#946 Black-and-white Owl
As dusk was approaching we drove into the small city of Orotina. In the trees encircled in the town square, we found a lot of sloths, apparently released pets. But the real prize was a Black-and-white Owl our guide, Richard Garrigues, had staked out:
That was my last life bird for the trip, and almost but not quite my last bird. The last bird was, believe-it-or-not, a House Sparrow we spotted from the bus while driving through Orotina at dusk.
After dark we stopped at a grocery store to do a little shopping. I bought some Costa Rican Pork Rinds made by Jacks Snacks, of all people. They were surprisingly tastier than the ones we get in the USA. Everyone not doing Atkins bought chocolate.
That night we stayed at the Hotel Buena Vista near the airport. Dinner took a very long time–they weren’t ready for a group of our size–and I was so tired by this point that I walked into (thankfully not through) a very clean plate glass window in the gift shop.
I had an earlier flight to catch so I was up and out the next morning before dark. The rest of the group got some time to do some more birding around the hotel grounds and picked up several more species.
There are over 600 species of birds in Costa Rica. I saw approximately 231 of them in the week we were there so there are some birds left for future trips.
- Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
- Crested Guan
- Black Guan
- Wood Stork
- Magnificent Frigatebird
- Neotropic Cormorant
- Brown Pelican
- Great Blue Heron
- Great Egret
- Snowy Egret
- Little Blue Heron
- Tricolored Heron
- Cattle Egret
- Black-crowned Night-Heron
- White Ibis
- Roseate Spoonbill
- Black Vulture
- Turkey Vulture
- Osprey
- White-tailed Kite
- Swallow-tailed Kite
- Common Black-Hawk
- Broad-winged Hawk
- Gray Hawk
- Zone-tailed Hawk Road
- Gray-necked Wood-Rail
- Black-bellied Plover
- Wilson’s Plover
- Semipalmated Plover
- Black-necked Stilt
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Greater Yellowlegs
- Willet
- Whimbrel
- Ruddy Turnstone
- Surfbird
- Semipalmated Sandpiper
- Least Sandpiper
- Short-billed Dowitcher
- Laughing Gull
- Royal Tern
- Sandwich Tern
- Rock Pigeon
- Red-billed Pigeon
- White-winged Dove
- Common Ground-Dove
- White-tipped Dove
- Squirrel Cuckoo
- Lesser Ground-Cuckoo
- Groove-billed Ani
- Pacific Screech-Owl
- Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl
- Black-and-white Owl
- Lesser Nighthawk
- White-collared Swift
- Vaux’s Swift
- White-necked Jacobin
- Green Hermit
- Brown Violetear
- Black-crested Coquette
- Green-crowned Brilliant
- Green Thorntail
- Magnificent Hummingbird
- Fiery-throated Hummingbird
- White-bellied Mountain-gem
- Purple-throated Mountain-gem
- Magenta-throated Woodstar
- Volcano Hummingbird
- Scintillant Hummingbird
- Canivet’s Emerald
- Violet-headed Hummingbird
- Scaly-breasted Hummingbird
- Violet Sabrewing
- Bronze-tailed Plumeleteer
- Black-bellied Hummingbird
- Coppery-headed Emerald
- Steely-vented Hummingbird
- Rufous-tailed Hummingbird
- Cinnamon Hummingbird
- Resplendent Quetzal
- Black-headed Trogon
- Gartered Trogon
- Orange-bellied Trogon
- Blue-crowned Motmot
- Keel-billed Motmot
- Broad-billed Motmot
- Turquoise-browed Motmot
- Amazon Kingfisher
- Green Kingfisher
- Rufous-tailed Jacamar
- Prong-billed Barbet
- Emerald Toucanet
