Richard informed us before our 2019 tours that he was officially retiring from guiding. He joked that it was mainly due to him getting tired of hearing himself talk. But truth be told, Richard’s success with the field guide plus taking on the challenge of subcontracting ground transport and lodging for other international bird tour companies, he found it more and more inconvenient being away from his office when he was guiding.
Accordingly, we threw a retirement party on the next to last day of our second 2019 tour with Richard riding off into the sunset to the strains of Roy Rogers’s “Happy Trails”.
And this is where it might have ended were it not for the insistence of the Bruder’s from Colorado. With their urging, Carol contacted Richard within weeks of his “retirement” to see if we might do a “reunion tour” in 2021. Apparently Richard was game because within days he came back with an itinerary. Within a week, we had another full tour lined up for March 2021! Secretly we were pleased. Not only to get to see Richard again but that we would be reunited with many good birding pals.
Fast forward to 2020. The scourge of COVID-19. Owing largely to failed Republican leadership, infections skyrocketed. The chances of a tour happening began to look bleak. Costa Rica had closed its borders. Vaccinations were not yet a reality. Tour companies were cancelling tours left and right. Was our reunion tour going to suffer the same fate?
Ultimately Costa Rica re-opened its borders. But there were new visa restrictions and added requirements to overcome. Travel health insurance was now mandatory for each day we were to be in Costa Rica. In the event tourists contracted COVID they wouldn’t overwhelm the country’s health system. A Costa Rica Health Pass was also required to gain entry.
Carol spent a good deal of time following up with Richard and expat communities in Costa Rica to better understand these new developments. Travel insurance costs were all over the map but we eventually settled on Trawick, an international company which offered not only the best prices but also the easiest online options to purchase insurance (plus a smartphone app to download needed documents).
The CR Health Pass proved a bit more complicated in that it could only be obtained online and not any earlier than 48-hours prior to boarding our flights. The pass would come in the form of a QR code which was required to show before boarding a plane in the United States as well as when we passed through Costa Rica immigration.
Adding to the mix was that the CDC in the United States was now requiring all travelers flying to the United States to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test. An understandable precaution but just one more complication. Where and when would we be tested in Costa Rica? How much would this cut into our birding time? Additional cost?
Thankfully, Carol and Richard got it all sorted. Adding to our good fortunate everyone in the group had already opted, before the CDC test requirement became known, to stay an extra day in Costa Rica following the end of the tour, thus allowing ample time to get tested and not impact on our tour time.
Another development working in our favor was the outcome of U.S. November national elections resulting in major policy changes dealing with COVID-19. Vaccinations became more readily available. By the time the time our tour was green lighted, everyone had been vaccinated. After having been been shut out of any and all travel for most of 2020, we were all more than ready for a break!
Our group consisted of the Bruders, Risë and John (CO), Carol’s sister Marge Hill (WI), Joanne Peterson (CO), Vickie Buchman (WI), Lynn Koss (WI), Russell and Connie Upstill (AZ), and Patty and Jon Lovekin (CO). Patty and John were new to the group while all the rest had been to Costa Rica with us on previous tours.
As always, we had encouraged people to arrive a day or two sooner ahead of the official tour start for a chance to acclimate and chill plus allow a buffer time should any travel delays arise (usually weather related). The Bruders arrived March 14 promising to scout the hotel bar and restaurant. We, along with Jon and Patty, Joanne, and the the Upstills arrived March 15. Marge, Vickie, and Lynn arrived on March 16. Everyone’s flights went smoothly.
Because John and Risë were the first to fly they were the first to experience the online Costa Rica Health Pass form process. They alerted the rest of us to a few of the form’s requirements we hadn't been aware of - like needing to upload a PDF copy of the insurance policy plus a few other quirks.
Our own travel to Costa Rica began by driving to Phoenix the day before our flight, overnight guests at the Upstills’s home in Chandler. It also helped that our flight time out of Phoenix was later in the morning which meant not having to get up at some unGodly hour. They drove us to the airport where Connie and Russ's car was left in covered parking. We all shared the cost of long term parking.
We flew on American Airlines which included a connecting flight in Miami, arriving in Costa Rica a little before 8:00pm. By around 10:00pm we were in our rooms at the Hotel Bougainvillea having pre-checked in with the hotel on line a few days earlier.
Owing to COVID several changes were in now place. The usual coffee urns placed at the front and rear entrances along with pastries were missing. So too the breakfast buffet, now replaced with a reduced a la cart breakfast menu. The small bar where we always met for drinks was open but now only a few days a week. However, drinks could be ordered and consumed in the restaurant which turned out to be a plus considering there being way more seating options.
