GOLFITO & LIST
COSTA RICA
Region (Compass)
Lat:00o00´S/00o00´W ha topography msl
Protected/registered status
Best Time for visit (12-14th February, 2005)
Birding Site Guide
Golfito is a fairly small harbour town on the Golfo Dulce. We stayed here for 3 nights at Hotel Delfinas (about $11 for a double) but it was fairly run down. The Hotel Golfito nearby at the same price would probably be a better bet. Golfito can be reached by a 4 hour bus ride from San Isidro. I birded an area about 10km away from Golfito next to a supposed small village called Las Gambas. The road to las Gambas starts from the Zona Libre or duty free area which is about 3km from the centre of town and is reached by regular buses. From here there is no public transport and traffic is light. However hitching is quite easy and any car passing is likely to stop. There is a sign at a left turning for Esquinas Rainforest Lodge. This expensive lodge has trails through good forest. The staff are friendly and don't charge admission. It was midday when we arrived so birding was slow. We did however see Baird's Trogon which appeared to be quite common at the forest edge. The following day we birded a place called Tropenstation (before Esquinas) which had a 5 dollar entrance fee. It also had some trails though forest where I saw Black-cheeked Ant-Tanager. On the last morning I checked mangroves accross from the new courthouse between Golfito and Zona Libre. I had met some other birdwatchers previously that had seen Mangrove Hummingbird here although I did not find it. I saw 109 species including 19 lifers.
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Species seen
- Great Tinamou h Tinamus major
- Brown Pelican Pelecanus occidentalis
- Magnificent Frigatebird Fregata magnificens
- Great Egret Ardea alba
- Little Blue Heron Egretta caerulea
- Snowy Egret Egretta thula
- Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis
- Green Heron Butorides virescens
- White Ibis Eudocimus albus
- Black Vulture Coragyps atratus
- Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura
- Swallow-tailed Kite Elanoides forficatus
- Roadside Hawk Buteo magnirostris
- Crested Caracara Caracara cheriway
- Yellow-headed Caracara Milvago chimachima
- Northern Jacana Jacana spinosa
- Spotted Sandpiper Actitis macularia
- Laughing Gull Larus atricilla
- Rock Dove Columba livia Introduced species
- Pale-vented Pigeon Patagioenas cayennensis
- Short-billed Pigeon h Patagioenas nigrirostris
- Ruddy Ground-Dove Columbina talpacoti
- Inca Dove Columbina inca
- Blue Ground-Dove Claravis pretiosa
- White-tipped Dove Leptotila verreauxi
- Gray-headed Dove ? Leptotila plumbeiceps
- Ruddy Quail-Dove Geotrygon montana
- Crimson-fronted Parakeet Aratinga finschi
- Olive-throated Parakeet Aratinga nana
- Orange-chinned Parakeet Brotogeris jugularis
- White-crowned Parrot Pionus senilis
- Mealy Parrot Amazona farinosa
- Smooth-billed Ani Crotophaga ani
- Band-tailed Barbthroat Threnetes ruckeri
- Little Hermit Phaethornis
- Western Long-tailed Hermit Phaethornis longirostris
- Rufous-tailed Hummingbird Amazilia tzacatl
- Charming Hummingbird Polyerata decora
- Purple-crowned Fairy Heliothryx barroti
- Baird's Trogon Trogon bairdii Near-threatened
- Violaceous Trogon Trogon violaceus
- Belted Kingfisher Ceryle alcyon
- Ringed Kingfisher Ceryle torquata
- Green Kingfisher Chloroceryle americana
- Black-mandibled Toucan Ramphastos ambiguus
- Olivaceous Piculet Picumnus olivaceus
- Black-cheeked Woodpecker Melanerpes pucherani
- Red-crowned Woodpecker Melanerpes rubricapillus
- Rufous-winged Woodpecker Piculus simplex
- Black-hooded Antshrike Thamnophilus bridgesi
- Orange-collared Manakin Manacus aurantiacus
- Yellow Tyrannulet Capsiempis flaveola
- Yellow-bellied Elaenia Elaenia flavogaster
- Ochre-bellied Flycatcher Mionectes oleagineus
- Paltry Tyrannulet Zimmerius vilissimus
- Northern Bentbill Oncostoma cinereigulare
- Common Tody-Flycatcher Todirostrum cinereum
- Northern Royal-Flycatcher Onychorhynchus mexicanus
- Rufous Mourner Rhytipterna holerythra
- Dusky-capped Flycatcher Myiarchus tuberculifer
- Great Kiskadee Pitangus sulphuratus
- Social Flycatcher Myiozetetes similis
- Gray-capped Flycatcher Myiozetetes granadensis
- Piratic Flycatcher Legatus leucophaius
- Tropical Kingbird Tyrannus melancholicus
- Rose-throated Becard Pachyramphus aglaiae
- Masked Tityra Tityra semifasciata
- Black-crowned Tityra Tityra inquisitor
- Gray-breasted Martin Progne chalybea
- Southern Rough-winged Swallow Stelgidopteryx ruficollis
- Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
- Black-bellied Wren Thryothorus fasciatoventris
- Riverside Wren Thryothorus semibadius
- Rufous-and-white Wren Thryothorus rufalbus
- Plain Wren Thryothorus modestus
- House Wren Troglodytes aedon
- White-breasted Wood-Wren Henicorhina leucosticta
- Gray Catbird Dumetella carolinensis
- Clay-colored Robin Turdus grayi
- Tennessee Warbler Vermivora peregrina
- Yellow Warbler Dendroica petechia
- Chestnut-sided Warbler Dendroica pensylvanica
- Prothonotary Warbler Protonotaria citrea
- Northern Waterthrush Seiurus noveboracensis
- Bananaquit Coereba flaveola
- Black-cheeked Ant-Tanager Habia atrimaxillaris Endemic Endangered
- Summer Tanager Piranga rubra
- Crimson-collared Tanager Ramphocelus sanguinolentus
- Passerini's Tanager Ramphocelus passerinii
- Blue-gray Tanager Thraupis episcopus
- Spot-crowned Euphonia ? Euphonia imitans
- Bay-headed Tanager Tangara gyrola
- Golden-hooded Tanager Tangara larvata
- Green Honeycreeper Chlorophanes spiza
- Shining Honeycreeper Cyanerpes lucidus
- Blue-black Grassquit Volatinia jacarina
- Slate-colored Seedeater Sporophila schistacea
- Variable Seedeater Sporophila corvina
- Thick-billed Seed-Finch Oryzoborus funereus
- Orange-billed Sparrow Arremon aurantiirostris
- Black-striped Sparrow Arremonops conirostris
- Buff-throated Saltator Saltator maximus
- Great-tailed Grackle Quiscalus mexicanus
- Bronzed Cowbird Molothrus aeneus
- Giant Cowbird Molothrus oryzivorus
- Baltimore Oriole Icterus galbula
- Scarlet-rumped Cacique Cacicus uropygialis
- House Sparrow Passer domesticus Introduced species
Other Fauna
A total of -- species of mammals.
There are -- recorded species of amphibians and reptiles.
Flora
Author: Charles Hesse
www.birdingsiteguide.com