Scarlet macaw. (Courtesy photo)

Pacific screech owl. (Courtesy photo)

Cherries tanager. (Courtesy photo)

Blue-crowned motmot. (Courtesy photo)

Leaving behind three feet of snow in Harvard, Pam and I and a group of friends set off for a long-planned trip to Costa Rica in mid-February. The trip was to be led by one of the best nature guides in the country, Paco Madrigal. In addition to being an expert birder, he has a thorough knowledge of Costa Rica's flora, reptiles, amphibians, mammals, and butterflies.

The trip took us to Carara Biological Reserve on the Pacific, Corcovada National Park on the Osa Peninsula, Piedras Blancas National Park in the tropical rain forest, La Cruces Biological station in a cloud forest, Savegre Mountain Lodge in the tropical oak cloud forest, and finally to Guanacaste on the Gulf of Nicoya. Costa Rica is one of the most biologically rich spots in the world. In a country no larger than the state of West Virginia, the diversity of habitat and climate is incredible. We were able to experience the flora and fauna from the Pacific Coast all the way up to the paramo at an elevation of more than 12,000 feet.

Of the 885 species so far identified in Costa Rica, we saw more than 300 species on this trip. Seventy-eight of the species were new to me ("life birds") and 13 were endemic (occurring only in this region). Many of the birds were elevation-specific, occurring only in the lowlands; others were in the cloud forest and a few were way up in the paramo. On our three trips to Costa Rica, we have seen 374 species. By comparison, approximately 450 bird species have been recorded in Massachusetts.

Costa Rica has such a variety of birds because, in addition to its diverse landscape, it is on the flyway of birds migrating from the north and on the northerly limit of birds coming up from South America. As a result, we saw birds that were familiar to us, like Barn Swallows, Baltimore Orioles, Broad-Winged Hawks, and a variety of warblers and shore birds. More exciting were the birds that never come to North America, like the endangered Jabiru—one of the largest flying birds, standing higher than 50 inches. We saw two nests of these rare birds, each with two fledglings, at Hacienda Solimar, which has a large wetland area that supports huge numbers of storks, herons, and ducks.

At this area we witnessed, what was for me, one of the most memorable parts of the trip. As we were driving on a dirt road through Solimar, we came across thousands of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks and a few dozen Blue-winged Teal. As we stopped to watch, they suddenly took off in an enormous wheeling cloud, closely pursued by two Peregrine Falcons. The peregrines chased them for a few minutes without being able to snag one for lunch and settled in a nearby tree. The ducks settled down again and started feeding, whereupon the peregrine swooped down and tried again for a meal. This happened several times before we continued on our way, leaving the peregrines to continue their forays.

Another memorable moment was when we stopped at a "dead pond," as Paco calls it, because he rarely sees any birds there. We gave it a try anyway and after a few minutes were excited by the arrival of three Swallow-tailed Kites. The kites came swooping down over the pond and gave us wonderful views for several minutes. They were then harassed by a couple of Tropical Kingbirds that were nesting in a nearby tree and considered them a threat. These large black-and-white raptors are one of the most elegant birds I have seen. We were lucky to see them at such close range, as one typically sees them wheeling around way up in the sky.

The colors of many of the birds we saw are almost beyond belief. The Cherries Tanager is all black, except for a bright scarlet rump. The Golden-hooded Tanager has a yellow head with bright blue around the eye, a black body with almost fluorescent blue patches on the wings, and a turquoise blue rump. Of the 23 tanagers we have seen in Costa Rica, only two, the Scarlet and the Summer, venture up to New England to breed in the summer.

The common names of some of the birds are almost as interesting as the birds themselves, like Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet, Thrush-like Schiffornis, or White-whiskered Puffbird. One, the Scaly-throated Leaftosser, is true to its name and spends its time on the forest floor tossing leaves to get at the insects hidden below. This little bird was probably one of the favorites of our group as it went about tossing leaves, some larger than itself, to the delight of everyone who later had no trouble remembering its name.

The hummingbirds, for me, are hardest to identify. There are more than 50 species of hummingbirds in Costa Rica, of which I have seen 27. We were able to see the Volcano Hummingbird because we travelled up to the paramo at 12,000 feet. This small bird, uncommon below 10,000 or 11,000 feet, is one of the endemic species that is altitude-specific.

Golden hooded tanager. (Courtesy photo)

Bare throated tiger heron. (Courtesy photo)

The Long-billed Starthroat is uncommon in most areas, but we did manage to see three or four in the dense lowland rainforest. This little bird is fairly easily distinguished by its bill, which is almost the length of its body. Hummingbirds have bills that have developed different forms to take advantage of specific types of flowers. Bills range in size from small, straight bills on the Charming Hummingbird to long, de-curved bills on the Green Hermit which has adapted to the larger flowers of the heliconia, costus, and razisea families. Although hummingbirds spend most of their time foraging for nectar in flowers, most of them also capture insects, sometimes even snatching them out of spider webs.

Costa Rica is famous for the Resplendent Quetzal. This bird, considered by some to be one of the most beautiful birds, can be hard to find. Their favorite food is the small fruit of a native species of avocado. We scouted an area with avocado but had no luck finding the Quetzal until on the way back to the lodge, when Paco found a male excavating a nesting cavity. Not far away was a female perched on a horizontal branch. We watched the male Quetzal, which is bright green with a red breast and tail feathers longer than his body, excavate for a nest cavity in a snag for several minutes. It then flew off to a nearby tree and the female flew in and continued excavating. Apparently these wonderful birds share nest-building, incubating their eggs, and raising their young. For a few of our group this was the highlight of the trip, although as most agreed, there were so many wonderful experiences that it was hard to come up with one really unforgettable moment.

David Durrant lives with his wife, Pamela, on East Bare Hill Road at Micheldever Farm, where they watch birds—their own peacocks, chickens, and wild birds.