Anxious to get out birding and prior to breakfast, we met the Bruders, Upstills, Lovekins, and Joanne outside for a walk in the gardens. Regardless of how the birding had dropped off, the gardens offered lots of space for walking. For the Lovekins - their first tropical birding experience - the birding was great!
Over the next few days everyone spent time wandering the gardens, taking a dip in the pool, and otherwise just chilling. Marge, Lynn, and Vickie joined the group on the 16th. Richard joined us that evening to make introductions and provide us with an overview of what to expect in the coming days.
On the morning of the 17th, the official first full day of the tour, we did a brief walk across the road to pickup new birds including the first of four endemics (Cabanis’s Ground-Sparrow). Following a filling breakfast and copious cups of coffee, we brought our bags to the lobby where we loaded them onto our coaster bus. We were thrilled that Didier Aguilar was to be our driver. He’d been our driver on our tours in 2017 and 2019. We were delighted to be reunited again!
A walk at Carra rarely escapes encounters with Panamanian white-faced capuchin (Cebus imitator). A large troop suddenly appeared overhead scampering through the trees jumping back and forth to both sides of the trail. At times they landed within a few feet above our heads. Not that we felt unsafe - just that the noise and sudden movements were a bit unnerving.
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| Capuchin - photo John Bruder |
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| Common Tody-Flycatcher |
A Common Tody-Flycatcher was in the very early stages of constructing a nest - a collection of material that will eventually take the form of a hanging structure somewhat similar to an oriole nest. A small charming bird - one we refer to as a "pocket bird". So cute you just want to scoop one up, put it in your pocket, and take it with you.
The first lodge on our tour was Hotel Villa Lapas. By our count this was our sixth visit to the lodge but the first under COVID. The first major visible change was instead of a buffet line, we were served a la carte at our table.
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| Scarlet McCaw and typical Costa Rican fare |
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| Turquoise-browed Motmot - photo John Bruder |
The next morning we began what would be become our morning ritual - meet at 5:45am for a walk before breakfast. Birds in and around the hotel grounds included Riverside Wren, Piratic Flycatcher, Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher, Scrub Euphonia, Bright-rumped Atitila, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Ruddy Ground-Dove, and Gray-capped Flycatcher.
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| Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher - photo John Bruder |
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| Riverside Wren - photo John Bruder |
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| Northern Ghost bat |
After breakfast - and concerned about more rain - we returned to Carra NP to walk another trail. Wrens were a highlight: Black-bellied, Rufous-breasted, and Rufous-and-white. Golden-hooded Tanager, Blue-black Grosbeak, Slate-headed Tody-Flycatcher, Dusky Antbird, Dot-winged Antbird, Black-hooded Antshrike, Orange-collared Manakin, Rufous Mourner, and White-whiskered Puffbird. A none bird highlight was finding a Northern Ghost Bat (Diclidurus albus), a relatively rare, completely white, insectivorous bat. This was our first ever sighting of one in the wild. While they roost in colonies it's not unusual to find a single bat, as in this instance, roosting under a palm leaf.
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| Rufous Mourner - photo John Bruder |
During lunch back at the lodge the rains picked up considerably. However, after an afternoon rest the rains let up as we headed to one of the highlights of any visit to this area: A boat ride on the Tarcoles River. Very popular destination for general tourists to see crocodiles but for birders, an excellent opportunity to bird from the comfort of a slow moving boat.
Double-striped Thick-knee, numerous wading birds, several Common Black Hawks, four kingfisher species: Ringed, Amazon, Green and the always popular American Pygmy. Then there was a Yellow Warbler subspecies (Setophaga petechia maria), the Mangrove Warbler with a head that looked like it was dipped in chocolate. Mangrove Swallows tracked our boat's movement as Black-headed Trogon were seen along the shore.
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| Connie, Russ and Joanne enjoying the ride |
The next morning's 5:45am walk along hotel grounds and trails added Gray-breasted Dove, Slaty-tailed Trogon, Chestnut-backed Antbird, Cocoa Woodcreeper, Masked Tityra, Tawny-crowned Greenlet, Yellow-throated Euphonia and finally, good looks at a Buff-rumped Warbler hopping along the trail instead of along the river bank where we had heard but not seen any earlier.
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| Chestnut-backed Antbird |
Following breakfast we loaded the coaster and set off for what would be our longest travel day of the tour, headed to a new lodge and the Osa Peninsula. But a travel day doesn’t mean no birding. In fact it opens us up to visiting a number of places along the route as well as birds seen from our coaster windows.
One stop was an agricultural area consisting of rice fields where hundreds of wintering Dickcissel were feeding. Alas, all the action took place in a field shielded by a very long and tall hedgerow. Would just one Dickcissel show itself? Of course not. Another target bird - an addition to our country list - was a Eurasion Collared-Dove. One was finally found feeding on the ground near some farm implements (thanks Marge for spotting it!). We also had looks at Shiny and Bronzed Cowbirds.
