Reflections from the trip

 Five years ago we took our first trip to Costa Rica, in early March. During the 10 days we were gone, and largely without internet to keep ourselves updated, the world changed as the pandemic swept through. We were stunned by the changes when we returned, including having our youngest back from college; his campus closed while we were away. 

This year it also feels as though the world has changed in the ten days we have been away, although this time we have been keeping up with at least some of the news daily. I suspect we will still be shocked at the changes upon our return. 

The natural beauty of Costa Rica continues to amaze me. I’ll admit it was easier to appreciate the beauty once the sun came out! Being on my feet in clean (if not dry) air and mostly in secluded places was rejuvenating. I also appreciate the activity of wildlife watching, particularly bird watching. Birdwatching requires you to be completely “present” in the moment as you never know when a leaf will twitch to reveal a new creature is amazing beauty. This week, having a reason to be “present” during essentially all daylight hours had been an extra blessing. It reduced the aimless and unproductive fretting that might otherwise have taken me. 

Throughout the trip we met fascinating people, all of whom are, in their own ways, preserving wild places and wildlife for future generations. Many of the private reserves we visited were quite modest; a reminder that we can all make a difference by starting where we can, rather than taking that only grand scales matter.

Final day in Costa Rica

 January 28

As tomorrow is a travel day, today was our final nature day of the trip. We started with a pre-breakfast walk near the lodge. This contributed two new bird species— it is incredible that Costa Rica is so rich in birds that the same places have new things to offer on successive days! 

After breakfast we drove to a wetlands and lake formed  by a hydroelectric power station. We walked there for several hours. We saw some fascinating behaviors, particularly of shore birds chasing one another, presumably to protect nesting sites. We also saw not one but two Great Potoo, affectionately called “stick birds”.  The Potoo is a nocturnal species related to ftogmouths and its coloration looks like tree bark, which makes them hard to find.  So of course that makes them a birdwatching treasure. 

After lunch we walked through the nearby forest. We spent a long time trying to coax little wrens to come see us, with only marginal success — small, shy, dark colored birds against leaf matter and shadows make viewing very difficult. Our local birding guide, Steve, was remarkable and patient. On the other hand we had a great view of a mottled owl, low to the ground and awake. We also saw two endemics plus a king vulture flying over head.

All in all it was a beautiful day both weather-wise and for birding.  We finished the trip with 236 bird species sighted, of which 30 were new. 

Pictured:  summer tanager, great potoo (he’s looking to the left), tawny-chested flycatcher (a Costa Rican endemic), unknown beetle, mottled owl, red-tailed squirrel 

81 species plus one

 January 27 

What a day!  Our alarm clock was a disgruntled cow mooing loudly at 5:15. We awoke to bright blue skies and a few puffy clouds (what Bob Ross would call “happy little clouds”). We spent the day with a local guide, who was wonderful. On walks before breakfast and between breakfast and lunch on the extensive property of the lodge, we saw 72 different species of birds. This included four new species and some excellent views of elusive species we’ve seen before. We did also get to see another Tayra, this time with cameras ready! The mountain meadow views reminded us of the beginning scene in The Sound of Music. 

In the afternoon we drove to a small local river to look for Sunbitterns. Sunbitterns are riverside birds that skulk along in the shady spots. While they have great camouflage to blend in with the shoreline rocks, when they extend their wings they expose extremely colorful patterns. This makes them a prime objective for bird watchers. We went to two spots along the river and hunted for quite a while until we found one. We then followed as he wandered up and down the far shore. A second Sunbittern appeared. After some extended courtship behaviors, we were privileged to watch them mate (which includes the male extending its wings). We saw 8 other species that we had not seen in the morning, bringing the day’s total to 81 birds plus a tayra! 

Pictured: sunbittern, tayra, white-collared manakin, mountain meadow, orange-billed sparrow 

Hummingbirds!

