BIRDS - Fresh from Costa Rica
Here are some photos from the trip to Costa Rica with Tropical Feathers and founder Noel Ureña
(January 27 - February 10, 2016)

Birding in the jungle is quite a challenge and although we studied for a year, trying to remember the sights and sounds of almost 800 different birds is impossible.  Fortunately we had an exceptional Costa Rica birder and guide, Noel Ureña.  Through his acute skills with bird sounds and with his eagle sharp vision - even from a moving car, we were led to 445(!) different species of birds and on an adventure that covered the country and Noel's extensive knowledge of Costa Rica's flora and fauna.  His good humor lightened the journey and his excitement for birding was contagious.  For two weeks, we were birding buddies on a quest to find as many different species as we could.   In the end, we added 268 new birds to our list - all in all, a wonderfully intense birding trip, covering over 1,000 miles of roads and about 20 miles of hiking. 
From hot and humid along the coast to cool in the mountains, it was a joyful trip through paradise.

Our first priority was to see the birds, but I managed to snap some shots along the way - some are good and others are fuzzy.  I've put the useable ones (about 180 species) below as evidence that we saw them.  Here's the trip, more or less in line...

Landed in San Jose, Costa Rica and spent the first night at the Bougainvillea Hotel					Traditional Ox Cart
The garden of the hotel was the first pace we birded
Philadelphia Vireo					Baltimore Oriole
White-eared Ground Sparrow					Grayish Saltator
White-eared Ground Sparrow			Red-billed Pigeon
We left after lunch and headed west to Carara and the Pacific coast
Groove-billed Ani (mostly north CR and above to Texas)					Smooth-billed Ani (mostly South CR & below to SA)
Carara NP, Cerro Lodge back to the top
Turquoise-browed Motmot					Spine-tailed Iguana
Yellow-olive Flycatcher					Green-breasted Mango
Cerro Lodge Restaurant					Cabin room
With an outside bathroom!  Always warm here - 70's at night. (small frog in the shower, bigger frog in the toilet - surprise!)
Laughing Falcon
Common Tody-Flycatcher					Purple Gallinule (imm)
Ruddy Ground-Dove					Gray-crowned Yellowthroat
Collared Forest-Falcon					Yellow-headed Caracara
Orange-fronted Parakeet					Crimson-fronted Parakeet
Cerro Lodge area
Rufous-naped Wren					Melodious Blackbird
Black-headed Trogon (m)			Black-throated Trogon (f)
Royal Flycatcher
Dot-winged Antbird (m)					Dot-winged Antbird (f)
Black-hooded Antshrike (m)					Chestnut-backed Antbird
Carara NP Trails
Ghost Bat
					Variegated Squirrel
Rufous-naped Wren					Squirrel Cuckoo
Ferruginous Pygmy Owl
Pacific Screech Owl
Baird's Trogon
Lineated Woodpecker
Hoffman's Woodpecker
Rufous-tailed Jacamar
Blue-crowned Motmot					White-whiskered Puffbird
Common Basilisk			Spine-tailed Iguana
Crocodiles					Geckos around the cabin at night
"Your safety is our concern, but it is your responsibility"					Streak-chested Antpitta
Brown Jay					White-throated Magpie-Jay
Purple-crown Fairy					Plain Xenops
Scarlet Macaw
Boat trip on the Rio Tarcoles (just us, Noel and the boat pilot / guide)
Bare-throated Tiger-Heron					Northern Jacana (imm)
Magnificent Frigatebird (f)			Magnificent Frigatebird (m)
Where the Rio Tarcoles hits the ocean
Tri-colored Heron					Common Black Hawk
Roseate Spoonbills bathing			Um... Mr. Horse... there's crocodiles in the water...
Muscovy Ducks - mostly domestic up north.  These are feral.
Neotropic Cormorant			Brown Pelican
					Peregrine Falcon
After the boat trip, a trail to a surprise...					...Black and White Owls! Roosting for the day
Banana Tree					Mo - at a trailhead
King Vulture					Gray-breasted Martin
Moving on... to mid-Pacific coast					Not many people (it's Saturday!)
Golden-naped Woodpecker			Blue Dacnis, Prothonotary Warblers and Tennessee Warbler (on the right)
Esquinas Rainforest back to the top
Esquinas Lodge
					White-lined Bats - day roost at the restaurant
Cherrie's Tanager					Black-crowned Tityra
