A short dirt road toward the coast after that yielded excellent birding, including the targeted Pale-breasted Spinetail, and also great morning looks at 32 species total. Best IMO were Gray-crowned Yellowthroat, 4 White-throated Crakes, a Yellow-throated Elaenia, and Blue-black Grassquits with lots more Morelet’s Seedeaters.
Next stop was one of the trip highlights. We went to the Finca Martatima Rice Fields at Playa del Rey. The fields were mostly dry, but wet areas remained and the birding was really great.
One of my hoped for trip birds, Southern Lapwing, were in a small flock very near the road.
A very cooperative Mangrove Cuckoo posed for photos.
Isthmian Wrens, Scrub Greenlet, Tropical Pewee, , Northern Jacana, Purple Galinule, Gray-cowled Wood-rail, Green-breasted Mango, Groove-billed Ani and Wood Stork were among the list of 60 species there.
We made a trip to Boca del Rio Parrita where our only gull of the visit so far was a fly-over Lauging Gull, and a Bare-throated Tiger-Heron (wow!) posed.
A few shorebirds padded my Costa Rica list, including Semi-palmated Plover, Willet, Whimbrel and Least Sandpiper, nice to see some birds I could ID.
Next was birding the road into Playa del Guacalillo. Carlos got us onto a good number of birds there, the most challenging of these was the Common Ground Cuckoo. This bird called and called, and we finally bushwhacked out to find it huddled under some branches, likely a juvenile.
Other nice finds there were:
We finished the day trying for owls after dark, really without success until I cried uncle about 7 PM and we headed for the room for the night and dinner at Villa Lapas.
The next morning we were up to bird the grounds form 6-7 before breakfast. Three species of trogons, Slaty-tailed, Black-headed and Gartered, all male and female pairs called and gave us good looks, and White-winged Becard, Piratic Flycatcher, White-necked Jacobin and Scaly-breasted Hummingbird were all lifers for me.
After breakfast we headed for Parque Nacional Carara, and spent the morning birding trails there. The birding was good, as this is the area where the dry tropical forest of the north of Costa Rica west slope meets the wet tropical forest of the areas south of the park. Birds of both areas are possible here, and we saw lots. Highlights of a 45 species list included a Great Tinamou walking silently under the trees, Baird’s Trogon,
great looks at White-whiskered Puffbirds,
male and female Black-hooded Antshrikes, Black-faced Antthrush, Cocoa Woodcreeper, Plain Xenops, Lesser Greenlet, Orange-billed Sparrow,
White-shouldered Tanager and Bay-headed Tanager.
Before heading to a mangrove area Carlos was flagged down by a local fellow who offered to show us Black-and-white Owls roosting. We followed him to an open woodlot where a short walk from the road yielded a roosting pair.
We made a fairly brief stop at a mangrove swampy area adding “Mangrove” Yellow Warbler, Tropical Gnatcatcher, American Pygmy Kingfisher, Barred Antshrike, and Northern Scrub-flycatcher.
We finished strong, driving back to a stakeout Common Potoo near Quepos. I expected a small bird looking like the end of a branch. Instead we saw a quite large bird looking like the top of a fence post. Carlos thinks it is on a nest there. It was amazing.
Overall a great 2-day trip. It is great to bird the tropics with the help of a good guide. I’m struggling to find many species I can ID otherwise, tall trees, fleeting looks, mostly new species to me, and getting to the best parts of the best areas is a challenge by myself.
Counts at the end of the trip: Costa Rica Life list: 247, CR list for this trip total: 228, and exactly 100 world lifers for the Costa Rica trip so far.
A day to recover and visit family is up for tomorrow.
Good birding.
Ed