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| Rio General, Talari Mountain Lodge |
Leaving Danta Corcovado behind we headed up out of the lowlands making our way toward the Valley El General with a few birding stops along the way plus a stop for lunch, reaching our next overnight Talari Mountain Lodge, by late afternoon.
Talari isn’t one of our favorite lodges. Truth be told, the rooms have not been maintained well and the place overall has a worn feeling. That said, it presented us with a convenient overnight and the owner was most accommodating. We suspect that business has been slack, even before COVID, so funds to maintain have been sparse which has likely been frustrating to the owner and staff.
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| Yellow-headed Caracara |
Birding around the lodge had been fine in past stays and this was no exception. Gray-headed Chachalaca, Long-billed Starthroat, Scaly-breasted Hummingbird, Gray-cowled Wood-Rail, great closeups of Yellow-headed Caracara, Ochre-bellied Flycatcher, and Isthmian Wren, to name a few.
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| Lynn and Vickie at Talari |
During our stay the owner went over the top to drive to one of Costa Rica’s National University campuses in San Isidro El General to check on the status of a bird we were hoping to see as well as inform Richard of what the group would need to do to comply with campus COVID protocols. We were very grateful for his taking the time.
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| Russ our official guardian of the luggage! |
After leaving Talari the next morning we made our way to the campus where our temperatures were taken, hand sanitizers provided and with masks in place, we walked the grounds in search of Turquoise Cotinga. After about a half hour of scouring the surrounding trees, we finally got good looks - albeit distant looks - at this electric blue colored member of the cotinga family.
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| Turquoise Cotinga - photo John Bruder |
Our next overnight lodging, according to the original agenda, was to be at El Toucanet Lodge. This would have been a new lodge we’d not yet visited. However, after following a number of inquires about our reservation and hearing nothing from the lodge, Richard finally learned that the lodge was not in operation at the time due to COVID. But not to worry. Our reservation had been handed off to their sister lodge, Paraiso Quetzal Lodge. Ah, but we did worry. During our 2019 stay we had not been entirely happy with our stay Paraiso Quetzal Lodge. The food was fine and we had killer looks at Fiery-throated Hummingbirds from the dining room deck. But our room was cold and lacked heat in the cramped bathroom.
Carol asked Richard to see if we might get booked into Hotel Savegre. Ordinarily Savegre has a year or two wait list for groups but with COVID, things had changed. Savegre immediately responded to say they, yes, they had rooms available. Thankfully, Savegre it was was.
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| Red-headed Barbet male and female - photos John Bruder |
Of course a few stops along the way, the first being Bosque Del Tolomuco, a small retreat located in the heart of the Talamanca Mountains in the Southern Pacific of Costa Rica. We’ve stopped here on prior trips and looked forward to birding the grounds. We were not disappointed. White-throated Mountain-gem, Stripe-tailed Hummingbird, White-tailed Emerald, Red-headed Barbet, Mistletoe Tyrannulet, Rufous-breasted Wren, close looks at Flame-colored Tanager, Chestnut-colored Brushfinch, and a highlight of the stop, an active Olivaceous Piculet nest cavity.
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| Olivaceous Piculet |
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| Flame-colored Tanager |
In hind sight, we can heartily recommend a stay at Bosque Del Tolomuco for individuals or couples touring Costa Rica. The place lacks the number of rooms to accommodate a group of our size.
A few more roadside stops including one well known birding hot spot, the roadside restaurant, La Georgina. Pulling up to the front door we were disappointed to see the closed sign! Apparently the restaurant, due to COVID, had reduce the number of days it was open. However, as we started to pull away, the owner, who happened to be out in the yard, saw the coaster, recognized Richard, and warmly invited us to come inside to view the hummingbird feeders which the owner had dutifully maintained at the rear windows of the restaurant.
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| Fiery-throated Hummingbird |
Lucky for us because this is one of the best stops to view Fiery-throated Hummingbirds up close. We also got our first looks at a few higher elevation bird species such as Volcano Hummingbird, Talamanca Hummingbird (formerly known as Magnificent Hummingbird before the species was split), Sooty Thrush and Large-footed Finch.
Before diving down into the valley where Hotel Savegre is located we went further up to the communication towers located atop Cerro de la Muerte, our highest point on the tour. Here we hoped to find a few specialties: Volcano Junco and Timberline Wren. Alas, the weather atop Cerro was disagreeable. We've been there when it's been sunny and clear as well as socked in with clouds and rain. Unfortunately it was the latter. But birding from the comfort of our coaster we still managed to catch sight of a few juncos as well as Black-billed Nightingale Thrush.
