Costa Rica Trip Report 29th July to 10th August 2017

Derek and Vivien Gruar

Introduction

This year we wanted to spend our holiday somewhere in the world we had not visited before. The

emphasis was on finding great wildlife; with the focus on hummingbirds. We chose Costa Rica as it’s

well known as an excellent destination for wildlife watching and has a good eco-tourist

infrastructure.

After some online searches, we used the Bristol-based tailor-made holiday company Travel Local

www.travellocal.com . Flights were booked independently with British Airways with direct flights

from London Gatwick to San Jose.

Travel Local acts as an agent for local based travel companies in the countries where they offer

holidays. In this case this was Ecole travel www.ecoletravel.com. We were very happy with our

communications with Ecole travel and we agreed an itinerary based largely on their suggestions. The

cost of the package offered included all accommodation, some excursions and 4WD rental vehicle

including all insurances at a competitive price.

Self-driving: I had seen some horror stories online about driving in Costa Rica, these proved to be

unfounded. It was a case of driving defensively, being aware that the car in front may not indicate

where it was going and that road surfaces are poor in places. We found that speeds were much

lower than for similar roads in the UK and witnessed only two pieces of lunatic driving. A 4WD was

essential in a couple of places as well as the GPS, due to the lack of road signs or standard street

addresses.

Weather: Despite being in the in the “Green” season we were surprisingly unaffected by the

weather. There was heavy rain on two late afternoons in San Gerado de Dota. We witnessed an

awesome after dark storm at Maquenque too. Apart from that we only encountered light showers.

The cloud forests and volcano areas were cool in the mornings and evenings, whilst the lowlands

reached a very sticky 35c with very high humidity.

Accommodation

All the accommodation booked through Ecole Travel were good quality lodges/hotels, each with

their own individual character.

San Jose: Hotel Balmoral, downtown San Jose: The room was comfy and spacious with 2 queen beds

rather than a large double. Good bathroom, aircon and mini bar. Dinner was in the bar/restaurant

underneath the hotel www.balmoral.co.cr

San Gerado de Dota: Savegre Hotel Natural Reserve and Spa: Pleasant bungalow in a row of three, set a little up the hill from the restaurant and reception area. Walkways linked the accommodation to a nearby car park. A heater was provided and was useful on chilly evenings. Buffet meals were of good quality and the cheerful Belgian chef was very helpful with information on what dishes he had cooked each day, hotel staff were attentive and polite. The hotel also has an attractive bar area to relax next to the fire if needed. Plenty of trails and areas to walk in the grounds of the Lodge. www.savegre.com Turrialba/Guayabo: Guayabo Lodge: The lodge is situated down a small track and is well secluded as

it is surrounded by fantastic gardens which were great for watching birds and butterflies. Staff were

very friendly and helpful and we had a lovely room overlooking farmland and distant hills. The bed

was very comfy with amazing soft linen and the balcony was great. The meals were tasty, fresh and

of good quality. Mighty fine mojitos too. www.guayabolodge.co.cr

Sarapiqui: Selva Verde Lodge and Reserve: Our accommodation was a bungalow over the road from

the main Lodge. It was quieter than the main hotel which was probably a good job as the Lodge

seemed to be the preserve of US school/college groups. We were pleased that there was air con as it

was very warm and humid compared to our previous accomodation. A fridge that came with bottled

water was also very useful. However, we thought that the service was the poorest we had on the

trip and the hotel seemed to be living on past glories. www.selvaverde.com

Boca Tapada: Maquenque Ecolodge: From the friendly greeting in the car park, we loved everything about this hotel. The cool towels and drinks at check-in and the excellent staff made this our favourite place to stay in Costa Rica. The three course evening meals were the best food of the trip too. Our room was an amazing high-ceiling cabin on the far side of the lake from the main lodge buildings with a large bathroom and a small deck at the rear overlooking the lakes. No air conditioning, but an excellent ceiling fan cooled the room well for sleeping. www.maquenqueecolodge.com Poas: Poas Volcano Lodge: Our final night was at this very stylish lodge with modern rooms in a European style very reminiscent of a Spanish Parador. The room had a view of the Poas Volcano which was still smoking preventing any exploration of the national park. The fresh strawberries and bottled water in the room on arrival were much appreciated. Our evening meal was very tasty and for breakfast there were choices of pancakes or eggs along with fruit (included). www.poasvolcanolodge.com

Day Reports

Saturday 29th July: Arrival and night in San Jose

Our flight arrived early in the afternoon at San Jose airport direct from London Gatwick. It took us

over an hour to get through passport control and customs, by the time we got to baggage reclaim all

the luggage was off the carousels and awaiting. We exited the airport into the scrum of awaiting taxi

drivers and tour representatives where we were met by Ecole Travels’ driver and we then headed

into downtown San Jose. As with any trip we always have a discussion on what the first bird will be;

it was no surprise that Great-tailed Grackle was the first seen on the roadsides into the city. After a

few minutes in heavy traffic the heavens opened in a late afternoon thunderstorm and about 45

minutes later we were dropped off at our hotel in the heart of the city. We had our evening meal in

the restaurant below the hotel which was very tasty. After a long day of travelling we had an early

night as we were excited by the prospect of heading out to explore the Costa Rica countryside the

next morning.

Sunday 30th July: Drive to San Gerado de Dota, first of three nights at Savegre.

Breakfast was taken after a lie-in, then we met our travel representative and waited for our hire car

to be delivered to the hotel mid-morning. Once we had completed this paperwork and checked-out

we head out on the open road out of San Jose. We travelled east through the central valley to

Cartago and then upwards via the inter-American highway to 3000m above sea-level. As it was

Sunday morning the San Jose traffic was thankfully nowhere near as bad as the previous night. From

Cartago, all the way to the San Gerado de Dota turn off there was a constant stream of pilgrims

making their way downhill to the former capital as part of the day of celebration for Virgen de Los

Angeles, Costa Rica’s patron saint. This made driving a little more awkward with pedestrians in the

road. A few birds were noted on route with more grackles, turkey and black vultures, cattle egrets

and white-winged doves.

To reach our hotel in San Gerado de Dota we headed down from the highway at 3000m via a series

of amazing hairpin bends into the valley of the Rio Savegre. As we arrived at our accommodation the

heavens open yet again. Luckily this relented enough to enable us to transport our luggage to our

smart bungalow and we had time for quick exploration the hotel grounds. We stumbled across a bird

feeder near the restaurant which was visited by blue-grey, silver-throated and flame-coloured

tanagers. This became a place we would sit and watch the feeding birds every day of our stay. The

feeder also attracted the only red-headed barbet (a stunning male) of the trip along with acorn

woodpeckers and tropical mockingbird.

