December 27, 2025-January 4, 2026 with Megan Edwards Crewe & local guide Vernon Campos
When winter descends, cold and gray, on North America, it's nice to get away to a warm, sunny place where it's "summer" year-round -- where flowers are blooming in garden and forest, fruits hang heavy on the trees and colorful birds abound. And if you can also spend a whole week relaxing at the same comfortable lodge (rather than living out of a suitcase), blow your diet on some fine food and start your "year list" with some real gems, what more could you ask for -- other than a LOT less rain!! We started our adventure right on the grounds of our hotel in San Jose, where we found a single Mottled Owl snoozing in a creaking stand of bamboo, a pair of Rufous-backed Wrens chortling from the trees, and a showy Chestnut-capped Warbler flicking through a bush near the pool. A foraging pair of White-eared Ground-Sparrows scratched and scrabbled along one of the paths and a Cinnamon-bellied Saltator showed its bold eyebrow nicely as it peered around from a treetop. Once darkness descended, the Common Pauraques called ALL NIGHT LONG!
We woke the next day to an absolutely glorious morning and headed up Volcan Irazu in bright sunshine. Our first port of call was quiet side road on the flank of the mountain, where moss-draped trees covered the hillsides and there were scruffy hairpin bends to investigate. Fiery-throated Hummingbirds made repeated forays from twiggy perches. A busy group of Black-cheeked Warblers and Yellow-thighed Brushfinches flicked through the undergrowth, with a more circumspect Black-billed Nightingale-Thrush trailing along behind. A Spot-crowned Woodcreeper hitched its way up several trunks, two Gray-breasted Wood-Wren winked in and out of view along the roadside and a Mountain Elaenia and a Black-capped Flycatcher took turns sallying after prey. While tracking our first Sooty Thrushes along the fence posts edging a hilly pasture, we spotted a young male Resplendent Quetzal calling softly from a mossy branch. Soon afterwards, on a stretch of road just up the hill from our lunch restaurant, we found a full adult male Resplendent Quetzal, his long green tail streamers wafting in the breeze. Satisfied, we retired to the Sueños de Irazú for lunch, with great vats of soup and plates heaped with food to fill us up. From there, we headed to the summit, where the fog crept steadily lower as we worked our way around the extinct caldera. We soon picked up a very cooperative Timberline Wren, which sang its spluttering song as it peered out of a dense bush, and a Large-footed Finch, which showed its distinctively large toes to perfection as it worked along low branches nearby. A Volcano Junco rummaged along the edge of the parking lot and a noisy gang of Sooty-capped Chlorospinguses (Chlorospingi?) boiled through bushes along the track to the summit lake. A tiny female Volcano Hummingbird sat on her lichen-decorated nest while others buzzed flower spikes nearby, and Slaty Flowerpiercers sipped from scattered blooms. Then it was the long trip back down the mountain and through the bustling cities of Cartago and Turrialba to the rural road that took us south to Rancho Naturalista, our home for the next week.
