Costa Rica trip -January 10-19

Crested Guan, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 11, 2020

White crested Coquette, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 11, 2020

White crowned Parrots, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 11, 2020

Violet headed Hummingbird, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 11, 2020

Chestnut sided Warbler, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 12, 2020

Brown hooded Parrot, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 12, 2020

Sunset, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 12, 2020

Back from another relaxing trip down to Costa Rica (our 13th trip!) with almost our entire vacation spent at the incomparable Rio Magnolia Lodge in the southern Pacific foothills with just a one half day trip down to the coast to break up our time at the lodge. We flew down on January 10th and finally arrived at the lodge around 8PM after a very long day of traveling and were greeted by a number of Common Pauraque. The first couple full days were spent around the lodge catching up with a number of species including some that I typically do not get to see very well. It was odd to see the weather back home being so warm (mid 60’s to low 70’s) and setting records and having the temperature there be only slightly warmer down in Costa Rica. The reality of winter weather eventually returned back home but we didn’t have to worry about cold temperatures in the tropics! The lodge produced 109 species on Saturday and 121 on Sunday. Nothing too unusual but a great selection of species and my first of what would eventually be three new species for me at the lodge with a Blackburnian Warbler making a brief appearance (more on warblers for the trip can be found at the following link).

White faced Capuchin Monkey, Hacienda Baru NWR, Costa Rica, Jan 13, 2020 

Beach panorama, Hacienda Baru NWR, Costa Rica, Jan 13, 2020

Red legged Honeycreeper, Hacienda Baru NWR, Costa Rica, Jan 13, 2020

Collared Peccary, Hacienda Baru NWR, Costa Rica, Jan 13, 2020

Kentucky Warbler, Hacienda Baru NWR, Costa Rica, Jan 13, 2020

Black hooded Antshrike, Hacienda Baru NWR, Costa Rica, Jan 13, 2020

On Monday we took our one trip away from the lodge with a morning trip down to Hacienda Baru on the coast just north of Dominical. We arrived around a little before eight and I immediately headed out onto the trails with a brief stop at the always beautiful and almost always empty beach. Typical fare at the beach but I didn’t spend much time there at all...just too hot in the direct sun. Most of the time I was out on the trails covering a variety of lowland habitat. I found a total of eight species of warblers including great looks at a Kentucky Warbler. I ran into a few pockets of birds with several new species for the trip and ones I have never had before at Hacienda Baru. Overall I had a total of eighty species for the morning which I’m certain I could have added to if I knew all the calls and songs I heard...I knew many but several remained unidentified. Mammals also figured in prominently for the day with a troop of at least a dozen Coati, a troop of White faced Capuchin Monkeys (totaling around twenty individuals) as well as several Collared Peccaries and Agoutis.

Golden hooded Tanager, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 14, 2020

Chestnut headed Oropendola, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 14, 2020

Massage ready!, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 14, 2020

Pale billed Woodpecker, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 14, 2020

On Tuesday the 14th I explored around the lodge until mid morning when I took a break to enjoy an in room hour massage...vacation is not easy! Despite not being out as much for the morning I still found 109 species for the day including a Mottled Owl calling in the evening.

Spotted Woodcreeper, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 15, 2020

Ruddy tailed Flycatcher, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 15, 2020

Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 15, 2020

Wednesday ended up being my best day overall as far as total number of species even with a bit of a breeze at times as well as a couple of afternoon bouts of drizzle. Running across a large mixed species flock as well as an army ant swarm helped push the total for the day to 132.

Clay colored Thrush, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 16, 2020

White ruffed Manakin, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 16, 2020

Sunset, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 16, 2020

Silver throated Tanager, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 17, 2020

White tipped Dove, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 17, 2020

Peregrine Falcon, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 17, 2020

Yellow throated Toucan, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 17, 2020

King Vulture, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 18, 2020

Green flash, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Jan 18, 2020

The last three full days of the trip featured many of the same species along with several new ones.  Each day followed a somewhat similar pattern with a walk out the road to the gate and then back for breakfast and then more exploring for the rest of the morning.  A break for lunch and then a combo of short walks and lots of birding from the balcony in the later afternoon until sunset (which featured a green flash a couple times).   Here is a link to lists from the final three full days at the lodge:
Thursday
Friday
Saturday

On Sunday we headed out for the four hour trip back to San Jose to catch a flight to Florida and a couple more days of warm(ish) weather before heading back home to cold reality (more on Florida in a future post).  Overall the total species for the lodge came to 179 species for the trip with three of those new for me at the lodge (Blackburnian Warbler, Orange billed Nightingale Thrush and Peregrine Falcon) bringing my total to 270 for the lodge over the course of all my trips down there. It amazes me that even after 13 trips to the lodge I still manage to find new species there...the diversity of the tropics always impresses me.

Link to all the photos from the trip here.

More on warblers from the trip here.