Feeders at Savegre Hotel and Spa.

We returned to our bungalow as the rain increased on dusk and flushed a bird in the gloom above

the small car park…… a male resplendent quetzal probably the number one target species of many

birders visiting Costa Rica, not the best views but over the next three day we got to grips with this

stunning bird a few more times. On darkness, the rain became probably the heaviest we have ever

seen and carried on for a few hours, at times we wondered whether the roof of our bungalow could

withstand the deluge. We needed to head to the main hotel area for dinner, so we donned our

ponchos and braved the monsoon. The restaurant at Saverge Hotel for evening meals served several

choices a buffet with a salad bar and a choice of desserts. The friendly Belgian chef was on hand to

discuss the background to the dishes he had prepared.

Monday 31st July: Day at Savegre

As we were a little jetlagged and after an early night were up at first light and opened the curtains to

find a pleasant sunny morning. We decided to have a wander around the grounds of the hotel with

the first bird of the morning being a slaty flowerpiercer expertly taking nectar from flowers by

piercing the base of each flower it visited. We followed a path leading to the neighbouring Sueños

del Bosque hotel of which was under major renovation. We found several hummingbirds including

magnificent, volcano and striped-tailed.

Volcano hummingbird

We also encountered a pair of yellowish flycatchers, yellow-thighed finches and from the bridge

over the picturesque Rio Savegre we found ruddy-capped nightingale thrush and torrent

tyrannulets.

We headed back towards the hotel and at the entrance found a small flock of long-tailed silky

flycatchers. These striking and vocal birds appear to have habits very reminiscent of waxwings. After

breakfast, we visited the bird feeder again and had great views of the usual tanager species allowing

us some great photo opportunities, as rufous collared sparrows fed on the ground. Small groups of

sulphur-winged parakeets flew noisily through the hotel grounds, fortunately a few landed to

enable identification. As we headed back to our bungalow we found a gaggle of people staring up

into the trees not far from where we saw the quetzal the previous evening. Indeed, we were

fortunate to find that the bird was perched up in the branches giving great views.

For lunch, we headed 6km back towards the main highway and stopped at Miriam’s Café. We had

read good reviews about both the food and the bird feeders out on the decking behind the

restaurant which could attract some interesting birds. We had an excellent traditional “Tico” lunch

of trout with rice, beans, plantains and salad, washed down with homemade blackberry juice and a

free rice pudding and cinnamon dessert.

The bird feeders had visits from acorn woodpeckers (which spent most of their time dive-bombing

the variegated squirrels that had the audacity to try to share the feeders). They also attracted

flame-coloured and silver-throated tanagers and the only large-footed finch of the trip, a flame-

throated warbler skulked in bushes near the feeders too. Apart from the tasty lunch, the highlight

was another new hummingbird, a very confiding male white-throated mountain gem.

White-throated Mountain Gem

Jetlag began to kick in and a much-needed siesta was the next thing on our agenda. I awoke later

and could hear parakeets, after the initial thoughts of whether I was dreaming I ventured outside to

investigate. It took a while to locate the birds, but I found that there was a constant stream of birds

passing very high overhead. Over the course of an hour I estimated that several hundred parakeets

headed northwards, the birds were so high up no positive identification was made. Evening rain

again brought the day to a close.

Tuesday 1st August: Day at Savegre/San Gerado de Dota.

Another early morning and we headed down the road towards the Hotel Suria and take the footpath

towards the waterfalls and south of the fish farm before breakfast. Along the roadside we found a

scolding grey-breasted wood-wren, tropical kingbirds, yellow-thighed finches as well as poor views

of spangle-cheeked tanager. The footpath towards the waterfall passed through some forest area

and soon became very muddy and slippery. We battled on for a little while and saw black-cheeked

warbler and ruddy tree runner before deciding that the trail was getting too bad. This proved to be

a great decision as after a late breakfast we revisited the area where we had seen the quetzals the

day before. The only thing found initially was a squirrel that headed off into the trees, as it did we

heard a strange chicken like call and a resplendent quetzal flew over our heads! We soon noticed a

second bird in trees on the opposite side of the path, both were males and gave stunning views for

over an hour. Occasionally the birds would fly up and take some fruit from the trees, one bird then

decided to sit out on a broken branch in full view enabling us to take some stunning photos before

disappearing into the forest.

Resplendent Quetzal

At lunchtime, we visited the nearby and recommended Café Kahawa, alas the kitchen was closed,

but we opted to get a soft drink. The owners were very apologetic about not serving food but also

pointed out another resplendent quetzal sat up in trees behind the café, we could not believe our

luck. The area by the café was great for acorn woodpeckers and a melodious blackbird was also

seen.

The afternoon was spent watching the feeders and a walk in the grounds of the Savegre Hotel

before rain arrived again in the evening; collared redstart and streak-headed woodcreeper were

notable sightings along with a fly-over flock of c20 white-collared swifts.

Collared Redstart

Wednesday 2nd August Drive to Guayabo via Irazú volcano

We awoke again early as we left San Gerado de Dota and had a long drive ahead as we travelled

towards the Turrialba area via the national park at Volcan Irazú. As we drove back towards the inter-

American highway we noted a few birders with guides on the roadside, we pulled up by them to find

out they have located yet another male quetzal this time accompanied by a recently fledged

juvenile. A fitting end to our stay in the cloud forest, spirits high we continued our journey.

To reach Irazú the drive took us back west towards Cartago and we then headed north out of the city

with the roads increasingly ascending through farmland towards the Irazú Volcano national park.

The weather started brightly with a very sunny morning but as we headed up to higher ground the

cloud descended, and visibility became reduced. We arrived at the entrance to the volcano and were

told by the park staff that if we could choose to turn around and not pay the entrance fee, as the

volcanic crater could be obscured by cloud.

