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Costa Rica (a non-birding holiday) 24 March to 8 April 2001,

I have long had an ambition to see tropical rain and cloud forest and to see an active (erupting) volcano. Central America seemed to provide an opportunity to fulfil both of these ambitions. My wife Sue is not a birder and the choice of Costa Rica was almost made before the extent of the birding possibilities were fully appreciated. A true birding holiday was never considered. We took the following books with us :

The Ecotravellers Wildlife Guide to Costa Rica - Beletsky (Academic Press £19.95) Useful, particularly for mammals and for giving a different representaion of the birds, but choice of birds rather curious. Unfortunately very limited (black and white) cover of trees and flowers, and no butterflies at all!

Traveller's Companion to Costa Rica - Mellin (Kümmerly-Frey £12.99) A good, standard tourist guide.

A Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica - Stiles and Skutch (Helm £40) An absolute must. If only it had distribution maps!

Tour:

As we had travelled with them before, our preference for Explore Worldwide was made before we finalised our choice of country and it was the title of the trip, "Quetzals of the Rainforest", that strongly influenced me on choice of country. The flights were a bit of a nightmare as they involved plane changes in Madrid and Miami. With the inevitable, fairly minor, delays the door-to-door trips were 23 hours out and 21 hours back. This was the worst aspect of the trip.

The rest of the trip was by small, air-conditioned coach with (mainly) two night stops at modest but comfortable hotels. Rather to my surprise, I was the only birder in the group of sixteen. Our tour leader, Rachel James, was coming towards the end of her first season in Costa Rica and had got to grips well with the more common birds and some of the less common. Our driver Juan Carlos had eyes like a hawk and seemed to have a pretty extensive knowledge as well. During the trip we had several local guides and two of them were effectively professional birders.

Food:

The Costa Rica we saw is not  a country of culinary delights, and the staple rice and beans becomes a little monotonous, but the food was always enjoyable and plentiful. Although vegetarian meals were not identified on the menus, we were assured that they could be catered for. It is amazing how one, apparently simple, dish can vary. Gallo pinto is the national dish of rice and beans with onions, sweet peppers and coriander which is likely to be served accompanying almost anything else and at any meal including breakfast. When it's good, it is delicious, and when it isn't, it is very bland. We drank the tapwater, without problems, everywhere except in Tortuguero. Wine was rarely seen and the beers were the usual international lager type. The fresh (natural) fruit juices available almost everywhere were of a huge variety of fruit and delicious.

We arrived in San José late on the Saturday evening so the trip truly commenced the next day.

25 March

We didn't manage to get up very early but did fit in a half hour walk before our 7 am breakfast. The hotel (Hotel Vesuvio) turned out to be just around the corner from the zoo which provided a haven of trees and shrubs around its perimeter. These provided a considerable number of birds, most of which I failed to identify but I did kick the trip off with Clay-coloured Robin (Thrush), Rufous-collared Sparrow, Great-tailed Grackle, Blue-grey Tanager, Social Flycatcher and Squirrel Cuckoo. As this was my first trip across the Atlantic I realised that I must carry my dictaphone everywhere I took my bins i.e. all the time!

After breakfast we set off to the Poas National Park. At a stop en route we saw American Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Red-billed Pigeon, Blue-and-white Swallow, Tropical Kingbird, Boat-billed Flycatcher, Golden-browed Chlorophonia. By the time we got there, the volcano crater was entirely shrouded in cloud, and the surrouding cloud forest was wet and full of tourists. The only new birds were Yellow-thighed Finch, and Streaked Flycatcher.

In the afternoon we went on a tour around San José and visited the National Museum where the garden yielded Rufous-tailed Hummingbird. A walk by ourselves, around the streets and a couple of small parks added Yellow Warbler, Northern (Baltimore) Oriole, Yellow-olive Flycatcher and Northern Waterthrush

26 March

We drove to the Tapanti Reserve via a brief stop in Cartago the old colonial capital. During the journey I saw Mourning Dove, Golden-olive Woodpecker and House Sparrow! The Tapanti Reserve is incredibly dense cloud forest where, whilst very damp and drippy, the real rain held off until just as we were leaving. Birds seen were, American Dipper, Brown Jay, Common Bush-Tanager, Blue-hooded Euphonia, Tawny-capped Euphonia, Golden-browed Chlorophonia and Chestnut-headed Oropendola. We also saw our first mammal with good views of Agoutis ( a large relative of the guinea pig) and also the spectacular Blue Morph butterfly.