 January 26

Today was basically a travel day, moving from the Sarapiqui area to Rancho Naturalista, south and east of San Jose.  Our guide Jimmy, of course, found two interesting places for us to stop along the way. Both had sheltered areas with feeders.  The shelter was important; we awoke to (gasp) sunny skies but it didn’t last long. The rest of the day was a bit unsettled.  However most of the heavy rain was while we were in the car.

The first stop was a small (5 hectares) property along a stream and just off the main highway from the east side of the mountains towards San Jose. It bordered on a very large national park; despite the road noise, had many birds in its gardens (with native plants to attract hummingbirds) and along its woodland trails.  

The second stop was essentially a man’s backyard, where he has several kinds of feeders. He told us that he has always loved birds: in his youth he caught them to keep in cages. Now he feeds them in the “wild” and invites guests in to see them. His house is completely open, with an open air atrium in the center. One of the smallest hummingbirds, the stripe-throated hermit, actually hangs out in the kitchen where they have a special feeder for him… to protect him from being bullied by the larger hummingbirds. He also told us a story about a sloth they rescued when it was young. Three years later, they watched it mate and it brought its newborn baby to show them! 

After lunch we drove southeast and up into the mountains surrounding the Central Valley.  We made two quick stops to see three-toed sloths, as we will likely not see them again. Both were in trees right next to busy roads. A female was moving around as we watched, while the second was an older male who has lived in one of two trees for the past five years. Since sloths move through adjacent cecropia trees, if patches of woods get too small they can become trapped in a tiny territory. It felt sad to see them in such an environment.

Rancho Naturalista sits at about 2500 feet, high above the Central Valley. It was  established in 1986 and has been a birding mecca ever since. The bird list they provided has 413 entries! 

Throughout the day, we saw many familiar birds and some new ones. The birding highlight of the day was seeing new hummingbird species at both of our stops and also at Rancho Naturalista.  The non-birding highlight was to get a really good view of a tayra. Tayras are in the weasel family, and usually they appear as a fast moving shadow on the trunk of a tree in the deep forest. At Rancho Naturalista the tayras have developed a taste for the bananas that are set out for the birds — which meant we watched one stroll across the edge of the lawn!  We were so mesmerized we forgot to take photos. We hope we will get another chance. 

Pictured: broad-billed motmot with lunch, rufous-tailed hummingbird, crowned wood nymph, the female and male (with a black stripe) three-toed sloths,  stripe-breasted wren 

Three very different gardens

 January 25

Weather has been a defining feature of this trip. We started the morning at La Selva research center and botanical gardens. We had visited La Selva on a dry hot afternoon in 2022. This morning we visited again in mist-drizzle-rain-pouring sort of day. Our guide told us that this part of Costa Rica has already received (as of January 24) the most rain in January for 30 years and that a few weeks ago most of the central area was flooded. 

Perhaps needless to say, we didn’t see as many birds as last time (they were hiding from the rain just as we were!) but we did see some quite interesting things— including coatis arguing high in a tree (coati are not usually seen high up in trees) and a family of white-collared peccaries. Just as you sometimes find a bird by hearing it first, you can find peccaries by smell— they are quite fragrant!  Though the bird viewing was minimal, we did see two new bird species.

Next we visited Pierella Gardens, a favorite spot from our 2021 visit. The owners, Cristal and William, bought an old cattle ranch near a large national park, and planted native plants to start raising butterflies. The new environment also attracted birds and frogs and other species. It is a wonderful wildlife oasis. The rain largely subsided while we were there and we enjoyed seeing many birds as well as bats, frogs, a small boa and a baby (3 month old) 3-toed sloth. The sloth has lived in Pierella all its young life, but yesterday it had wandered into the nearby neighborhood. Young boys playing soccer saw a dog worrying the sloth and came running to the gate of Pierella asking for help. The boys chased the dog away and Cristal brought the sloth “home”. It seemed very happy today.  Some of the boys have attended the educational program that Pierella runs, so they already have a mindset to care for the environment and its creatures. 

Our third stop of the day was almost as memorable as the macaw sanctuary yesterday. A local nature guy took us deep into a very muddy woodland in search of owls. Fortunately, he loaned us muck boots, as we were more than ankle deep in mud most of the time and had to ford a small river at one point. We saw a wonderful crested owl and then two spectacled owls.  Just as we got back into the van to travel back to his house, the heavens opened. We were so grateful that we weren’t still navigating the mud when the hard rain came!  We spent a wonderful hour in his backyard, which is set up to host birds and birders.  He is also an artist, and his paintings of the local birds were both beautiful and very accurate. 

Pictured: spectacled owls, crested owl, baby sloth, long-billed hermit (hummingbird) in its nest, female helmeted basilisk, today’s woodland trail, imperator boa, white-collared peccaries. 

Gardens and Macaws

 January 24

Today was a day of two very different parts. This morning we drove to La Fortuna, the town closest to the Arenal volcano. We walked through a small nature reserve (mostly in the rain) with the owner helping us to find sloths, basilisks and poison dart frogs. Every day he walks the reserve and puts out flags to alert visitors where to look up to find a sloth.  This morning we saw five sloths (2 two-toed and 3 three-toed including one with a baby). They were all high in the trees and wet from the rain— so imagine furry coconuts with no visible faces. Still, it’s fun that there are so many.  We also saw red and green-and-black poisons dart frogs (really tiny ones, as the bigger ones are popular prey for some of the local birds). We also saw Pygmy tent-making bats and a couple of new bird species (and a lot of familiar ones). 

After lunch we drove south and east towards Sarapiqui. We drove past many pineapple fields; Costa Rica is currently #1 in the world for the production of pineapple. However, it requires so many nutrients that a given field only last for two years and then has to be switched to growing beans to put nitrogen back into the soil. 

At the end of a muddy road and after another deluge, we arrived at a farm in the middle of nowhere. Cows in the fields, chickens running around everywhere, and scores of macaws squawking from the trees. Oh yes, it is a macaw reserve! No fences; the macaws fly freely and eat naturally in the surrounding area, although they come back in the late afternoon for a snack of peanuts, which allows people like us to photograph them. The owner started with rescuing 4 scarlet and 4 great green macaws about 35 years ago. 5 years ago they tried to count them all— the estimate is 80, including a few hybrid ones. The birds are clearly very healthy and choose to stay in the area.

Pictured: scarlet macaw, great green macaw, pigmy tent-making bats, yellow tyrannulet, red poison dart frog, green-and-black poison dart frog 

Cano Negro

 January 23: Cano Negro

Today’s main activity was a 2.5 hour boat ride in Cano Negro - Rio Frio National Park. It had rained torrentially overnight, but the skies showed signs of clearing after breakfast. To get to Cano Negro we had two choices: 2 hours by main roads or 1.3 hours by more scenic backroads. We chose the short cut, and what an adventure that turned out to be! The road itself was pretty rough, and as we proceeded (in occasional rain squalls) we encountered flooded sections and a tour bus that had gotten stuck trying to go up a wet, red clay incline. While passing some roadside meadows we saw at least one new bird — it was also new for our guide, Jimmy.

The boat ride at Cano Negro was very interesting, in part because the water level is so high that the river now goes right into the adjacent farms, and there is really no riverbank or shallow water for the shorebirds and caimans that are the usual highlights of such a trip. Instead we saw three kinds of monkeys, kingfishers, herons, a two-toed sloth and some long-nosed bats.

Two of the monkey viewings were particularly good: a rare local orange-colored howler monkey named Cesar, and a spider monkey with a very tiny infant.  The bats included a nursing infant, quite a sight to see!  Last night at Tapir Valley we also had great bat viewings: a bat methodically eating the seeds from an anise plant, and a feeding frenzy of fruit bats when a banana was put out on the deck railing.