We spent all of the next day exploring various corners of the property. As the light rose, we gathered on the main building's justly famous balcony with mugs of steaming coffee in hand to watch the procession of "regulars" arrive. White-necked Jacobins and Green-breasted Mangos jousted around the hummingbird feeders, Rufous-vented Chachalacas swarmed over the bananas (which were being rapidly hauled off by Red-tailed and Variegated squirrels), a quartet of Collared Aracaris bounced through the trees and a Snowcap made stealthy visits to a nearby vervain hedge before being chased off by a Rufous-tailed Hummingbird. Orange-billed and Black-striped sparrows crept around under the hedges and a Yellow-faced Grassquit made darting visits to piled cornmeal. The activity kept us entertained until breakfast. Once we'd finished eating, we birded down the lodge's steep entrance drive, finding 60 species along the way. A mixed flock in some berrying trees yielded showy White-collared and White-ruffed manakins plus Yellow-throated and Olive-backed euphonias, while a Gartered Violaceous Trogon called from a perch overhead. A bit further along, we found what appeared to be an ant swarm with a noisy group of birds -- including Checker-throated Stipplethroat, Wedge-billed and Streak-headed woodcreepers, Northern Plain-Xenops, Fawn-throated Foliage-gleaner and Red-throated Ant-Tanagers -- in attendance. Familiar wintering warblers from further north mingled with their more exotic cousins: Golden-crowned Warblers and Tropical Parulas. In Lisa's garden, with its expansive view down the valley, Green Thorntails, Stripe-throated Hermits, and Violet-headed Hummingbirds patrolled the flowering hedges, and (after considerable effort) we tracked down a calling Tawny-chested Flycatcher on the hillside across the road. We finished the morning at Rancho Bajo, sprawled in comfortable chairs along its expansive porch while we watched a Garden Emerald and a Common Tody-Flycatcher flit among the vervain flowers. A ramble out to the Rancho pasture late in the day was less productive; heavy cloud made it very dark in the forest and the birds were scarce and quiet. A Tayra crossing the pasture, two perched Short-billed Pigeons, our first Keel-billed Toucans and a preening Masked Tityra sitting in a treetop with a couple of Tropical Kingbirds were probably the highlights of the afternoon.
It was a soggy start to the day as we headed to El Copal early the following morning. Fortunately, by the time we reached Hacienda Oriente, the rain had (mostly) stopped, so we birded along a track along the edge of the horse pastures there. A pair of Red-breasted Meadowlarks winked in and out of view among the tall grasses in one overgrown field and a Tropical Mockingbird chortled from a fence post. Along the drive into the reserve, a pair of Black-cowled Orioles bounced through treetops at one spot and a gang of Carmiol’s and Tawny-crested tanagers boiled through trees along the road further on. But we hit the real motherlode when we reached the reserve itself. What's a good word for a collection of tanagers? A dazzle? A kaleidoscope? A spectacle? Whatever it is, we had it in spades! Tanagers of virtually every hue -- Scarlet-rumped, Emerald, Golden-hooded, Silver-throated, Bay-headed, Speckled and Summer -- swarmed over the fruit feeder along with Tawny-crowned Euphonias and Clay-colored Thrushes, while Snowcaps, Green Thorntails and Rufous-tailed Hummingbirds flitted around vervain hedges nearby. A Bicolored Hawk sat atop a snag not far from the veranda and tiny Mistletoe Tyrannulets flicked through nearby branches. After spending some time watching and photographing, we headed out on a nearby trail; unfortunately, though the rain had stopped, it was still dark in the forest and surprisingly quiet. We worked hard to get views of a Yellow-olive Flatbill hunting along a ravine, watched a quartet of White-shouldered Tanagers working through leafy tangles and a lucky few got quick glimpses of a Sulphur-rumped Flycatcher's distinctively pale backside. As we headed back to the main building for lunch, two Barred Hawks spiraled over the ridge, and a foraging female Black-crested Coquette brought everyone scurrying out of the restaurant as we finished eating. We finished the day with a Merlin perched along the roadside and a pair of Fasciated Tiger-Herons standing stockstill on boulders in a swiftly-running stream.