Over the years the road down to Hotel Savegre, nestled in the San Geraldo de Dota Valley has been improved adding paved surfaces in some areas. But it’s still a steep descent with wonderful views of the valley. Birding from the coaster we added Black Guan and Mountain Thrush.
Our first visit to Savegre Lodge was in 2004. Since then we’ve returned in ’07, ’15, and 2017. Over this time the lodge has changed both its name and has added several new buildings including a spa, meeting rooms, and a new bar area. But that didn’t prepare us for the change we found this time: the reception area and dining area had been completely remodeled and expanded in November 2020 during a time when the hotel was closed due to COVID. We must admit the the remodeling was quite impressive.
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| Russ, Connie, Marge, Jo Anne - Savegre happy hour |
By the time we checked in and dropped our luggage in our rooms it was time for happy hour, our evening meal, and of course doing our daily checklist. By now we had tallied 280 species seen/heard.
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| Collared Redstart - photo John Bruder |
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| Yellow-thighed Brushfinch - photo John Bruder |
Our before breakfast birding plan required boarding our coaster for a brief journey part way back up the main road in search of local high elevation species. For our effort we were rewarded with Collared Redstart, Black-cheeked Warbler, Flame-throated Warbler, Yellow-thighed Brushfinch, Sooty-capped Chlorospingus, Ruddy-capped Nightingale Thrush, Black-faced Solitaire, Rufous-browed Peppershrike, Black-capped Flycatcher, Mountain Elannia, Ruddy Treerunner, Spot-crowned Woodcreeper, Ruddy Pigeon, Band-tailed Pigeon, and Spotted Wood-Quail.
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| Sooty-capped Chlorospingus - photo John Bruder |
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| Slaty Flowerpiercer - photo John Bruder |
During breakfast we had a pleasant conversation with one of the owners who informed us that our group was the first birding group to visit Savegre since March 2020. This alone probably accounted for how easily Richard was able to make the switch to stay at Hotel Savegre. Looking around the dining area we saw only two other couples which reinforced the owner's claim.
Following breakfast we took a short hike around the hotel grounds. Another noticeable change was a trail usually leading to another section of property was now gated and inaccessible. Too bad as this lead to an interesting trail that lead up hill along a small tributary to the Rio Savegre that paralleled the property.
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| Slate-throated Redstart - photo John Bruder |
We now had our first looks at Scintallent Hummingbird, Slate-throated Redstart, Swallow-tailed Kite, Sulphur-winged Parakeet, Torrent Tyrannulet, Yellowish Flycatcher, Yellow-winged Vireo, Golden-browed Chlorophonia, Common Chlorospingus, and Slaty Flowerpiecer.
Instead of lunch at the lodge we opted to eat at a small cafe just up the road, Café Kahawa. Very pleasant outdoor setting along the Rio Savegre. The main courses were very satisfying and he deserts were especially delightful. From the comfort of our tables we added Boat-billed Flycatcher and Long-tailed Silky-Flycatcher.
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| Trout Basket |
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| Mini Fruit Pie (strawberry) with ice cream |
During our earlier walk, there was a trail sign promising an overlook at a waterfall - Mirador Savegre - which intrigued Jo Anne who opted to hike to the waterfall thereby forego lunch at the café. Fortunately Jon agreed to accompany her. “Fortunately” because the trail turned out to be a trial of determination. It turned out to be not at all hospitable as there were more than a few stumbles and falls. They met us back at the hotel after our lunch. Out of respect for their arduous muddy journey, we didn’t elaborate on the scrumptious deserts. Well, not much anyway.
The valley and Hotel Savegre in particular, are known for sightings of Resplendent Quetzal. So it was more than a little disconcerting that we hadn’t seen any yet. However, there was a small pasture just up the road from the café where people had reported seeing quetzals as well as an active nest cavity. Late afternoon we found ourselves in the pasture scanning the tree line along the river…where we found both male and female quetzals. Not the greatest of looks but now we knew where the nest cavity was located. There was also a very cooperate pair of Tufted Flycatchers.
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| Tufted Flycatcher |
Owing to staying out after happy hour, the staff at the lodge graciously extended the two-for-one special for the rest of the evening! Our evening meal ,as with breakfast, was served a la carte since with COVID, buffet lines in many places were not yet in operation again.
We got a bit of a break the final morning with a later than usual start time. Just bring our luggage to the reception area before breakfast and bird the area until it was time to eat.
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| Volcano Hummingbirds |
Then two notable events occurred. The first was Richard approaching Tom to ask if he would please take a picture of a bird perched on a wire using his scope - so that Tom could then share the photo with Richard who would be submitting what turned out to be a rare bird alert to eBird.