Great Curassow (m&f)  (Early morning, light not good) with Agouti					Crested Guan
Scarlet Macaw					Red-breasted Meadowlark
Esquinas Pond - we could see Caiman eyes at night.
Coati
Fiery-billed Aracari
Mo and Noel (happy Mo!)					Esquinas trails
Red-crowned Woodpecker
Thick-billed Seedeater (f)					Black-cheeked Ant-Tanager
Pale-breasted Spinetail					Variable Seedeater
Photogenic Horse					Black-striped Sparrow
On to the next stop, San Isidro and Suenos Lodge.  This is along the Pacific coast on the way north east into the mountains
Tropical Feathers HQ, in San Isidro					Good birding hot spot
Golden-hooded Tanager					Streaked Saltator
					Noel with daughter, Maria and son, Noel de Jesus and his mother - saying goodbye
Sunset above the clouds - at communication towers just under 10,000 feet on the way to Suenos Lodge and the Dota Valley
Suenos del Basque Lodge back to the top
Flame-throated Warbler					Collared Redstart
White-throated Mountain Gem (m)					White-throated Mountain Gem (f)
Sooty-capped Chlorospingus					Spangle-cheeked Tanager
Large-footed Finch					Ruddy Treerunner
Long-tailed Silky Flycatcher					Acorn Woodpecker
Slaty Flowerpiercer (pierces the base of flowers to get the nectar)
Flame-colored Tanager					Volcano Hummingbird
Noel's relatives first settled the valley in the 1950's					Now it's the center for what many consider as the prettiest of birds...
The prize of the valley - Resplendent Quetzal (m)					Resplendent Quetzal (f)
					Wow!
Black Guan in distant tree					Sooty Thrush
Back to the towers to find a couple specialties					There were other birders about...
Volcano Junco					Large-footed Finch (juv)
It gets cool at about 7,000 feet and up					Red-tailed Squirrel
Costa Rican Pygmy Owl - Along a dirt road to Providencia					There were two owls that showed up, one is a red phase (m & f, not sure which). Picture taken by Noel Ureña who is also a published photographer
On the way to La Selva - rest stop for Hummingbirds
Fiery-throated Hummingbird					Green Violetear
Magnificent Hummingbird
Fiery-throated Hummingbirds					Stopped at Porterweed flower bushes, many hummers, too fast to get pics
La Selva Biological Research Station back to the top
Chestnut-colored Woodpecker					Stripe-breasted Wren
Great Green Macaws					Snowy Cotinga
Rufous Motmot			Black-faced Grosbeak
Great Tinamou					Red-throated Ant-Tanager
Slaty-tailed Trogon					White-collared Manakin
Collared Aracari			Crested Guan
Chuck-Wills-Widow					Vermiculated Screech Owl
Howler Monkeys					Peccary
At just over an inch, this guy can bring a man to his knees - the Bullet Ant
Broad-billed Motmot					Amazon Kingfisher
On the road again to Cano Negro...					Waterfalls near Chinchona
					and a short stop at Restaurante Mirador Chinchona for good food and a fabulous(!) feeding station
Emerald Toucanet
Violet Sabrewing					Silver-throated Tanager
Prong-billed Barbet			Red-headed Barbet
Buff-throated Saltator			Palm Tanager
Green Thorntail (f)			Green Thorntail (m)
Blue-Gray Tanager					Hoffman's Woodpecker
Passerini's Tanager					Coppery-headed Emerald
View from the Restaurant
					Birdus Domesticus
Short-tailed Hawk - the surrounding area had an excellent variety of birds - a good place to stay a couple days					White Hawk - Monique spotted that white speck across the valley while we were riding in the car
Hard working leaf cutter ant trail (they collectively harvest 1/6 of the leaves in the forests)
Friendly Coati by the road, milking the tourists (related to the Raccoon)
Back on the road to Cano Negro - Arenal Volcano (center)			Missed the turnoff - here's the Nicaraguan border
Caño Negro back to the top
Cano Negro Natural Lodge had very nice accommodations, good food and exceptional birding
The ouch tree					Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture
Lineated Woodpecker (imm)					Boat-billed Flycatcher
Red-lored Parrot					Black-headed Trogon (m)
Cano Negro is a marsh / Mangrove wet land - we took three different boat tours and loved them all - very peaceful, very birdy.
