The day started so wonderfully with the Manakins and getting the Yellow-billed Cotinga at the River but would our luck continue? Our next stop was the Rice Fields in Cuide Neilly and it was very hot when we arrived to park at the hospital beside the fields. There was a man collecting parking fees to watch the car and so we paid him and started to walk along the highway to look in the fields. We really should have had a scope for this location which is perhaps why mainly tour companies stop here. Without the scope it was difficult to make out much of any movement and what we saw were just the common species. We had hoped to see Fork-tailed Flycatcher here and some different Seedeaters. But it quickly was apparent that the time of day, almost noon, and with no scope we would not be successful. We also had cars honking at us along the highway which was very unusual for Costa Rica. We decided to cut our losses and carry on to the Wilson’s Botanical Gardens.

We spent a lovely afternoon in the Gardens encountering a bit of rain on and off. It was also super humid so wearing a rain jacket was not comfortable and we quickly became sweaty as we have been for the last week. We both had backpacks on as we had all our belongings being a travel day so it did not help us feel cooler. Still we persisted because BIRDS! We saw another new hummer – how is it possible that we are still adding hummingbirds? The Snowy-bellied Hummingbird was very cute to watch.

We also saw another Euphonia species – the Spot-crowned Euphonia. Both male and female were working on a nest on the trunk of a tree.

Our last lifer at the gardens was a Streaked Saltator. And we saw two in a bit of a private situation! We had already seen 3 other Saltator species.

In the hummingbird garden we found a Golden-winged Warbler land had fantastic looks at it. This species migrate to Canada to nest and our views are usually high up in trees. it was still difficult to get a great picture as it moved fast.

Then things took a turn. When we went to leave the car would not go into gear. The problem had been escalating this past week but it had never been a problem during the day only in the morning on first start. We sat there for 20 minutes and I got a really bad feeling. I called the rental company and they responded immediately giving us some tips and telling us it was the selector rather than the transmission so we followed the tips and it worked! Thank goodness! We only had 3 more days with this car. We made it to the lodge only 10 minutes away. Canto del Bosque as a rental is relatively new and the cheapest accommodations of this trip at $104 for 2 nights with $10 breakfast per person. They have cute little cabins that are basic, no air conditioning, but totally fine for birders just needing a bed to fall into at the end of hot days.

We did find out they would not be serving dinner so we would have to go into town another 10 minutes away and at the end of a long hot day it seemed like so much effort LOL. Still this was the first lodge where we needed to dine elsewhere and it was not a big deal. We picked a restaurant that seemed fairly new and tried to figure out the menu using google translate. It turned out to be a “Chinese food” place so we ordered rice and chop suey and some fish. It was not anything like our Chinese food LOL. The rice and chop suey seemed to have the same kind of brown gravy and same veggies so basically the same dishes. But it was tasty, hot and the portions were big so we made an appreciable dent in it with a bit to take home with us. When we got back to the cabin Jerry went to download his pictures and it would not work, I tried with my pictures, it would not work either. We assumed the cord was not working, the connection had been acting up the last week so we would not have pictures to go through until we went home. While Jerry was trying to get his camera to download I was busy cleaning up hundreds of ants that had arrived while we were out for dinner because there was a granola bar wrapper in my backpack pocket that I had not thrown out. Crap!

Definitely needed to change the direction of the day! Still all in all we have had a trip so far free from any large issues and there always has to be some days where things have to be off. We heard a Common Pauraque calling as soon as it got dark. We have not stayed awake long enough to check for any owls for the last few lodges.

Woke up at our usual 4:30 and listened to the Gray-cowled Wood-Rails calling and then the other birds started. We got up and went out around 5:30 to walk the grounds and the road to see what we could hear and see. We added another Oropendola species with the Crested Oropendola, and Blue-headed Parrots. We saw 51 species in the two hour walk and had nice views of many other species.

We headed back in time for breakfast and had the typical Costa Rican breakfast. I didn’t even take pictures as I am sure you are all tired of the same breakfast plate, but yummy as always. We are loving the morning coffee here. At home I have not drank coffee for years as it used to give me the jitters and sweats but this coffee has not bothered me at all. Will Canadian coffee be the same or different? We will have to see if we continue to drink it back home.

