Welcome to Birdquest
COSTA RICA
Saturday 5th March - Saturday 26th March 2011
Matt Denton
Blue-diademed Motmot (Matt Denton)
We recorded 569 species of birds during our very thorough tour of this birdy little republic. Lovely lodges with good food, good trails, and a steady procession of new birds make this a very enjoyable holiday, and this year was no exception. This tiny country is just twice the size of Wales (or twice the state of Massachusetts) yet holds five endemic bird areas and twelve different life zones. We visited the slopes of three different volcanos at different elevations for the many highland endemics and foothill specialties. The southwestern lowlands provide an entirely different suite of south Pacific slope endemics. Add to this the lowland Caribbean rainforest and the marshy floodplains of Palo Verde and Caño Negro, and the seasonal dry forest of Guanacaste. This year’s itinerary changes allowed participants taking only the main tour to also experience the remote San Gerardo field station where our Bare-necked Umbrellabird sighting once again secured its place as bird-of-the-trip. During the post-tour extension, newly added sites such as Palo Verde National Park, and Tenorio and Arenal Volcanos added such species as Thicket Tinamou, Jabiru, Keel-billed Motmot, Lovely Cotinga and Purplish-backed Quail-Dove to our enviable list of good birds. At least ten birds seen this tour are species of conservation concern as determined by Birdlife International with four of them listed as endangered (Great Green Macaw, Mangrove Hummingbird, Yellow-billed Cotinga and Black-cheeked Ant-Tanager). However, Great Green Macaws seem to be recovering in recent years, with several pairs at La Selva seemingly now in residence there year-round. In addition to the umbrellabird, special mention should be made of the superb collection of 7 species of cotingas seen this year, with Turquoise, Lovely, Yellow-billed and Snowy Cotingas all part of our cotingaquest. The Three-wattled Bellbird at close quarter giving off its loud, screeching bonk with wattles-a-wavin’ was certainly memorable! Other highlights were juicy sightings of Ruddy, Buff-fronted, Chiriqui, and Purplish-backed Quail-Doves, and antpittas that included Ochre-breasted, Thicket, Streak-chested and Scaled (for some). Costa Rica is a wonderful place to see wrens and our total of 21 species is proof of that. The spectacle of hummingbirds we experienced was often quite incredible with a total of 43 species seen during the tour. The mesmerizing iridescence of over 20 Fiery-throated Hummingbirds crowded around a set of highland feeders was a particular favourite. The Resplendent Quetzal was as always memorable along with such regional highland endemics as delightful Black-breasted Wood-Quails, Silvery-throated Jays, the strange Wrenthrush (Zeledonia), and the shy Buffy-crowned Wood-Partridge. In the Caribbean foothills, major highlights included the lovely Black-crested Coquette, Snowcap, and the near-endemic Tawny-chested Flycatcher. The south Pacific slope endemics represent the most threatened avifauna found during the tour due to their very small ranges, and include the endemic Mangrove Hummingbird, the localized White-crested Coquette, Golden-naped Woodpecker and the endemic Black-cheeked Ant-Tanager. We saw all these southern birds as well as White-tailed Emerald, Chiriqui Yellowthroat, the likely split Grey-striped Brush-Finch and more. During the extension at Caño Negro we saw the restricted-range Nicaraguan Grackle along with Rufescent Tiger-Heron, Sungrebe, Grey-headed Dove, Spot-breasted Wren, Ruddy-breasted Seedeater and Nicaraguan Seed-Finch. Finally, La Selva was once again a great finale with such highlights as Great Curassow, Slaty-breasted Tinamou, Guatemalan Screech-Owl, Chestnut-coloured and Rufous-winged Woodpeckers and Yellow-tailed Oriole.
