I had planned a 5-day guided birding trip with my favorite Costa Rica guide, Carlos Urena and Marian, but as the time for the trip approached it was clear that Marian was not feeling well enough to do the trip, so on short notice Alan, my son-in-law and an accomplished botanist, farmer, and all-round nature lover agreed to join us.

We met in San Isidro de el General by the central park at 6 AM on March 23. We headed north into the mountains to the San Gerardo de Dota area, famous for Resplendant Quetzals, and high elevation birding. We went to the Sevegre Mountain Lodge trails, where if you have a meal, we had breakfast, you have access to the resort trail system. It’s a fabulous place. Carlos took Marian and me there a few years ago on a day trip, but this time we got there earlier, and hiked higher. We started the day with a lifer species for me right in the parking lot where three Spotted Wood-Quail were hiding under a car and gave great close-up looks. We also had Lesser Violetear, Green-crowned Brilliant,, Scintillant and Talamanca Hummingbirds around the gardens and feeders. We got a Landrover ride up to the base of the trails, and then walked 7.12 miles of trails (per eBird tracking) and ended with a list of 48 species, with excellent looks at Silvery-fronted Tapaculo, Lineated Foliage-gleaner, Spotted Barbtail, big numbers of Ruddy Treerunners, Barred Becard, Ochraceous and Dark Pewee, Gray-breasted Wood-Wren, Black-billed and Ruddy-capped Nightingale-Thrush, and Spangle-cheaked Tanagers. Maybe the most impressive thing though, in this primary forest, were the massive oak trees, some towering high above and seemed as large in circumference as the largest Douglas Fir trees at Mt. Rainier.

After lunch we checked into our hotel, had a walk around, and spent a good deal of time watching a pair of Resplendant Quetzals perched right off the deck of the lodge restaurant for photos and many oohs and ahhs. After dinner went owling. No owls but several Dusky Nightjars were singing.

In the morning we birded around the area on foot from 6-7, then the hotel breakfast and off to get a CR first for me American Dipper at the Trogón Lodge as we headed back up the valley to the Pan American Highway. We spent about 2 hours on the Providencia Road in PN Quetzales where we parked, walked, Alan retrieved the car, and we repeated the process. We called for Costa Rica Pygmy Owl without luck, but got second looks at several good birds, and again enjoyed the primary forest.

From here it was a travel day, with Alan and Carlos as drivers, we headed for the La Frotuna area where we planned to bird for the next 2 days. Stops along with way for Fasciated Tiger-Heron (successful) and Nicaraguan Seedfinch (not) brought us to our one-night stop at the Lavas Tacotal Hotel.

The next morning Carlos arranged for early access to the Arenal Observatory Lodge grounds where we spent the day birding. On the way in on the access road I got two lifers, Great Curassow and Buff-rumped Warbler. The lodge is spectacular, developed as a place to watch the Arenal volcano put on it’s show, it is now primarily a nature lodge with birders and other nature lovers gathering to use the trail system. The gardens, trails and deck with feeders make this a very birdy spot. We had 86 species that I put on my list and I’m sure Carlos had many more heard-only species.

Highlights were many Great Curassow, White-necked Jacobin, Green Throntail, Black-crested Coquette (a little slow-flying hummingbird that is really cool), Crowned Woodnymph, Semi-plumbeous Hawk, Broad-billed Motmot, Golden-olive Woodpecker, and lots of birds with “ant” in their name. Dusky Antbird, Dull-mantled Antbird, Bicolored Antbird, Spotted Antbird, Oscellated Antbird, Streak-crowned Antvireo, and Thicket Antpitta. One of the commThey on but tougher to see was a tiny flycatcher, Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrant.

An uncommon bird for the area was Golden-bellied Flycatcher, and two gnat-wrens, Long-billed and Tawny-faced Gnatwrens were cool to see. Emerald Tanager was one of the many tanager species seen often. Scarlet-thighed Dacnis were mixed in with the Red-legged and Green Honeycreepers.

We checked into the Paradisio Lodge and Hot Springs, and we had fun that night introducing Carlos to sushi. The next morning we returned to clean up some missed species, and finally see two common singing birds I couldn’t see the prior day, Nithtingale Wren, and Song Wren. Bonuses were great looks at a White-hawk (I’d only seen at a distance in the past), a Purple-crowned Fairy building a nest, Middle-American Leaftosser, White-ruffed Manakin, a Piratic Flycatcher doing it’s “piratic” thing to a pair of nesting Gray-capped Flycatchers. The Piratic was incredibly aggressive, and I have no doubt that the nesting birds will eventually give up and abandon the nest.

In the afternoon we went to a nearby cutoff road where we loved all the motmots, three species, with Broad-billed, Keel-billed and Rufous all giving great looks, along with Black-headed Tody-Flycatcher, and finally a great look at a Nightingale Wren that had eluded us at the observatory. At the end of the road by the dam we added Crimson-collared Tanager at the end of the day.
That night another new experience for Carlos with Indian food, and our last day was a morning of stops for a few more lifers for me on the long drive back to Tinamaste and San Isidro. First was a “Soda” in Chinchona by Mirador San Fernando. It had feeders and a great valley view, with Prong-billed Barbet as a lifer, and great looks at lots of other tanagers, hummingbirds and N. Emerald Toucan. I missed a look at the hoped for Buff-fronted Quail-Dove that Carlos saw a glimpse of on the ground below, and Alan saw from the kitchen while he chatted with the staff.
Our last stop was on the road access to La Selva, where 43 species included lifer Fasciated Antshrike, Canebreak Wren and Shining Honeycreeper. It looks like a great place to spend 2-3 days at a later visit.

The long drive home included heavy rain on the Caribbean slope going up to San Jose, and fog on the road from San Jose to San Isidro, but Carlos and Alan safely got us home.
Trip totals were:
223 species
16 checklists
54 Lifers
67 new birds for Costa Rica.
In addition it was super-cool to spend great time with Alan, really getting to know my son-in-law better.