We decided that as we had travelled that far we would take the chance to see the crater, paid the

$16pp fee and carried on a couple of km to the car park. The weather improved quickly, and we had

a fine spell where we could see into the 1000ft deep crater, alongside the occasional white-out

when low clouds descended, adding to the atmosphere. We also picked up a few species of birds not

seen elsewhere on our trip. A volcano junco with striking pale eyes skulked near the rim of the

crater, a distant crested caracara disappeared into the mist whilst we found a hairy woodpecker in

one the few trees of the Playa de Hermoso area. When we returned to the car park a sooty thrush

was seen in nearby bushes along with the ubiquitous rufous-collared sparrows and near the

café/shop we found another more confiding volcano junco feeding a fledgling.

Volcanic crater at Irazú

After about an hour and a half at the volcano we set off from the national park and headed towards

our accommodation at Guayabo Lodge near Turrialba. The drive was scenic, and we passed through

more farmland and small villages, tropical kingbirds and great kiskadees were occasionally seen

perched on wires and a long-tailed weasel ran across the road in front of our car. Near to the Lodge

vulture numbers began to increase and Viv found a swallow-tailed kite which I couldn’t see from the

driver’s seat and she was relieved that we found a few more of these spectacular raptors as we

continued our journey. We arrived at the Lodge mid-afternoon and were shown our lovely room

which overlooked farmland and the garden of the Lodge. The temperature was much higher than we

had experienced so far, a lazy afternoon on our balcony provided more kites and vultures as well as

black phoebe and common tody-flycatcher.

Guayabo Lodge

An evening stroll in the gardens before dinner was very productive as we had moved into lowland

Caribbean habitat. We located rufous-tailed hummingbirds, palm and golden-hooded tanagers, a

large flock of brown jays and one of our favourite birds of the trip, Montezuma’s oropendola, which

surely has one of the most bizarre bird calls in the world. We also had brief glimpses of a massive

owl butterfly. A fine dinner and mojitos ended the day.

Thursday 3rd August: Guayabo National monument and drive to Selva Verde.

As was our custom, we had a pre-breakfast walk around the garden where I flushed a couple of

ruddy-ground doves and added social flycatcher, yellow-bellied elaenia, buff-throated saltator and

the first bananaquit to our bird list

Included as part of our package we had a guided tour of the Guayabo National Monument, I guess

like most foreign visitors this was somewhere we had no knowledge of before visiting. The

monument is one of Costa Rica’s major archaeological sites and was the site of a once massive

settlement dating back over 3000 years. Unlike the massive structures in Mexico and elsewhere in

central America, this site was the home to large conical wooden huts built on raised foundations.

The monument is home to various tombs and a 2000-year-old functioning aqueduct that brings

water down from the nearby mountains.

Guayabo National Monument

Our visit here turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip. This was primarily down to the excellence of our guide Rosita. She spoke great English and we had bi-lingual conversations as we toured the site giving my rusty Spanish a thorough work out. She was extremely knowledgeable and entertaining, not only on the history and archaeology of the site but also about the natural history too. We had an initial introduction and a safety briefing on watching out for snakes before walking around the trails. We passed some sculptured monoliths depicting jaguar and crocodile carvings whilst finding some great invertebrates. As we climbed up to the view point over the monument we were told to stay still and look at the logs on either side of the path, curled up were two hog-nosed pit vipers. These small snakes are beautifully camouflaged, and it would have been so easy to just step on one. Rosita radioed the staff at the entrance to warn any other guided groups to the presence of these venomous snakes. Birding at this stage was a bit slow, but we found more great insects with a massive harlequin beetle lurking under one of the guardrails and an owl butterfly in poor condition on the path.

Owl butterfly

Our tour took us down into the main centre of the site, past the aqueduct and the raised mounds on which the settlements were built. Here we had a few new bird species too with squirrel cuckoo, green hermit, orange-billed sparrow and the first collared aracaris of the trip which perched up very co-operatively. After roughly a 3-hour tour we continued the long drive via Turrialba towards Selva Verde. We were thankful we had a 4WD vehicle as a bridge was under construction and we had to tackle some unpaved back roads as a detour. The drive to Selva Verde was uneventful apart from the amount of heavy traffic along the main roads was a bit of a shock after being off the beaten track for a few days. We arrived at Selva Verde Lodge and we could tell that we were in more tropical climes as the

temperature and humidity had increased markedly. Our accommodation was a bungalow and a 10-

minute walk from main hotel complex set across the main road. The room was a bit jaded but did

have air-con and a fridge. After a long day it was time for another siesta before we walked down to

the hotel for dinner and a night walk around the hotel grounds. Before dinner we have our first visit

to the river and find a huge ringed kingfisher and our first ever toucan (keel-billed) as well as black

phoebe and flyover cattle egrets and neotropical cormorants.

For dinner we ate in the Italian restaurant with fresh pizza made nightly and were introduced to the

original founder of the hotel Mrs Holbrook who joined us over dinner. It was a real privilege to meet

her. More info can be found at http://www.selvaverde.com/about-selva-verde/selva-verde-story-

costarica.html

We donned our head torches and met up with several other guests and our night walk guide Ivan

who is one of the senior guides at the Lodge. We initially found some stick insects and crickets as

well as hearing dink frogs. We wandered towards a creek and find green basilisk and some juvenile

green iguanas. In the car parking area, we scanned high in the trees above our heads hopeful of

finding sloths and thankfully two blurry masses in the trees turned out to be two Hoffman’s two-

toed sloths; one of the animals we really wanted to see.

We continued our walk for another hour and a

half, Ivan found us a cloudy snail eating snake,

as we walked over the suspension bridge

towards the rainforest part of the reserve here

we found a very confiding kinkajou. A short spell

in the muddy forest yielded a roosting wedge-

billed woodcreeper and a massive tarantula.

We retraced our steps over the bridge and had

one final treat waiting for us near the hotel in

the shape of one of Costa Rica’s most iconic

animals the red-eyed tree frog. A great end to a

long day!

Friday 4th August: Selva Verde

We were up early again and had breakfast before 7am, as part of our tour package had a morning

booked at Dave and Dave’s nature pavilion. We travelled the few minutes down the road where we

were met by Dave and Dave Jnr on their covered decking. The decking was complete with comfy

seats and was surrounded by vine rope on which fresh fruit was placed attracting lots of birds.

White-necked Jacobin

A second deck behind the pavilion backing onto the forest had some hummingbird feeders. We were

the only visitors that morning and received VIP treatment. Here we had stunning views of white-

necked Jacobin, scaly-breasted hummingbird, crimson-collared tanager and green honeycreeper.

This was a superb place to take photos and our hosts were very welcoming and provided us with

information about the background to the site and their lives in Costa Rica. We could have quite

easily stayed there for a good while longer, but we had other plans for the afternoon.

