10,000 Birds

JUNE 6, 2020

Crimson-fronted Parakeets- one of our city birds in Costa Rica. It’s not like when a birder is visiting Arizona and hoping for “the trogon” (aka Elegant Trogon ) because when a birder walks in Costa Rica, there are nine of these eye-catching beauties to look for. A female Baird’s Trogon.

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Costa Rica Panama Arizona Protection 198

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

Howell and Dale Dyer and Birds of Costa Rica by Dale Dyer and Steve N. An associated issue is that the Belize and Costa Rica guides share many of the same descriptions of species, written by Howell. Steve Howell has spent decades of experience in the field studying the birds of Belize, Costa Rica, and especially Mexico.

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Costa Rica Belize El Salvador Birds 202

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 17, 2022

Blue flanks, black chest, yellow head… I am in the birders’ heaven called Rancho Naturalista Lodge in Costa Rica and am observing my first Golden-hooded Tanager of the trip. While I already visited Costa Rica once, I do not feel overly-confident with its birds. Previous stage: Costa Rica on a relaxed birding pace.

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Costa Rica Rats Parrots Raccoons 237

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 26, 2020

After moving to Costa Rica in 2007, my fall migration took on a different approach. But it happened nonetheless and if you go birding in Costa Rica in September, especially during October, you can’t help but notice. Just as in the north, fall migration in Costa Rica doesn’t happen for two or three short weeks.

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Costa Rica West Virginia New York South America 310

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 15, 2020

In Costa Rica, February is a different birding story. To give an idea of the types of birds waiting to be seen in Costa Rica, the following are a random selection of some of the many beautiful and exciting resident bird species that can be encountered while birding Costa Rica in February: Buff-fronted Quail-Dove.

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Costa Rica Birds Panama Woodpeckers 224

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 10, 2020

In Costa Rica, the tenth month is when birds pass through in droves. In Costa Rica, a lot of those birds fly right overhead. If the wind carries them on, maybe they will go to Panama, or even make it to Colombia. Even while listening to nocturnal flight calls, it seems hard to assess what flies over Costa Rica.

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Costa Rica South America Colombia Paraguay 259

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 13, 2021

12 species of cuckoos are on the Costa Rica bird list. Tortuguero- one of many excellent birding areas in Costa Rica. I can’t say the same for the other especially tough cuckoo in Costa Rica, the one and only Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo (or RVG as I like to call it). boat ride to Cocos Island.

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Costa Rica Panama Washington Cats 249

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 1, 2022

Since I wanted to buy some genuine tastes of Costa Rica, we continued to C.A.T.I.E. Into the souvenir shop for some local coffee, chocolate and cocoa, then a coffee mug with an image of a Three-toed Sloth and the Field Guide to the Mammals of Costa Rica, and off we go. 130 mature individuals, in 2019 (Monge et al.

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Costa Rica Nicaragua 2019 Farming 223

10,000 Birds

JUNE 25, 2022

Such ultra rare and imperiled biodiversity are the “ Critically Endangered “, species that, according to the IUCN, “have decreased, or will decrease by 80% within three generations” Five bird species on the Costa Rica bird list fall into this alarming category. Waved Albatross (Phoebastria irrorata).

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Costa Rica Parrots Albatross Birds 247

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2019

Although it’s feasible and fairly easy to see Great Tinamou at some sites in Costa Rica, in most other places, the time investment needed to see one usually relegates it to the “heard only” category. In no particular order, these are my top 25 picks for target birds of Costa Rica. Why 25 and not ten?

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Costa Rica Panama Birds Eagles 201

10,000 Birds

APRIL 10, 2021

A male Turquoise Cotinga from southern Costa Rica. As they make their incredible, biannual winged trek, they also pass through Costa Rica. Cliff Swallow , one of many million that migrated through Costa Rica. Yeah, I daresay those birds do pass through Costa Rica in the millions.

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Costa Rica Nicaragua Ohio Honduras 257

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 27, 2021

Costa Rica is a tropical country but it doesn’t have to be hot. To be honest, I shouldn’t downplay the lower temperatures of Costa Rica’s high elevations. A bird of treeline and paramo habitats in Costa Rica and Panama, this wren is a main target for visiting birders.

