Costa Rica trip from January 15-25

Red headed Barbet, Savegre Lodge, San Gerardo de Dota, Costa Rica, Jan 16, 2018

 Long tailed Silky Flycatcher, Savegre Lodge, San Geradro de Dota, Costa Rica, Jan 16, 2018

 Collared Redstart, Savegre Lodge, San Geradro de Dota, Costa Rica, Jan 16, 2018

 Sooty capped Chlorospingus, Savegre Lodge, San Geradro de Dota, Costa Rica, Jan 16, 2018

 Black thighed Grosbeak, Savegre Lodge, San Geradro de Dota, Costa Rica, Jan 16, 2018

Spotted Wood Quail, Savegre Lodge, San Geradro de Dota, Costa Rica, Jan 16, 2018

Yellow throated Toucan (chestnut mandibled), Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 16, 2018

Back from yet another trip down to beautiful Costa Rica, which once again was exciting and relaxing at the same time.  The summary by the numbers is at the bottom of the post and there are a number of links to eBird lists (with lots more photos and audio clips) embedded within various parts of the post...enjoy!

Our original plan to make it down to San Jose by early afternoon and then make the drive through the city and up the mountain to San Gerardo de Dota were dashed as our flight down got delayed multiple times before finally leaving Florida around 3:30. This resulted in us arriving around 5:30 (about three hours late) and hitting the heart of the truly horrible traffic of San Jose. The trip took us over four hours (almost twice as long as it should have) and we went right to bed. The weather was cooler and rainier than typical for January both in San Jose and up into the mountains.

Thankfully the overnight rain had stopped when I got up at dawn and headed out the door. I initially walked along the road (which follows the Savegre River) and made it about a kilometer before I turned around as the noise of the river drowned out a lot of bird calls. All was not lost along the river as I heard a Resplendent Quetzal but just could not locate it. The rest of the morning I stayed around the grounds of the lodge plus did a hike down to some waterfalls along the Savegre. The lodge grounds provided some great looks at a variety of species from tanagers to barbets. The walk along the river was relatively quite until I ran into a group of five Spotted Wood Quail feeding right along the trail...easily the best looks I have had of any species of wood quail. I also added my first life bird for the trip with a Yellow thighed Grosbeak (#1326). Overall a quite productive morning at Savegre Lodge considering I did not go out with a guide.  As midday approached the drizzle became more steady but it didn't seem to effect the birds much at all. Our transportation showed up around noon and we started the just over two hour ride to Rio Magnolia, where we arrived mid afternoon and got to enjoy some birds during a short afternoon walk.

Three toed Sloth, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Jan 17, 2018

White nosed Coati, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Jan 17, 2018

Howler Monkey, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Jan 17, 2018

View toward northwest, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Jan 17, 2018

Tiger Rat Snake, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Jan 17, 2018

Bat Falcons, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Jan 17, 2018

Wednesday was the first of several days that I would spend exclusively around the lodge property. The day dawned with some clouds that quickly broke up and led to an overall sunny morning until the clouds rolled back in late morning. I walked out to the gate and back a couple times as well as hitting some more open areas. Birding highlights included a new life bird for me (#1327) with a pair of Yellow crowned Tyrannulets seen not far from the lodge. I also found a pair of Boat billed Flycatchers building a nest right next to our room. Lots of non bird activity too with mammal highlights including close up views of a Three toed Sloth, an Agouti, three Howler Monkeys (pair with young) and multiple Coati plus a very close view of a Tiger Rat Snake.  

