If I Were Going...: Birding in Costa Rica #15: Ranging Further on the Osa Peninsula

A young Mantled Howler Monkey with an opinion

In addition to birding by foot on the Osa Peninsula, we also birded by van. There were three different outings: our trip to the Lodge from the airport in Puerto Jiménez; one day where we drove all over the Peninsula, making multiple stops; and our final day, where we birded around Puerto Jiménez after dropping some of our tourmates off for an earlier flight back to San José.

Those are homes on either side of the runway

We covered a lot of territory, ranging from farmland ...

A Yellow-headed Caracara in a tree on a cattle ranch

... to jungle ...

A Scarlet-rumped Cacique with a nice leafy backdrop

... to coastline ...

Puerto Jiménez

... and we saw a nice assortment of birds ...

Lots of birds to see (and photograph)

I do not have a clear idea of exactly where we went, but it was all along the route from Puerto Jiménez to the Osa Verde BioLodge (and maybe a little beyond). On our big driving day, we started too early for breakfast at the Osa Verde BioLodge and were given some delicious pineapple and watermelon at one of our birding stops. So far, so good. I like fruit for breakfast. I don’t know how that sat with folks who like a more hearty meal, however.

We passed a lot of edible plants (this is vanilla); perhaps we should have foraged

Then, after more birding, we stopped at a little community park near Puerto Jiménez for “lunch,” although it wasn’t even 11:00 a.m. Of course, we were hungry. All we had had was a little fruit at 6:30 a.m. Much to my disappointment, “lunch” was peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and more fruit. The thought of eating PB&J on a hot, hot day was too much, so I just had fruit. And, the fruit was a little mushy.

A positive at lunch: a Gray-cowled Wood-Rail

To say we were disappointed in lunch would be an understatement, especially since we were close to Puerto Jiménez, where we could have eaten at a restaurant.

Now, this was tasty

Indeed, we did eat in Puerto Jiménez the next day and I had absolutely delicious (and refreshing) ceviche with plantain chips. At a nice table with an ocean view. Between the van and the lunch, it appeared that Nito was trying to cut some corners.

Quite frankly, I would have even bought my own lunch (or paid for a boat trip to Corcovado) if I had the opportunity.

Soursop; Photo: Equilibrium

Anyway, by early afternoon, I was starving. Fortunately, we encountered a woman (a friend Nito’s) in town who was selling soursop “ice cream.” It really wasn’t ice cream at all (which was great for Joyce who couldn’t eat dairy). It was a frozen slushy that was so, so yummy and so, so refreshing.

Beyond these few little complaints, everything else was lovely and we saw lots of birds and a few other cool things. So, my overall experience at Osa was good. They just need to clean up a few rough edges for future groups.

Animals

Once again, I am not going to try to pin down where we saw each critter. Rather, I will just run through them in loosely constructed “groups.” I think, however, instead of starting with birds, I’ll talk about the few animals we encountered on our outings. We saw Monkeys a few times …

Mantled Howler Monkey resting in the tree

… and we had a great encounter (especially photographically) with a group of Mantled Howler Monkeys ...

A mom and infant

As you will recall, these are the very loud, but very lethargic leaf-eating Monkeys found all over Costa Rica.

These Monkeys were being quiet

They were actually a bit animated – and very interested in us – when we saw them.

But, they were active -- and curious

A couple of places along our routes had ropes strung across roadways to provide Monkeys with a “highway” that will keep them safe from automobiles and other on-the-ground threats. We even met a farmer who had strung his own ropes for Monkeys just because he liked having them on his property. They are pretty cool. But, man, if you had them on your property, how would you sleep with the racket they make?

A Spider Monkey over the friendly rancher's place

If we are going to talk about a lethargic animal, however, Sloths take the top prize. And, we saw another Hoffman’s Two-toed Sloth in a tree on the beach in Puerto Jiménez.

Never moved an inch

We also encountered a couple of Common Basilisks that, we discovered, will chase a laser just the way a cat will.

Taking a break from playing with the laser

Laser, you ask? Yes, the bird guides use lasers to help direct your eyes toward the bird you are trying to see. They do not point at the bird; rather they use the laser to direct the eye to a nearby spot and then “talk you in.” While Nito was showing us a bird, this Basilisk dove for the laser. It was funny to watch.

