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Costa Rica Wildlife Request
This might seem demanding, but you can choose to take me up on this offer or forget it. So I don't mind asking.
Could you do a summary of your Costa Rica locations and the wildlife/birds you have seen, plus when you were there? If you just note the large, colorful birds or birds doing interesting things instead of every winged creature ticked, that's ok too. Something like this. Lodge A in Park B in May of 20xx: animal y doing this 3 animal z's Birds: ##### %%%%% &&&&& Hotel R in Park S in Dec of 20xx: etc. etc. I hope this does not produce nightmares for those of you who did not like Algebra. Gracias. |
Best wildlife we've seen: Cano Negro and Arenal, Manuel Antonio, and the Osa. All our trips have been in July. We've seen monkeys, sloths, and wonderful birds in all locations. Neatest thing we saw in each spot was an albino baby howler monkey in Cano Negro, a peccary in Arenal, capuchins in Manuel Antonio, and all 4 kinds of monkeys, toucans, dolphins, and scarlet macaws in the Osa. If you do a search for my name, my list trip report lists all the birds we saw. If you'd like to know about a specific bird, I can check out my list and tell you, but I have way too many to type. We did see the quetzal in Monteverde; that was really amazing. One of the best things we've done is hire a private birding guide - we saw so many things we wouldn't have seen on our own.
Oh, I almost forgot, we saw anteaters - one in Arenal and one in the Osa; that was pretty neat too! |
volcano girl, was most of the wildlife you saw in arenal on cano negro tour?
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hmmm, I barely made it thru Algebra! Having gone to CR for the past several years (mostly in May, sometimes in early June) and seen so much it's hard to list exactly when/what and the list would be incredibly long. I will list some standouts though...
May 2006, Hanging Gardens in Arenal - 2 pit vipers May 2004, Selva Verde in Sarapiqui, fer de lance May 2007, Selva Verde in Sarapiqui, so many dart frogs on the sidewalks I often had to thread thru them May 2008, Bosque del Cabo, Osa - a massive column of army ants May 2008, Bosque de Paz, near Bajos del Toro - huge redleg Tarantula May past several years, Bosque del Cabo, Osa - too many to count run-ins with howlers, capuchins & spider monkeys, titi monkeys less so, probably 4-5 spottings I would say, in all, I've seen the largest variety of animals, insects, birds, butterflies etc in the Osa area, specifically at Bosque del Cabo. |
c, honestly until this last trip to Arenal, I didn't think there was much wildlife there, but we hired a private guide who spent several hours with us hiking 5 minutes from our hotel where the electric company owns some land, and we saw howlers, toucans, the peccary, anteater, and an ornate hawk eagle. We probably wouldn't have seen much on our own though. In Cano Negro, we saw wildlife around every turn, it's really obvious and easy to spot. But I agree with tully; you can't beat the Osa for wildlife. We saw most of it from the front porch of our cabin. Nothing can compare to it that we've seen. We stayed at Bosque del Cabo too and loved it.
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tully, I'm jealous of your snake sightings. The most we've seen is a snail-eating snake - ooh, scary!
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atravelynn said: "This might seem demanding, but you can choose to take me up on this offer or forget it."
What is the "offer"? Is there a prize? I prefer cash. Hotel: Si Como No, (Manuel Antonio area) from S.E. balcony of room 35 looking toward tall tree arising from Rico Tico restaurant, at precisely 4:37 pm, every day 3 February to 12 February, 2008, 3-4 Firey Billed Aricari, posing and strutting on a branch in the setting sun. Aricari tend to do this at the tree in which they roost. On the other hand, almost all the other wildlife was just passing through, as most of it does anyway. |
The prize: maybe you'll get your name in a Fodor travel book and then receive a free copy!
Thanks all. |
I have a total of 1593 bird records for Costa Rica which I can send to your Hotmail address as a text file. It can be sorted by date or species. Let me know if you are interested.
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volcanogirl,
If possible, please share more info about the private guide you had in Arenal – name, email address (or other way to contact him), price, how long he spent with you, etc. We’ll be in Arenal in February for 4 nights, 3 full days, and a guide to show us wildlife would be fantastic. Thanks |
Gavin, please do send the birds to my email. Thanks!