Another wet morning greeted us the following day, but some of us gathered at Rancho's moth sheet despite the drips. While the weather undoubtedly impacted numbers, a few insects clung to the sheet and others dotted the vegetation around the sheet's shelter, and these drew in a few visitors. The tour's only Plain-brown Woodpecker repeatedly hitched its way up the shelter's columns, while a Fawn-throated Foliage-gleaner and a pair of Red-throated Ant-Tanagers patrolled the undergrowth. After breakfast, we made the short drive to the Tuis valley and walked (in the rain) along the muddy track there. Our chief quarry was a recently-reported Lanceolated Monklet and, after some considerable searching, we finally spotted said monklet sitting quietly in a huge tree right over the road. With our prize "in the bag", so to speak, we headed back down the valley to see what else we could find. A pointblank Dull-mantled Antbird cavorted along the edge of the road, an Olivaceous Woodcreeper called and crawled up several trunks, and a tiny Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher flitted along the roadside. Two White-browed Gnatcatchers scolded from high branches, a Bay Wren played hide-and-seek through tangled vegetation, and a couple of Yellow-crowned Euphonias flicked through sodden leaves, part of a big mixed flock. We finished the walk with 46 species -- not back for a rather damp morning! After lunch and a break, we headed to the nearby settlement of Tayutic on a (finally!) drier afternoon and checked out a wet field across from the cemetery. A pair of Barred Antshrike chortled from a roadside tree, tails pumping and bodies shaking as they sang. Thick-billed Seed-Finches and Morelet’s Seedeaters nibbled weed seeds and a Gray-crowned Yellowthroat surveyed its surroundings from a brushy tangle. A Slaty Spinetail made us work hard for repeated quick looks, but a Golden-olive Woodpecker in a tree along the field's fringes proved far more cooperative, resting for long minutes right in the open. At the bridge to the nearby sugarcane processing plant, a pair of Sunbitterns prowled the streamside and we found a very showy White-throated Flycatcher in the sugarcane fields nearby. We rang out the old year with a full turkey dinner and all the trimmings, accompanied by a local duo singing a mix of Costa Rican and British/American hits. Despite the best efforts of all involved, most of us had toddled off to bed by 7:30!!
The new year dawned as the old had ended -- with still more rain. But we persevered, spending the morning along a rather muddy track on the western shore of the Angostura reservoir. Fortunately, waterbirds don't mind being wet, so we found hundreds of Lesser Scaup and a few Blue-winged Teal and Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks floating among the vegetation, and a sprinkling of Limpkins and various herons and egrets, including a skulking Bare-throated Tiger-Heron and a preening Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, around the lagoon's edges. Northern Jacanas tiptoed across the Water Hyacinth and Purple Gallinules winked in and out of view in the reeds. A Snail Kite coursed back and forth over the water, searching for prey, a White-tailed Kite sat in a distant treetop and several very damp Roadside Hawks tried (with no success) to dry out. With persistence, we managed to lure a singing Olive-crowned Yellowthroat into view, and we saw (and heard) the tour's only Ringed Kingfisher. The fringe of woodland along the lagoon's edge yielded a variety of flycatchers and migrant warblers (including a rather reclusive Mourning Warbler), while Thicket Antpittas teased us unmercifully from the undergrowth but refused to be seen. After lunch and a break, we headed back down the hill to CATIE, an agricultural research and education center not far from Rancho. Two Green Ibises and a pair of Russet-naped Wood-Rails poked and prodded on a track near the botanical garden and a surprise White-fronted Parrot (typically found on the country's western slope) sat atop a snag in the adjacent coffee grove. In a wooded section, we enticed a pair of Black-crowned Antshrikes and a Northern Bentbill into view. Two Boat-billed Herons blinked sleepily in a papyrus stand along the edge of the property's main pond and a territorial pair of Band-backed Wrens shouted from a treetop nearby.