We also saw a couple of lovely butterflies …

Giant Swallowtail and Plain Satyr Butterflies

River Birds

Ok, let’s talk about the wide variety of birds, ranging from the elusive Yellow-billed Cotinga that was the primary reason we left so early and went to one of our primary spots at a bridge over a river. This rare bird has been studied so little that no one knows how its sounds (if it sings at all) or how and where it nests. We saw one female far, far up in a tree and I got a couple of very crappy photos. We had hoped to see the pearly-white male, but that was not to be …

Left, what I wanted, photo: eBird; Right, what I got

In the same vicinity, however, we saw so many birds, including the gorgeous Great Antshrike with its red eyes and tall (sometimes!) crest …

Two views, same bird

We also saw some more Black-hooded Antshrikes …

This is a handsome bird

… and Chestnut-backed Antbirds …

Antbirds have big eyes (the better to see those tiny ants with)

Hanging around the bridge over the river, we encountered a very goofy Gray-capped Flycatcher …

You lookin' at me?

… a beautiful Streaked Flycatcher …

Posing on the bridge

… some Cowbirds …

Two Cowbirds: Left, Bronzed; Right, Shiny

… cute little Mangrove Swallows …

A tiny bird with big personality

… a plucky Amazon Kingfisher …

Costa Rica is great for Kingfishers

... Scarlet-rumped Caciques ...

One of Costa Rica's many colorful black and red birds

… Pigeons and Doves …

Ruddy Ground-Dove (not on the ground!), Pale-vented Pigeons

… and, I finally a Gray-breasted Martin that sat still long enough to have its picture taken (it took 15 days to get one!) …

I had to wait for this nice shot

Near the bridge was a huge tree with a wide variety of birds all sharing space ...

CW: Spot-crowned Euphonia, Yellow-throated Vireo, Scarlet-rumped Tanager, Scrub Greenlet, Yellow-olive Flycatcher, Bananaquit

In the nearby woods, we also saw a beautiful juvenile Common Black Hawk sitting at just about eye level …

One of our most common raptors

And, we encountered some Red-crowned Woodpeckers …

Male and female

… and a Red-rumped Woodpecker, as well ...

No rump in view

There were three Barn Owls under the bridge, but we frightened one away as we walked down to the river and then the other two were very well hidden behind the bridge supports. We could have seen them from the other side of the river. Oh, well.

I wasn't up to fording the river

Farm and Country Birds

A lot of our time was spent driving down country roads near farms and ranches. Here, the birds were completely different. As one would expect, lots of Seedeaters, including a new one, the Yellow-bellied Seedeater …

In the open and hiding

Plus, lots of Variable Seedeaters that I didn’t photograph and a beautiful Ruddy-breasted Seedeater …

Pretty Seedeater

More exciting were new birds ...

Blue-black Grassquit, Isthmian Wren, Mistletoe Tyrannulet

Lifers included some absolutely beautiful Smooth-billed Anis (I had seen Groove-billed, but not Smooth-billed) …

That is some bill

We saw another type of Puffbird, this one a White-necked (not to be confused with White-whiskered we saw in Carara National Park oh so long ago – or so it seemed) …

He didn't want to look my way

… another Black-crowned Tityra …

He wouldn't look, either

… and a Fiery-billed Aracari …

This was a nice bookend: good views at the beginning and the end of our trip

One of my favorites was the Red-breasted Meadowlark with its brilliant scarlet chest …

Can you believe how pretty this Meadowlark is?

… and, after Juan Diego searched fruitlessly for us, we were finally able to find an Olivaceous Piculet, a tiny little Woodpecker ...

I was surprised this was a Woodpecker

But, more impressive were the Lineated Woodpeckers, which closely resemble the Pale-billed Woodpeckers we saw on the mainland, expect that, on the Lineated, the white neck line continues across the face …

They certainly stand out

These birds are cah-ray-zee looking, with their wild red crests …

This is what a Woodpecker should look like

We even saw a fight between some Red-crowned Woodpeckers and a Tropical Kingbird …

Get outta my tree!

And, it wouldn’t be Costa Rica if you didn’t see at least one Trogon …

Male Black-throated Trogon

Beach Birds

As I mentioned, we spent a little time at the beach walking around the mangroves where there we are number of water birds ...

