THE BEST OF COSTA RICA MARCH 19–31, 2019 Buffy-crowned Wood-Partridge © David Ascanio LEADERS: DAVID ASCANIO & MAURICIO CHINCHILLA LIST COMPILED BY: DAVID ASCANIO VICTOR EMANUEL NATURE TOURS, INC. 2525 WALLINGWOOD DRIVE, SUITE 1003 AUSTIN, TEXAS 78746 WWW.VENTBIRD.COM THE BEST OF COSTA RICA March 19–31, 2019 By David Ascanio Photo album: https://www.flickr.com/photos/davidascanio/albums/72157706650233041 It’s about 02:00 AM in San José, and we are listening to the widespread and ubiquitous Clay-colored Robin singing outside our hotel windows. Yet, it was still too early to experience the real explosion of bird song, which usually happens after dawn. Then, after 05:30 AM, the chorus started when a vocal Great Kiskadee broke the morning silence, followed by the scratchy notes of two Hoffmann´s Woodpeckers, a nesting pair of Inca Doves, the ascending and monotonous song of the Yellow-bellied Elaenia, and the cacophony of an (apparently!) engaged pair of Rufous-naped Wrens. This was indeed a warm welcome to magical Costa Rica! To complement the first morning of birding, two boreal migrants, Baltimore Orioles and a Tennessee Warbler, joined the bird feast just outside the hotel area. Broad-billed Motmot . Photo: D. Ascanio © Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 2 The Best of Costa Rica, 2019 After breakfast, we drove towards the volcanic ring of Costa Rica. Circling the slope of Poas volcano, we eventually reached the inspiring Bosque de Paz. With its hummingbird feeders and trails transecting a beautiful moss-covered forest, this lodge offered us the opportunity to see one of Costa Rica´s most difficult-to-see Grallaridae, the Scaled Antpitta. For that, we walked the forest prior to dawn and, as the second morning opened to us with a dim light, we enjoyed spectacular views of this antpitta as it hopped on the ground. There was also a Tawny-throated Leaftosser inspecting dead leaves, as well as a shy Slaty-backed Nightingale-Thrush checking the bare ground of the trail. Later, a White-throated Spadebill started singing, and it was observed by all. Once back at the lodge for breakfast, it was time to observe the parade of hummingbirds visiting the feeders. It started with Black-bellied Hummingbirds and Violet Sabrewings. As the day warmed up, a tiny Magenta-throated Woodstar showed up flying like a bumblebee, an adaptation apparently to avoid being chased by the larger hummingbirds. When we met for our first field checklist session, we all agreed that the first day in this wonderful forest gave us an excellent introduction to the foothills of the Central Volcanic Ring of Costa Rica. Violet Sabrewing, Campylopterus hemileucurus . Photo: D. Ascanio © The following location was another wet-forest, but this one was located in the lowlands of the Pacific side of Costa Rica, at Carara National Park. But, before we started our drive, we learned from Mauricio that one of his colleagues had been posting photos of a bellbird singing, and that getting there implied a bit of a detour, but one that was worthy of doing! So, after an early breakfast we left Bosque de Paz right at dawn and drove to Los Angeles de San Ramon, where we met the local expert. He explained that the bellbird descends to the lowlands during the breeding season and, as he was giving some details of the bird’s natural history, we heard the long high-pitched whistle, “feeeeEE! feeEE! feeeEE!” followed by a sudden and explosive “CLONG!” With great excitement we walked to one of the males’ favorite perching sites, and within minutes there he was, perched on a bare branch for seconds, and then taking a short sally to another branch to continue singing for several minutes. After having scope views of this Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 3 The Best of Costa Rica, 2019 active male, we went to lunch at a local restaurant next to a mountain river where a pair of Sunbitterns provided us a dreamlike experience when one individual flew to a contiguous rock and showed us the rosette-like plumage of its wings. Sunbittern. Photo: David Ascanio © Having seen two of the most-wanted-to-see birds of Costa Rica, we continued to the Pacific lowlands of Costa Rica. Along the road we came across a flock of American Swallow-tailed Kites feeding on a fruiting tree, and later, once we were driving parallel to the coast, we added pelicans, frigatebirds, terns, and ibises to our field checklist. Carara National Park is another of Costa Rica’s gems. We never got bored seeing its birds and other wildlife. On the Quebrada Bonita Trail we were astonished to observe a Streak-chested Antpitta hopping in front of us. Further on, as we continued walking along the trail, a pair of Lesson’s Motmots showed up, a Yellow-throated Toucan moved silently in the