It was sprinkling again the following morning, as we headed to Tapantí National Park -- the rainiest place in the country, with an average of more than 21 feet of rain per year! We spent the morning walking the quiet park road from the entrance gate to the Montezuma trailhead, finding just over 30 species despite the fog and rain. Vervain hedges near the visitor's center hosted a showy male Black-bellied Hummingbird and a couple of White-bellied Mountain-gems. A pair of Spangle-cheeked Tanagers scattered water droples as they bounced through wet foliage. Tiny Ochraceous Wrens trilled from mossy branches, a couple of Purple-throated Mountain-gems sipped from trailing sprays of pink flowers and noisy gangs of Common Chlorospingus swarmed through damp trees. Yellowish, Golden-bellied, and Tufted flycatchers sallied after insects. A Spotted Barbtail crawled up a trunk while a trio of Red-faced Spinetails rummaged through branches higher up. Though most of the group never laid eyes on a singing Rufous-tailed Jacamar, a Red-headed Barbet and a Black-thighed Grosbeak proved far more accommodating. Slate-throated Redstarts fan-danced through the leaves with their tails spread, and a couple of Gray-breasted Wood-wrens twitched through the undergrowth. Fortunately, the rain had stopped by the time we headed up to the Rio Macho area for our picnic lunch, so after eating, we birded our way along a nearby road, finding a snuggling pair of Prong-billed Barbets, a male Collared Trogon on a roadside wire and a pair of surprisingly well-camouflaged Golden-browed Chlorophonias foraging among the leaves. On the way back to the ranch, we stopped in the little town of Paraiso, picking up a snoozing pair of Tropical Screech-Owls in the bustling main square and a couple of American Barn Owls (bits and pieces anyway!) in dense palms outside the church across the street. A final unsuccessful attempt to find Cabanis's Ground-Sparrow along a track through a coffee grove yielded a surprise Blue-and-gold Tanager in nearby woodland as a consolation prize.
We rose to still more rain on the tour's penultimate day, and it got steadily harder as we descended to the lowlands to visit a couple of locations on our way back to San Jose. At Centro Manú, we found a very showy Buff-rumped Warbler sashaying along the entrance drive and a soggy Great Potoo blinking on a perch high above the parking lot. Yellow-throated Toucans attacked the bananas at the fruit feeders while a pair of Russet-naped Wood-Rails and the tour’s only Wood Thrush shuffled through the undergrowth near the feeders. Unfortunately, four days of rain had rendered the reserve's paths virtually impassable in some spots. Though we slipped and slithered our way out to where an umbrellabird had been making appearances, the forest was dark and quiet, and eventually we gave up without seeing much of anything. Our best sighting was probably a Short-eared Bat, which ended up winning the “Mammal of the Trip” competition – beating out the likes of sloths and Tayras! From there, we moved on to Donde Cope, a marvelous urban property turned into a veritable wildlife oasis by artist José Pérez. A whirlwind of activity kept us well entertained as we ate our lunch. A Band-tailed Barbthroat made regular appearances at a Heliconia plant near the driveway, and we spotted Long-billed Hermit and Scaly-breasted Hummingbird among the clouds of White-necked Jacobins. Red-legged and Shining honeycreepers swarmed over the banana feeders and a convenient mix of Montezuma and Chestnut-headed oropendolas allowed direct comparison. A walk in a nearby woodlot netted us a trio of Spectacled Owls (including a wide-eyed fledgling between its more sanguine parents), plus a pair of Crested Owls, a pointblank Broad-billed Motmot, a Graceful Black-throated Trogon, a Brown-capped Tyrannulet singing from a treetop, and a close perched immature King Vulture. Some pea soup fog made for a creeping journey back over the pass to the city, but we still arrived at our hotel in plenty of time to clean up and repack before our final dinner.
Other critters of interest:
Mammals:
Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth (Bradypus variegatus)
Variegated Squirrel (Sciurus variegatoides)
Red-tailed Squirrel (Sciurus granatensis)
Central American Agouti (Dasyprocta punctata)
White-nosed Coati (Nasua narica)
Tayra (Eira barbara)
Short-eared Bat (Cyttarops alecto)
Reptiles and amphibians:
Green Tree Anole (Norops biporcatus)
Helmeted Basilisk (Corytophanes cristatus)
Common House Gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus)
South American Snapping Turtle (Chelydra acutirostris) - this one has been split from the Alligator Snapping Turtle
Allen's Coral Snake (Micrurus alleni) - found dead in the road
You can see my complete trip report on eBird at this link: https://ebird.org/tripreport/463608
You can download a combined PDF of this page and the eBird report at this link: https://fieldguides.com/triplists/crh25bTRIPLIST.pdf
-- Megan