Birding is always exciting in Costa Rica. You disembark, travel an easy hour from the airport and you can view the beauty of toucanets, barbets, seven species of hummingbirds and more without getting up from your seat. Make a little more effort and there will be tanagers, flycatchers, maybe a quetzal.
It’s like a birding wonderland up here and us local birders love it. However, like local birders everywhere, those of us in Costa Rica have our own set of sought-after, rare birds that are less rare elsewhere. That’s par for the birding course and why British birders jump to see a Scarlet Tanager, Canadian birders get excited about the Great Kiskadees, and why Peruvian birders are so psyched to see a country’s first Scissor-tailed Flycatcher!
Rarity status has a lot to do with location and rarity opportunities are highly related to time of year. Here in Costa Rica, that extraordinary time of year is happening right now. We can get rare and vagrant species almost any month but November and December seem to be the best times for lost birds.
That’s right, I’m not talking about seeing monks or other local oddities. I’m talking sparrows that fly quite far, wading waterfowl, and shorebirds that have gone astray in Alaska. I realize that these special species may not be high on the list of visiting birders but if you happen to see them, please let us know! You will make many local birders happy.
You never know, you might find a new bird for the Costa Rica list. That happens almost every year and is why I’ve included some species in the BirdingFieldGuides Costa Rica Birds Field Guide app that aren’t on the list yet, but might be. For example, in addition to making name changes to reflect eBird taxonomy, for our recent update, I also added Great Knot, Scopoli’s Shearwater, Northern Gannet, Hermit Thrush, Black-throated Mango, Terek Sandpiper, and Bar-tailed Godwit.
Although it would be a very rare and exciting moment to see any of these birds in Costa Rica, I believe they can happen. After adding these species, the full version of the app now has about 1021 species (!).
Ducks and other Waterbirds
Yes, most of the ducks on the Costa Rica list are rare. Those are common northern birds like American Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, Northern Pintail, and others. They also come here but only once in a while and usually in very small numbers.
Granted, we will have a better chance of finding them as the dry season sets in and limits their water needs. However, some of the unusual birds should be here by now, I hope to see some before December 31st.
Oh yeah and there are other waterbirds too, rare finds like the American Avocet, maybe a Ruff, or other vagrant shorebirds. Maybe they are out there, I look forward to seeing what can be found!
Pacific Golden-Plover
Whoah! Yes, a species that should be hanging out on distant islands and on the other side of the ocean is here in Costa Rica. For the past few years, this mega has been coming out in late winter and spring. This year, it came early!
As I write, birders are looking at this cool bird on the beach in Puntarenas, almost in the same area as the previous sightings. Where else is it going? Did it manage to convince a Red-necked Stint or Sharp-tailed Sandpiper to fly this way too? We can only wish!
Sparrows and Other Small Birds
Yep, the sparrows have arrived. See, we got a whole bunch of sparrows on the official Costa Rican bird list but mostly birds known to North American birders. We don’t know them very well though, hardly because Chipping, Savannah, Lincoln’s and other sparrows are rarely vagrants.
Few have made it to Costa Rica, or, at least few can be found. I bet there are more than that, the challenge is finding the little birds scattered across any number of thousands of unbirded fields and pastures.
We know it exists because the Lark Sparrow appeared in Puntarenas as a one-day oddity and many lucky birders saw a Clay-colored Sparrow appear outside of Jaco! Sadly, none have been refound yet but hopefully they are indicators of other sparrow species arriving in Costa Rica.
While looking for exotic sparrows that don’t belong in Costa Rica, who knows, we might get lucky finding other wandering songbirds as well. Orange-crowned Warbler and Pine Warbler will be super megas with other birds that usually winter farther north. Can anyone find Costa Rica’s first kinglet? Get a photo of a Hammond’s Flycatcher? Again, we can only bird, pay attention, and wish!
Long-eared Owl in Honduras
Yes, seriously! A first for that country and Central America! This species usually only reaches as far as central Mexico and even there it is not exactly expected.
So, what’s going on? Why one so far south of its normal range? Whether it’s pure chance, a lack of food in the usual areas, or the weather, it would be a Costa Rican birder’s wildest dream to see one here!
The sighting is a reminder to keep an open mind when birding and perhaps check out areas that Long-eared and Short-eared Owls might like. We will still see a lot of other cool birds in any case.
There are also many Rare Resident Birds
If you’re heading to Costa Rica and would rather look up at the expected tropical birds, no problem there! The usual rare resident species are here and waiting to be seen, even the tough ones like the Silvery-throated Jay pictured above. Recently, I saw two such animals while guiding in the Sarapiqui lowlands. Near Chilamate we saw an old Tiny Hawk as well as Snowy Cotinga and nunbirds.
A week later, I saw an Oante Hawk-Eagle soaring near Virgen del Socorro and other birders were seeing umbrellas, other cotingas, and other unusual and rare species in the right places.
Birds are out there, like any rare species, if you go birding in the right places, you will have a greater chance of seeing them. Accurate information about where to find birds in Costa Rica is also helpful Hope to see you here soon, hundreds of birds await!
