Costa Rica in Spring

Day 1: The tour begins at 6 pm this evening in the lobby of our hotel. Night in Heredia.

Day 2: The Central Valley, where we begin our tour, is bounded to the east by the Cordillera de Talamanca, a vast mountain range protected in national parks or biological preserves. One national park, Tapantí-Macizo Cerro de la Muerte, is only a short distance from San José, and we’ll spend the whole morning exploring its lush cloud forest. Here we’ll have our first chance at many montane forest species such as Black Guan, White-bellied Mountain-gem, Collared Trogon, Prong-billed and Red-headed Barbets, Golden-bellied Flycatcher, Torrent Tyrannulet, and Spangle-cheeked and Bay-headed Tanagers. Several species otherwise rare in Central America are seen regularly at Tapantí, including Green-fronted Lancebill, Silvery-fronted Tapaculo, and Wrenthrush. In the afternoon, we’ll continue to our hotel, where the garden drips with blooming fuchsias and begonias in a high mountain valley below Cerro de la Muerte. Night in San Gerardo de Dota.

Day 3: Our hotel is in a lovely valley in the Cordillera de Talamanca, where we’ll have easy access to most of the montane species endemic to the area, also known as the Chiriquí Highlands, which extends into westernmost Panama. We’ll birdwatch along dirt roads through this montane forest, encountering many new species including Fiery-throated Hummingbird, Black-capped Flycatcher, Long-tailed Silky-flycatcher, Sooty and Mountain Thrushes, Sooty-capped Chlorospingus, Yellow-thighed Brushfinch, and Large-footed Finche. The gardens of our hotel may give us our first views of the magnificent Resplendent Quetzal, but there’s almost sure to be a fruiting aguacatillo tree or an active nest within a short walk or drive. At flowers and feeders we can expect many species of hummingbirds, including White-throated Mountain-gem, Lesser Violetear, Talamanca, and Volcano Hummingbirds. During our stay we’ll get above treeline where we’ll look for high-elevation specialties such as Timberline Wren, Peg-billed Finch, and Volcano Junco. Night in San Gerardo de Dota. 

Day 4: After a final look for any specialties we may have missed, we’ll drop out of the highlands and work our way south. We’ll start noticing more and more tropical birds from the bus, such as Roadside Hawk, Gray-capped Flycatcher, or perhaps even Pearl Kite or Streaked Saltator, and we’ll make opportunistic roadside stops as necessary. As we continue down to the Pacific lowlands and on to the more humid Osa Peninsula, roadside birds could include such tropical excitement as Yellow-throated Toucan, Crested Guan, and Golden-naped Woodpecker. We’ll plan to arrive at our lodge with enough time to get oriented and perhaps do some owling near the grounds after dinner. Night at Bosque del Río Tigre.

Days 5–6: The Osa Peninsula is in the heart of the South Central American Pacific Slope endemic bird area. Not only does it host all of the region’s endemics, such as the blue and red Baird’s Trogon, the well-named Fiery-billed Aracari, the lovely Turquoise Cotinga, Black-hooded Antshrike, and Spot-crowned Euphonia, it’s also home to the very localized Costa Rican endemic Black-cheeked Ant-Tanager. Most of the birding is right at our lodge, where we stand a good chance of seeing all of those specialties. The feeders usually have visiting Little Tinamou, one of the best places to see this very secretive bird, and Black-faced Antthrushes walk around near the compost pile at dawn and dusk. Mixed flocks on the forest trails often have Long-billed Gnatwren, White-shouldered Tanager, Northern Plain-Xenops, and several woodcreepers, and a couple of ponds usually have Boat-billed Heron and sometimes American Pygmy Kingfisher. We’ll also have optional afternoon excursion which involves wading up the shallow El Tigre River and a nearby stream in search of rarely-seen specialties such as White-crested Coquette and White-tipped Sicklebill. Birding here is extremely productive and day lists of over 120 species while birding on foot and never more than a kilometer from our lodge are likely. Nights at Bosque del Río Tigre. 