Next stop was the Turrial Tico hotel at Turrialba where we arrived at about 5pm and as it was still pouring with rain, there was no time for birding in the attractive garden. The hotel, built on top of a hill and with fabulous views, is made entirely of wood and has a large open plan ground floor for the bar and dining area and a large first floor verandah with easy chairs, not unlike some African game lodges. Unfortunately, when you sat in the chairs you soon realised how damp the atmosphere was. The excitement of the evening was finding a scorpion in our wash basin. The encouraging thing was the looks on the faces of the hotel staff when I showed it to them en route to releasing it in the garden. Clearly this type of encounter was not an everyday occurrence!

27 March

Up and out into the garden by 5.45am to find everything shrouded in cloud but glorious peace and quiet with only a couple of members of staff encountered. Again I saw several birds, including a toucan, that I later failed to identify, but I did add a number of new birds to the steadily growing list as well as some of, what were rapidly becoming, the common birds of the trip - Crimson-fronted Parakeet, Blue-and-white Swallow, Clay-coloured Robin, Tropical Kingbird, Common Tody-flycatcher, Great Kiskadee, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Scarlet-rumped Tanager, Rufous-collared Sparrow, Lesser (Thick-billed) Seed-finch and Great-tailed Grackle.

After breakfast we were off to the Guayabo National Park which is an archaeological site, of an early Indian site about which they seem to know very little, all set in rainforest. It rained all the time we were there and that, plus the density of the forest kept the new birds down to Barred Antshrike, Masked Tityra, and Golden-hooded Tanager.

In the afternoon we went white-water rafting on a tributary of the Reventazon river.. Unfortunately, as it was right at the end of the dry season, the river was very low and so was the excitement. Also the two young lads in the safety canoes took to travelling 50yds ahead so that most of the birds were at least a hundred yards away when flushed. However I did manage to identify Neotropic (Olivaceous) Cormorant, Little Blue Heron, Snowy Egret, Amazon Kingfisher, Keel-billed Toucan and Black-cheeked Woodpecker. Overnight we came across the problem of drying wet clothes (from the rafting) in a very humid atmoshere. We only managed thanks to careful positioning of the fan in the room.

28 March

Up and into the garden early again and this time to clear skies and fabulous views out over the lake below. Unfortunately several others from the group had decided that an early walk was a good idea so my solitude did not last very long. However I did manage to add Ruddy Ground-dove, Venezuelan (Mistletoe) Tyrannulet, Bananaquit, Blackburnian Warbler, Dusky-faced Tanager, Summer Tanager, Black-striped Sparrow, and Black-cowled Oriole to the list. The only hummingbird I could identify remained the Rufous-tailed Hummingbird.

After an early breakfast we set off for Tortuguera. Along the road I did manage to identify Broad-winged Hawk and Montezuma Oropendola from the coach. The last part of the approach to Tortuguera is a nightmare road for about 40 km, but I did see one of the sights of the trip along the road. When we were about 10km from the Carribean coast we saw hundreds of Turkey Vultures with many other large, unidentifiable (from a moving coach!) raptors migrating from south to north. They were spread, mainly in groups of 20-50 from horizon to horizon with perhaps eight groups in sight at any one time.

We eventually arrived at the boat pick-up point for the 1½hr journey by boat (Tortuguero is only accessible by plane or boat) and also met our local guide for two days, George. Immediate birds were Neotropic (Olivaceous) Cormorant, Amazon Kingfisher and Mangrove Swallow. About half an hour into the journey we rounded a bend and came to a stop to look at what turned out to be the biggest gathering of birds (numbers and species) that we saw in one location on the entire holiday. Unfortunately I thought that it was going to be typical of the next two days and we didn't stay for long. However, although there were several groups that I didn't get a good look at, I did manage Tricolored Heron, Little Blue Heron, Snowy Egret, Black-necked Stilt, Spotted Sandpiper, Willet, Sanderling, and Royal Tern. Then we were off to our accomodation at the Ever Green Lodge, which consisted of a collection of individual wooden cabins under the rainforest canopy and raised off the ground on stilts. With immaculate grounds, an open sided bar area and a good swimming pool, it was similar to African safari camps and positively luxurious by Explore standards.

Tortuguero National Park owes its existance to the Carribean beach that is a major breeding site for Green Turtles, at which time the region of the beach is inaccessible to all except serious researchers. Fortunately this was not breeding time so we managed a paddle in the Carribean. That walk also produced Brown Pelican and Whimbrel as well as roosting Tent Bats and Honduras White Bats.