- Black-mandibled Toucan
- Keel-billed Toucan
- Black-cheeked Woodpecker
- Hoffmann’s Woodpecker
- Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
- Hairy Woodpecker
- Golden-olive Woodpecker
- Lineated Woodpecker
- Crested Caracara
- Peregrine Falcon
- Crimson-fronted Parakeet
- Scarlet Macaw
- Orange-chinned Parakeet
- White-crowned Parrot
- White-fronted Parrot
- Red-lored Parrot
- Yellow-naped Parrot
- Barred Antshrike
- Spotted Antbird
- Silvery-fronted Tapaculo
- Olivaceous Woodcreeper
- Wedge-billed Woodcreeper
- Streak-headed Woodcreeper
- Spot-crowned Woodcreeper
- Lineated Foliage-gleaner
- Spotted Barbtail
- Red-faced Spinetail
- Yellow-bellied Elaenia
- Mountain Elaenia
- Torrent Tyrannulet
- Paltry Tyrannulet
- Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrant
- Common Tody-Flycatcher
- Tufted Flycatcher
- Tropical Pewee
- Yellowish Flycatcher
- Black Phoebe
- Long-tailed Tyrant
- Bright-rumped Attila
- Rufous Mourner
- Dusky-capped Flycatcher
- Brown-crested Flycatcher
- Great Kiskadee
- Boat-billed Flycatcher
- Social Flycatcher
- Gray-capped Flycatcher
- Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher
- Piratic Flycatcher
- Tropical Kingbird
- Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
- White-collared Manakin
- Masked Tityra
- Cinnamon Becard
- Yellow-throated Vireo Restaurant Pica Pica
- Yellow-winged Vireo
- White-throated Magpie-Jay
- Brown Jay
- Blue-and-white Swallow
- Southern Rough-winged Swallow
- Mangrove Swallow
- Barn Swallow
- House Wren
- Ochraceous Wren
- Band-backed Wren
- Rufous-naped Wren
- Banded Wren
- Bay Wren
- White-breasted Wood-Wren
- Gray-breasted Wood-Wren
- American Dipper
- Black-faced Solitaire
- Black-billed Nightingale-Thrush
- Slaty-backed Nightingale-Thrush
- Ruddy-capped Nightingale-Thrush
- Black-headed Nightingale-Thrush
- Wood Thrush
- Mountain Thrush Pulloff
- Clay-colored Thrush
- White-throated Thrush
- Black-and-yellow Silky-flycatcher
- Long-tailed Silky-flycatcher
- Golden-winged Warbler
- Black-and-white Warbler
- Flame-throated Warbler
- Tennessee Warbler
- Blackburnian Warbler
- Yellow Warbler
- Chestnut-sided Warbler
- Black-throated Green Warbler
- Black-cheeked Warbler
- Golden-crowned Warbler
- Three-striped Warbler
- Buff-rumped Warbler
- Wilson’s Warbler
- Slate-throated Redstart
- Passerini’s Tanager
- Blue-gray Tanager
- Palm Tanager
- Golden-hooded Tanager
- Spangle-cheeked Tanager
- Bay-headed Tanager
- Silver-throated Tanager
- Scarlet-thighed Dacnis
- Red-legged Honeycreeper
- Green Honeycreeper
- Slaty Flowerpiercer
- Variable Seedeater
- White-collared Seedeater
- Thick-billed Seed-Finch
- Bananaquit
- Yellow-faced Grassquit
- Grayish Saltator
- Buff-throated Saltator
- Slate-colored Grosbeak
- Yellow-thighed Finch
- Chestnut-capped Brush-Finch
- Black-striped Sparrow
- White-eared Ground-Sparrow
- Stripe-headed Sparrow
- Rufous-collared Sparrow
- Common Bush-Tanager
- Sooty-capped Bush-Tanager
- Summer Tanager
- Flame-colored Tanager
- Blue-black Grosbeak
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Eastern Meadowlark
- Melodious Blackbird
- Great-tailed Grackle
- Black-cowled Oriole
- Streak-backed Oriole
- Spot-breasted Oriole
- Baltimore Oriole
- Yellow-billed Cacique
- Montezuma Oropendola
- Scrub Euphonia
- Golden-browed Chlorophonia
- Yellow-bellied Siskin
- House Sparrow