forest canopy, and a good array of tyrant-flycatchers prompted mini-lectures about the importance of microhabitats in highly biodiverse regions. The forest understory was heaving with birds, pairs of Scarlet Macaws were flying over the forest, woodcreepers were singing, and warblers plus a parade of tanagers and honeycreepers showed up as part of a mixed species flock. This wonderful trail was also a great location to look for Orange-collared Manakins, Royal Flycatchers, White-whiskered Puffbird, Rufous-and-white Wren, Masked Tityra, and the astonishing Red- legged Honeycreeper. The following day found us on the famed Laguna Meandrica trail, and we added the near-endemic Baird’s Trogon (named after Spencer F. Baird), Dot-winged Antwren, and Dusky and Chestnut-backed antbirds, as well as Riverside Wren and an elusive Blue-black Grosbeak. From the Pacific lowlands we drove back to the volcanic ring of Costa Rica, this time to the road leading to the east slope of Poas volcano, and descended to La Paz Waterfalls for a lunch that seemed more like a feast than a regular lunch. Here we added more hummingbirds to our trip list, including Green Thorntail, Coppery-headed Emerald (endemic), Sooty-faced Finch, and Green Hermit. Continuing our Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 4 The Best of Costa Rica, 2019 way down the hill, we were now heading to the Caribbean side of Costa Rica, to the bird-rich lowlands of the Sarapiqui region. La Selva, also known as the OTS, was our location for seeing Great Green Macaws, and later on one of the reserve trails we came across Collared Peccaries and Strawberry Poison Dart Frogs. On a fruiting tree we enjoyed seeing euphonias, and for me this was a great opportunity to tell you about its diminutive stomach. A flock of Broad-winged Hawks were migrating, and we heard the forest yelper (Yellow- throated Toucan). We also nailed “periscoping” trogons, wrens singing, and realized that leaf-cutter ants were dropping the leaves due to the heat of the day. The morning ended with ice creams at La Selva gift shop and a well-deserved rest time. In the afternoon we took a boat trip to the Sarapiqui River where his majesty, the King Vulture, was seen soaring overhead. There were also Bay Wrens bathing, caimans and iguanas thermoregulating, and an array of Green Kingfishers and Spotted Sandpipers along the river’s edge. Yellow-throated Toucan. David Ascanio © Our second morning in La Selva allowed us to see more forest species, and we started the day with superb views of Rufous Piha, Fasciated Antshrike, and Broad-billed Motmot. The weather was different from that of yesterday, and a morning rainshower forced us to seek shelter under a roof near the reception area. There, a Bronze-tailed Plumeleteer was added to our trip list, and a vocal Eyering Flatbill was scoped. Eventually we walked the hanging bridge that crosses the Puerto Viejo River, and right at Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 5 The Best of Costa Rica, 2019 the scientist quarters we enjoyed views of Crested Guans, trogons, tanagers, and more tyrant- flycatchers. Once into the trail, we added Rufous Motmot, which was followed by a light rain, thus we had no other option than to use our umbrellas in the forest, wait for the rain to pass, and enjoy Nessum Dorma (from Turandot) out of my speaker. Once the rain had passed, we continued birding along the trail, and another magical moment of the tour followed when a pair of Great Tinamous were observed walking alongside the trail, with one of them singing softly. In the afternoon we drove to Cope’s house, a local artist who has a gift for finding owls and other wildlife. With Cope we took a couple of trails near his home where we saw Crested Owl and, later, a pair of Spectacled Owls. We ended the day in Cope’s garden where six species of hummingbirds were seen buzzing around us, from the decorative White- necked Jacobin to the diminutive Stripe-throated Hermit. Having birded the lowlands facing both sides of Costa Rica, it was time to explore a new region, the Talamanca Mountains. Along the drive from the Caribbean lowlands to the Cerro de la Muerte, we made a brief stop in the buffer zone of the Braulio Carrillo National Park where more spectacular hummingbirds were added: Snowcap, Black-crested Coquette, a territorial Violet- headed Hummingbird, and the colorful Crowned Woodnymph. Once along the mountain ridge, we admired the astonishing cloud forest by the side of the road and then started descending to San Gerardo de Dota, a place known as one of the best locations to look for Resplendent Quetzal. As we were driving down, we stopped in a known area for a nesting pair and—cowabunga!—a male came out of the nest showing his wonderful elongated tail coverts.