29 March

This fabulous day started with a dawn (5.30am) boat trip, primarily to spot birds. A great success - Anhinga, Great Blue Heron, Great White (Egret) Heron, Green-backed Heron, Boat-billed Heron, Bare-throated Tiger-heron, American Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Laughing Falcon, Northern Jacana, Red-lored Parrot, Mealy Parrot, White-collared Swift, Slaty-tailed Trogon, Belted Kingfisher, Ringed Kingfisher, Keel-billed Toucan, Great Kiskadee, Montezuma Oropendola, and Nicaraguan Grackle. We also saw Howler Monkeys, White-faced Monkeys, Otter, Spectacled Caiman, Green Iguana and American Crocodile.

A short walk in the forest, the grounds of the lodge and a further boat trip in the afternoon produced - Cattle Egret, Green Ibis, American Purple Gallinule, Short-billed Pigeon, White-crowned Parrot, Squirrel Cuckoo, Chimney Swift, White-necked Puffbird, Collared Aracari, Slaty Antwren, Purple-throated Fruitcrow, White-collared Manakin, Common Tody-flycatcher, Tropical Kingbird, Social Flycatcher, Masked Tityra, Clay-coloured Robin, Prothonotary Warbler, Scarlet Tanager, Scarlet-rumped Tanager, Blue-grey Tanager, Olive-backed Euphonia, Variable Seedeater, Blue Seedeater, Great-tailed Grackle,

30 March

Left Tortuguero via a five hour boat trip which included a brief entry into Nicaragua for about 20 minutes! and an excellent picnic lunch. New birds were Wood Stork, King Vulture, Green Kingfisher, and Cinnamon Becard.

We met our coach and Juan Carlos at Puerto Veija and drove to La Fortuna which is just below the Arenal volcano, considered the most dangerous volcano in Costa Rica. We had a wonderful view of the volcano (when the cloud cleared) from the poolside of our hotel (Hotel San Bosco).

31 March

I decided to do one of the options and go pony trekking to the local waterfall. The stable yard yielded Plain-breasted Ground-dove, Ruddy Ground-dove, Red-winged Blackbird and Bronzed Cowbird. I saw two new woodpeckers on the way back, but by then the horse knew it was on its way home and wouldn't stand for me to get a good view - I couldn't narrow either of them down to less than one of two.

That evening we went to the hot springs at Tabacon where we lazed in hot water, drinking beer and hoping that the volcano would perform. Unfortunately it didn't cooperate until we were about to leave, then it suddenly started to issue considerable lava flows. We stopped along the road on the way back and had great views.

1 April

Up early for a walk around the town suburbs and surrounding fields to find Cattle Egret, Green-backed Heron, American Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Red-billed Pigeon, White-winged Dove, Squirrel Cuckoo, Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, Slaty Spinetail, Common Tody-flycatcher, Dusky-capped Flycatcher, Social Flycatcher, Great Kiskadee, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Bank Swallow (Sand Martin), House Wren, Clay-coloured Robin, House Sparrow, Yellow Warbler, Northern Waterthrush, Scarlet-rumped Tanager, Blue-grey Tanager, Palm Tanager, Black-striped Sparrow, Blue-black Grassquit, Variable Seedeater, and Great-tailed Grackle.

We were due to go to the Arenal National Park on our way to Canas, but the park was closed because of the risk of a serious eruption, so we went to a botanical garden instead. This involved a drive around Arenal Lake (the largest in Costa Rica) and through the Guanacaste region which is relatively dry and arid with large areas of grassland. During the journey and at the garden I added Grey Hawk, Plain Chachalaca, Crested Guan, Belted Kingfisher, Grey-capped Flycatcher, Barn Swallow, White-throated Magpie-jay, Yellow-faced Grassquit and Rose-breasted Grosbeak.

We arrived in Canas, which was our only one night stop, in the late afternoon. This small town produced very few birds, and nothing new.

2 April

We left very early in the morning (6.30am) and stopped for breakfast en route. We then went for a short birdwatching boat trip, with local guide, on the Tempisque River. Apart from the flights, this guide was the only failure of the holiday. It was the first time I'd seen a birding guide without binoculars and she didn't seem to really know her birds either! However, largely thanks to a great driver we did see a good collection of water birds in the mangroves beside the river - Neotropic (Olivaceous) Cormorant, Little Blue Heron, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, Green-backed Heron, Yellow-crowned Night-heron, Black-crowned Night-heron, Boat-billed Heron, Bare-throated Tiger-heron, White Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill, Black-bellied Whistling-duck, Common Black-hawk, Osprey, Spotted Sandpiper, Ringed Kingfisher, Great Kiskadee, Mangrove Swallow and Great-tailed Grackle, not to mention dozens of Whimbrel perched in the trees, oh that they were so easy to see at home!