Day 7: The first stop on our way north will most likely be the Rincón bridge where the old-growth rainforest and mangroves abut, a crucial habitat combination for the rare and declining Yellow-billed Cotinga. This snow-white, silent member of the cotinga family is often seen flying back and forth from fruiting trees in the forest to the mangroves where they breed. We also have a chance for the endemic Mangrove Hummingbird which requires the piñuela tree, found only in the Pacific coast mangrove forests. The roadside birding as we pass north through a mosaic of forest and agricultural land could produce Southern Lapwing (a recent immigrant), Brown Capuchin, or even a Three-toed Sloth in roadside cecropia trees. Stopping at bridges has resulted in eye-popping views of Red-legged Honeycreeper below eye level—deep purple with a shiny sky-blue crown—several species of kingfisher, and Mangrove Swallow, while wet ditches and roadside ponds have been good bets for Bare-throated Tiger-Heron, Northern Jacana, and groups of Wood Stork and Roseate Spoonbill. We’ll arrive at our hotel in the late afternoon, leaving us time to enjoy the grounds, where Rose-throated Becard and Rufous-backed Wren are likely. Night near Carara. 

Day 8: We’ll take an early morning boat ride on the Tárcoles River and through its mangrove forest, where Collared Plover, Black-necked Stilt, Mangrove Vireo, and Yellow-naped Parrot are some of the target birds. The abundance of life and diversity of water birds will make this short excursion a highlight of the tour. From late morning until lunchtime we’ll pass through pastureland and patches of tropical deciduous forest where we could see such new species as Cinnamon Hummingbird, Plain-capped Starthroat, Turquoise-browed Motmot, Banded Wren, White-lored Gnatcatcher, Olive Sparrow, Double-striped Thick-knee, and possibly the elusive Lesser Ground-Cuckoo. After lunch at a lodge on the Gulf of Nicoya coast we’ll spend the afternoon driving to a more comfortable elevation in the Cordillera de Tilarán. Night in Monteverde. 

Day 9: We’ll spend all day visiting cloud forest reserves in the Monteverde area. We’ll be right on the Continental Divide in one of the best-known birding localities in Central America. In spring the preserves are famous for nesting Resplendent Quetzals and calling Three-wattled Bellbirds—audible a mile away. We’ll search for these, of course, and for many other species including Orange-bellied Trogon, Prong-billed Barbet, Lineated Foliage-gleaner, Streak-breasted Treehunter, Tawny-throated and Gray-throated Leaftossers, Azure-hooded Jay, Slaty-backed Nightingale-Thrush, Costa Rican Warbler, Golden-browed Chlorophonia, and Chestnut-capped Brushfinch. If we’re lucky we may encounter one of the area’s difficult-to-see specialties, such as Black-breasted Wood-Quail or Buff-fronted Quail-Dove. We’ll also visit the Hummingbird Gallery at the entrance to the cloud forest reserve, where we’re likely to see up to eight species of hummingbird including numerous Violet Sabrewing and Coppery-headed Emerald. Our hotel grounds are great for birding too; Lesson’s Motmot, Rufous-and-white Wren, and Mottled Owl are regularly seen. Night in Monteverde. 

Day 10: We’ll begin our final morning at Monteverde with a visit to the decidedly drier forest of the private Santuario Ecológico. The birds here are quite different from those found only a couple of miles away in the wetter preserves, and we’ll have a chance of seeing Long-tailed Manakin, Golden-crowned Warbler, White-eared Ground-Sparrow, and possibly Chiriqui Quail-Dove and Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush. Before lunch we’ll depart for the Caribbean lowlands, passing around the reservoir of Lake Arenal, and approaching the volcano of the same name. In the forest near the volcano we’ve seen lowland species such as Slaty-tailed Trogon, White-fronted Nunbird, Keel-billed Motmot, and the adorable Black-headed Tody-Flycatcher. We’ll have the later afternoon to explore these foothill habitats around the volcano on the way to our lodge. If it’s clear, the view of the volcano from our rooms is breathtaking. Night near Arenal Volcano. 

Days 11–13: We’ll spend the morning of day 11 birding trails in the Arenal region. They take us through an excellent patch of foothill forest, where we hope to find Dull-mantled, Zeledon’s, and Spotted Antbirds, Carmiol’s and White-throated Shrike-Tanagers, and Streak-crowned Antvireo. Great Curassow is now more common and confiding than in the past, making it almost a certain thing. After lunch near Arenal Volcano, we’ll continue to the Sarapiquí region for two full days.

