Las Catalinas Birding | Zowie Zapotal! Trogons & So Much More

This spring is the 3rd time I have visited Las Catalinas (Guanacaste, Costa Rica), and this naturalist from the Northwoods is starting to get a bit comfortable with the Dry Forest habitat of Las Catalinas. While the nearby area is not as exotic as Costa Rica’s Rain Forest birding, there are some cool feathered friends if you know where to bird. In a dry forest, find the food and water opportunities and you will find the birds. Today’s top sight was the Pale-Billed Woodpecker’s nest cavity (found a few days ago). I wish I would be down here in Costa Rica when their young hatch. (see the very end of this post to learn how you may download a full PDF copy of my Birds of Las Catalinas book)


To reach the Zaptal area you will need a 4WD vehicle. The road up and over “the hump” is extremely steep, but very drivable with 4 wheel drive. Upon getting down to the new golf course, turn left at the “T Junction”. Once you drive past the entrance to the golf course construction site (only a few hundred yards from the T Junction), traffic drops to nill. My favorite birding area starts at the road to Playa Zapotal. The start of the beach road is a great place to park a car.  The round trip walk to the beach is 1.4 miles with zero elevation change. I often drive my car to the stream crossing and walk from that spot (do not drive further). The walk to the beach is then even shorter … about 8/10 of a mile round trip. (Google Maps Link / GPS Coordinates for Stream Crossing)(Google Maps Link for Playa Zapotal but WALK from the stream crossing … only a few hundreds yards)

I actually saw this Streak-Backed Oriole while driving the Hump Road to Zapotal.


All along this beach road you will see birds and wildlife including lots of Howler Monkeys. Just before you reach the stream crossing, the road has one nasty stretch of about 15 yards. If you drive slowly (1 mph) with 4WD locked and stay to the far left I have never had issues … even with a small 4WD Mitsubishi rental car (hatchback, not SUV). My trips have always been in March and April (dry season). I assume in the rainy season the bugs and conditions are extremely different)

Both this Turquoise-Browed MotMot and many Black Trogons gave me great views between the start of the Playa Zapotal Beach Road and the Stream Crossing.


My normal Zapotal Birding Outing is to hike to the beach and back a few minutes after sunrise. After my birding hike, I use the car as an ATV and slowly drive the same road with a window down and the AC blasting. I also drive the road for the couple of hundred yards leading to the left (reach a locked gate) when I get back to the start of the beach road.

The beach changes every day based upon the tide schedule, the height of the tides, and the pools. Normally you will find some herons foraging along the beach or at the tidal pool which is also fed by the stream / river. Here is a Little Blue Heron that was fishing in the surf.

The birding habitat is fantastic … a dry stream (filled in the rainy season), dry forest, savannah, and finally beach plus some tidal pools … all within a stretch of about 1/2 mile. Finally the new golf course means some ponds and more water. Normally I hate golf courses because they become birding deserts, but in this instance the golf course has brought more water into the birding habitat. In six visits over to Zapotal this trip, where I tend to bird from 6:00 to 9:30 am, I have never seen another person on the beach, and I might see one other car on the main road over the 3.5 bird outing. Along the beach road, most mornings I will meet up with a couple mountain bikers, an occasionally a car or motorcycle (a few more on weekends). Be prepared to move your own car. The road is narrow, but there is plenty of room to park a car at the stream crossing.

Even the Common Ground Doves which you will see along the road are quite pretty … particularly in flight.


In closing out this blog post, here are two more Pale-Billed Woodpecker images. I have grown to love this bird, and thankfully it loves the savannah habitat over near Zapotal. It reminds me of a smaller version of the Lord God Bird, the likely extinct Ivory-Billed Woodpecker.


And the promised information about my Birds of Las Catalinas Book. You may get your free PDF copy via this page on my website. I wrote the current version two years ago, bug expect I will update this book in the months ahead (and link / update this post). I expect to make additions to most sections of the book, and add a new section for Hacienda El Roble.

Hacienda El Roble Birding | Scarlet MaCaw | Pygmy Owl | White-Necked Puffbirds

Sunday morning Molly and I drove over to Hacienda El Roble to greet the sunrise. While the Adventure Center offers zip lining, ATV rides, and horseback riding on the farm which the family has owned for generations, I had reached out because of birding opportunities. I dealt directly with the owner, Cristobalina Arrieta Sanchez, via email.  I told her I had no interest in the publicized activities, but given eBird reports for her farm, and the great habitat (wetlands, dry forest, and even a stream still holding water at the very end of Guanacaste’s dry season), I thought birding would be fantastic. Cristobalina took great care of me and arranged for a local guide (more on him later, but he was fantastic) and a plan where we would arrive at 6:00 for a half’s day birding followed by a late farm breakfast. This sounded like a great plan, and the price was reasonable. Cristobalina had all the details perfectly taken care of from water to farm truck rides between birding locations and hikes.

