Birding Costa Rica 9 - 20 March 2017
Part Three. Monteverde Cloud Forest to Arenal Volcano Observatory and Home
16 March: After a lovely lunch stop for seafood, we were off to climb our way up the road to the cloud forests of Monteverde. As we drove higher and higher up the road the wind kept increasing to the point that at one road stop we all watched a hawk riding the wind in a dive, but never getting anywhere. The sky was clear and we could see all the way back to the coast where we had been earlier in the day. But as we got closer to our hotel the sky darkened as the clouds increased along with some accompanying moisture. We got to the hotel, checked into our rooms and did a little birding in the light rain. During the night the rain increased and we were all hoping it would stop before we headed out in the morning.
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| Hawk in the wind |
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| Our room |
17 March: As we had hoped, the sun came out and after a quick breakfast it was all about birding the cloud forests of Monteverde Reserve. Fortunately for us, the clouds and rain of the previous afternoon and night had gone and we were blessed with clear skies and sunshine all day. What a great introduction to birding Monteverde. Early on as we walked the trails we were fortunate enough to see more Resplendent Quetzal pairs perching for us time and again as we moved through the forest. I was so happy that everyone got continually better looks at the Quetzals because they are such a special bird that you really want to be close enough to to really see them and all their colors.
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| John & Risë (picture from Jeannie Mitchell) |
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| Resplendent Quetzal (female) |
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| Resplendent Quetzal (male) |
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| Quetzal calling |
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| We saw several Quetzals in the park, which was awesome! |
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| Slaty-backed Nightingale-Thrush |
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| Yellowish Flycatcher |
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| I like Quetzals! |
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| Capuchin Monkey |
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| Black Guan |
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| Agouti |
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| Long-tailed Manikin |
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| Spotted Barbtail |
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| Chiriquí Quail-Dove |
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| Ron & Jeannie at the waterfall |
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| Carol, Risë, Tom & Jeannie |
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| The one that got away, again. |
18 March: This morning started out wet and cool as the rain and wind returned and we headed out to where reportedly there were chances to see the Three-Wattled Bell-Bird, one of my target birds, again. We braved the rain, mist, and many many steps of the trail to reach our goal, but the Bell-Bird was not to be seen or heard. Oh well, maybe next time. After drying out a bit at the visitor center we were back on the bus and headed down the road to my other favorite spot in Costa Rica, Arenal Observatory Lodge.
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Worn out birders
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After about a 4 hours drive and a stop for lunch, we made it to the area around Arenal for some afternoon birding. It is interesting that the straight-line distance from Monteverde to Arenal is 11 miles but it takes over 3 hours to drive there due to the winding roads that go around all the hills, mountains, volcanoes, and other terrain features. Thanks to our great driver Didier, we made it through the rain, mud and other obstacles to get to our hotel. Some other buses on the road we not as lucky as we were.
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| Arenal Observatory Lodge |
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| Great Curassow (female) |
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| Rufous Mourner |
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| Katydid |
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| Hook-billed Kite |
19 March: Birding around the Arenal Observatory is always wonderful and provides incredible views of the volcano. During this stay we were fortunate enough to have clear views all the way to the top, including clear views of the cone.
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| Montezuma Oropendola |
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| Emerald Tanager |
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| Great Curassow (female) |
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| Black-stripped Sparrow |
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| Jeannie & Ron at Lake Arenal |
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| Golden-hooded Tanagers |
After birding the grounds around the hotel we headed down to La Fortuna to bird a trail just outside of town and then the grounds of a restaurant after we ate lunch there. We were delighted to see many new species of birds.
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| Grayish Saltator |
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| Gray-headed Chachalaca |
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| Passarini Tanager |
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| Yellow-throated Euphonia |
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| Blue-gray Tanager |
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| Great Kiskadee |
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| White-throated Crake |
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| Dusky-capped Flycatcher |
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| Golden-olive Woodpecker |
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| Olivaceous Piculet |
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| Rufous Mourner |
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| Restaurant in La Fortuna |
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| Peggy, Carol, Didier & Tom |
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| Arenal Volcano as seen from La Fortuna |
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| Arenal Volcano |
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| Basilisk Lizard |
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| Boat-billed Heron |
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| Black-headed Saltator |
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| Common Pauraque (on a nest) |
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| Common Pauraque (on a nest) |
After seeing all the birds around the restaurant grounds it was time to head back to the hotel. We had seen that the skies around the volcano had cleared but when we got back to the hotel it was like a post card and just screamed to be photographed. So I did.
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| Arenal Volcano view from our balcony |
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| Birds at the feeders |
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| Yellow-throated Toucan/Black-mandibled Toucan |
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| Reading menus by cell phone light |
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| Ceviche |
20 March: This was the last day for us as we were heading to the airport at 10:00 PM. We got up and birded the Arenal Observatory property and after breakfast hit the road back to San Jose and the Hotel Buena Vista. On the way we made a stop to bird, see a beautiful waterfall and have lunch. It was a full day with lots of memories.
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Risë & John at Lake Arenal
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| Jeannie & Ron at Lake Arenal |
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| Roadside Hawk (juv) |
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| Black-bellied Hummingbird |
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| Black-bellied Hummingbird (with a flat top) |
On the final night at the hotel it was time to do the last daily bird list and tell the group what our top five birds were for the trip. We all said are good byes and headed to our rooms to pack.
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| Richard & Peggy (The last list check and final tally) |
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| Rick, Tom, Carol & Risë
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That wraps up another super trip to Costa Rica. Many thanks to Tom & Carol Sykes for organizing the trip, our driver Didier who did so much to make it a great trip, and to Richard Garrigues for getting us on all the birds, providing so much Costa Rican country knowledge and for turning the bus into a disco on our night drive. Here are some extra picture in case you haven't had enough.