After a rather average lunch back at Selva Verde Lodge, we travelled through the town of Puerto

Viejo de Sarapiquí as we had booked an Oasis Travel boat trip (via the Lodge) on the Rio Sarapiquí.

As ever, we had vague Costa Rican directions of “take the turning by the large bank, head to a grassy

area and park”. We were met in car park by what turned out to be the guide and were asked if we

were booked on a boat trip. We followed the guide and found yet again that we were the only ones

on the tour. After leaving the dock we passed by local kids and families cooling off in the river and

headed north-east down the river. This gave us chance to explore a different habitat and we soon

found an anhinga and a juvenile bare-throated tiger-heron whilst mangrove swallows hawked low

over the water.

American crocodile

We came across a couple of American crocodiles and green iguanas that on basked the banks. We

also found green and ringed kingfisher, a pair of green ibis too. In the riverside forest, we were

fortunate to get good views of both mantled-howler monkey and white-faced capuchin, both new

species of mammal for us. After a couple of hours, we turned back towards Sarapiquí, encountering

northern jacana and spotted sandpiper on the return journey back to the boat jetty. After a busy

day, we had a lazy evening before dinner.

Saturday 5th August: drive to Maquenque

For our last morning at Selva Verde we booked a guided bird walk and are not surprised to find we

were the only clients, this must have been one of the advantages of booking in “green season”. We

met our guide Ronald and strolled around the grounds of the hotel on a bright and sunny morning.

We quickly located both keel-billed and black-mandibled toucans as well as rufous motmot and

buff-rumped warbler before leaving the main hotel area. We continued around the garden and find

a host of new species; Ronald was a world class birder and we found c45 species in the couple of

hours including cinnamon becard, crested guan and a very distant perched semi-plumbeous hawk.

We returned from the walk just in time for breakfast and whilst compiling the bird list with Ronald

we added white-collared mannakin and bronzy hermit.

Black-mandibled toucan

After a typical “tico” breakfast of gallo pinto (rice and beans) fruit and toast we checked out from

the hotel and headed north towards Boca Tapada and our next destination of Maquenque Ecolodge,

near the Nicaraguan border. The drive took us via the town of Pital with the last 30km of the journey

on an unpaved road, this had a few potholes but otherwise posed no difficulties. Bird activity on the

way was limited as we travelled through a lot of farmland with pineapple fields dominating the

landscape. It was lunchtime by the time we arrived at the car park of the lodge, where we were met

by a friendly member of staff who explained that to reach the lodge we needed to cross the wide

San Carlos river…. the only problem was that the usual boat was not working, so we had to use one

of the locals open canoes.

Our luggage was loaded up by boatman Chico and taken across first, we put on life-jackets and

headed across shortly afterwards. Arriving on the other side of the river we walked up through

gardens into an absolute paradise, a complimentary coconut juice and cool towel were offered to us

on check-in, a nice welcoming touch. We were then shown to our accommodation (a lovely cabin)

on the other side of two lagoons that are the centrepiece of the ecolodge and encountered green

heron, purple gallinule and northern jacanas on the way. The staff at the hotel even took a late

lunch order for us and we spent the afternoon observing orange-chinned parakeets, black-cheeked

woodpeckers and Passerini’s tanagers that visited the fruit feeders near the open-air dining room.

Orange-chinned parakeet

Sunday 6th August: Maquenque

We spent three days at the lodge which gave us plenty of time to explore the extensive grounds and take some of the tours offered by the lodge. On our first morning, we had a boat trip to the Nicaraguan border that was pre-booked as part of our holiday package. This was very informative as we stopped off at the small border town of Boca San Carlos and learnt about the local school program. We then visited a farmstead on the return trip where we were shown cow milking and I helped press some sugar cane to produce a refreshing and very sweet beverage. We thought that this trip should be advertised more as a cultural excursion rather than to see wildlife, however we still saw a massive American crocodile, tri-coloured heron, both mantled-howler and spider monkeys and I found another flyover king vulture. We returned at lunchtime and by then the temperature had reached the mid 30’s so we again had a lazy afternoon watching the bird feeders and the lagoons. Birding highlights included a pair of grey headed chachalacas, amazon kingfisher, collared aracaris and a shining honeycreeper. We booked a night walk around the reserve and met our guide just as it was getting dark. Ignacio who also led the morning boat tour was our guide for this walk around the hotel grounds. As we met, a thunderstorm rumbled away in the distance. We walked past the main hotel and did a circuit around the lagoon, on dusk a common paraque almost flew into us as it sped through the trees.

Maquenque Ecolodge (bar and dining area)

On the walk, we found an incredible array of frogs including common dink frog, common rain frog, bufo toad and a couple of red-eyed tree frogs. Towards the rainforest we scanned the water with torches and picked out the eye shine of two or three caiman lurking in the murky depths. As we retraced our steps back towards the hotel we find a small (unidentified) yellow coloured snake and a more tree frogs. By now the forest was being lit up by some spectacular sheet lightening, and the rain began to fall giving the evening an atmospheric air. Thankfully, we were sitting at our table in the covered dining area when the storm hit. The rain hammered down relentlessly for a couple of hours whilst the lightening show drew gasps of awe from the assembled diners as the sky was lit up like a firework display. This enabled us to take our time over dinner and enjoy a second round of excellent cocktails! Once the rain had abated a little we dashed back to our cabin and had great views as the lightening lit up the night time sky for a few hours more.

Thunderstorm over Maquenque

Monday 7th August: Maquenque

We were up and out before breakfast again as we had booked a guided bird walk. We met our guide

Jose at the hotel reception and started with a loop around the lagoons quickly finding a pair of

lineated woodpeckers near the reception area and a female barred antshrike. On the edge of the

hotel grounds the farmland held red-winged blackbird, great egret and groove-billed ani. Black-

bellied whistling ducks sat in trees around the water’s edge along with green kingfisher with noisy

groups of red-lored and white-crowned parrots flying overhead. We continued around the lagoon

and found long-billed starthroat and white-collared seedeater under the gaze of the omnipresent

black vultures roosting in the tall trees. We walked past our cabin to the edge of the forest where

we saw the caiman on our night walk, here the swampy area around the bridge held buff-rumped

warbler and Jose found a roosting boat-billed heron lurking deep in undergrowth that was just

about visible but little else was seen. We had time to check out some of the gardens before

breakfast and encountered plain and house wren, black-striped sparrow located by its wind-up toy-

like call and a small flock of black-faced grosbeaks.

