131 bird species during a full day birding in Manuel Antonio area

Yesterday (Feb 8th) I was leading a bird tour in the surrounding areas of Manuel Antonio, this involved Esquipulas, La gallega river, El rey and even a quick trip to the river mouth of Parrita river seeking specifically for the endemic mangrove hummingbird, all in one day  and what a great day!

Mr Douglas Boyd, an avid birder from Maine US, had been to Costa Rica a few times before and had great birding experiences previously and accomplished a great list, in this time, I had the opportunity to take him to this areas and had a superb birding day. While we were hoping/looking for specific species to complement his life list and CR list, better yet we where looking forward to enjoy every bird we saw and never felt pressed to hunt for specifics, yet the day yielded impressive 131 species and quite few of them were totally new for his life list.

Esquipulas:

Its located 45 minutes to the east of Quepos, in the mountain side and its located right at the foothills of the central pacific mountains, here we birded from 6:00am until about11:45am.

Charming hummingbird, in the “wanted list”

Esquipulas, CR-SJ
Feb 8, 2014 6:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Protocol: Traveling
3.0 kilometer(s)
Comments: Full day Birding tour with Mr Douglas Boyd
80 species (+1 other taxa)

Cattle Egret X
Black Vulture X
Turkey Vulture X
King Vulture X
Roadside Hawk X
Broad-winged Hawk X
Gray/Gray-lined Hawk X
Short-tailed Hawk X
Pale-vented Pigeon X
Inca Dove X
Ruddy Ground-Dove X
Blue Ground-Dove X
White-tipped Dove X
Groove-billed Ani X
Spot-fronted Swift X
White-collared Swift X
Costa Rican Swift X
Long-billed Hermit X
Scaly-breasted Hummingbird X
Violet Sabrewing X
Charming Hummingbird X
Rufous-tailed Hummingbird X
Blue-throated Goldentail X
Baird’s Trogon X
Fiery-billed Aracari X
Black-mandibled Toucan X
Golden-naped Woodpecker X
Red-crowned Woodpecker X
Lineated Woodpecker X
Crested Caracara X
Yellow-headed Caracara X
Scarlet Macaw X
Orange-chinned Parakeet X
White-crowned Parrot X
Red-lored Parrot X
Southern Beardless-Tyrannulet X
Yellow-bellied Elaenia X
Paltry Tyrannulet X
Common Tody-Flycatcher X
Great Kiskadee X
Boat-billed Flycatcher X
Social Flycatcher X
Gray-capped Flycatcher X
Streaked Flycatcher X
Tropical Kingbird X
Philadelphia Vireo X
Brown Jay X
Southern Rough-winged Swallow X
Mangrove Swallow X
House Wren X
Rufous-naped Wren X
Black-bellied Wren X
Riverside Wren X
Clay-colored Thrush X
Tennessee Warbler X
Gray-crowned Yellowthroat X
Yellow Warbler X
Chestnut-sided Warbler X
Cherrie’s Tanager X
Blue-gray Tanager X
Palm Tanager X
Golden-hooded Tanager X
Bay-headed Tanager X
Blue Dacnis X
Red-legged Honeycreeper X
Green Honeycreeper X
Variable Seedeater X
Bananaquit X
Yellow-faced Grassquit X
Black-striped Sparrow X
Summer Tanager X
Melodious Blackbird X
Great-tailed Grackle X
Bronzed Cowbird X
Black-cowled Oriole X
Baltimore Oriole X
Chestnut-headed Oropendola X
Montezuma Oropendola X
Yellow-crowned Euphonia X
Thick-billed Euphonia X
Spot-crowned Euphonia X

Toucans where seen several times, here a pair of fiery billed aracaries in a tree hole.

Black mandibled toucan AKA chestnut mandibled

Broad winged hawk

do you know who’s this guy?

The very common-yet always nice to see cherri’s tanager

Golden napped woodpecker

Black cowled oriole

 

A nest of Paltry tyrannulet

This Malay apple tree made the day, hummers flying allover, orioles, oropendulas, jays, toucans, king vulture flying 7 meters over ours heads, baird’s trogon, simply unbelievable!!

Malay apple

La Gallega:

This river is located half way between Esquipulas and Quepos, so it is always a good stop for specific species; Southern lapwing, tropical mockingbird, collared plover and red breasted blackbird which we saw all of them and more!