Top: Willet, Black-bellied Plover, Spotted Sandpiper, Whimbrel; Bottom: White Ibises

… some Mangrove Warblers …

This Yellow Warbler doesn't migrate like the version we get in Colorado

… and, a group of Scarlet Macaws gobbling up more beach almonds …

Since they mate for life, it is common to see Scarlet Macaws in pairs

They were a bit more skittish than the one we saw back on our hike, but they still provided ample entertainment …

Taking off

I had always thought that Costa Rica was a land of sparkling white beaches. If it is, they are not in any of the parts we went to. The beaches we saw tended to have brown-to-black muddy-looking sand that just didn’t look that appealing (I’m from Clearwater, Florida, so I am admittedly a beach snob).

The beach where we saw the Macaws was definitely not that attractive …

Kind of muddy and scrubby

The Beach in Puerto Jiménez was a slight bit more attractive ...

A beachfront restaurant

... and it offered up a surprising array of wildlife, including the Sloth I already mentioned ...

Still snoozing

It was here that I finally got some really good pictures of Orange-chinned Parakeets …

A hipster bird with a soul patch

They were all over town …

The king of the beach

I think that it’s cool to have Parrots and Parakeets in town …

A close-by perch

We also saw a new Woodpecker at the beach in town …

Lifer: a Golden-naped Woodpecker

... and there were a couple of Sandwich Terns and a Brown Booby out in the Ocean …

I got the Terns; the Booby was too far away

Finally, I’d like to talk about a couple of raptors we saw, including a Roadside Hawk sitting on a nest …

Hidden in the trees

… a White-tailed Kite that just treated us to a fly-by …

A graceful bird

… and Double-toothed Kite – the same species of bird that had buzzed Neil, Heather and me back in Arenal …

A nice encounter with an interesting bird

You can see the notch

This fairly small raptor (13-15 inches long) has a double notch on the cutting edge of its bill, which is where it gets its name.

An almost exclusively Central and South American bird, the Double-toothed Kite feeds heavily on insects and lizards, but may also feed on other small vertebrates, including bats and birds.

Front view

They often follow troops of Monkeys, picking off critters the Monkeys have disturbed.

Taking off to hunt

After seeing, but never getting a photo, multiple times, I finally got some nice pictures of a Yellow-headed Caracaras in Osa.

This is a common bird, so why did it take so long for a close-up?

About 16-18 inches long with a 24-28 inch wingspan, they don’t look very much like the Crested Caracara with which I am familiar.

Left, Crested; Right, Yellow-headed

They eat reptiles, insects, amphibians, mammals and other small animals as well as carrion, but seldom eat birds. They will also remove and eat ticks from cattle and Baird's Tapirs and are sometimes called the "Tickbird." Yellow-headed Caracaras have also been known to forage for small invertebrates in the fur of Brown-throated Three-toed Sloths. In addition, younger birds are fond of fruits, such as those of the coconut and oil palm.

Posing on the beach

Unlike many birds, deforestation actually bumped up Yellow-headed Caracara populations (undoubtedly to the detriment of other raptors) because of their affinity to cattle and cattle ranches. Yellow-headed Caracaras also adapt readily to urban areas and are frequently seen on rooftops in suburban neighborhoods.

We did see quite a few flying as well as the perched one I saw in Osa. One was a lovely, healthy-looking specimen ...

A beautiful Yellow-headed Caracara

One looked like it had had a terrible accident with its tail feathers or, possibly, a traumatic molt ...

What happened here?

Still, even with an almost non-existent tail, it could fly ...

Ragged but ready

A loud, raucous call

The pair we saw in town in Puerto Jiménez had a conversation from the top of a beachside palm tree before flying off.

Honestly, I didn’t know raptors could be so loud. They were deafening.

I feel for anyone who has them living nearby (as if Cicadas and Howler Monkeys didn’t provide enough sound pollution).

End of the Tour

After our final drive into Puerto Jiménez and lunch, we stuffed ourselves onto the tiny Sansa plane and flew back to San José.

Between Puerto Jiménez and San José

We stayed the night at the Hotel Robledal and then flew back to the U.S. the next day (with an evening layover at DFW). I could have (should have) birded some more at the Robledal, but, instead, I spent my time resting, downloading photos and packing for the trip home. I think I might have been a wee bit tired.

It was a great trip. As I said, 347 birds, including 267 lifers ...