie Guthans, Toucan Valley Resident

Birds seen at and near Toucan Valley

*Common in at least one season Bold type = Endemic

Green = Not seen at Toucan Valley but at lower elevations close by. On the road up to the village or along the Costanera between Uvita and Palmar Norte

Little Tinamou *Orange-chinned Baird’s Trogon Crested Guan Parakeet Slaty-tailed Trogon Great Curassow *Crimson-fronted Gartered Trogon Cattle Egret Parakeet Blue-crowned Motmot *Gray-necked *Smooth-billed Ani Ringed Kingfisher Woodrail *Squirrel Cuckoo Belted Kingfisher *Black Vulture Pheasant Cuckoo Green Kingfisher *Turkey Vulture Common Paraque Amazon Kingfisher King Vulture Gray Martin Pygmy Kingfisher *Roadside *Spot-fronted Swift White-whiskered Mangrove Black Hawk *White-collared Swift Puffbird Great Black Hawk White necked Jacobin White-necked Puffbird Gray-lined Hawk *White-tipped *Lineated White Hawk Sicklebill Short-tailed Hawk *Long-billed Hermit Rufous-winged *Swallow-tailed Kite *Stripe-throated Woodpecker Mississippi Kite Hermit Pale-billed *Crested Scaly-breasted Woodpecker *Yellow-headed Hummingbird *Red-crowned Caracara Scintillant Woodpecker Laughing Falcon Hummingbird *Golden-naped *Bat Falcon *Purple-crowned Fairy Woodpecker Common Pauraque White-necked Jacobin Hoffman’s *Pale-vented Pigeon *Ruby-throated Woodpecker Short-billed Pigeon Hummingbird Olivaceous Piculet *White-tipped Dove Violet-crowned Black-striped *Ruddy Ground Dove Woodnymph Woodcreeper Blue Ground Dove Violet-headed Cocoa Woodcreeper Gray-headed Dove Hummingbird Wedge-billed *Scarlet Macaw Garden Emerald Woodcreeper *Brown-hooded *Charming *Fiery-billed Aracari Blue-headed Parrot Hummingbird *Black-Mandibled Red-lored Parrot *Rufous-tailed (Yellow-breasted) *White Crowned Hummingbird Toucan Parrot White crested Bicolored Antbird *Mealy Parrot Coquette Dusky Antbird Starthroat sp.

Chestnut-backed Black & White Becard *Shining Antbird Lesser Greenlet Honeycreeper *Plain Xenops Rufous-browed *Red-legged Cocoa Woodcreeper Peppershrike Honeycreeper Slaty Spinetail *Tropical Mockingbird *Bananaquit Black-hooded Tropical Gnatcatcher Rosy Thrush-tanager Antshrike *House Wren *Blue-black Grassquit Barred Antshrike Riverside Wren Yellow-faced Russet Antshrike Rufous-breasted Grassquit Southern Beardless Wren *Variable Seedeater Tyrannulet Philadelphia Vireo Collared Seedeater Yellow-belied Elaenia Red-eyed Vireo Yellow-bellied Mountain Elaenia Warbling Vireo Seedeater Slaty Antwren Yellow-throated Vireo Thick-billed Seedfinch Eye-ringed Flatbill Yellow-green Vireo *Yellow-faced Bright-rumped Atilla Northern Parula Grassquit Rufous Mourner *Black & White Orange-billed Piratic Flycatcher Warbler Sparrow Olive-sided Flycatcher *Chestnut-sided *Black-striped Yellow-olive Warbler Sparrow Flycatcher *Yellow Warbler *Buff-throated Saltator Dusky-capped American Redstart Streaked Saltator Flycatcher Golden-winged Blue-black Grosbeak Eastern Wood Pewee Warbler *Great-tailed Grackle Western Wood Pewee Yellow-throated *Baltimore Oriole Black Phoebe Warbler Chestnut-headed *Great Kiskadee *Buff-rumped Warbler Oropendola Piratic Flycatcher *Scarlet-rumped Yellow-crowned Common Tody Tanager Euphonia Flycatcher (Cherrie’s) Spot-crowned *Social Flycatcher *Blue-gray Tanager Euphonia Gray-headed *Palm Tanager Thick-billed Euphonia Flycatcher Summer Tanager Yellow-throated Boat-billed Flycatcher *Bay-headed Tanager Euphonia *Tropical *Golden-headed Western Kingbird Tanager Masked Tityra *Silver-throated Black-capped Tityra Tanager Northern Schiffornis Speckled Tanager White-ruffed Manakin White-shouldered Blue-crowned Tanager Manakin *Blue Dacnis Rufous Piha Scarlet-thighed *Clay-colored Dacnis Robin/Thrush Summer Tanager Swainson’s Thrush *Green Honeycreeper