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| On the mangrove Hummingbirds |
One key bird we had missed during the boat ride was Mangrove Hummingbird. Small and not terribly colorful as far as hummingbirds go, however, it's a Costa Rican endemic. In other words, the only place in the world to see one is in Costa Rica. If we were to have any shot at seeing all four Costa Rica endemics (recall that we had already picked up Cabinis Ground-Sparrow), we needed this bird.
Fortunately, someone following Richard’s eBird reports noted that we had missed the bird on our river trip and communicated to Richard the location of a very much off the road spot where one might be seen. Following this last minute tip, we stopped at a dead end trek near a mangrove forest where the tide was clearly out - but where we did find not one but three Mangrove Hummingbirds thus keeping our endemic streak alive. Also added Wood Stork, Crested Carara, and Prothonotary Warbler in spite of a very local barking dog seemingly upset with our presence.
Another stop was where we got to play one of our favorite birding games - "find the bird". Usually this meant a roosting owl or potoo. It was the latter. A Common Potoo.
Amazing location as the bird - and a chick - were perched atop a wooden fence post barely four and a half feet high located about twenty-five feet off a narrow dirt road. Potoos don’t build nests. They lay a single egg on an exposed post or broken tree limb. That this bird was still there was amazing. Days earlier local kids were posting selfies standing dangerously close to the birds.
Rather than risk further disturbance we all remained on the coaster taking turns shooting pictures out the open door. As a light rain began, we watched the adult bird, with sloth like movement, ever so slowly lower its head while extending its wings to envelope the chick, protecting it from the rain.
Our planned lunch stop was at a restaurant located down a steep incline near the ocean. Alas, in spite of what the restaurant's hours showed on Google, the restaurant was indeed closed. And looked to have been that way for some time. Pity. It had nice of views of the ocean from the dining area. But as long as we were close to the ocean, a bit further down along the shore was a combination rock and sand beach. An excellent place to seek out Wandering Tattlers. However, as with the restaurant, we were out of luck. Nice views, though and obviously a popular place with the locals.
No matter. On to plan B. We found another restaurant offering yet more wonderful typical Costa Rican fare. And who’s to say the food at the original planned stop would have been any good in spite of the views?
A few needed potty and fuel stops offered time and to stretch our legs and purchase snacks. You never know who you might encounter at such stops. One gas station had a group of three Americans on BMW motorcycles touring Central America. Just when we thought we were on a grand adventure… (well we were - but you know what we mean).
In 2004 during our first CR trip, there were essentially two ways to get to the the Osa Peninsula: fly in a puddle jumper or drive. In 2004 we were we driven. Now in 2021, we returned to what we consider the "proper" Osa Peninsula. Retracing our original driving route we noticed much had changed but nothing was more obvious than our crossing the new Rio Rincon bridge.
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| The old and the new |
Side note: In 2004 we flew back to San Jose from the Puerto Jimenez airstrip thus avoiding a second crossing of the bridge and a very long drive. Richard, Carol and I were the only ones on our 2021 tour to recall the old bridge. And were thankful for its replacement.
Our first new (to us) lodge we encountered during our 2021 tour was Danta Corcovada Lodge. Richard had scouted the lodge weeks earlier and thought we would enjoy it. And we did!
The Osa Peninsula is one of the most biologically intense places on earth as well as one of the more remote areas in Costa Rica. One of the last places in Costa Rica to be settled and still remain sparsely populated, the Osa is covered almost entirely in virgin rainforest extending all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Separating it from the mainland is the Golfo Dulce – one of only four tropical fjords on earth.
Its low elevation and proximity to the ocean make the Osa very hot and humid no matter the time of year. The time we would spend here wouldn’t allow us to assimilate much - we just endured the humidity. However, all our rooms (bungalows) had large screened windows. While not air conditioned, there were plenty of fans to circulate air in the evening when temps dropped to bearable degrees.
The main reception, kitchen, dining and bar areas were open air but covered. Just one rule - no shoes. The wooden floors had recently been redone. The full bar, food and service were first rate.
A bit of a hike to the bungalows required flashlights after dark. Lots of forest sounds in the evening. Patty and Jon’s bungalow was in the midst of a wet area accessed via a boardwalk. Loads of frogs and toads to keep them company. All night.