As we were finishing our breakfast we had a fly-past boat-billed heron and decided to set off after it

to get better views and possibly a few photos. Alas, we lost sight of the bird and it was not relocated.

However, as we passed by reception we were asked whether we would like to take our

complimentary rainforest guided walk later that morning. We met up again with Ignacio who took us

on a c4km loop around some of the more remote areas of the Lodge. We learnt lots about the how

local people use the massive array of rainforest plants. We started with great views of strawberry

poison dart frogs (these are also known as blue jeans due to their blue legs) we also found a few

new birds including two very impressive long-tailed tyrants, pale-billed woodpecker, rufous winged

woodpecker and a single gartered trogon.

Strawberry (Blue-jeans) poison dart frog

The rainforest was home to a host of amazing invertebrates including leaf cutter and bullet ants.

After a couple of hours in the sweltering heat on the muddy trails we headed back for a well-

deserved lunch where we were treated to a close chestnut-headed oropendola on the feeders. The

afternoon was spent cooling down with a spell in the small hotel pool, which was just what the

doctor ordered. Late afternoon was again spent watching tanagers, woodpeckers and parakeets on

the feeders.

Tuesday 8th August:

Our last morning at Maquenque and we were very sad to be leaving as we could easily have stayed

here for a few more days to explore the grounds and forest further. We had one quick pre-breakfast

walk around the lagoon and found a very confiding pair of green kingfisher and all the usual

suspects seen over the past few days and a very close group of mantled howler monkeys in

vegetation just above our heads. We were alerted to a very loud harsh rasping call and found two

scarlet macaws flying in the distance along the Rio San Carlos, a highlight of the trip for me. It was

possible that the same pair flew over the lagoon during our last breakfast later in the morning. It was

with heavy hearts we packed our bags and headed to the river to return to civilization and our last

full day in Costa Rica.

Once back in our vehicle we retrace our steps along the 30km of unpaved road back to Pital as we

returned towards San Jose via our last night at Poas Volcano Lodge. We find red-winged blackbirds,

a pair of scaled pigeons and a group of chunky grey-breasted martins on the wires before we reach

Pital. The rest of the journey was uneventful until we found that the road from San Miguel to our

destination near Vara Blanca was closed for construction. We had a 40-minute wait until we were

allowed on our way. The last part of our pre-booked itinerary was entry into La Paz Waterfall

Gardens which has an enviable list of hummingbirds that have been seen at the feeders there.

Firstly, we visited another site for hummingbirds that our guide Ronald at Selva Verde Lodge had

mentioned. A small restaurant/soda that had a deck at the back that was good to see the endemic

coppery-headed emerald. These proved to be wise words as these were plentiful at the feeders at

the Galería de Colibries y Resturante Cinchona situated about 4km north of the La Paz Waterfall

Gardens.

Coppery-headed emerald

We stopped here for a little while and grabbed a quick drink and viewed the feeders that were

buzzing with hummingbirds with coppery-headed emeralds and green thorntails being the

commonest species. Other species that would visit occasionally included violet sabrewings, brown

violetears and green-crowned brilliants. Fruit feeders also attracted silver-throated and blue-grey

tanagers and an emerald toucanet skulked annoyingly in the shrubs almost out of sight.

Silver-throated tanager

We left earlier than we would like as we had lunch booked as part of our entrance into La Paz, but

not before paying some money to the restaurant for access to the hummingbird deck. The owners

ask for a small contribution from birders/photographers for the use of the deck. Something we were

very happy to do as the cost to replenish feeders/fruit must mount up over time and the owners are

under no obligation to feed these birds to provide enjoyment for visiting tourists.

On the way to the waterfall gardens we found that the most impressive waterfall is best viewed

from the road, we stopped here and took a few photos along with some other tourists. Once parked

up and fitted with an entry wrist band at La Paz we wandered down the steep steps into the

gardens. An employee noted we have binoculars and cameras and directs us to “the birds”, this

turned out to be a rather poor aviary with raptors and parrots in alarmingly small cages. It was not

exactly what we had expected.

Eventually we found the small hummingbird garden with a few feeders, and there was an impressive

number of hummingbirds, despite the maintenance that was on-going with sanders grinding away

for long spells. Humming bird species seen here in an hour included green hermit, black-bellied,

rufous-tailed, purple-throated mountain gem, violet sabrewing, brown violetears, coppery-headed

emeralds and green thorntails, an impressive list despite the disturbance.

Brown violetear

Overall, we thought that this was the worst place we had visited on our trip, the conditions for birds

and primates in the caged areas we visited looked to be poor at best. We couldn’t even contemplate

visiting the area where they had some big cats as it was too depressing. Costa Rica has some of the

best habitats and wildlife in the world, why people would want to see such things in miserable

conditions was beyond us and why this place gets its reputation as one of the places to visit left us

dumbfounded. It was little more than a glorified zoo and not a good one.

Wednesday 9th August:

Our last morning of the trip dawned and we had a short walk around the gardens of Poas Volcano

Lodge after breakfast but found little of note. We decided that we had enough time for an hour and

half at Galería Colibri before we had to head to airport, just in case the toucanets wanted to “play

ball”.

We arrived just in time to see two emerald toucanets land on the fruit feeders, these proved to be

the last new species of the trip; we estimated that 3 or 4 different birds visited the feeders during

our time there. Over a cuppa we also had our final hummingbird encounters of the trip with violet

sabrewings, brown violetears, coppery-headed emeralds and green thorntails visiting the feeders.

Emerald toucanet

Regrettably, we needed to leave and return our hire vehicle to the depot and subsequently head to

the airport for the long flight home. Our last major wildlife sighting of a fantastic trip was a roadside

coati looking for food from passing vehicles not far from the La Paz waterfall.

Costa Rica… we had a fabulous time and saw so many amazing places and fantastic animals, all the

people we met were friendly and passionate about their land. We’d love to explore more of this

great country in the future as the locals say………. Pura Vida!

Bird List Black-bellied Whistling Duck Up to ten birds around the ponds at Maquenque.

Crested Guan At least four birds on the morning bird walk at Selva Verde.

Grey Headed Chachalaca Two birds seen from the restaurant at Maquenque.

Anhinga At least three birds seen on the Sarapiquí Boat trip.