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Hi, xyz; we hired a guide named Zender through Sunset Tours. He was really fun and a great spotter. I think he got as excited about the wildlife as we did. We thought we were just getting him, but they sent two other guys along with him, and they picked us up very early a.m. to go spot the wildlife near the Lost Iguana where we stayed. One man made hot coffee in the van, and they gave us cookies while we looked for the animals. We saw toucans, howlers, the anteater, the peccary, and tons of cool birds - even an ornate hawk eagle. One of the guides even wrote down all the birds we saw for us. I would call Sunset Tours and request Zender. I'm sorry I don't remember the cost, but I thought it was reasonable. I really couldn't believe we saw all that because I've never thought of Arenal as having a lot of wildlife, except for the Cano Negro tour.
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I forgot to mention that I got a birding book by Garrigues and Dean before we went. It's called Birds of Costa Rica. I keep a checklist of all the birds we've seen in CR, so if anyone is curious about a certain one, I can look it up and tell you where/if we spotted it. I like having the record of it. At Bosque del Cabo, we did a birding tour with Carlos and really enjoyed that too.
The people on our Cano Negro tour were kind of duds. Zender saw that we had the birding book, so he knew we were really interested in it. The other people on our tour seemed disinterested, so I think he gave us a little special attention. He said he loves showing wildlife to people who really care about it and are interested in it. It just makes it more fun for him. That's how we started talking about hiring him for a few hours on our own. |
We were on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica last month and saw quite a few animals:
Manzanillo - sloths, howler & white-faced monkeys, tiger spider, leaf-cutter ants, and the best - a river otter! Cahuita - sloths, monkeys, eyelash viper, blue crabs, green and red dart frogs Tortuguero - caimans, monkeys, toucans, tons of other birds, crocodile, sea turtles both large (laying eggs) and just hatched babies |
(everywhere: turkey vultures, black vultures, tropical kingbird)
Pacuare River, February 16, 2008: Sunbittern, osprey, collared aracari Poas Nat'l Park, February 17, 2008: Poas squirrel, black-bellied hummingbird La Paz Waterfall Gardens, February 18, 2008: Emerald Toucanet, Prong-billed barbet, numerous hummingbirds Orquideas Inn, February 18, 2008: Blue-crowned mot-mot Arenal Observatory Lodge balcony, February 18, 2008: Montezuma's Oropendola, Coati, Silver Throated Tanager, Summer Tanager, Red-legged honeycreeper, Crimson collared tanager, Passerini's (scarlet-rumped) tanager, palm tanager, blue-gray tanager, white-vented euphonia, black guan, crested guan Muelle and environs, February 19, 2008: Chestnut-mandibled toucan, keel-billed toucan, sloth, several large iguanas Cano Negro tour, February 19, 2008: Caiman, emerald basilisk, garfish, howler monkey, spider monkey, tiger heron, great blue heron, little blue heron, cattle egret, great egret, snowy egret, white ibis, roseate spoonbill, purple gallinule, Great potoo, green ibis, boat-billed heron, anhinga, neotropical cormorant, wood stork, amazon kingfisher, slaty-tailed trogon, ringed kingfisher, green kingfisher, belted kingfisher, american pygmy kingfisher, mangrove swallow Cattle country near Quebrada Grande, February 20, 2008: orange chinned parakeet Monteverde Reserve, (AM) February 21, 2008: several Resplendent Quetzals, prong-billed barbet, black guan, howler monkey Wildlife Refuge (Santa Elena), (night) February 21, 2008: agouti, leaf cutter ants, armadillo, common possum, yellow sidestriped palm pit viper, tarantula Arco Iris Lodge, February 22, 2008: A troop of white-faced capuchins moved through the hotel grounds Ylang Ylang resort, Montezuma, February 22-24, 2008: troops of howler monkeys and capuchin monkeys frequently moved through the hotel grounds, agouti, land crab, several small lizards, orange-fronted parakeet, magnificent frigatebird, brown pelican Curu Wildlife Reserve, February 24, 2008: White-faced capuchin and spider monkeys (best sightings of the trip), Scarlet Macaws, crested caracara, brown basilisk, turquoise-browed mot-mot, black-headed trogon, coati, bats, Tarcoles, February 25, 2008: Orange-chinned parakeet, American Crocodile |
Oh, and outside the Monteverde Reserve you can see tons of humminbirds at the Hummingbird Gallery
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I forgot to add Monteverde night hike - we saw a fox and a porcupine!
