CORCOVADO NATIONAL PARK & LIST
COSTA RICA
Region (Compass)
Lat:00o00´S/00o00´W ha topography msl
Protected/registered status
Best Time for visit (15-18th February, 2005)
Birding Site Guide
The Corcovado National Park is a phenomenal place. It is accessed from the town of Puerto Jimenez which is the best place to plan and buy supplies for the trip. All reservations for the park must be made at the office. They are very helpful and can suggest itineraries. Entry to the park is $8 per day and camping an extra $4 per day. A special 5 day pass is available for $17. Rustic accomodation is only available at Sirena. Flights or water taxis to the Sirena ranger station are available but are expensive. We took a communal taxi to Carate which left at 6am. This is organised by Tonsa travel and leaves from outside a Soda (cafeteria) in town. Tonsa also rents camping equipment. From Carate it is a 3.5km walk along the beach to the La Leona ranger station where entry and camping fees can be paid. From here it is a further 16km to the Sirena ranger station partly through forest and partly along beaches. This is a very tough (8-9 hour) hike especially with food and camping equipment. Some parts are impassable at high tide so tide charts must be checked before leaving (available at the national park office in Puerto Jimenez). We stayed 2 nights at Sirena which has many trails through forest and is good for birdwatching (Great Currasows are common) and even better for mammals. Tapirs can be seen in the nearby river at dusk. We saw anteaters, coatis, peccaries, agoutis and 4 species of monkeys. After the second night we hiked a further 20km (8-9 hours) to the Los Patos ranger station. On this hike, we saw many Three-wattled Bellbirds and Black-cheeked Ant-Tanagers. From Los Patos it is a further 13km to La Palma from where buses run back to Puerto Jimenez. I saw 132 species including 18 lifers.
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Species seen
- Great Tinamou Tinamus major
- Brown Pelican Pelecanus occidentalis
- Magnificent Frigatebird Fregata magnificens
- Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias
- Great Egret Ardea alba
- Tricolored Heron Egretta tricolor Seen Purto Jimenez
- Little Blue Heron Egretta caerulea
- Snowy Egret Egretta thula
- Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis
- Green Heron Butorides virescens
- Boat-billed Heron Cochlearius cochlearius
- Bare-throated Tiger-Heron Tigrisoma mexicanum
- White Ibis Eudocimus albus
- Black Vulture Coragyps atratus
- Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura
- Osprey Pandion haliaetus
- Swallow-tailed Kite Elanoides forficatus
- Double-toothed Kite ? Harpagus bidentatus
- Crane Hawk Geranospiza caerulescens
- White Hawk Leucopternis albicollis
- Mangrove Black-Hawk Buteogallus subtilis
- Great Black-Hawk ? Buteogallus urubitinga
- Roadside Hawk Buteo magnirostris
- Crested Caracara Caracara cheriway
- Yellow-headed Caracara Milvago chimachima
- Crested Guan Penelope purpurascens
- Great Curassow Crax rubra Near-threatened
- Marbled Wood-Quail Odontophorus gujanensis
- Northern Jacana Jacana spinosa
- Semipalmated Plover Charadrius semipalmatus
- Wilson's Plover ? Charadrius wilsonia
- Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus
- Greater Yellowlegs Tringa melanoleuca
- Solitary Sandpiper Tringa solitaria
- Spotted Sandpiper Actitis macularia
- Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres
- Sanderling Calidris alba
- Laughing Gull Larus atricilla
- Sandwich Tern Sterna sandvicensis
- Royal Tern Sterna maxima
- Rock Dove Columba livia Introduced
- Pale-vented Pigeon Patagioenas cayennensis
- Short-billed Pigeon Patagioenas nigrirostris
- Ruddy Ground-Dove Columbina talpacoti
- Blue Ground-Dove h Claravis pretiosa
- White-tipped Dove Leptotila verreauxi
- Gray-chested Dove Leptotila cassini