Green Ibis Two birds from the Sarapiquí Boat trip and a further pair at Maquenque.

Green Heron At least one bird around the lagoons at Maquenque all the time we were there.

Tricoloured Heron Two fly through birds seen at Maquenque.

Little Blue Heron A fly through seen on the morning guided walk at Selva Verde, a second fly

through at Maquenque.

Cattle Egret Seen at several locations including on the roadside near Cartago, Guayabo Lodge, Selva

Verde and between Pital and Maquenque.

Boat-billed Heron Two at Maquenque on roosting in deep cover and a second flew through past the

restaurant.

Great Egret One in the fields near Maquenque and another from the road between Maquenque and

Pital.

Bare-throated Tiger-Heron A Juvenile seen on Sarapiquí Boat trip.

Fasciated Tiger-Heron One seen from boat trip at Maquenque.

Neotropical Cormorant Fly through birds were seen along the river at Selva Verde.

Great Blue Heron Single bird seen on our Sarapiquí Boat trip.

Black Vulture Very common in most areas especially around Guayabo Lodge area. Occasionally seen

foraging on roadsides.

Turkey Vulture Very common in most areas, particularly near Guayabo Lodge.

King Vulture One flying over Selva Verde and another in flight from boat trip at Maquenque.

Semiplumbeous Hawk A very distant perched bird at Selva Verde was seen on our guided walk.

Roadside Hawk The aptly named raptor was occasionally seen perched up by roadsides when driving

between Guayabo and Selva Verde.

Swallow-tailed Kite First seen whilst driving between Volcan Irazú and Guayabo Lodge with further

birds flew over the Lodge. Two were seen within a flock of vultures at Maquenque.

Purple/Yellow-legged Gallinule At least two pairs with juveniles giving great views from the

restaurant at Maquenque.

Spotted Sandpiper The only wader of the trip and were common along water courses at Maquenque

and Selva Verde.

Northern Jacana One from the Sarapiquí Boat trip, three or four pairs around the lagoons at

Maquenque.

Band-tailed Pigeon Commonly seen flying over cloud forest at Savegre/San Gerado de Dota.

Red-billed Pigeon Found in the gardens of Guayabo Lodge.

White-tipped Dove Seen daily at Maquenque.

Scaled Pigeon Two birds on the road between Pital and Maquenque.

White-winged Dove Seen from the car in urban areas, particularly around Cartago.

Ruddy Ground-dove A confiding pair seen in the gardens of Guayabo Lodge. Also seen daily at

Maquenque.

Groove-billed Ani A small flock were seen daily at the border of the lagoons and farmland at

Maquenque.

Squirrel Cuckoo One at Guayabo national monument and a second on our rainforest walk at

Maquenque.

Common Pauraque One flew overhead on our night walk at Maquenque.

White-collared Swift One group of c20 flying high over the Hotel Savegre, also seen on morning bird walk at Maquenque. Grey-rumped Swift A small flock seen on morning bird walk at Maquenque.

Bronzy Hermit Individuals seen foraging on flowers in the hotel gardens at Selva Verde and

Maquenque.

Long-billed Starthroat A single bird seen on morning bird walk at Maquenque.

Green Hermit Single bird at Guayabo national monument, also seen at La Paz Waterfall gardens.

Green-crowned Brilliant Several seen at La Paz Waterfall gardens and Galería Colibri.

Magnificent Hummingbird Common around the gardens of Savegre Hotel.

White-throated Mountain Gem Brilliant views of a male at Miriam’s Café San Gerado de Dota.

Purple-throated Mountain Gem Male and females seen at La Paz Waterfall gardens and Galería

Colibri.

Volcano Hummingbird Common around the gardens of Savegre Hotel.

Stripe-tailed Hummingbird Several seen daily around the gardens of Savegre Hotel.

Scaly-breasted Hummingbird Several birds visited the feeders at Dave and Dave’s Nature Pavilion.

Crowned Woodnymph A single bird seen with other hummingbirds at Dave and Dave’s Nature

Pavilion.

White-necked Jacobin Superb views of males visiting feeders and flowers at Dave and Dave’s Nature

Pavilion.

Green Violetear Regular around the gardens of Savegre Hotel as well as La Paz Waterfall gardens

and Galería Colibri.

Brown Violetear Occasionally seen at La Paz Waterfall gardens and Galería Colibri.

Green Thorntail One of the commonest hummingbirds at La Paz Waterfall gardens and Galería

Colibri.

Violet Sabrewing This huge stunning hummingbird was frequently seen at feeders at La Paz

Waterfall gardens and Galería Colibri.

Black-bellied Hummingbird Excellent views at the feeders at La Paz Waterfall gardens.

Coppery-headed Emerald Very common at the feeders at both La Paz Waterfall gardens and Galería

Colibri.

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird First seen at Guayabo Lodge, the most widespread seen hummingbird

except at higher elevations. Very common at Dave and Dave’s Nature Pavilion with birds also seen at

Maquenque and Selva Verde.

Gartered Trogon A single male was seen briefly on our rainforest guided walk at Maquenque.

Resplendent Quetzal The bird of the trip with two males giving amazing encounters in the grounds

of Savegre Hotel. Another was seen from the decking at Café Kahawa and a male and fledglings seen

from the road between San Gerado de Dota and Savegre Hotel.

Rufous Motmot A recently fledge juvenile was found sitting on chairs in the education area at Selva

Verde. An adult was also seen on our guided bird walk here too.

Ringed Kingfisher This massive kingfisher was first seen at Selva Verde with other sightings on our

Sarapiquí Boat trip and at Maquenque too.

Amazon Kingfisher Pairs seen at Selva Verde and Maquenque.

Green Kingfisher The smallest of the three kingfishers seen were found at Maquenque and on the

Sarapiquí Boat trip.

Red-headed Barbet A single male seen on two dates in the grounds of the Savegre Lodge Hotel.

Collared Aracari First seen at Guayabo National Monument and subsequently at Selva Verde and

Maquenque, usually in pairs or small groups.

Keel-billed Toucan Common around Selva Verde with two birds seen on the roadside near the hotel

entrance giving the best views.

Black-mandibled Toucan Seen around Selva Verde, usually foraging high in forest trees.

Emerald Toucanet Three or four individuals visited the fruit feeders at Galería Colibri.

Acorn Woodpecker Very common in the San Gerado de Dota area, often seen in groups and

observed at feeders.