On one day we’ll visit La Selva, a biological station operated by the Organization for Tropical Studies. This roughly 1,400-acre reserve is adjacent to Braulio Carrillo National Park and is managed as a natural research laboratory. About 475 species of birds have been recorded at La Selva, and although we won’t see anywhere near that many in a one-day visit, we’ll certainly experience the avian richness of the region. La Selva is an excellent place to see Great and Slaty-breasted Tinamous, Rufous and Broad-billed Motmots, Keel-billed Toucans, Pied and White-necked Puffbirds, Great and Fasciated Antshrikes, Black-throated and Gartered Trogons, Snowy Cotinga, White-ringed Flycatcher, Stripe-breasted Wren, Plain-colored Tanager, Black-headed Saltator, and Chestnut-colored, Cinnamon, and Rufous-winged Woodpeckers, among many, many others. Our visit to La Selva will be an especially memorable part of the trip.

On another day we’ll visit Braulio Carrillo National Park which protects one of the last untouched expanses of Caribbean foothill forest in Central America. We’ll have all morning to search the forest loop trail for such specialties as Lattice-tailed Trogon, Yellow-eared Toucanet, White-ruffed Manakin, Black-headed Nightingale-Thrush, Blue-and-gold, Black-and-yellow, Emerald, and Carmiol’s Tanager, White-throated Shrike, and Tawny-crested Tanagers. With luck, we may see one of the truly rare species found in the park, such as Black-crowned Antpitta or Lanceolated Monklet. We’ll likely have time to stop at a patch of roadside flowers where we've historically found Snowcap and Black-crested Coquette. Nights in the Sarapiquí region.

Day 14: There will be time for a leisurely exploration of the often very birdy grounds of our lodge after which we’ll work our way back to San José. A birding stop along the way could yield the distinctive Costa Rican subspecies of American Dipper, Torrent Tyrannulet, and White Hawk; while feeders at our lunch stop could add Northern Emerald-Toucanet and Red-headed Barbet. We’ll arrive at our hotel in Heredia in time to pack and enjoy a farewell dinner. Night in Heredia. 

Day 15: The tour concludes this morning in San José.

2025 Narrative

With no rained-out mornings or afternoons (and hardly any showers during non-birding times), we were able to make the most out of our thirteen wonderful days of birding in Costa Rica, seeing and hearing about 475 species of birds as well as 42 additional vertebrates and countless amazing moths, butterflies, and other forms of life. We visited an astonishing variety of habitats from north to south, in both Pacific and Caribbean lowlands as well as high in the Central and Talamanca highlands. We ended in the tour in the latter where we stumbled into a male Resplendent Quetzal feeding in patch of aguacatillo trees. He offered decent views of his back after a couple of fruitful sallies, but then before flying off into the forest uphill, he perched in the open facing us, and we were brought to our knees at the incredible train of upper tail coverts, glistening greens of the head and back, and pulsating red of the belly – solidly placing him in first place as favorite bird of the tour for some. Other birds ranking high were Unspotted Saw-whet Owl and White-tipped Sicklebill, both scarce birds that can be devilishly hard to see, and we saw them well, while the regional endemic and gorgeous Baird’s Trogon (nearly endemic to Costa Rica) is never a slam dunk. Among the mangroves on the Pacific coast, Yellow-naped Amazon was another bird high on a target list, and a Mangrove Cuckoo was finally unblocked from one participant who had tried for many years to see this skulker. Getting inside information for roosting birds allowed us to see several gorgeous Elegant Euphonias and a Striped Owl, but we were simply lucky to find the mixed flock that gave us fantastic views of the stunning Black-and-yellow Tanagers.

We started the tour in the lovely garden of our hotel grounds, first snagging one of the pair of Mottled Owls that had been roosting regularly in the giant bamboo. We had great views of White-eared Ground-Sparrow while our first Hoffmann’s Woodpeckers chattered overhead. Just down the road from our hotel we walked past a coffee plantation and found a pair of the endemic Cabanis’s Ground-Sparrows. After navigating through the city of Alajuela, our driver Enrique brought us to the lower slopes of Volcán Poás, where we stopped just short of the fog line and found a few good birds in the wind, including Yellow-winged Vireo and the very localized “Rose-throated” subspecies of Volcano Hummingbird. The feeders at our Cinchona lunch stop were a bit overwhelming at first, but we managed to pick out a few highlights, such as the huge and purple Violet Sabrewings, an Olive-streaked Flycatcher taking advantage of a fruiting bush nearby, and three Buff-fronted Quail-Doves picking up the fruit scraps dropped by all the tanagers, thrushes, barbets, toucanets, and saltators.