I had a note on my lists with a place to go and see a few species of Manakins and many other Antbirds about one hour away but there was no knowledge about how to access this red dot in the middle of a forest. I did some research before we left but didn’t find out anything and I should have been proactive and asked the guides we had encountered along the way. Because I did not have details and the car issues we had been having we made the decision not to venture out to that location.

After breakfast we talked to the owners for a bit and learned about this generational family farm and their new adventure in lodging and a restaurant. We went up a viewpoint and while we were up there chatting we got another lifer, a Bran-coloured Flycatcher! Still finding new birds!

We then attempted to go to a birding hotspot close by and it took 10 mins to get the car in gear, and then we were off to Fincas Cantaros. Finca Cantaros Environmental Association was founded by Lilly Briggs, a Canadian and works to foster environmental education in communities to improve lives. The forest has and is being restored with more purchases of adjoining lands and native plantings. There is also a connection to Birds Canada through the installation of a Motus tower to monitor migration and birds with transmitters. The birding was a bit quiet but they were banding birds and so we watched that for a while. The focus is on introducing women to banding and to get kids to be proud of their heritage in Costa Rica. Donate from Canada (they are a registered charity) and/or visit if you visit Costa Rica. Lilly’s vision is fantastic.

It had been very noisy trying to bird in some areas because of the cicada’s that are out and mating. There sound can drown out all the bird calls making it difficult to hear anything. We found this one trapped in the nets put up for bird banding.

While we were there we met a Swarovski representative at the bird banding station who showed us the latest AX VISIO binoculars with a camera, live views, help with finding and identifying birds. They were crazy cool! She also showed us a heat thermal camera. There is some awesome technology coming to help birders bird better.

We found another new hummer in the Verbena while we were there, the Garden Emerald .

We let the car warm up again and it worked fine on the way back. Once back at the Lodge we had heavy rain, the first we have had in our 3 weeks. We sat in the restaurant with a beer and our computers enjoying the bird sound and the fresh smell of rain and plants. The heavy rain continued for hours. Jerry had an epiphany about the pictures not downloading and decided to check the storage on his computer and his Mac Air with a terabyte of space was filled! In two years! Mine is 6 years old and I have not even half filled mine. That is why his pictures were not downloading. Delete Jerry, delete all but the best pictures. I have said this over and over. He just cannot do it but now on vacation is forced to and that is how things get deleted that are actually important. So he deleted and then the pictures downloaded. The wire still did not download mine so we still need a new cord. Will he learn to delete more? I’m not holding my breath.

Finally the rain cleared late afternoon and we did a little birding afterwards before heading back to town for a meal of pizza. We had a fantastic veggie pizza just loaded with toppings and I had them add some pepperoni on my side. The pizza took a very long time to make but it was worth the wait.

In the morning we took a final walk down the road in the opposite direction and managed to still add 3 new lifers out of the 53 species we saw or heard. On every walk or outing there are 5-10 birds that come up on Merlin that we do not add to our list because we do not hear or see them. If we used Merlin and assumed it was correct the number of bird species would be so much higher. As it is we are always excited when we see something new on Merlin and start looking around and then disappointed as it never calls again or is seen.

At one point a small bird flew past me across the road and I binned it to see where it had gone into the shrubbery, it then popped out and I was stunned to see an Orange-collared Manakin. They are everywhere now LOL! As we walked back towards the lodge we heard a loud squawking right beside us in the grass and Merlin identified it as a White-throated Crake, another lifer! We waited quietly, and checked the grass carefully but it was not going to let us see it. These are skulky birds so it was not surprising it stayed hidden. We also added a Lesser Eleania and a Scaled Pigeon.

We could have stayed out longer but we had asked for breakfast at 7 and we needed to drive to our next destination so we headed back but kept seeing something new and wished we had more time. Breakfast was, as always, delish and we quickly packed up and then sat for 15 minutes or so waiting for our car to decide to go into drive. Yikes, it was getting more and more difficult but only 2 more driving days. Fingers and toes are crossed!

Cabinas Canto del Bosque is a lovely destination, close to lots of birding spots and a good birding spot on its own. It was the least expensive so if you are on a budget this is a place to check out. Basic room but clean and comfortable, good food, great service. I forgot to take a picture of the room but assume there are pictures online.

We headed out to drive through the mountains north towards San Jose.

12 more species of birds added to the year list with 9 of them being lifers