Approaching the perched bird, Tom said, “That bird? You want a picture of THAT bird?” “Yep”, replied Richard. “That’s the one”. It was a White-winged Dove. We have these birds in our yard in Sierra Vista as they are quite common. And they are quite common in Costa Rica. Just not at higher elevations like at Hotel Savegre. Sure enough the sighting was flagged on eBird as unusual - hence the need for a photo rather than a lengthy description. One of those "a picture is worth a thousand words" scenarios.
The second notable event occurred after we boarded our coaster for the journey back to the main highway. We made one last minute stop at the “quetzal pasture”. And what a fortunate stop it was! Not only did we get batter looks of the female quetzal perched in front of the nest cavity, but two males were flying back and forth. Suddenly, before we fully realized what was to happen, one of the males mounted the female in front of the the nest cavity! Huzzah! Mating quetzals! What a flurry of color and motion. Richard even stated that in all the years of birding in Costa Rica this was the first time he’s witnessed them copulating.
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| Resplendent Quetzals mating |
Icing on the cake was that the male, now bent on defending his territory against all comers, began stooping on and chasing after a squirrel that the male thought to be too close to the cavity! Definitely a highlight of the trip!
Once back on the main highway, we stopped at Los Quetzales National Park, mainly the parking area, where Richard called out a bird we’d missed earlier atop Cerro de la Muerte: Timberline Wren. Also a few warbler species we’re familiar with in Wisconsin: Golden-winged and Wilson’s. A short drive down a road parallel to the park added Silvery-fronted Tapaculo. Alas, we whiffed on the Wrenthrush, normally a pretty sure bet. The bird was no doubt lurking somewhere nearby but didn't feel compelled to make an appearance.
This was followed by a swing through an area of agricultural lands where we went in search of another unusual bird for Costa Rica: Mourning Dove. Hardly a life bird for the group but a necessary tick for one’s country bird list.
During our brief walk along an access road and marshy area we added Common Gallinule, Black-necked Stilt, Northern Jacana, Little Blue Heron, Spotted Sandpiper, Cattle Egret, Zone-tailed Hawk, Crimson-fronted Parakeet (flyovers), Merlin, Eastern Meadowlark, and Yellow-faced Grassquit.
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| Barn owl |
Another urban birding stop was at the Parque de Paraiso, in the town of Paraiso, a known hotspot for roosting Barn Owl on the grounds of the Parroquia Nuestra Señora de la Limpia Concepción del Rescate de Ujarrás Catholic Church.
We’re never quite sure what to expect when we try a new lodge. In spite of what the lodge’s web site portrays, we’re never sure until we arrive. But arriving at Hotel Quelitales at the end of a narrow dirt road we were more than pleasantly surprised.
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| The outside didn't hint at what was on the inside |
The lodge’s accommodations were similar to the bungalows we encountered at Danta Corcavado in that they were scattered from each other, accessible by walks up some steep grades. Fortunately our luggage was transported to each bungalow by staff using a pickup truck and four-wheel drive vehicle leavings us free to check in at reception.
Rooms were spacious and airy. Our room had a view of a distant waterfall off a spacious deck. And again, no need to draw any curtains. The bath was large and incorporated both an indoor and outdoor shower. Continuing our experience of being the only group on site, we pretty much had the dining area to ourselves. The only downside was that it was raining when we arrived so both an umbrella and a flashlight were necessary when going to and from the main reception area/dining area.
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| Scaly-breasted Hummingbird |
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| Green-crowned Brilliant |
Our birding plan for the next morning before breakfast was to meet at the end of a short trail that terminated at a waterfall and flowering gardens. Rain or shine. Alas, it was rain which putt off a few of the folks. Fortunately there was a covered deck next to a small lagoon into where the waterfall emptied. A few hummingbird feeders attracted Green Hermit, Green-crowned Brilliant, White-bellied Mountain-gem, Violet Sabrewing, Scaly-breasted Hummingbird, and Rufous-tailed Hummingbird.
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| Black-breasted Hummingbird |
Eventually, Black-bellied Hummingbird was spotted visiting garden flowers while Black-breasted Wood-Quail calling tantalizingly nearby. Eventually a few made an appearance, creeping out to eat some rice scattered on the ground near a row bushes where White-eared Ground-Sparrow also emerged.
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| Crimson-collared Tanager - photo John Bruder |
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| Breakfast at Hotel Quelitales |
Other birds in and around the water fall gardens as well as seen from the dining area during breakfast included Chestnut-headed Oropendula, Montezuma Oropendula, Tropical Parula, Crimson-collared Tanager, Scarlet-rumped Tanager, Tawny-capped Euphonia, Brown Jay, Olivaceous Woodcreeper, and Broad-winged Hawk.
The rest of the day was spent on the road away from the lodge….
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