Clearwings are among the most spectacular cloud forest butterflies. Photo: Rich Hoyer
Costa Rica is a natural history paradise whether one’s interest is birds, butterflies, orchids, ferns, reptiles, or dragonflies, and this tour is a rare opportunity to join butterfly expert Jim Brock, whose enthusiasm for these beautiful winged creatures and whose ability to spot and recognize them in the field is legendary. The itinerary is designed to make the most of the country’s compact geography. We’ll spend time on the biologically rich and quite different Pacific and Caribbean slopes as well as in the highlands, where butterflies may be less diverse but where we expect to see Resplendent Quetzal, the pinnacle of Central American birding. The beautiful lodges where we’ll stay are located in prime habitat, reducing the need for extra-early starts and providing for relaxed afternoons.
Day 1: The tour begins at 7 p.m. in San José. Night in San José.
Day 2: The well-planted gardens of our hotel offer a fine start for both birds and butterflies. Hedges of the vervain Stachytarpheta draw many skippers, such as the ornate Chestnut-marked Skipper, the gaudy Guava Skipper, and several species of longtails and flashers. The same flowers also attract Rufous-tailed Hummingbird and sometimes Canivet’s Emerald, and the hedges provide cover for White-eared and Prevost’s Ground-Sparrows. We’ll depart after breakfast for La Virgen del Socorro, a steep canyon draped in lush, mid-elevation cloud forest. Along the river in midmorning we may see the mesmerizing Hologram Morpho, also called Blue Orb, and several heliconians and metalmarks will be possible if it stays sunny. Purple-crowned Fairy, Crimson-collared Tanager, and White Hawk are seen regularly here, and if the Inga trees are in bloom, Black-crested Coquette is a possibility. In the afternoon we’ll arrive at Sueño Azul Resort, a 1,200-acre private ranch and nature reserve close to our destinations for the next two days. Night in Horquetas.
Day 3-4: During our time on the Caribbean slope we’ll spend one full day at La Selva, an Organization for Tropical Studies research facility, which is a large tract of older secondary forest and former cacao plantations adjacent to a vast area of untouched rainforest. Here we’ve seen such fancy butterflies as Black-and-yellow Beautymark, several species of crackers, numerous heliconians and clearwings, and of course morphos and owl-butterflies. Early morning birding along the entrance road is always memorable, with orioles, wrens, tropical sparrows, toucans, woodpeckers, and tanagers, sometimes in nonstop procession. The red-and-purple Strawberry Poison Dart Frog is common here, as are various species of anoles, and we’ve been lucky to see the occasional snake (once a Boa Constrictor, once a Calico Snake).
On another day we’ll move into unspoiled Braulio Carrillo National Park in the foothills above the coastal plain. Our chances for butterflies will be best along the forest edge, though only if we venture onto the trails will we have a good chance of seeing several species of clearwings and tigerwings. Even the parking area is excellent—one year we had a Ray-fringed Metalmark, and we’re likely to see roaming mixed flocks of birds that include gorgeous Black-and-yellow, Blue-and-gold, and Emerald Tanagers. A couple of roadside gardens with Stachytarpheta hedges could draw numbers of skippers, swallowtails, and sulphurs. Possible nymphalids include the green Malachite and its close relative the Rusty-tipped Page, among many others. Nights in Horquetas.
Day 5: We’ll have part of our last morning here to check the butterfly and hummingbird gardens before we embark for our drive over the mountains to the high-elevation Dota Region. On the way we’ll stop by a remnant parcel of the Meseta Central’s grassland where White-throated Flycatcher and the local subspecies of Sedge Wren occur. If it’s still sunny by early afternoon we’ll have a chance for some interesting butterflies in cloud forest along the Continental Divide, while birds will be possible in any weather but dense fog. In the late afternoon we’ll arrive at our hotel high in deep vally in the shadows of Cerro de la Muerte. Night in San Gerardo de Dota.