Chuck Wills Widow, Casa Botanica, San Vito, Costa Rica, Jan 18, 2018

Looking south, Casa Botanica, San Vito, Costa Rica, Jan 18, 2018

Rufous capped Warbler, Casa Botanica, San Vito, Costa Rica, Jan 18, 2018

Speckled Tanager, Casa Botanica, San Vito, Costa Rica, Jan 18, 2018

Snowy bellied Hummingbird, Casa Botanica, San Vito, Costa Rica, Jan 18, 2018

Elegant Euphonia, San Vito, Costa Rica, Jan 18, 2018

On Thursday I met up with Andres very early for a trip down toward the Panama border near the town of San Vito. Early meant a very early wake up call to be out the door by 3:30 to meet Andres in San Isidro at 4:30 for a two hour plus ride down to San Vito. The main target of this trip was to find the Chiriqui Yellowthroat which is only found in a small portion of Costa Rica and nearby Panama. It is considered a separate species by some authorities but a subspecies of the more common Masked Yellowthroat by others. We made it to San Vito around six with our first stop being Casa Botanica (a small lodge with some trails) where I managed to add three life birds during our few hours there including a White naped Brush Finch, Chuck Wills Widow (which I oddly have never had in the US before) and Streaked Saltator (species #1328, 1329 and 1330). After a couple hours at Casa Botanica we headed down the road a few hundred meters to try a road that traversed some farm fields with the main targets being Bran colored Flycatcher and Chiriqui Yellowthroat. We caught up with the flycatcher rather quickly and got some distant views. The yellowthroat was a no show at the location but the habitat was not right for it and I have a feeling the reports from there were misidentifications of either Gray crowned Yellowthroat or Common Yellowthroat. We abandoned our search in the farm fields and headed to the nearby Wilson's Botanical Gardens. Although the gardens looked beautiful I think every piece of motorized equipment on site was running as the grounds crew cut the grass and worked on other projects. Not exactly conducive for finding birds! We decided at that point to ditch the gardens and instead head right over to the small marshes near the airport in search of my main target.

Chiriqui Yellowthroat, San Vito Airport marshes, Costa Rica, Jan 18, 2018

Common Yellowthroat, San Vito Airport marshes, Costa Rica, Jan 18, 2018

Northern Jacana, San Vito Airport marshes, Costa Rica, Jan 18, 2018

Chiriqui Yellowthroat habitat, San Vito Airport marshes, Costa Rica, Jan 18, 2018

Blue headed Parrot,  San Vito Airport marshes, Costa Rica, Jan 18, 2018

We arrived at the marshes past the small airport and noticed some great habitat for the yellowthroat but initially had some difficulty finding access until we came across a local family that had access to the marshes. Once we arrived at the marsh we quickly heard and saw at least three individuals which were quite vocal but would only pop into view briefly. Nonetheless I got a few shots of a male and looks at both males and females. I was very happy to finally catch up with this bird! They were also joined by a male Common Yellowthroat for a time. The marsh also contained some other great birds including some herons, Common Gallinule (two adults with a juvenile), Purple Gallinule, Northern Jacana, Blue winged Teal and Black bellied Whistling Ducks...a few of which were new species for me in Costa Rica. Our time there also produced a few Blue headed Parrots. By this point it was after noon so we stopped off in San Vito for lunch and that is when the skies opened up.

Crimson fronted Parakeet, road to San Vito, Costa Rica, Jan 18, 2018

Yellow bellied Tyrannulet, marsh near Buenos Aires Airport, Buenos Aires, Costa Rica, Jan 18, 2018

Green Heron, marsh near Buenos Aires Airport, Buenos Aires, Costa Rica, Jan 18, 2018

Tennessee Warbler, marsh near Buenos Aires Airport, Buenos Aires, Costa Rica, Jan 18, 2018

It continued to pour so we decided to try our luck heading back toward the main road. Enroute we made a couple of brief stops that produced a nice cross section of species including a couple of flyover Crested Oropendola near San Vito (species #1332). The rain tapered off as we continued driving and never started up again on us for the rest of the trip. Our last stop for the day was to a marsh near the town of Buenos Aires that produced another nice selection of birds including a calling Striped Cuckoo, a few Ruddy breasted Seedeaters and a cooperative Green Kingfisher.  Overall for the day we had a total of 119 species including five life birds for me (plus a few for Andres). I finally returned to the lodge around 6:30...just in time for another great dinner.

Northern Barred Woodcreeper, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 19, 2018

Bicolored Antbird, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 19, 2018

Roadside Hawk, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 19, 2018

Agouti, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 19, 2018

Friday was another full day around the lodge and I was out the door a little after 5:30 for another walk to the gate. An army ant swarm produced some species almost always associated with army ants including a group of Bicolored Antbirds and a Northern Barred Woodcreeper. Mammals for the day including Agouti and at least three Long nosed Coati (most seen together at once).

Red capped Manakin, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 20, 2018

Ruddy Quail Dove, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 20, 2018

Palm Tanager, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 20, 2018

Fiery billed Aracari, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 20, 2018

Black throated Trogon, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 20, 2018

Looking toward ocean from lower pasture, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 20, 2018

Butterfly species, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 20, 2018

Saturday was a bit warmer (but still below average). It was another day of exploring the various habitats around the lodge.