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Volcanogirl,
Zender sounds great – we’ll stay at Iguana Lodge and also plan a Cano Negro tour. I also found the Garrigues and Dean book on amazon, so I guess I’m set :) Need to ask you (and everybody else) another question: how do Lost Iguana grounds compare to Arenal Observatory Lodge grounds, when it comes to birds? I heard that you can see more birds of more kinds at AOL, so I was thinking of taking a taxi and go there for a few hours. Should I? Is it really worth it? Considering that DH does not care about birds, he might not be too keen to go to AOL for another birding trip. So, if AOL is a lot better in terms of birds than Lost Iguana, then I might drag him there. Otherwise, he might just enjoy the room, the terrace and the volcano view while I explore the Lost Iguana grounds. What do you think? What would you do? Thanks |
I haven't been birding at AOL, but I hear good things about it. I think you might like it. We saw toucans on the grounds of the Lost Iguana, also a euphonia, and some tanagers. The Lost Iguana property is huge with a river that runs through it. It's also right near the lake, so the types of birds on the two properties might be different. Honestly I'm not that great of a spotter unless I have a guide with me. Does AOL feed their birds? Some places will put our fruit and feeders to attract them, but I didn't see that at the Lost Iguana. I think AOL might be worth checking out.
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Yes, AOL puts fruit on tree like stands to attract birds. You get the added bonus of coatis waiting underneath for the fruit to drop.
There were at least 20 Montezuma's oropendolas feeding, in addition to other birds, when we were there. It also has the best view of the volcano and lava flow of any place in Arenal. |
http://www.fieldguides.com/costarica.htm
Lynn, you may want to check out the Field Guides itinerary to Costa Rica -- they run the very best bird tours. All I can tell you is that I saw a quetzal in the Monteverde Cloud Forest, about a 15-second walk into the park, so for me, it was easy. |
This is my favorite mammal description from the most recent Field Guides trip report:
BROWN-THROATED THREE-TOED SLOTH (Bradypus variegatus) A dead one along the road was followed shortly by another in a roadside Cecropia tree near La Selva. Both animals were about equally active. |
Definitely book a guide aned show your enthusiasm for what the guides show you. We were on a group tour at Monteverde, and afterwards, our birding guide took my husband and I outside the boundaries to an area where the quetzals were nested, and let us check them out with his scope.
Favorite animal encounter: Montezuma at the Ylang Ylang resort, 11/06: 3 capuchins were in the trees above my husband's hammock, and one was eating something out of a jar. Another couple came to observe. One monkey jockeyed to try and get the jar from the other, so that monkey tucked the jar under his arm like a football and took off on hind legs, ala football running back!! As we laughed, the other couple realized that the jar the monkey had was actually their sugar jar from their bungalow, which the monkey had stolen and unscrewed open. The woman suddenly jumped up and bolted for her bungalow, in deep fear that those clever thieves had taken not only her sugar jar, but the underwear she had hanging in her open-air shower! |
I agree that guides love enthusiasm. We've gotten a lot of special attention just by showing some interest. We've gotten paired with some real duds on tours. On Cano Negro, a girl said to me, "Do you like birds or something?" She really seemed like she could not care less. Our guides said he really has to walk a fine line because there's people like us that want to know and learn everything and other people who just want to ride around on a boat.
In Monteverde, we had the WORST woman on our tour. At the very beginning, she saw another guide poke around in a hole to get a tarantula to come out. She wanted our guide to do the same thing; he said it wasn't an appropriate thing to do and that we should leave it alone, and she got furious. She literally stomped off and was kicking rocks; she did not stand with us for the rest of the tour. She literally stood off from our group and guide by several yards. I thought it was nuts, and her husband was embarrassed. We've secretly nicknamed her "cranky tarantula girl." Sometimes I feel sorry for the guides. Most of them seem to be self-taught and just have a real love for learning. |
Thanks all!
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Thit cho, Not only do we have the same sentiments on the outgoing president, our Monte Verde birding for quetzal experience is identical. Thanks for the input on the necro-sightings.