On the way to Braulio Carrillo National Park, we stopped at the El Tigre fields thanks to a tip from our friend Juan Diego Vargas. A Jabiru had been hanging out with the buffalo for the past couple of days, and we were able to spot this local rarity with little trouble. We also made a stop at a tiny roadside garden that held Blue-chested and Violet-headed Hummingbirds as well as a great mixed flock that included Golden-hooded Tanager and Black-and-yellow Tanager. The Las Palmas trail in the national park had very good mixed flock activity, and among the many species we recorded, highlights were White-throated Shrike-Tanager, Rufous-winged Woodpecker, Ashy-throated Chlorospingus (one came down into the understory), Brown-billed Scythebill, Ornate Hawk-Eagle, and Lattice-tailed Trogon. In the afternoon, we visited the private birding location of Centro Manú in hopes for Snowcap, but they had apparently moved on. The fruit feeders had Yellow-throated Toucans and entertaining Montezuma Oropendolas, including a displaying male, while enormous Crested Guans made a racket in the trees. We came across a very confiding pair of White-whiskered Puffbirds in the garden, and down the trail we had great views of Ruddy Woodcreeper and Plain-brown Woodcreeper, the closest we would come to a productive army ant swarm.

Short stops on our way to La Selva found us looking at two Fasciated Tiger-Herons on the Sarapiquí River as well as a pair of Great Green Macaws near trees where they are known to nest. Our full day at La Selva Biological Station netted us 108 species within a mile’s walk of the visitor center, with the help of our local guide Bayardo. He took us to the roost of a Crested Owl, but not before we were bedazzled by a bold Chestnut-colored Woodpecker in search of ants in a heliconia clump just a few feet away from us. A Semiplumbeous Hawk was also in the same area, offering great views. The fruiting trees near the labs were always busy, highlights here being the always gorgeous Golden-hooded Tanagers and a scarce, low-elevation Pale-vented Thrush. Walking the trails into the forest provided several more highlights, such as Great Curassow, Pale-billed Woodpecker, and the difficult Yellow-winged Flatbill.

On our way to the Arenal area, we stopped by a new site called The Nest Nature Center. The attraction here was a Striped Owl on a regular roost – we were told just yards away from where its mate was on its ground nest with two chicks. We also had close encounters with Black-cheeked Woodpeckers coming to bananas and a bold White-collared Manakin that came to a heliconia plant while we were patiently waiting and hoping for a sicklebill. We drove on to our lunch spot, arriving early enough to stop in at Bogarín to see the Russet-naped Wood-Rails and hop down the trail for a very vocal and intently foraging Golden-olive Woodpecker. After lunch we walked the large trail loop. A Broad-billed Motmot perched fearlessly next to the trail as we got closer to our target: we were told near bridge #7 there could be a roosting Black-and-white Owl. It took maybe 10 minutes, but we finally spotted it tucked well away in the canopy. After that we spied a Barred Antshrike that was part of a mixed flock, which led us to a wet area where we had great views of a Uniform Crake’s legs as it perched behind a leaf in the dark understory. Something hit it – was a jacamar, another rail? – and it jumped off its perch and scampered into the heliconia thicket. Calling nearby were two White-throated Crakes which eventually walked right out in the open. Before we departed, we stopped for a Blue-throated Goldentail singing from an exposed perch just above the trail. We then headed to our next hotel, hoping to spot a Sunbittern that Juan Diego had texted us about as we were leaving Bogarín. When we arrived at the bridge some 25 minutes later, it wasn’t clear that we arrived in time. Suddenly, the Sunbittern appeared right below the bridge and decided it was time to forage and show off, and we were able to spend 20 minutes at close range with this spectacular species, especially when it opened its wings to show the sunburst pattern. After checking in, we had time to walk around the flower-filled gardens at the Arenal Observatory Lodge, seeing three different Black-crested Coquettes, one foraging along a strip of porterweed practically at our knees for several minutes.

