Urban birding in Costa Rica? Does Costa Rica have urban areas? Well, obviously yes but if all your conclusions about Costa Rica come from tourism marketing videos, that’s a valid question. According to the pictures and videos, Costa Rica has (1) beaches, (2) zip lines in the tropical forest, (3) volcanoes, (4) tropical wildlife such as sloths, toucans (occasionally species who live in Brazil), and monkeys, and (5) all shout “pura vida!”.
Hey, I don’t blame those marketers (except for using the wrong type of toucan), after all, the goal is to sell an experience, showing the potential tourist highlights and reasons for vacationing in Costa Rica . Nor are they wrong because this birdy nation is those things but, like Niagara Falls, NY is more than the famous cataracts (for me it’s also family, DiCamillo’s bakery, a blizzard of gulls , and a living memory and amazing stories ), Tiquicia has many more.
For the record, like most countries, Costa Rica also has busy urban areas. For my nature-related tastes, they are too busy but at least escaping them is relatively easy. Fly into SJO and you’ll experience that urban thing very quickly but, if you stay outside the metro area, you’ll leave it behind as soon as you arrive. However, if you find yourself faced with urban birding in Costa Rica, don’t despair!
As Urban Birder David Lindo reminds us, birds are everywhere, even in big cities, often more than you think and in places where you least expect them. With recent heavy rains and a mild cold keeping me from doing much birding, urban birding concepts have been on my mind. These are just a few recent reminders that birds are everywhere and can even include rare and endangered species.
Yellow-naped Parrot at Walmart
Yes, birding sounds like a weird dream but it just goes to show that, in Costa Rica, birding dreams do come true! The other day, I went on a routine, random shopping trip to Walmart with my partner and his daughter. In Costa Rica, although there are fewer “Walmart people” to be seen than in the USA, people watching will be pleased to know that there are usually one or two people shopping for pajamas, the employees wear the same blue, Walmarts vest thing, and there’s always a couple of shoppers going around the store in carts.
However, before you are too fond of returning to the USA, you will notice many more differences. Forget about undercover security and shopping alone. There will be several security guards with an impressive and potentially intimidating display of pseudo-military looking gear (things like tactical-looking vests with tons of pockets, maybe a flashlight and other random stuff but probably lacking in weapons), and you’ll find yourself wondering how other shoppers manage to block entire aisles while not knowing they don’t have the entire store.
Actually, the aisles blockages are mostly because the aisles are too narrow, but whatever. The worst thing, though, and the most different, are the salespeople. These Costa Rica Walmart bastions are always women sporting uniforms that represent what they want you to buy. You can’t help but notice them and not just because they stand and block the selections of tortilla or bread or sliced ham.
No, you’ll notice them because as soon as you get in range, they’ll start talking to you, automatically telling you about this and that product in question or asking you what you’re looking for. It doesn’t matter if you’d rather check out those tortillas for yourself or check out the ham out on its own. It doesn’t matter if you stare straight ahead with a blank, inappropriate 1,000-yard stare. No, they will still want to “help” you.
I understand that’s their job, it’s good they have it, maybe I should talk with them more? But the thing is I don’t go to Walmart to just talk to people about ham discounts. I don’t really want to go there so I don’t like taking the time to stand and listen to sales pitches. I’m not particularly anti-social, I’d just rather not spend my time that way.
In an attempt to avoid unpleasant conversation, I usually say, “No, thanks” but then I always wonder why I thanked them for advice I didn’t ask for. My partner said to answer them in English and yes, that helped. I’ve done that as well as occasionally answering in other non-Spanish languages and let me tell you, no matter how gibberish, when presented with a classic language barrier, even the most gung-ho salesman of Walmart is throwing in the towel!
Now if you find yourself in a Costa Rica Walmart, in all likelihood, real-life organic influencers will know you’re a tourist and will probably be afraid to talk to you anyway. However, if not, and if you don’t want to practice Spanish or you’d rather spend your time watching birds (because when birding in Costa Rica, every second counts), you can always smile and say something in English. Thanks to Duolingo and so many people who want to learn English, it’s still a risk but what are you going to do? You’ll see birds (dammit)!
A word of advice; the coffee and tea aisle is especially difficult. This is a true test of the chatty and determined coffee and tea salespeople who influence me so I have no control, I don’t buy coffee at Walmart for that very reason!
But what about shopping at Walmart, like, isn’t this a birding blog? Yes but when birding overseas, you’ll probably need to pop into a store, and Walmart is a common choice. It’s good to know what to expect. Also, when you go out to the store, at least in San Francisco, Heredia, you might see a Yellow-naped Parrot.
Yes! Crazy, when we walked out of Walmart yesterday afternoon, like magic, the humming calls of Yellow-naped Parrots somehow cut through the noise of the cities. Showing that nature must prevail (or that they have loud voices), a pair of these critically endangered species violently screamed at nearby traffic. They were perched right at the tip of a non-native cypress and even without vines, the bright yellow on their napes stood out against their rounded sky.
It was an amazing sighting! I mean, I almost ran back inside to face the aisles’ influencers and tell them no, I’m not interested in that block of Turrialba cheese but let me tell you all about the amazing Yellow- naped Parrots on the side of the parking lot ! Oh, not interested? Well, I wasn’t interested in hearing about cheese either but you started telling me all about it…touchee senora.
Now, this is not to say that Walmart is a great place to go birding, in fact, I can’t recommend it. But, this is a reminder that birds can appear in Costa Rica in strange places, even rare species. When in Costa Rica, stop birding at your own risk because even in urban areas, a Lineated Woodpecker may be spotted, Short-tailed and Gray Hawks may be soaring overhead, and wood-rails are flowing along the banks of a dirty stream.
SITE Recreation Center
Speaking of wooden rails, this undiscovered gem of birding has them along with many others. I thought I knew most of the places to go birding in Costa Rica, I mean, I included hundreds of sites in “How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica” but, after random school trip, I realized the book had to be edited and include this place, the Centro de Recreo SITET.
Located in Rio Segundo, quite close to the airport, it is a small but excellent oasis to see common birds in an urban setting. Forget about the ridiculous Walmart Woods eBird hotspot, this is the place to be! We went to this small, private park for a school picnic and wish we had brought binoculars! The combination of mature Caribbean pines, large figs, secondary growth, creeks and lakes has attracted a surprising array of species.
Need a Boat-billed Heron? A few roosted over the pond, even good enough for photos! How about the Grey-cowled Wood-Rail? Some of these fancy rails are feeding near a stream which is also frequented by Lesson’s Motmot and other common species. Chestnut-capped Warblers and Cabanis’s Wrens called from the thicket, Black Phoebe wagged her tail, and Ringed Kingfisher flew overhead, I wouldn’t be surprised if Cabanis’s Ground-Sparrow was there too.
This overlook site looks especially good for migratory and interesting winter birds. I will definitely be back to see what I find. If you want to check it out, this site has a 2,000 colon entrance fee ($4), closed on Mondays and open on other days from 8 to 4. It’s located off a busy road but once inside, it’s a must birding is good and there are various picnic tables and grills. I bet it can be noisy and busy on weekends but other days are probably quiet. This is my eBird list, it also shows exactly where this area is located.