<i>"Sometimes I feel sorry for the guides. Most of them seem to be self-taught and just have a real love for learning.</i>" One demanding couple I was with insisted on being told the Latin name, in addition to the English name, of every bird sited. The Spanish speaking guide, who obviously loved birds and could spot them anywhere, did not know all of the Latin names, but he did know some. When they actually got mean to the guide over a toucan sighting, I took over the Latin translation: "Fruitius Loopia." That shut them up momentarily. |
Hey, we had the same sighting in Monteverde too! We hired a guide to meet us at the park at 7:30. Our taxi pulled in, and before we even paid the guide, he pointed at a quetzal in a tree by the parking lot! Then we saw 2 more when we were ziplining. That was really neat because we were at eye level with them.
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We had one woman who was soooo stupid and obnoxious on our night tour in Monteverde. She elbowed people out of the way so no one else could take a picture of a tarantula. As we wound our way single file through the forest, she lectured the people at the back of the line that they didn't see one animal because "you people are too slow."
But the funniest part was her questions. When the guide pointed out to us a "common possum," she asked him literally "is that rare?" And when the guide pointed out a yellow sidestriped palm pit viper, she asked "that's not dangerous, is it?" No, go give it a kiss. |
02-16 May 2008
Tortuga Island (day trip) - scarlet macaw, brown pelicans, flying fish and narcoleptic collared peccary Pacuare Lodge - sunbitterns, tiger herons, toucans (keel-billed and chestnut mandible), aracaris, vultures, emerald basilisks, Montezuma Oropendulas Monteverde, Selvatura NP and Children's Eternal Rainforest (Hotel Belmar) - howler monkeys, resplendent quetzals, three-wattled bellbirds, creaky bird (the bird whose call sounds like a rusty metal gate), butterflies, hummingbirds, scorpion, grasshoppers, click bugs, green parrots, possums, tree snake (could have been ringed snail eater or false coral), two-toed sloth, three-toed sloth, orange-kneed tarantula, katydid, white chested robins, mating kissing bugs, blue-crested mot mots, common dink frog, Arenal, La Fortuna Waterfall/Volcano Hike/El Silencio hike (Montana de Fuego) - flycatchers, toucans, parrots, bats, howler monkeys, woodpeckers, crested turkeys, green parakeets, white ibis Manuel Antonio NP (Hotel Costa Verde) - whitefaced, howler and squirrel monkeys, two and three toed sloths, long-nosed bats, green iguanas, Jesus Christ lizards, resident black ctenosaur, raccoons, agouti, snake, whiptails, orange beach crab, hermit crabs, boa constrictor, agouti, raccoon 28 September - 31 October 2008 Pacuare Lodge - vine snake, bullet ants, toucans, army ants, leafcutter ants, cane toad, Montezuma Oropendulas Tortuguero NP (Pachira Lodge) - spiders, river otter, white face monkeys, howler monkeys, spider monkeys, green iguanas, caimans, crocodile, boat-billed herons, tiger herons, snowy egrets, red-breasted kingfisher, hawks, vultures, jacanas, emerald basilisks, white ibis, Hercules beetle Rincon de la Vieja,Simbiosis Spa (Hacienda Guachipelin) - coati Arenal, Caño Negro (Hotel Sierra Arenal) – ospreys, black and white hawk, anhingas, jacanas, long-nosed bats, blue herons, green kingfisher, cattle egrets, swallows, snowy egrets, tiger herons, white faced monkeys, howler monkeys, three-toed sloth, green kingfisher, leafcutter ants Osa Peninsula, Corcovado NP and Caño Island (Punta Marenco Lodge) - blue heron, wooing pair of bare-throated tiger herons, brown pelicans, toucans (keel-billed and chestnut mandibled), tamandua, two toed sloth, three toed sloth, Jesus Christ lizard, hermit crabs, emerald basilisk, black vultures, common bush tanagers, green honeycreeper, various small lizards, preying mantis, humpback whales, spotted dolphins "Go give it a kiss!" RAC - you're too funny! LOL and trying to stifle my laughter here at work! |
RAC, that cracked me up! We had some folks in Monteverde that went nuts over a raccoon. Thought that was pretty cute! They were from the UK so had never seen one!
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