The day started out in an unbelievable manner. Our guide, Christhiam Carrillo Villarreal (email and phone) met us as planned and I immediately liked him. When I told Christhiam I knew my desire was unreasonable, but I was hoping to see a Scarlet MaCaw (I knew this bird had been seen on the farm due to eBird reports). He said follow me! Amazingly in a nearby tree sat a Scarlet MaCaw right out in the open enjoying the first light of the morning. Later that morning as we ended our birding we saw the same bird once again but it was buried deep in the foliage hiding from the heat and sun.

Scarlet MaCaw at Hacienda El Roble, Guanacaste, Costa Rica (sunrise)

Scarlet MaCaw … The Movie (video link for email subscribers)


Our next birding stop was a small stream next to both forest and pasture. Oh wow, the birds were stupendous and we had moved only over 800 yards from the farm house. For the next 45 minutes we stood next to the small stream and looked every which way! The highlight of this stop was Ferruginous Pygmy Owl. This little owl sounds like our Northern Saw-Whet “tooters” at home, but instead of voles this owl eats other birds (plus insects and small reptiles). There were obviously a pair of Pygmy Owls nesting near the stream (toots from two directions) and the local songbirds were NOT happy about that fact. Think mobbing of a predator.

Ferruginous Pygmy Owl

And the movie (video link for email subscribers)


Molly and I saw a lot of other birds at the stream crossing, but soon it was time to hop in the back of a farm truck and cross the fields to the farm’s wetlands. Quite frankly without the ride, it would have been a long hike in the heat. Instead we drank up water provided by a farm hand and were delivered to a hiking trail near the wetlands.

On the way to the wetlands, Squirrel Cuckoo


At the wetlands, Bare-Throated Tiger Heron and Northern Jacana


After the wetlands (I only mentioned a few of the birds we saw), we were delivered by truck to a streambed (mostly dry at this time of year) for a final hike back through the forest to the stream crossing. Wowie, Zowie! Stay tuned! When your guide gets excited you know what you are seeing is special … and Christhiam was excited!

Before that special birding expereince we stopped for quality time with a Turquoise-Browed MotMot. I really like MotMots … even the name is cool!

Turquoise-Browed MotMot

And the movie (video link for email subscribers)


And the Grand Finale! A pair of White-Necked Puffbirds getting ready to nest in a termite mound attached to / up in a tree (think about that for a nesting location!). Puffbirds are hard to find, and often spend their time high up in the forest canopy, but this loving couple was low to the ground, easy to see and interested in love plus a termite mound (i.e. not us).

White-Necked Puffbirds … the loving couple


The Termite Mound / Nest in a Tree which only a Puffbird could Love!


Puffbirds … the movies (video links for email subscribers: One | Two)


After our looonnng Puffbird session, we drove back to the farm for a late, but well earned breakfast at 11 am (remember we started birding at 6 am … the heat is now starting to push 90F). The breakfast and our hostess / farm owner, Cristobalina Arrieta Sanchez, were wunderbar! Remember, you may also bird Hacienda El Roble. While the website does not mention birding, Cristobalina will take good care of you (contact her via email) . Our guide was also top of the line. You can arrange him through Hacienda El Roble, or retain him on your own for birding throughout Costa Rica (Christhiam Carrillo Villarreal … email and phone). Like always in this blog, I never take pay or any renumeration for my endorsements. I paid for this birding just like anyone else, and my opinions are NOT based upon any benefit given to me. Finally, here is our eBird Report for Hacienda El Roble … 70 species … and an eBird link to Hacienda El Roble. This was a great place to bird, and only a 45 minutes drive from my brother’s spot at Las Catalinas.


The following photographs were taken by Molly our her iPhone and helps document our experience. Remember, she blogs at SuperiorFootprints.Org.

Riding the Farm Truck from the Stream Crossing to the Wetlands


Birding the Wetlands (many ponds, not just one)


Hiking & Birding for Forest Trail back to the Stream


A Scrumptious Breakfast at 11 am


Hacienda El Roble (entrance)

Pale-Billed Woodpecker Nest Cavity / Hole

My excitement for the morning was discovering that where I had been seeing a male Pale-Billed Woodpecker, there were actually two birds, and one of the woodpeckers was a female. When the tandem flew back to a large tree, I realized there was a large cavity that the female called home. Although the tree was on private property and no real close, I was happy I had decided to bring my Canon SX70 Super Zoom camera down to Costa Rica with me. Zoom and Zowie! (super zoom cameras are great given bright, sunny conditions … which are ever present down here in Costa Rica). (video links for email subscribers: White-Faced Monkey Having Breakfast | Heron and Egret Surf Fishing)

Female Pale-Billed Woodpecker in Nest Cavity


Male Drumming in a Tree


Tropical Kingbird


Meanwhile over at the Pacific Ocean … Zapotal Beach …

Bare-Throated Tiger Herons (immature and parent)

Great Egret & Little Blue Heron Fishing


On my way home …

White-Faced Monkey Having Breakfast