Shining Honeycreeper, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 21, 2018

Lineated Woodpecker, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 21, 2018

Gray crowned Yellowthroat, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 21, 2018

Gray crowned Yellowthroat, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 21, 2018

King Vulture, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 21, 2018

Baird's Trogon, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 21, 2018

Sunset over the Pacific, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 21, 2018

Sunday started off as the sunniest day so far and turned out to be the first with no appreciable rain during daylight hours. I once again spent the entire day around the lodge and got my highest species total so far at 114 including a rare for the area Blue headed Vireo seen in a mixed flock moving through the gardens around the lodge. I didn't have the camera with me and by the time I ran and got it the bird could not be relocated. The number of Tennessee Warblers (mostly 1st year birds) around also continued to impress with over twenty seen (even more common than Chestnut sided Warblers). The high numbers of Tennessee Warblers in the area corresponds nicely with the above average numbers seen during fall migration at home. I also caught up with a Gray crowned Yellowthroat and managed to get some photos and recordings.  Full list from the day here: Rio Magnolia Lodge

Double toothed Kite, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Jan 22, 2018

Lodge from lower pasture, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Jan 22, 2018

White whiskered Puffbird, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Jan 22, 2018

I decided to make Monday a big day to see how many species I could find around the lodge property. I ended the day with a respectable 127 species (with several others heard that I could not ID). I was very happy with the total. Not many photos from the day as I left the big camera behind and instead relied on getting photos with the phone through the binoculars. It made for easier travel but the photo quality obviously lagged quite a bit. I ran across a number of mixed species flocks in the jungle which helped push the total up so high for the day. Among the notables were a  a large flock of Band tailed Pigeons, a couple White whisked Puffbirds, a Worm eating Warbler, White winged Becard and a possible Bullock's Oriole.

Black thighed Grosbeak, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 23, 2018

Great Kiskadee at nest, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 23, 2018

Scarlet rumped Cacique, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 23, 2018

Chestnut headed Oropendola, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 23, 2018

Golden winged Warbler, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 23, 2018

Swallow tailed Kites, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 23, 2018

Tuesday was the last full day around the lodge and I made the most of it although I didn't spend quite as much time birding as the weather turned quite rainy for the afternoon. It rained very hard for quite awhile and was yet another day when the weather looked more like the rainy season then the dry season.

Cherrie's Tanager, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 24, 2018

Yellow throated Toucan (chestnut mandibled), Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 24, 2018

Blue Black Grassquits, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 24. 2018

Mid morning, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 24, 2018

At midday on Wednesday we left Rio Magnolia Lodge to make the four hour trip back up to San Jose for an early flight the next morning. The morning around the lodge produced a lot of the expected species plus one new one for the trip with a group of Blue Black Grassquits. We planned to break up the trip in the afternoon with a stop off at Carara NP but when we arrived at 3:10 we found out the park closes at 4PM and no one is allowed in after 3 so no luck in exploring the park.

Overall for the trip I managed to find 263 species with seven life birds including Black thighed Grosbeak, Yellow crowned Tyrannulet, White naped Brush Finch, Chuck Wills Widow, Streaked Saltator, Masked (Chiriqui) Yellowthroat and Crested Oropendola bringing my overall life list up to 1332. My Costa Rica list grew by 13 species with one added at Savegre, nine in the San Vito area and three at Rio Magnolia Lodge. At Rio Magnolia Lodge I found a total of 166 species this trip with seven of them being new for me at the lodge including Yellow crowned Tyrannulet, Rose throated Becard, Blue headed Vireo, Worm eating Warbler, Red rumped Woodpecker, Spot crowned Woodcreeper and White whiskered Puffbird. I have now had a total of 262 species at the lodge over my now eleven trips down there. It amazes me that I have continued to add new species there after so many trips, a testament to the diversity there.  Overall warbler numbers for the trip totaled 20 species with one being a life bird and two being new for Costa Rica for me (the Chiriqui Yellowthoat and the Worm eating Warbler). The number of warbler species now seen in Costa Rica stands at 30 overall.  More details on warblers from the trip at my other blog at the following link: Warblers in Costa Rica January 2018.  I made an extra effort to get sound recordings of various species on this trip and managed to get 42 different species recorded (using the iPhone).