Hairy Woodpecker A single bird near the crater of Irazú volcano

Black-cheeked Woodpecker First seen at Selva Verde and Dave and Dave’s. A very common visitor

to the fruit feeders at Maquenque Ecolodge.

Rufous-winged Woodpecker A single bird was on our rain forest walk Maquenque.

Linneated Woodpecker Two birds were found on our morning bird walk at Maquenque.

Pale-billed Woodpecker A pair were found on our rain forest walk and three birds were involved in a

noisy altercation on the same tree in the gardens on Maquenque Ecolodge.

Crested Caracara Distant birds at both Volcan Irazú and Maquenque.

Bat Falcon One fly through at San Gerado de Dota and a distant bird was with vultures over Selva

Verde.

Sulphur-winged Parakeet Noisy flocks of up to 30 birds were seen in the grounds of Savegre Hotel.

Orange-chinned Parakeet Very common and readily observed at feeders at Maquenque.

Crimson-throated Parakeet A few birds seen around the gardens of Selva Verde.

Red-lored Parrot/Amazon Occasionally seen in flight and two were seen perched in trees near our

cabin at Maquenque.

White-crowned Parrot Small flocks seen flying over Maquenque.

Scarlet Macaw One of the iconic birds of the trip with two pairs flying over on our final day at

Maquenque.

Streak-headed Woodcreeper Regularly seen from the decking at the Savegre Hotel.

Wedged-billed Woodcreeper A roosting bird was found on the night walk at Selva Verde Lodge.

Spot-crowned Woodcreeper Seen on our guided bird walk at Maquenque with other individuals also

seen in the lodge grounds.

Cocoa Woodcreeper Seen on our guided bird walk at Maquenque.

Barred Antshrike Two females seen in the gardens at Maquenque.

Ruddy Treerunner A single bird along the waterfall trail at San Gerado de Dota.

Yellow Tyrannulet Seen on guided bird walks at Selva Verde and Maquenque.

Torrent Tyrannulet Pairs were observed from the bridges over the Rio Savegre at Bosque de Sueños

and Savegre Hotel.

Yellow-bellied Elaenia Regular in tropical habitats at Selva Verde and Maquenque.

Common Tody-Flycatcher A couple of pairs frequented the gardens at Guayabo Lodge, also regularly

seen at Selva Verde and Maquenque.

Tropical Peewee Regular in tropical habitats at Selva Verde and Maquenque.

Yellowish Flycatcher A pair were found in the grounds of the Savegre Hotel.

Black Phoebe A single bird frequented the roof of the Guayabo Lodge, also seen on the riverside at

Selva Verde.

Long-tailed Tyrant Good views of two of these stunning birds on the rainforest walk at Maquenque.

Bright-rumped Attila Single birds seen at both Selva Verde and Maquenque.

Dusky-capped Flycatcher Seen on guided bird walks at Selva Verde and Maquenque.

Boat-billed Flycatcher Seen on guided bird walks at Selva Verde and Maquenque.

Grey-capped Flycatcher Seen on guided bird walk in the gardens of Selva Verde Lodge.

Tropical Kingbird One of the most widespread birds in lowland habitats. A nest with chicks was

found at Maquenque.

Great Kiskadee First seen on the roadsides between Volcan Irazú and Guayabo Lodge. Regular at

most sites on the Caribbean slopes.

Social Flycatcher Common in the grounds of Guayabo Lodge, also seen at Maquenque.

Cinnamon Becard A lone bird was found on our guided walk at Selva Verde.

Black-crowned Tityra Singles seen on bird walks at both Selva Verde and Maquenque.

White-collared Manakin Single seen near the restaurant at Selva Verde and a possible second at

Maquenque.

Lesser Greenlet One seen on guided bird walk at Selva Verde

Brown Jay A flock of 15+ birds were seen in the farmland around Guayabo Lodge.

Mangrove Swallow Very common on the Rio Sarapiquí Boat trip, occasional birds fed over the

lagoons at Maquenque.

Blue-and white Swallow The most widespread hirundine. Flocks passed over the grounds of the

Savegre hotel daily. A group of 30+ birds roosted on the roof of Guayabo Lodge.

Rough-winged swallow spp One seen fleetingly on the Sarapiquí boat trip.

Grey-breasted Martin A small group of about a dozen of these chunky hirundines seen on wires on

the road between Pital and Maquenque.

House Wren very common in the grounds of Maquenque Ecolodge.

Bay Wren Seen and heard at Selva Verde on guided bird walk and around Guayabo monument.

Stripe-breasted Wren Found on guided bird walk at Selva Verde.

Plain Wren A single bird in the grounds at Maquenque on guided bird walk.

Grey-breasted Wood-Wren One very vocal individual seen along the road near Savegre Hotel.

Ruddy-capped Nightingale Thrush One bird seen near the bridge at the Sueños del Bosque hotel and

another along the waterfall trail at San Gerado de Dota. Also seen in the grounds of Poas Volcano

Lodge.

Sooty Thrush One seen near the car park at Volcan Irazú.

Clay-coloured Thrush The omnipresent national bird of Costa Rica, due to its musical song as its

probably one of the least colourful birds in Costa Rica. Found in almost all habitats.

Long-tailed Silky Flycatcher One of my favourite birds of the trip, these garrulous birds were very

seen in small flocks feeding on berries around Savegre Hotel.

Flame-throated Warbler One bird near the feeders at Miriam’s Café San Gerado de Dota, others

along the riverside near Savegre hotel.

Black-cheeked Warbler A single seen on the waterfall trail at San Gerado de Dota.

Rufous-capped Warbler One seen at Guayabo National Monument.

Collared Redstart One very confiding bird frequented the balcony of the Savegre Hotel bar and

restaurant. Other birds were seen in the grounds of the hotel and along the waterfall walk.

Buff-rumped Warbler Found near water at Selva Verde and Maquenque, the former had 3 birds

around the swimming pool area which contrasted to a bird in the swampy areas near the rainforest

at Maquenque.

Passerini's Tanager Common around fruit feeders at Dave and Dave’s and Maquenque.

Crimson-collared Tanager Occasional around fruit feeders at Dave and Dave’s and Maquenque.

Blue-grey Tanager The most widespread Tanager species found in most places we visited and would

frequently be seen at fruit feeds notably at Savegre, Dave and Dave’s and Maquenque.

Palm Tanager First seen in the grounds of Guayabo Lodge, good views of feeding birds at Dave and

Dave’s.