Early morning at Arenal Observatory Lodge means watching from the deck to see what comes in to the remains of watermelon on the fruit feeder. Emerald Tanager was great to see here, though it was hard to ignore the Great Curassows. The tree at eye level right behind the feeder was a fruiting fig tree, and watching a Black-cheeked Woodpecker feed on the fruits was interesting to note. When two Crested Guans noisily erupted out of the back of the fig tree, we thought at first they were just exhibiting their usual morning exuberance, but peering into the tree we spied a gorgeous Ornate Hawk-Eagle that apparently had just missed its quarry. A couple dozen people on the deck got to see it not 20 yards away before it took off down through the garden and across the ravine. The rest of the morning involved a long hike to the more distant Cangrejo trail. A nice surprise in the pines along the way were Rich’s first Yellow-rumped Warblers for the country, which were also a write-in on our master list. Approaching the trail in a forested hillside, we watched a lovely pair of White Hawks soaring with a Broad-winged Hawk. The interior of the forest had a very skulking Black-headed Nightingale-Thrush that nearly everyone at least glimpsed; easier to see was a pair of Scaly-headed Pygmy-Tyrants, a Slaty-capped Flycatcher, and a pair of Slate-colored Grosbeaks that were part of a large mixed flock. The best bird we saw was a Zeledon’s Antbird, one of the few birds singing spontaneously, with it having been so dry lately. Back at the lodge to pack up and leave, we had one last view of one of the handsome male Black-crested Coquettes.

Facing a windy but dry day in the Monteverde area, we started just outside our rooms seeing White-eared Ground-Sparrows and listening to the deep, velvety whistled duet of a pair of Rufous-and-white Wrens, which we eventually saw. The rest of the morning was spent on the trails at the private Curi-Cancha Wildlife Refuge, where local guide Oscar put us onto a bright green Side-striped Palm Pitviper that was invisibly coiled up on some leaves high in the mid-story; it apparently had been roosting in the area for a couple of weeks. We had fabulous views of a Golden-browed Chlorophonia in mistletoe, and on the very quiet forest trails we connected with a Black-faced Solitaire, the only one we would see on the tour. As we were finished our route through the forest, we came across a bunch of loitering hikers, all looking at the same tree. As we suspected, a Resplendent Quetzal was the target of their attention, and we had several good views of a male with an incompletely grown train of upper tail coverts. The afternoon birding in a moister forest on a higher part of the continental divide was more productive, the highlight being a Silvery-fronted Tapaculo that everyone got to see. Other fine additions included a pair of lovely Spangle-cheeked Tanagers and the “Orange-bellied” form of a Collared Trogon. Finally, we spent the last half-hour of daylight watching several Elegant Euphonias come to roost on low branches just off the deck of Tramonti restaurant where we had had lunch. Tragedy struck this evening when Kevin fell into an invisible ditch and broke his arm. It turned out to be bad enough that he needed to be whisked off to a hospital in San José, two-and-a-half hours away. We were sorry to see him go.

In the early morning of our travel day southward, we had a chance to bird the drier forest on our lodge’s property, seeing the furtive Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush and a pair of super cooperative Chestnut-capped Brushfinches. Roadside stops in the drier and more open habitats of the lower Pacific slope resulted in a pair of Turquoise-browed Motmots, White-lored Gnatcatchers, Nutting’s Flycatcher, and Cinnamon Hummingbird among others, while a stroll at our Ensenada lunch stop yielded a daytime Pacific Screech-Owl and a pair of Spot-breasted Orioles. After lunch we padded the list with several sandpipers in the salt pans, then checked the mangroves which were very fruitful – Mangrove Cuckoo was the best bird, but Northern Scrub-Flycatcher, Banded Wren, and Prothonotary Warbler were also new.

We began our 8th day of birding with a boat ride on the lower Tárcoles River and through the mangroves. We caught up on two more birds that begin with “mangrove,” the endemic Mangrove Hummingbird and a single Mangrove Vireo, but the prize bird of the morning was a Rufous-breasted Wood-Rail that the thermal scope picked up on as it skulked behind the ferns and mangrove trunks. A pair of Yellow-naped Parrots were inspecting a likely nesting snag deep in the mangroves. A lovely lunch stop at La Cusinga didn’t net us any boobies offshore, but our first Costa Rican Swifts were good to see. We finally arrived at Bosque del Rio Tigre in the late afternoon, greeted by a troop of Fiery-billed Aracaris passing by over the lodge.

We birded the trails and nearby open road at Bosque del Rio Tigre our first morning; before breakfast we went up the very steep Bananal trail and were rewarded with a relatively tame Bicolored Antbird. On the way back to breakfast we got great views of the Scale-throated Leaftosser that was audible from down at the lodge. After breakfast we found a mixed flock with an Eye-ringed Flatbill, joined by White-throated Shrike-Tanager and Sulphur-rumped Flycatchers. In a more distant forest patch, we found a pair of Northern Bentbills that played hide-and-seek. After lunch we waded through the delightful Tigre River several times to reach a charming swimming hole popular with locals. But it wasn’t swimming we had in mind – Abraham had staked out an active nest of White-tipped Sicklebill attached to the underside of a Heliconia leaf overhanging the river. We waited just 25 minutes before the mother came to feed her two chicks. On the way back we finally connected with a Baird’s Trogon, nearly an endemic to Costa Rica.