Seeking for the tropical mocking bird at the river bank

La gallega, CR-P
Feb 8, 2014 11:40 AM – 12:25 PM
Protocol: Traveling
0.3 kilometer(s)
Comments: Birding tour with MR Douglas Boyd
25 species

Great Blue Heron X
Great Egret X
Little Blue Heron X
Cattle Egret X
Green Heron X
White Ibis X
Southern Lapwing X
Collared Plover X
Spotted Sandpiper X
Least Sandpiper X

Greater yellowlegs X

Groove-billed Ani X

Ringed Kingfisher X
Amazon Kingfisher X
Green Kingfisher X
Crested Caracara X
Great Kiskadee X
Boat-billed Flycatcher X
Tropical Kingbird X
Mangrove Swallow X
Clay-colored Thrush X
Tropical Mockingbird X
White-collared Seedeater X
Red-breasted Blackbird X
Great-tailed Grackle X
Baltimore Oriole X

After 30 minutes of looking, here is the mockingbird

and here it goes

find the collared plover

Parrita river mouth:

This is located 25-35 minutes north Quepos, this is often good for the endemic mangrove hummingbird which we unfortunately did not see but saw other things instead such as semipalmated plover, whimbrels and others associated to this habitat.

Parrita–Pueblo Nuevo shrimp farm, CR-P
Feb 8, 2014 2:15 PM – 3:15 PM
Protocol: Traveling
0.3 kilometer(s)
Comments: Birding trip with Mr Douglas Boyd, searching for mangrove hummingbird
44 species

Magnificent Frigatebird X
Bare-throated Tiger-Heron X
Great Blue Heron X
Great Egret X
Snowy Egret X
Little Blue Heron X
Tricolored Heron X
Cattle Egret X
Green Heron X
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron X
White Ibis X
Roseate Spoonbill X
Black Vulture X
Turkey Vulture X
Roadside Hawk X
Black-bellied Plover X
Southern Lapwing X
Semipalmated Plover X
Northern Jacana X
Spotted Sandpiper X
Willet X
Whimbrel X
Least Sandpiper X
Laughing Gull X
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) X
White-winged Dove X
Inca Dove X
White-tipped Dove X
Groove-billed Ani X
Amazon Kingfisher X
Green Kingfisher X
Crested Caracara X
Yellow-headed Caracara X
Great Kiskadee X
Tropical Kingbird X
Mangrove Swallow X
Chestnut-sided Warbler X
Variable Seedeater X
White-collared Seedeater X
Bananaquit X
Great-tailed Grackle X
Orchard Oriole X
Baltimore Oriole X
Thick-billed Euphonia X

El rey:

After trying for the hummingbird we decided to go back to el rey and look for our scissor tailed flycatcher which is common at el rey during migration. For our surprice, the fields where being worked/prepared to plant rice on it, so for a second I thought birding wasnt going to be good but what a surprise! it was even better! birds all over since many insects where being flush away by the machinery, despite the 1.5 hr we birded here we saw about50+ species.

Mangrove cuckoo

Common black-hawk

Gray breasted martin

 

 

Finca Maritima (Playa El Rey) rice fields, CR-P
Feb 8, 2014 4:00 PM – 5:40 PM
Protocol: Traveling
1.0 mile(s)
Comments: Birding tour with Mr Douglas Boyd
55 species

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck X
Wood Stork X
Great Egret X
Snowy Egret X
Little Blue Heron X
Cattle Egret X
Green Heron X
White Ibis X
Black Vulture X
Turkey Vulture X
Common Black-Hawk X
Roadside Hawk X
Gray-necked Wood-Rail X
Purple Gallinule X
Double-striped Thick-knee X
Northern Jacana X
Pale-vented Pigeon X
Inca Dove X
Blue Ground-Dove X
White-tipped Dove X
Mangrove Cuckoo X
Groove-billed Ani X
Green-breasted Mango X
Ruby-throated Hummingbird X
Ringed Kingfisher X
Green Kingfisher X
American Pygmy Kingfisher X
Red-crowned Woodpecker X
Crested Caracara X
Yellow-headed Caracara X
Crimson-fronted Parakeet X
Orange-chinned Parakeet X
Cocoa Woodcreeper X
Greenish Elaenia X
Common Tody-Flycatcher X
Great Kiskadee X
Streaked Flycatcher X
Tropical Kingbird X
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher X
Gray-breasted Martin X
Barn Swallow X
Tennessee Warbler X
Chestnut-sided Warbler X
Cherrie’s Tanager X
Blue-gray Tanager X
Red-legged Honeycreeper X
Blue-black Grassquit X
Variable Seedeater X
White-collared Seedeater X
Thick-billed Seed-Finch X
Black-striped Sparrow X
Indigo Bunting X
Dickcissel X
Great-tailed Grackle X
Baltimore Oriole X

Porphyrio martinica- Purple gallinule

And… what a way to end the day!