Golden-hooded Tanager This stunning tanager was seen at several locations mainly at Maquenque

but also at feeders at Dave and Dave’s.

Spangle-cheeked Tanager Poor views of a single bird near the Rio Savegre.

Silver-throated Tanager A common visitor to feeders at Savegre and Galería Colibri.

Slaty Flowerpiercer These strange billed birds were common at Savegre and Poas Volcano Lodge

where they could be seen taking nectar from the base of flowers.

Red-legged Honeycreeper Occasionally seen at feeders at Maquenque and Dave and Dave’s.

Green Honeycreeper The most frequently encountered honeycreeper which was attracted to

feeders at Maquenque, Selva Verde and a female fed two fledglings at Dave and Dave’s.

Shining Honeycreeper Single birds at Selva Verde and Maquenque.

Bananaquit First seen in the garden of Guayabo Lodge and then regularly at fruit and nectar feeders

at most tropical sites.

Variable Seedeater Seen in riverside vegetation at Selva Verde and at Maquenque.

White-collared Seedeater Seen in lagoon side vegetation at Maquenque.

Yellow-faced Grassquit One near the hotel at Savegre seemed an unusual record, other birds seen

at Guayabo Lodge and Maquenque.

Buff-throated Saltator Widespread if not common first seen at Guayabo Lodge and subsequently at

Selva Verde and Maquenque.

Black-headed Saltator One on bird walk at Selva Verde others at Maquenque.

Sooty-capped Chlorospingus Found occasionally around the grounds at Savegre.

Common Chlorospingus Found on a couple of occasions around the grounds at Savegre.

Orange-billed Sparrow One skulking individual at Guayabo monument another lone bird at Dave and

Dave’s.

Black-striped Sparrow A few birds located by their excellent song at Maquenque.

Black-faced Grosbeak Two small flocks were seen in the gardens of Maquenque.

Red-winged Blackbird Commonly seen in the farmland along the road between Pital and

Maquenque.

Volcano Junco One bird near the crater rim and a second feeding a fledgling in the car park of Volcan

Irazú.

Rufous-collared Sparrow The omnipresent small passerine of Costa Rica, seen in most habitats.

Red-throated Ant Tanager Uncommonly seen at Selva Verde, Dave and Dave’s and Maquenque.

Large-footed Finch The only bird of the trip seen at the feeders of Miriam’s Café San Gerado de

Dota.

Yellow-thighed Finch Often seen in small groups around the hotel grounds at Savegre. Also seen at,

Miriam’s café and waterfall walk in San Gerado de Dota.

White-naped Brushfinch A single seen around the bungalow of the Savegre Hotel.

Flame-coloured Tanager Common around the gardens of the Savegre Hotel where it readily came to

fruit feeders.

Yellow-billed Cacique Single bird gave fleeting glimpses on a guided bird walk at Maquenque.

Melodious Blackbird single birds in the grounds of Savegre hotel and another near café Kahawa.

Great-tailed Grackle Common in all but the highest altitudes, often seen in small noisy flocks. One

sighting of note at Maquenque was when one was almost snatched in flight by a caiman.

Black-cowled Oriole Single birds briefly visited feeders at Dave and Dave’s and Maquenque

Ecolodge.

Montezuma Oropendola Another one of our favourite birds of the trip, mainly due to its amazing

call. First seen and heard in the gardens of Guayabo Lodge. Common and widespread in tropical

Caribbean habitats.

Chestnut-headed Oropendola A flyover bird gave poor views at Selva Verde, whilst one bird

obligingly visited the feeders at Maquenque Ecolodge.

Yellow-throated Euphonia Seen on our Maquenque bird walk.

Olive-backed Euphonia A pair visited feeders at Dave and Dave’s others seen on our Maquenque

bird walk.

Mammals

Long-tailed Weasel one seen from the car whilst driving between Irazú and Guayabo Lodge.

Tayra Viv saw one from the back decking at Dave and Dave’s.

Hoffmann’s Two-toed Sloth Two found at La Selva on our night walk.

White-faced Capuchin A small troop found in riverside trees on the boat trip at Sarapiquí.

Mantled Howler First found at La Selva, most common at Maquenque with great views on our last

morning heard elsewhere.

Spider Monkey A small troop were found on our boat trip along the Rio san Carlos.

Variegated Squirrel. Occasional visitors to bird feeders especially at Dave and Daves, Galería Colibri

and Miriam’s café much to the annoyance of the local acorn woodpeckers.

Central American Agouti lone individuals on several occasions at La Selva and Maquenque.

White-nosed Coati singles at La Selva and on the roadside near La Paz waterfall gardens.

Kinkajou One gave great views on our night walk at La Selva.

Other species

Red-eyed Tree Frog: The iconic frog of Costa Rica. One near the restaurant on our night walk at La

Selva. Three were seen on the night walk at Maquenque.

Strawberry Poison Dart Frog A few of these beautifully bright creatures were seen in La Selva.

Widespread on our rainforest walk at Maquenque.

Common Basilisk Several were seen around Selva Verde and Maquenque.

Brown Basilisk Seen on night walk at Selva Verde.

Green Iguana These huge reptiles were seen dozing in the treetops at La Selva and Maquenque

where they also fed beneath the bird feeders.

Green Spiny Lizard A pair seen from the restaurant at the Savegre Hotel.

Hog nosed pit viper Two were found near the trail around Guayabo national monument.

Cloudy snail eating snake One found on our night walk Selva Verde.

American Crocodile Three on Boat trip Sarapiquí one massive one on San Carlos river trip.

Spectacled Caiman Found in the lagoons at Maquenque Ecolodge including one near the hotel

restaurant.

Common (Blue) Morpho Widespread massive butterfly in tropical habitats.

Owl Butterfly One at Guayabo Lodge and one in poor health on path at the monument.

Blue Cracker Butterfly Seen on trees near feeders at Dave and Dave’s.

Glasswing Butterfly One of these amazing clear winged butterflies at Guayabo Monument.

Bullet Ant Seen in the rainforest at Maquenque.

Leafcutter Ant Recorded regularly at lowland sites such as Maquenque.

Rhinoceros Katydid Seen on a night walk at Selva Verde

Orange-kneed Tarantula Seen on night walks at Selva Verde and Maquenque.

Harlequin Beetle A single massive beetle was found hiding under guardrails on the trail around

Guayabo Monument.