We started our second full day on the Osa Peninsula on the entrance road to Dos Brazos, seeing and hearing 75 species before breakfast. A marauding troop of Fiery-billed Aracaris was a highlight, at one point being ferociously attacked by a pair of Masked Tityras defending their nest cavity. We also riled a pair of Great Antshrikes at the same place that a Slaty Spinetail made itself visible. After breakfast, our walk took us past a tiny marsh that had a bold pair of White-throated Crakes and their nearly grown chicks, while the same location a fe minutes later had a pair of Gray-cowled Wood-Rails and their lone grown chick. On the trails back to the lodge, we found an adorable Golden-crowned Spadebill building a nest, then with patience had amazing views of a Rufous Piha amongst the giant trees. For a change of scenery, we visited Playa Sándalo in the afternoon, the prizes here being a White-necked Puffbird right over the beach and our first Spot-crowned Euphonia in a clump of mistletoe right where it should have been.

We had but one target bird for the drive to the Talamanca Highlands – Yellow-billed Cotinga at the trusty Rincón Bridge. We spotted one in flight as we approached the bridge but we had time to get out and scan for a good look. While we waited and scanned from the bridge, we enjoyed more than three minutes of a rarely-seen Bare-throated Tiger-Heron courtship; they were so gentle, and definitely in love. Eventually we saw a female Yellow-billed Cotinga flying over with a fruit, giving us a hint where the most active fruiting tree should be – and sure enough, a male flew in from the mangrove area and landed on an exposed twig for a few minutes before dropping down into the fruiting tree out of sight. We got a pair of Panama Flycatchers in the mangroves and had good views of a Yellow-billed Cacique before moving on. At lunch, we arrived just as a pair of Speckled Tanagers did, fortunate timing as throughout our entire lunch stay, they never returned. We made a mid-afternoon stop at a restaurant with feeders, and among the six hummingbird species at the feeders were Violet Sabrewing and our only White-tailed Emerald, while a seventh – Purple-crowned Fairy – fed in the nearby flowers. One last birding stop was in the surprisingly warm and calm afternoon at the highest elevation we would experience on the tour, 11,400 feet. With some patience we had excellent views of Volcano Junco, as well as our first and best views of Slaty Flowerpiercer.

We had all day in the Savegre Valley with a very long list of Talamanca highland specialties to look for. Resplendent Quetzal wasn’t really a main target, since we had seen on at Monteverde, but you can’t not look at one if you hear it nearby. We ended up with perfect views of a splendid male right next to the road, in a spot where we were also looking at Flame-throated Warbler, Yellow-thighed Brushfinch, Barred Becard, and several other regional specialties. We also birded the more stunted forest just off the Pan-American Highway where we quickly spotted Black-and-yellow Silky-flycatcher and pished in some very excited Fiery-throated Hummingbirds. The afternoon walk down a trail below our lodge was highlighted by a Spotted Barbtail deftly spotted deep in the understory. The highlight of the day’s birding was actually the owling – ostensibly just for Dusky Nightjar, which we heard but finally saw only in flight. But there was a slight chance for the rare Unspotted Saw-whet Owl, and a bit of whistling at the same location ended up with an almost immediate response. Several minutes later, we finally all had amazing views of this extremely difficult bird, rare and usually tucked into very dense vegetation.

We had a surprisingly productive last morning of birding. Even around our hotel we added some new species such as Yellow-bellied Siskin and Brown-capped Vireo. At higher elevations we mainly concentrated on finding Wrenthrush, which in the end gave us amazing views; presumably it had been so dry recently that many of the territories of this taxonomic oddity were very quiet. In the search for it, we came across a very vocal pair of Resplendent Quetzals and found Ochraceous Pewee, Timberline Wren, and Large-footed Finch, all new for trip list. The rarest bird and best find, however, was a small group of Silvery-throated Jays, a bird that had eluded Rich in 27 years of leading tours to this very location. We ended the birding with one last stop for the rare and declining Grass Wren, which may eventually be split from several forms around Central and South America. The seldom-used side road we took turned out to be the main detour used by vehicles avoiding a highway construction site, so the noise and disturbance made the birds difficult to see, but one was singing, and we saw them in flight several times.

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