VIEWS AT SANTA ROSA NATIONAL PARK, GUANACASTE, COSTA RICA

MALE ELEGANT TROGON, SANTA ROSA NATIONAL PARK, GUANACASTE, COSTA RICA

   Even though we can't see the front of this bird we can ID it as a male Elegant Trogon as follows:

• Yellow bill.
• Orange eye-ring.
• Black face and throat.
• Gray wings.
• Irredescent green rest of head, neck and back.
• Long, square-tipped tail.

   The Elegant Trogon is a new species to our Life List, which now stands at 291.

EL GUACIMO TREE, SANTA ROSA NATIONAL PARK, GUANACASTE, COSTA RICA

GUMBO-LIMBO TREE, SANTA ROSA NATIONAL PARK, GUANACASTE, COSTA RICO

CRESTED GUAN, SANTA ROSA NATIONAL PARK, GUANACASTE, COSTA RICA

   We can ID this bird as a Crested Guan by its red flap of bare skin on the throat and the white flecking on its breast.

   The Crested Guan is a new species to our Life List, which now stands at 290.

CLAY-COLORED THRUSH, SANTA ROSA NATIONAL PARK, GUANACASTE, COSTA RICA

   The Clay-colored Thrush is the national bird of Costa Rica.  We can ID this bird as a Cly-colored Thrush as follows:

• Brownish plumage: darker above and lighter below.
• Dark around eye with reddish iris.  You can make out the reddish color if you look closely, particularly in the second photo..
• The left leg, which is not in shadow, is flesh colored.
• The bill is yellowish with a dark base.

TRIP TO SANTA ROSA NATIONAL PARK & CURUBANDA LODGE PRIVATE PRESERVE, GUANACASTE, COSTA RICA

   This past Saturday we went on a birding trip to the tropical dry forest in Santa Rosa National Park and the rain forest in the private preserve of Curubanda Lodge.  We were picked up by our local birding guide Carlos Bello of Green Life Tours at 5 am and returned to the hotel at 5:30 pm.  We stopped for breakfast on the way to Santa Rosa National Park and had lunch at the Curubanda Lodge.  Both meals were great.

   Carlos is a great birding guide. On the way to and from the park and the lodge he spotted many birds and we stopped to see and photograph them.  In addition to the birds, the scenery was great.  We highly recommend Carlos as a birding guide.

   On the way to Santa Rosa National Park we could see sunrise (the first photo).  Our first stop in the park was a great view of the tropical dry forest.