- Ruddy Quail-Dove Geotrygon montana
- Scarlet Macaw Ara macao
- Crimson-fronted Parakeet Aratinga finschi
- Orange-chinned Parakeet Brotogeris jugularis
- Brown-hooded Parrot Pionopsitta haematotis
- White-crowned Parrot ? Pionus senilis
- Mealy Parrot Amazona farinosa
- Smooth-billed Ani Crotophaga ani
- Striped Cuckoo Tapera naevia
- Crested Owl h Lophostrix cristata
- Pauraque Nyctidromus albicollis
- White-collared Swift Streptoprocne zonaris
- Gray-rumped Swift Chaetura cinereiventris
- Costa Rican Swift Chaetura fumosa
- Band-tailed Barbthroat Threnetes ruckeri
- Little Hermit Phaethornis
- Western Long-tailed Hermit Phaethornis longirostris
- Blue-throated Goldentail Hylocharis eliciae
- Rufous-tailed Hummingbird Amazilia tzacatl
- Charming Hummingbird Polyerata decora
- Long-billed Starthroat Heliomaster longirostris
- Black-throated Trogon Trogon rufus
- Slaty-tailed Trogon Trogon massena
- Belted Kingfisher Ceryle alcyon
- Ringed Kingfisher Ceryle torquata
- Amazon Kingfisher ? Chloroceryle amazona
- Green Kingfisher Chloroceryle americana
- Blue-crowned Motmot Momotus momota
- White-whiskered Puffbird Malacoptila panamensis
- Fiery-billed Aracari Pteroglossus frantzii
- Keel-billed Toucan Ramphastos sulfuratus
- Black-mandibled Toucan Ramphastos ambiguus
- Golden-naped Woodpecker Melanerpes chrysauchen
- Red-crowned Woodpecker Melanerpes rubricapillus
- Rufous-winged Woodpecker Piculus simplex
- Pale-billed Woodpecker Campephilus guatemalensis
- Plain Xenops Xenops minutus
- Scaly-throated Leaftosser Sclerurus guatemalensis
- Tawny-winged Woodcreeper Dendrocincla anabatina
- Long-tailed Woodcreeper Deconychura longicauda
- Wedge-billed Woodcreeper Glyphorynchus spirurus
- Northern Barred-Woodcreeper Dendrocolaptes sanctithomae
- Buff-throated Woodcreeper Xiphorhynchus guttatus
- Black-striped Woodcreeper Xiphorhynchus lachrymosus
- Black-hooded Antshrike Thamnophilus bridgesi
- Chestnut-backed Antbird Myrmeciza exsul
- Immaculate Antbird Myrmeciza immaculata
- Scaled Antpitta Grallaria guatimalensis
- Rufous Piha h Lipaugus unirufus
- Three-wattled Bellbird Procnias tricarunculata Vulnerable
- Blue-crowned Manakin Pipra coronata
- Ochre-bellied Flycatcher Mionectes oleagineus
- Common Tody-Flycatcher Todirostrum cinereum
- Golden-crowned Spadebill Platyrinchus coronatus
- Bright-rumped Attila Attila spadiceus
- Rufous Mourner Rhytipterna holerythra
- Great Kiskadee Pitangus sulphuratus
- Gray-capped Flycatcher Myiozetetes granadensis
- Tropical Kingbird Tyrannus melancholicus
- Thrush-like Schiffornis h? Schiffornis turdinus
- Masked Tityra Tityra semifasciata
- Mangrove Swallow Tachycineta albilinea
- Southern Rough-winged Swallow Stelgidopteryx ruficollis
- Black-bellied Wren Thryothorus fasciatoventris
- Riverside Wren Thryothorus semibadius
- House Wren Troglodytes aedon
- Yellow-throated Vireo Vireo flavifrons
- Chestnut-sided Warbler Dendroica pensylvanica
- Northern Waterthrush Seiurus noveboracensis
- Bananaquit Coereba flaveola
- White-throated Shrike-Tanager Lanio leucothorax
- Black-cheeked Ant-Tanager Habia atrimaxillaris Endemic Endangered
- Summer Tanager Piranga rubra
- Passerini's Tanager Ramphocelus passerinii
- Blue-gray Tanager Thraupis episcopus
- Golden-hooded Tanager Tangara larvata
- Red-legged Honeycreeper Cyanerpes cyaneus
- Blue-black Grassquit Volatinia jacarina
- Variable Seedeater Sporophila corvina
- Thick-billed Seed-Finch Oryzoborus funereus
- Orange-billed Sparrow Arremon aurantiirostris
- Black-striped Sparrow Arremonops conirostris
- Blue-black Grosbeak Cyanocompsa cyanoides
- Great-tailed Grackle Quiscalus mexicanus
- Scarlet-rumped Cacique Cacicus uropygialis
Other Fauna
A total of -- species of mammals.
There are -- recorded species of amphibians and reptiles.
Flora
Author: Charles Hesse
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