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Costa Rica Birds Farming Litter 210

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 10, 2022

December birding in Costa Rica is a time of transition. In Costa Rica, the big 7 hundred is always a doable year birding goal but it’s also one that requires a certain degree of effort. Even if we don’t meet any of the haughty goals, it’s still gonna be good, this is birding in Costa Rica after all.

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Costa Rica Birds Panama North America 147

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 12, 2019

In October, it’s what’s happening in Costa Rica. Our big month of bird movements in Costa Rica, the 10th month of the year, is when most of the swallows, Scarlet Tanagers , thrushes, and other species on the South American express push through. What Scarlet Tanagers look like in October Costa Rica.

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Costa Rica Nicaragua Birds Panama 256

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2020

In Costa Rica, our July birding news usually consists of interesting sightings during the mid-summer tours. No tours means much less birding, especially on my part and with further restrictions to movement having been recently declared in Costa Rica, birding outside of the neighborhood has come to a full stop.

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Costa Rica Birds Thailand Family 202

10,000 Birds

JULY 20, 2019

If a list also shows the status for each species, birders on their way to Costa Rica would realize that they shouldn’t really expect vireos with white eyes nor blue heads (but would hopefully know that they should very much report those species on eBird so local birders can chase them!). Spot-bellied Bobwhite bites the dust.

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Costa Rica Birds Owls South America 196

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2020

In Costa Rica, although we have some freedom of movement, most local birders are still watching from home, me included. Thousands of birds have yet to fly through Costa Rica, in particular, the “late migrants” like Canada Warbler , various tyrant-flycatchers, and Yellow-billed Cuckoos.

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10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 15, 2018

Costa Rica is no exception. Despite the small size of Costa Rica, more than 50 hummingbird species reside in the cloud forests and other tropical habitats of this beautiful country; we see them in our gardens, while they buzz between flowers inside and at the edge of forest, and bickering over choice spots at hummingbird feeders.

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Costa Rica Nicaragua Panama Honduras 206

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 26, 2019

Personally, I love the day because I know that while I am out listening for owls and watching mixed flocks in Costa Rica, countless other members of the birding tribe are doing the same over there in the windswept plains of Rajastan, in the dripping cloud forests of Peru, in birdy New York’s Central Park, and so many other special places.

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Costa Rica Species West Virginia New York 201

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 16, 2019

Although most New World Barbets live in the tropical forests of South America (“the bird continent”), us birders in Costa Rica are fortunate to have two species to watch and listen to. Its yodeling song is a typical aspect of the cloud forest soundscape in Costa Rica and western Panama, a region to which it is endemic.

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Costa Rica Colombia South America Ecuador 158

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2019

One of the quandaries of birding in Costa Rica is deciding where to go birding. Costa Rica’s small size, ease of access and massive avian diversity promises a wealth of birds in many places. Panama Flycatchers and Streak-backed Orioles also fed at close range. Do we watch mixed flocks in fresh cloud forest?

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Costa Rica Morals Panama Parrots 137

10,000 Birds

MAY 23, 2020

In Costa Rica, well…not so much. A bird of the high elevation cloud forest, this stunner only occurs in Costa Rica and western Panama. Yes, the same species as the ones that birders pine for in the borderlands even though the ones in Costa Rica have yellow bellies. Slate-throated Redstart.

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Costa Rica Panama Nashville Baltimore 264

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 27, 2014

Those woodpeckers are some smart-looking birds, and Costa Rica has her fair share with 16 species that head-bang from the dry forests of the northwest to the high-elevation rainforests of the mountains. A local, brownish subspecies of the Hairy Woodpecker is one of this avian clan that resides in Costa Rica.

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Costa Rica Woodpeckers Honduras Panama 191

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 17, 2016

Go birding in Costa Rica to get these avian examples of cuteness on the life list: Collared Redstart – cute and common in the highlands of Costa Rica and western Panama. Cute is cool, and especially when the bird is a lifer. Hope to see you here!

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Costa Rica Emotional South America Birds 177

10,000 Birds

APRIL 4, 2015

Irazu is the name of a volcano in Costa Rica. but it’s not common in Costa Rica. Stop at any bit of forest en route and you might see species like Flame-throated Warbler, Yellow-winged Vireo, Ruddy Treerunner , and other birds that only live in the high elevations of Costa Rica and western Panama.