Our first morning came a bit earlier than our “meet at 5:45” appointed time. We boarded the coaster around 5:15 and headed back to the Rio Rincon Bridge to beat the heat of the day. The bridge is now an eBird hotspot. During our stop we picked up 62 species of birds in and around the area including Least Sandpiper, Gray-cowled Wood-Rail, Willet, Roseate Spoonbill, Double-toothed Kite, Fiery-billed Aracari, Pale-billed Woodpecker, a handful of parrot species: Brown-hooded, White-crowned, and Red-lored. Yellow-billed Cotinga, Boat-billed Flycatcher, Gray-breasted Martin, Mourning Warbler, and Blue Dacnis.
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| The Rio Rican, roadside birding, Tom and Didier |
Back to the lodge for lunch then a second visit to Camino a La Tarde where we added Laughing Falcon, Blue-crowned manakin, Dusky-capped Flycatcher, a Scarlet Tanager ( another country bird for us), Scarlet-rumped Tanager, Orange-chinned Parakeet, White-necked Puffbird, and Squirrel Cuckoo.
Back again at the lodge we chatted up their local guide who had done a night walk the evening before stating that he found not one but three Fer-de-lance in and around the main lodge building. All the more reason to carry a flashlight and stay on the trails.
In conversations with one of the owners, Merlin, we learned that Danta Corcovado Lodge participates in the CST Program (Certification of Sustainable Tourism), recognized by the World Tourism Organization as a program that is gradually improving environmental and social impacts of tourism. The lodge’s sustainability program focuses on four areas:
Natural Environment: Sustainable interaction of the hotel with its natural surroundings through the implementation of programs to protect the environment.
Socioeconomics: Interaction of the hotel with the surrounding communities. The hotel generates benefits and growth with development by creating jobs and supporting local small businesses. Staff at the lodge are all from local communities.
Hotel Infrastructure: Internal processes for waste management, water and energy saving, use of alternative energies and the type of products that the business acquires (organic, biodegradable and environmentally friendly products).
Guests: Hotel education programs to invite participation and/or create awareness for the lodge’s sustainability programs.
For as long as the lodge has been in existence we were surprised to hear that they never specifically used any targeted advertising for birding groups. High school and university groups, yes. But not bird tour groups. Perhaps after our visit that might change.
Our next day early morning foray at Danta Corcovado involved a bit of a slog through less than flat terrain. We started in the dark at 5:00am. Knowing this, some of the group elected to sleep in. Just as well since parts of the concrete tracks proved to be wet with dew and somewhat uneven making footing a bit tricky. That it was already very humid didn’t help.
Our target bird? Gray-breasted Crake. This would actually be a rare Costa Rica life bird for Richard.
Crakes are notoriously elusive. Very small. Heard much more often than seen. This species preferred damp grassy fields and marshes. Frustratingly, crakes establish a maze of grassy tunnels so they rarely have to make an appearance. The plan was to play a call and hope that the bird would peek out of an edge opening.
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| The "crake" walk |
The playback part of the plan went well. Alas, as with many crakes, this bird remained well heard but unseen. Considering how close and how well we heard the bird, I counted it as a life bird. There are a few on my life list as “heard only”. But dang it. It would have been grand if the bird just made an appearance, no matter how short. If only for Richard's sake.
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| John, Risé, Jon, Jo Anne, Patty |
The non-crake sighting aside, the walk did prove very birdy as we ventured further up the trek to a couple of overlooks. On our return to the lodge as we passed over the "crake" boardwalk, Richard played a recording of “Under The Boardwalk”. No doubt where the little bugger was sitting. And laughing at us.
All told we tallied over 50 species of birds on our walk including Marbled Wood-Quail, Costa Rican Swift, Gray-headed Kite, White Hawk, Linneated Woodpecker, Steak-chested Antpitta (heard only), Streak-headed Woodcreeper, Black-crowned Tityra, Isthmian Wren, and Slate-headed Tody-Flycatcher.
A little later in the day during another outing away from the lodge, the entire group experienced another frustrating “heard only” crake when a very vocal Ocellated Crake also refused to put in an appearance. More roadside birding netted Gray-crowned Yellowthroat, Blue-black Grassquit, Buff-throated Saltator, Smooth-billed Ani, Pale-breasted Spinetail, and a massive migration overhead comprised mostly of Swainson’s Hawks.
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| Stripe-throated Hermit |
During our nightly checklist, those who participated were able to add several checks on their checklist than those who failed to go. You snooze, you lose. The early birder gets the bird. Though to be fair, those that remained behind got to witness a group of aracari emerge from their night roost cavity. And they added Stripe-throated hermit and Charming Hummingbird.
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| Three-toed Sloth and Richard relaxing |
All too soon it was time to depart Danta Corcovada. We gathered our luggage, loaded our coaster and after a brief breakfast we headed out. Safe to say in spite of the hot and humid environment we all could have spent more time at the lodge and more birding opportunities in the Osa. Who knows - perhaps a second (and successful) try for the Gray-breasted Crake?
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