Ernesto, the boat pilot, is an exceptional guide.  Found all kinds of different birds and animals.  Took us to places where large groups couldn't go.
Great Blue Heron; Great Egret; Snowy Egret; White Ibis; Wood Stork & Roseate Spoonbill					The Jabiru !
Boat-billed Heron (a night bird, check the eyes)					Gray-necked Wood-Rail
Green Ibis					Glossy Ibis
Neotropic Cormorant					Green Heron
Sungrebe			Northern Jacana
Amazon Kingfisher (m)			Green  Kingfisher (f)
Green-and-rufous Kingfisher - we saw all 6 Western Hemisphere Kingfishers. Missing from pictures: American Pygmy Kingfisher and our main N. American, Belted Kingfisher
Ringed Kingfisher (the largest)			Green Kingfisher (m)
Agami Heron - check out the large bill
Other birders looking at the Agami Heron while Ernesto pushes us over a sandbar					...to get to Crake territory
Yellow-breasted Crake					Wood Stork
Black-collared Hawk (young) - hunting and flying with an eel
Horse crossing - the horse was swimming at one point
Green Basilisk					Long-nosed Bats - looking like tree bark
Social Flycatcher					Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet
White-faced Capuchin Monkey					Howler Monkey - sleepy time
Bare-throated Tiger-Heron					Black Vultures
Montezuma Oropendola					Colorful bird that makes some strange sounds
Roadside Hawk					Semipalmated Plover
Collared Plover					Least Sandpiper
Black-striped Sparrow					Mangrove Swallow
Anhinga - in flowering tree					Anhinga (f)
Spectacled Caiman					Green Iguana
Arenal Volcano
Sunrise					Sunset
Ernesto, Caño Negro expert					Juan Pablo, bitten on the leg by a Caiman and smiles about it
Rio Frio					Happy Mo
Great Potoo - also makes very strange calls					Great Potoo (on the next pole over, possibly a young Potoo)
Black and White Owl					Pacific Screech Owl
Celeste Mountain Lodge back to the top
Celeste Lodge is located in the northwest mountains, at about 2500 feet.
Passerine’s Tanager (f)					Yellow-throated Euphonia
Barred Antshrike - just outside our room window
Birding was tough here in the dense forest.					We found several good birds, but it was too dark (and the birds were quick) to get pictures.
Olive-backed Euphonia					Black Hawk-Eagle
Keel-billed Motmot (got all 5 Motmots in CR, this was the last one)					Red-eyed Tree Frog
Central American Pygmy Owl (also got all three Pygmy Owls in CR, this was the last one).					Pygmy owls are day owls and anywhere they go, the other birds get upset.  They also have markings on the back of their heads that look like eyes.
On to San Jose - found along the way: Orange-fronted Parakeet (f) digging out a nest					Orange-fronted Parakeet (m)
Stopped at a reservoir and found about 30,000(!) Blue-winged Teals					Howler Monkey
Masked Tityra					Brown-crested Flycatcher
Tropical Pewee					Banded Wren
White-collared Seedeater					Wasp nest
Stopped by a salt flat near the coast in Puntarenas Province  - Assorted birds					Royal Tern
Whimbrels					Marbled Godwits
Semipalmated Plovers					Western Sandpiper
Can't be sure what it is...					Willet fly?
Streak-backed Oriole					Northern Scrub-Flycatcher
Inca Dove					Hook-billed Kite
Mangrove Warbler: actually a Yellow Warbler sub-species					... but come on!  This should be a separate species, found also in S. Texas.
Lesser Ground Cuckoo					...and our final new bird of the trip.
Back to where we started...
and on to the airport the next morning					North of San Jose
Pacific in the distance					North Costa Rica
Lagoon Xolotian, Nicaragua					... with a volcanic peninsula - Reserva Natural Peninsula de Chilatepe
Sand bar off Belize					Dangringa, Belize
Coming in to the Houston area					Dallas-Fort Worth area
...and Home...
			...to the SF Bay Area
				timlig@pacbell.net
A super special thank you(!) to our friend and companion Noel Ureña for his exceptional tour.
If you're ever down in Costa Rica (highly recommended!) and want THE BEST birding guide in the country, contact Tropical Feathers

Our Flickr - Flickr Slide Show

Here's the list of the 268 new birds we saw:

And just to add another list, here are the 445 birds we saw/heard during the whole trip: