I just came back from a 2 week trip to Costa Rica. Although it was not a birding trip, I did try to see some interesting birds without annoying the other 5 non-birders in our group of 6. We went to a few different locations, including Arenal Volcano / La Fortuna area, Cano Negro, Monteverde Cloud Forest, Palo Verde and Tamarindo.
It was my first time in Costa Rica and I was overall very impressed by everything. The respect the Costa Ricans have for the environment is inspiring. There is lush vegetation everywhere and the people are proud of the abundance of trees and wildlife. The people were extremely friendly and the local foods were delicious everywhere we went.
Here are a few of the highlights for the first 3 days of our trip.
Arenal Volcano / La Fortuna area
We had a river running behind the hotel, with lush rainforest surrounding it.
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| River behind our hotel in La Fortuna |
The vegetation was amazing. Here are just a few of the birds I found right on the hotel property during our 3 day stay in La Fortuna.
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Montezuma Oropendola - I love their song!
La Fortuna - Costa Rica (Dec 2018) |
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Keel-billed Toucan
La Fortuna-Costa Rica |
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Black-crowned Tityra (F)
La Fortuna - Costa Rica |
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Yellow-throated Toucan
La Fortuna - Costa Rica |
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White-collared Manakin (F)
La Fortuna - Costa Rica |
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Olive-backed Euphonia
La Fortuna - Costa Rica |
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Streak-headed Woodcreeper
La Fortuna - Costa Rica |
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Rufous-tailed Jacamar
La Fortuna - Costa Rica |
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Yellow-olive Flycatcher
La Fortuna - Costa Rica |
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Scarlet-rumped Tanager (Passerini's)
La Fortuna, Costa Rica |
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Bare-throated Tiger-Heron
La Fortuna - Costa Rica |
We went for a nature tour that brought us to see Three-toed Sloths in the wild. When our guide found out I was interested in birds, he was king enough to also stop at many places for birds and he was very knowledgeable. We did see lots of sloths: 1 Two-toed Sloth and about 6 Three-toed Sloths. And we also saw many birds that morning.
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Three-toed Sloth with baby
La Fortuna area |
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Black-cowled Oriole
La Fortuna / Arenal - Costa Rica |
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| Gray Hawk - La Fortuna - Costa Rica |
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| Squirrel Cuckoo - La Fortuna, Costa Rica |
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| White-necked Jacobin - La Fortuna, Costa Rica |
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Rufous-tailed Hummingbird
La Fortuna, Costa Rica |
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Green Thorntail
La Fortuna, Costa Rica |
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Green Honeycreeper
La Fortuna, Costa Rica |
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Grayish Saltator
La Fortuna, Costa Rica |
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Black-headed Saltator
La Fortuna, Costa Rica |
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| Palm Tanager - La Fortuna, Costa Rica |
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Buff-throated Saltator
La Fortuna, Costa Rica |
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Red-throated Ant Tanager
La Fortuna, Costa Rica |
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Scarlet-rumped Cacique
La Fortuna, Costa Rica |
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| Collared Aracari - La Fortuna, Costa Rica |
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| Blue-gray Tanager - La Fortuna, Costa Rica |
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Red-legged Honeycreeper
La Fortuna, Costa Rica |
Cano Negro - Boat Tour on the Rio Frio
We did a boat tour on the Rio Frio in the Cano Negro region. It was great to see lots of Caimans, Basilisks and Spider Monkeys. And of course, many bird species as well.
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| Spectacled Caiman - Rio Frio, Costa Rica |
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| Basilisk - Rio Frio, Costa Rica |
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Basilisk, also called the Jesus Christ lizard
for its ability to run on the surface of water
Rio Frio - Costa Rica |
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| Green Kingfisher, Rio Frio- Costa Rica |
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| Spider Monkey - Rio Frio, Costa Rica |
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| Sungrebe - Rio Frio, Costa Rica |
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Russet-naped Wood-Rail
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| Prothonotary Warbler - Rio Frio, Costa Rica |
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| Ringed Kingfisher - Rio Frio, Costa Rica |
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| Mangrove Swallow - Rio Frio, Costa Rica |
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| Amazon Kingfisher - Rio Frio, Costa Rica |
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| Great Potoo - Rio Frio, Costa Rica |
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| Great Potoo |
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| Northern Jacana - Road to Rio Frio |
We left the Arenal area on January 1st to go start the year in my favourite spot of the trip, the Monteverde Cloud Forest (coming up in Part 2)
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