While birding was not the primary purpose of our trip to Costa Rica (this was a family vacation), we still got to spend a lot of time scanning the skies, trees, bushes, and undergrowth for birds.
We hiked over 23 miles on this trip.
I’ve included photos from EBird of some of the more beautiful and unique birds we saw. My kids took a lot of great photos, but they are not really sorted and loaded yet.
I also saw many birds well known to me, birds I see nesting on my farm in East Tennessee. Even though I knew these birds fly to Central and South America for the Winter, there was still an odd sense of disjointed familiarity with seeing a Summer Tanager or Black-Throated Green Warbler in the rainforest of Costa Rica. It was like running into a neighbor at a coffee shop on the other side of the country when you’re on vacation.
Two of my children are also birders.
My son saw 153 new species and reached a big milestone… he saw his 500th bird on this trip!
My daughter is an amazing birder, who frequently sees things that seasoned birders miss, but she loses steam quickly. She can’t spend all day birding like my son and I can, so she typically just goes for a few hours in the morning and spends the rest of the day with the non-birders. Even still, she was easily able to see 90 new species and reached her 450th bird on this trip.
Here’s our birding breakdown.
Locations:
Puntarenas (Curi-Cancha Refuge and Monteverde Reserve).
Alajuela (La Carolina and Tapir Valley).
Guanacaste (in transit).
John
183 Total bird species on this trip
143 Lifers
670 Total bird species seen to date
Elijah
184 Total bird species on this trip
153 Lifers
532 Total bird species seen to date
Abigail
110 Total bird species on this trip
90 Lifers
458 Total bird species seen to date
Birds seen (* indicates a Lifer):
1. Highland Tinamou*
2. Great Tinamou*
3. Muscovy Duck
4. Crested Guan*
5. Least Grebe*
6. Rock Pigeon
7. Red-billed Pigeon*
8. Short-billed Pigeon*
9. Inca Dove
10. Ruddy Ground Dove*
11. White-tipped Dove*
12. Gray-chested Dove*
13. White-winged Dove
14. Groove-billed Ani
15. Squirrel Cuckoo*
16. Common Pauraque*
17. Vaux's Swift*
18. White-necked Jacobin*
19. Green Hermit*
20. Long-billed Hermit*
21. Stripe-throated Hermit*
22. Brown Violetear*
23. Lesser Violetear*
24. Purple-crowned Fairy*
25. Green Thorntail*
26. Black-crested Coquette*
27. Green-crowned Brilliant*
28. Magenta-throated Woodstar*
29. Ruby-throated Hummingbird
30. Violet-headed Hummingbird*
31. Violet Sabrewing*
32. Crowned Woodnymph*
33. Snowcap*
34. Coppery-headed Emerald*
35. Stripe-tailed Hummingbird*
36. Scaly-breasted Hummingbird*
37. Rufous-tailed Hummingbird*
38. Blue-throated Goldentail*
39. Russet-naped Wood-Rail*
40. Purple Gallinule
41. White-throated Crake*
42. Double-striped Thick-knee*
43. Northern Jacana*
44. Sunbittern*
45. Anhinga
46. Bare-throated Tiger-Heron*
47. Green Heron
48. Western Cattle Egret
49. Great Egret
50. Green Ibis*
51. Black Vulture
52. Turkey Vulture
53. Crane Hawk*
54. White Hawk*
55. Gray Hawk
56. Resplendent Quetzal*
57. Gartered Trogon*
58. Collared Trogon*
59. Lesson's Motmot*
60. Rufous Motmot*
61. Broad-billed Motmot*
62. Ringed Kingfisher*
63. Green Kingfisher*
64. Prong-billed Barbet*
65. Northern Emerald-Toucanet*