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Costa Rica San Jose Birds Owls 214

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 28, 2015

In Costa Rica, although I did spend a memorable one years ago in the Osa Peninsula where flocks of parrots flew into the mangroves while we feasted on turkey, pie, and the works, we have no actual Wild Turkeys , nor an official Thanksgiving. That last little bit is also why we call it “Turkey Day”! Ain’t I great?

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Costa Rica Turkey Ecuador Hunting 163

10,000 Birds

MARCH 21, 2015

Birders head to Costa Rica to see stunners like Resplendent Quetzal , Three-wattled Bellbird , Orange-collared Manakin , fancy hummingbirds , tanagers, and literally hundreds of other birds. A species that lives in both Costa Rica and South America but might be two separate species. (3). One of them quetzals.

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Costa Rica Species South America America 204

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 18, 2020

I don’t know what I will identify but since most or all will be in Costa Rica, there should be a lot. Brown Booby – Sula leucogaster; Playa Panama, 11-Jan. The post Pat’s 2020 Bird List, Mostly from Costa Rica appeared first on 10,000 Birds. Least Storm-Petrel – Hydrobates microsoma; Paquera, 3-Jan.

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Costa Rica 2020 Morals Farming 255

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 10, 2015

At least that’s the case for Costa Rica. The montane forests of Costa Rica and western Panama are home to at least 50 species of birds that live nowhere else except for one or two that also occur in northwestern Colombia. Nope, in addition to Costa Rica and western Panama, the good old R.

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Costa Rica Panama Nicaragua Honduras 150

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 26, 2014

One Spanish word I have down for life after my visit to Costa Rica is catarata. Black-bellied Hummingbirds can only be found in Costa Rica and western Panama. Because, honestly, when am I going to get back to Costa Rica again or go to Panama? Trips Catarata del Toro Costa Rica hummingbirds'

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Costa Rica Panama Humane Species 171

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2018

Northern Emerald Toucanets in Costa Rica are sometimes considered a separate species known as the Blue-throated Toucanet. I was reminded of that fact on June 23rd during the first official bird count at the Locos por el Bosque Reserve in Montserrat de Coronado, Costa Rica. This bad boy beauty isn’t even rare!

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Costa Rica San Jose Birds Eagles 128

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 29, 2016

Costa Rica is situated right between two oceans. Over there on the Caribbean (that’s what we call the Atlantic Ocean in Costa Rica), the lowlands are supposed to be blanketed in lush, over-vegetated rainforests. To the north of this mountainous isthmus, we have the Atlantic. In the other direction, the Pacific.

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Costa Rica San Jose Panama Birds 165

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 18, 2014

Costa Rica is one of those places that people visit to “see the rainforest” Although there’s no such thing as “the one and only rainforest”, Costa Rica is indeed a great place to check out this biodynamic habitat. A Sunbittern strolls through wet grass at Reserva La Marta, Costa Rica.

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Costa Rica Tigers Chickens South America 170

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2015

January kicks off the high season for birding in Costa Rica. Identifying 600 species : This is an annual goal of mine and, in Costa Rica, is feasible even if you stick to birding once a week. Catching some coastal migration : A lot of migrants pass through Costa Rica and most do so near the Caribbean coast.

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Costa Rica 2015 Birds Panama 163

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 2, 2017

In Costa Rica, thankfully, we have some sweet, quick and easy opportunities at beautiful birds that are just an hour’s drive from the airport. The regional endemic formerly known as Magnificent Hummingbird is common at high elevations in much of Costa Rica. White-bellied Mountain-gem. Talamanca Hummingbird.

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Costa Rica San Jose Panama Arizona 151

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 19, 2015

For example, in Costa Rica, we have Eastern Phoebe on the list because one lone, very lost (or extremely adventurous) individual took a really big detour at Pismo Beach instead of making a short flight to wintering grounds much closer to home. Yep, as silly as it sounds, those are a few of the rare birds I would chase in Costa Rica!

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Costa Rica Birds Panama Sparrows 161

10,000 Birds

JULY 23, 2016

In the recent supplement, differences in song, DNA, and physical appearance played a role in several splits, including five that affect Costa Rica. Since the official Costa Rica list tracks decisions made by the AOU, we need to make some changes and count the armchair ticks!

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Costa Rica 2016 South America Panama 100