We drove back along the main roads (once was enough on that shortcut!). The fields on either side of the initial roadway were flooded, creating the environment for and the viewings of the shorebirds we had missed on the river itself. 

Pictured: Cesar, green basilisk lizard, high river level, white-winged becard with lunch, long-nosed bats with a (darker) baby peeking out, spider monkey with lunch

Tapir Valley

 January 22: Tapir Valley

We spent much of today at Tapir Valley, a private nature reserve in a mountain valley an hour from Arenal. We had visited Tapir Valley on our 2022 trip, but only for a very misty morning. Today we were better prepared (in keeping with the expression that “there is no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing”). The reserve provides muck boots, and with our rain pants and ponchos we were all set for the occasional downpours and the flooded trails.

A word about weather: normally by now the rains have stopped for at least a month, leaves have fallen from the trees, and flowers are in bloom. This year it has been raining since October, so much so that the Central Valley vegetable crops have largely failed and produce prices, especially tomatoes and potatoes, have skyrocketed.  In much of the rest of the country, normal patterns have been disrupted: the leaves are still on the trees, lakes are at 25-year highs, and flowers are delayed. 

Back to Tapir Valley. We waded through trails that were dry three years ago and there were many fewer hummingbirds (because of the lack of flowers)— but we still managed to see many wonderful birds over the course of the morning.  After lunch we returned to yesterday’s private garden… and saw more sloths! This time a mother and baby, almost unbearably sweet. The guides at the garden are high school students doing a summer internship on their path to training as nature guides. To judge from the four teenagers we met yesterday and today, it’s a great idea.

Then in the late afternoon we returned to Tapir Valley for a night walk… but while we waited for it to get dark we saw a tapir calmly feeding in the meadow. We must have watched her for at least a half hour. On the actual night walk we saw frogs and toads and two young fer-de-lance (an extremely poisonous snake). Fortunately they were just hanging out and didn’t seem interested in us. 

Pictured: mother and baby sloths, tapir, fer-de-lance, a trail from today, glass butterfly, yellow-eared toucanet 

A full day of wildlife

January 21 

Today was a full day of wildlife viewing. After breakfast (and a little birding) we went on a private 3-hour boat ride on the Bebedero River, which flows into the Palo Norte National Park. We saw some massive crocodiles, and many water and forest birds. Our boat pilot had an amazing eye for finding hidden creatures, including several basilisk lizards. And there were iguanas everywhere.

After lunch at the wharf, we started driving east (inland), past rice, sugar cane and tilapia farms. As we gained elevation the landscape became greener and more lush. We stopped along the side of the road to admire two sloths in nearby trees. 

We spent several hours at a private reserve. We admired birds that came to feed on bananas near the deck, and then walked trails in search of additional birds. The highlight was watching a young sloth navigate through small trees and shrubs, never more than 8 feet off the ground and often only a few feet from us. 

Tonight (and for the following two nights) we are staying in a very nice resort nestled into a mountain valley. Driving here felt a little like looking for Rivendell.

Pictured: young sloth, Black-throated Trogon, juvenile Bare-facedTiger Heron, American Crocodile 

Guanacaste, Costa Rica

January 20:

After a morning bird walk (amazing sighting of White-fronted Amazons) we were met by our wonderful guide Jimmy and our driver Jose. Today was originally supposed to be our travel day but we came down a day early to avoid a NY snowstorm. Jimmy arranged an impromptu activity for us, to visit Hacienda San Joachim, about an hour south of Liberia. The farm raises lemons to sell to Walmart, as well as raising chickens and cattle.  As a sideline they have a nature guide to take birders around the extensive property. We saw 47 species of birds today, including four new ones which is pretty amazing given that this is our fourth trip to Costa Rica! 

Pictured:  White-fronted Amazon (parrot), Paraguayan howler monkey, turquoise-browed motmot, and two nocturnal birds: lesser nighthawk, common Pauraque