66. Collared Aracari*
67. Yellow-throated Toucan*
68. Keel-billed Toucan*
69. Black-cheeked Woodpecker*
70. Hoffmann's Woodpecker*
71. Smoky-brown Woodpecker*
72. Lineated Woodpecker*
73. Golden-olive Woodpecker*
74. Laughing Falcon*
75. Crested Caracara
76. Orange-chinned Parakeet*
77. Brown-hooded Parrot*
78. Red-lored Parrot*
79. Scarlet Macaw*
80. Barred Antshrike*
81. Russet Antshrike*
82. Plain Antvireo*
83. Olivaceous Woodcreeper*
84. Wedge-billed Woodcreeper*
85. White-collared Manakin*
86. Masked Tityra*
87. Northern Schiffornis*
88. Cinnamon Becard*
89. Common Tody-Flycatcher*
90. Eye-ringed Flatbill*
91. Mountain Elaenia*
92. Mistletoe Tyrannulet*
93. Tufted Flycatcher*
94. Northern Tropical Pewee*
95. Eastern Wood-Pewee
96. Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
97. Yellowish Flycatcher*
98. Long-tailed Tyrant*
99. Dusky-capped Flycatcher*
100. Great Kiskadee
101. Boat-billed Flycatcher
102. Social Flycatcher
103. Tropical Kingbird
104. Lesser Greenlet*
105. Yellow-throated Vireo
106. White-throated Magpie-Jay*
107. Brown Jay*
108. Gray-breasted Martin*
109. Southern Rough-winged Swallow*
110. Blue-and-white Swallow*
111. White-browed Gnatcatcher*
112. House Wren
113. Rufous-naped Wren*
114. Rufous-and-white Wren*
115. Cabanis's Wren*
116. Bay Wren*
117. White-breasted Wood-Wren*
118. Gray-breasted Wood-Wren*
119. Black-faced Solitaire*
120. Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush*
121. Slaty-backed Nightingale-Thrush*
122. Black-headed Nightingale-Thrush*
123. Swainson's Thrush
124. Wood Thrush
125. Mountain Thrush*
126. Pale-vented Thrush*
127. White-throated Thrush*
128. Clay-colored Thrush*
129. House Sparrow
130. Elegant Euphonia*
131. Golden-browed Chlorophonia*
132. Scrub Euphonia*
133. Yellow-crowned Euphonia*
134. Yellow-throated Euphonia*
135. Olive-backed Euphonia*
136. Common Chlorospingus*
137. Black-striped Sparrow*
138. Orange-billed Sparrow*
139. White-eared Ground-Sparrow*
140. White-naped Brushfinch*
141. Chestnut-headed Oropendola*
142. Montezuma Oropendola*
143. Baltimore Oriole
144. Bronzed Cowbird*
145. Giant Cowbird*
146. Great-tailed Grackle
147. Worm-eating Warbler
148. Northern Waterthrush*
149. Golden-winged Warbler
150. Black-and-white Warbler
151. Tennessee Warbler
152. Mourning Warbler*
153. Olive-crowned Yellowthroat*
154. Tropical Parula*
155. Chestnut-sided Warbler
156. Black-throated Green Warbler
157. Chestnut-capped Warbler*
158. Golden-crowned Warbler*
159. Costa Rican Warbler*
160. Buff-rumped Warbler*
161. Wilson's Warbler
162. Slate-throated Redstart*
163. Summer Tanager
164. Carmiol's Tanager*
165. Black-thighed Grosbeak*
166. Blue Grosbeak
167. Scarlet-rumped Tanager
168. Blue-gray Tanager*
169. Palm Tanager*
170. Golden-hooded Tanager*
171. Rufous-winged Tanager*
172. Silver-throated Tanager*
173. Scarlet-thighed Dacnis*
174. Shining Honeycreeper*
175. Red-legged Honeycreeper*
176. Green Honeycreeper*
177. Blue-black Grassquit*
178. Variable Seedeater*
179. Morelet's Seedeater
180. Bananaquit
181. Yellow-faced Grassquit*
182. Buff-throated Saltator*
183. Black-headed Saltator*
184. Southern Lapwing (seen by my son and daughter… I missed it!)
Wendi Huisman Kitsteiner
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