Day 6: We’ll spend the entire day high in the Talamanca Mountains near Cerro de la Muerte. The butterflies here are not as diverse as at lower elevations, but this will be our only chance for a number of interesting highland species. Stands of Chusquea bamboo offer food for the larvae of several satyrs, including those in the genera Eretris, Oxeoschistus, Pedaliodes and Catargynnis. The slow-flying Lamplight Actinote can be abundant, and we’ll look for dartwhites, mountain-whites, and tile-whites. No trip to Costa Rica is complete without a search for Resplendent Quetzal, and this is perhaps the best place in the country to see this special bird. It feeds in the fruiting wild avocado and Nectandra trees, which coincidentally are likely host plants for the well-named Magnificent Swallowtail. One specialty of this area is the Dota Cloudforest Metlamark, Corrachia leucoplaga, a little-known and local endemic and a taxonomic oddity. An excursion to the stunted forests on the continental divide, if the weather is sunny, could result in some highland hairstreaks or blues or something flashy like Cloudforest Monarch. Night in San Gerardo de Dota.
Days 7-10: Today we’ll drive down the inland slope of Cerro de la Muerte, making a mid-morning stop at a restaurant where feeders sometimes attract Snowy-bellied Hummingbird. If the bananas hung out for the Cherrie’s Tanagers and Clay-colored Robins are ripe enough, we could find Orange Mapwing, Peleides Morpho, or Yellow-fronted Owl-Butterfly hanging there instead. We’ll notice we’re out of the higlands and in the tropics when we see Banded Peacocks, Orange-barred Sulphurs, and Thoas Swallowtails bounding along the roadside as we pass through the valley of El General and then spend a couple hours at Los Cusingos, a private reserve where Alexander Skutch lived. The rare Four-spotted Eighty-eight has been seen here, and several species of preponas and leafwings, crackers, banners, and catones visit tree sap and flowers.
Our lodge for the next four nights, La Cusinga, offers comfortable and peaceful cabins, a lovely open-air dining room, and a stunning view of the Pacific Ocean and Ballena Marina National Park, where the sunsets can be spectacular. Trails lead into secondary and primary forest, past former fields, and even to a secluded beach. The lodge property doubles as a fine example of sustainable tropical forestry—former cattle fields have been replanted with local tree species that are selectively harvested for local furniture production. The property also hosts several gigantic, thousand-year-old Ajo trees. We could easily see over a hundred species of butterflies and skippers before we leave, even if we won’t be able to identify them all. A good example is “Two-banded Flasher,” which Dan Janzen and others have proven is actually ten different species, with field identification possible only in the larval stage! We’ll probably see at least one of these colorful, fast-flying insects as well as several heliconians, which fortunately are not as fast—Heart-spotted and Lybia Heliconians are particularly common. The forest understory has satyrs too, not just the drab Carolina Satyr but also more colorful members of the genera Chloreuptychia and Pareuptychia and even a couple species of Pierella diaphs. We’ll keep an eye out for the spectacular Morpho amathonte, satiny blue from edge to edge. While our early morning outings will be primarily for the birds, among which we’ll likely see the regional endemics Fiery-billed Aracari, Black-hooded Antshrike, and Baird’s Trogon, this is also the best time of day for nectaring hairstreaks if we’re lucky enough to find their favorite flowers. As the day warms up and bird activity decreases, we’ll spend more time seeking butterflies in the various habitats at the lodge, adding Green-celled Cattleheart, several kinds of yellows and sulphurs and surely some nice metalmarks—the Blue-winged Sheenmark larva feeds on the prayer plant found in the gardens, and the adults nectar from the flowers on the same plant. Since we’ll rarely be far from the lodge, there should be plenty of time for afternoon siestas or relaxing at the beach, and one morning we may take a short boat ride among the mangroves. Nights in Uvita.
Day 11: We’ll spend our last full day driving up the Pacific Coast, with many roadside stops possible for birds and butterflies, including a short walk in Carara National Park and a stop at the Tárcoles River Bridge, where American Crocodiles lounge on the sand bars below. Night in San José.
Day 12: The tour concludes this morning in San José.
Updated: 21 March 2008
Prices
- 2009 price about $4,150
- Single Occupancy Supplement $450
Notes
Maximim group size 14 with two leaders. Both listed leaders will accompany this tour regardless of group size.