It was our last day in this wonderful paradise. We never did make it to the rope bridge or get to see a Sloth. That did not matter. We exceeded our expectations day after day! We were able to see 121 species of Birds, including 92 “lifers”! (A :lifer is a bird you never saw before in the wild.) We watched a couple types of Monkeys and saw 11 different species of Frogs! We were freaked out by 10 different types of Reptiles, plus Crocs & Caimans. We even were lucky enough to see an Armadillo. We met people from all over the world including Brazil, South Africa, Switzerland, Mexico, Japan, China, England, Spain, France & Germany.
We realized we still had a few hours drive back to San Jose to return the Chery and catch our flight. On the way to the airport, we laughed about possibly missing our flight. At one point we did not believe we could make it in time. We decided having to stay one more night would not be so bad… Unfortunately, we somehow found our way back to the car rental place just in time! We rushed to the airport and made barely our flight.
This was an adventure that we will never forget!
Goodbye Costa Rica, Pura Vida…
Rich Cost, Pure Life…
List of all 121 birds we saw:
* 29 Non-“Lifers” | 92 “Lifers”
| Ducks, Pelicans
Muscovy Duck * Brown Pelican *
Sandpipers, Stilts, Rails Whimbrel Spotted Sandpiper * Black-necked Stilt * Northern Jacana Gray-necked Wood-rail
Gulls, Terns Ring-billed Gulls * Herring Gulls * Royal Tern *
Thrushes, Wrens Grey-colored Thrush Northern Waterthrush Rufous-naped Wren
Vultures Black Vulture * Turkey Vulture * King Vulture
Hawks, Kites, Caracaras Osprey * Swallow-tailed Kite * Roadside Hawk Common Black-Hawk Crested Caracara
Owls Molted Owl
Warblers Tennessee Warbler *
Swallows Mangrove Swallow Barn Swallow *
Pigeons, Doves Rock Pigeon * White-winged Dove Mourning Dove *
Parrots Brown-hooded Parrot Red-lored Parrot Orange-chined Parakeet Great Green Macaw Scarlet Macaw
Kingfishers Green Kingfisher American Pygmy Kingfisher
Sparrows Rufous-collared Sparrow House Sparrow *
Swallows Barn Swallow * Mangrove Swallow
Woodpeckers Acorn Woodpecker Black-cheeked Woodpecker Hoffmann’s Woodpecker Cinnamon Woodpecker Lineated Woodpecker
Jays White-throated Magpie-Jay Brown Jay
Cotingas Three-wattled Bellbird
Tityras Masked Tityra Black-crowned Tityra
Seedeaters, Allies Red-legged Honeycreeper Green Honeycreeper Bananaquit Variable Seedeater White-collard Seedeater Buff-throated Saltator
Euphonias Olive-backed Euphonia Yellow-crowned Euphonia Yellow-throated Euphonia |
Herons, Egrets
Bare-throated Heron Green Heron * Little Blue Heron * Great Blue Heron * Boat-billed Heron Reddish Egret * Great Egret * Cattle Egret * Snowy Egret *
Frigatebirds, Boobies Magnificent Frigatebird Brown Booby *
Curassows, Guans Great Curassow Crested Guan
Hummingbirds Violet Sabrewing Green Hermit Green-crowned Brilliant White-necked Jacobin Crowned Woodnymph Coppery-headed Emerald Green-breasted Mango Green Violetear Purple-throated Mountain-gem Green Thorntail Magnificent Hummingbird Scaly-breasted Hummingbird Striped-tail Hummingbird Black-bellied Hummingbird Rufous-tailed Hummingbird Cinnamon Hummingbird Mangrove Hummingbird Ruby-throated Hummingbird *
Trogons Orange-bellied Trogon Resplendent Quetzal
Motmots Turquoise-browned Motmot Blue-crowned Motmot
Barbets Red-headed Barbet Prong-billed Barbet
Toucans Emerald Toucan Keel-billed Toucan Black-mandibled Toucan Collared Aracari
Cuckoos Squirrel Cuckoo Grooved-billed Ani
Flycatchers Tufted Flycatcher Yellowish Flycatcher Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Dusky-caped Flycatcher Social Flycatcher Boat-billed Flycatcher White-ringed Flycatcher Great Kissadee
Warblers Tennessee Warbler *
Tanagers Passerini’s Tanager Blue-and-Gold Tanager Palm Tanager Blue-gray Tanager Golden-hooded Tanager Silver-throated Tanager Summer Tanager *
Blackbirds Great-tailed Grackle Scarlet-rumped Cacique Montezuma Oropendola
Orioles Black-cowled Oriole Baltimore Oriole * Orchard Oriole |