We then took the very rough road that climbs high into the mountains to the Monteverde Biological Reserve, spotting a Roadside Hawk, along the way. Monteverde is a large area of tropical cloud forest which is privately owned and so is rather more commercial than the National Parks, but this doesn't spoil it but gives more options than just a walk along a forest trail. In the afternoon we went on a sky walk, which is a trail along the sides of steep valleys and crossing them via high suspension bridges. The result is that most of the time you are up in the forest canopy. The birds are still difficult to see (the best method seemed to be to stand and wait for them to show themselves to you!) and first thing in the morning would probably be a lot better than last thing in the afternoon. But I did spot Grey-headed Chachalaca, Black Guan, Ochraceous Wren, Azure-hooded Jay and Collared Redstart.

3 April

Up early for a walk around the hotel grounds and an early snack breakfast just outside our room before we set off for a two hour walk in the forest with local guide. A bit of a disappointment as 16 people are far too many for this sort of walk so I missed several things that the guide pointed out. We did however get good views of, probably two, male Resplendent Quetzals (including views through the guide's Leica scope!) and they are magnificent, no picture that I have seen does them real justice. At the end of the walk we visited a hummingbird feeding station where the birds were actually around long enough for you to have a fighting chance to identify at least some of them. During the walk and around the hotel earlier I added American Swallow-tailed Kite, Band-tailed Pigeon, Violet Sabrewing, Variable (Purple-throated) Mountain-gem (humminbird), Magenta-throated Woodstar (hummingbird), Orange-bellied Trogon, Emerald Toucanet, Spotted Woodcreeper, Yellow-bellied Elaenia, Orange-billed Nightingale-thrush, Bananaquit and Common Bush-tanager

In the afternoon we went on a Canopy Tour which consists of hanging in a harness and sliding down steel cables slung between the trees, all high up in the forest canopy. Fabulous fun but not as much of an adrenalin rush as expected and not good for birds! But, when standing on a platform high up in a massive tree I did get a fabulous view of a small group of Golden-browed Chlorophonias which came to within about eight feet! That evening we went on a night walk in the forest. Those guides are amazing! I have never heard of finding roosting birds by torchlight and I still don't know how they spot them. Although he spotted and identified probably 6/7 birds, the only ones I could see enough of for me to identify were a Blue-crowned Motmot and a Brown Jay. We also saw several stick insects, a porcupine, fireflies and a tarantula. I would have loved to spend an extra day in Monteverde!

4 April

After breakfast we set off for the Carara Biological Reserve and had the repeat torture of the road back down out of Monteverde. At one point we came across a coach stopped at the roadside and about eight birders, who turned out to be Americans, peering thro' scopes. Needless to say we stopped and, after finding the two Pacific Screech Owls that were the centre of attention, scrounged a peek through their scope. Later during that days travels I also saw Hook-billed Kite, Semipalmated Plover, Turquoise-browed Motmot, Rufous-naped Wren, and Hoffmann's Woodpecker.

We only had a very short stop at Carara, primarily in the hope of spotting the breeding Scarlet Macaws. Birds were hard to see, but I did see Great Tinamou (a very trusting bird that allowed us within ten feet) Great Curassow, Plain-brown Woodcreeper, Orange-collared Manakin and Chestnut-sided Warbler. On returning to the car park Sue and I and two others had a brief glimpse of two Scarlet Macaws as they flew away from us, only to find that our driver and one other of our party had been sitting watching them for the last ten minutes - makes you sick!

We then headed off for the Pacific coast, via Quepos to Playa Espadillas which is the small coastal village right next to the Manuel Antonio National Park.

5 April

This stop was our hottest and most humid, with the temperatures towards the mid thirties, so nothing strenuous was the basic requirement. A combination of a pre-breakfast stroll, a walk in the National Park (lowland rainforest) a laze on the beach and an early evening walk gave the following list for Manuel Antonio - Brown Booby, Brown Pelican, Magnificent Frigatebird, Green-backed Heron, White Ibis, Yellow-headed Caracara, Western Sandpiper, Red-billed Pigeon, Inca Dove, White-tipped Dove, Orange-chinned Parakeet, Lesser Nighthawk, Vaux's Swift, Red-crowned Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Elaenia, Social Flycatcher, Grey-capped Flycatcher, Great Kiskadee, Black-crowned Tityra, Mangrove Swallow, Clay-coloured Robin, Yellow Warbler, Bananaquit, Scarlet-rumped Tanager, Blue-grey Tanager, Palm Tanager, Red-legged Honeycreeper, Black-striped Sparrow and, of course, Great-tailed Grackle. We also saw White-faced and Squirrel Monkeys, an Agouti and a family of White-nosed Coatis.

6 April

Spent the entire day driving back to San José to arrive at 4.30pm. Went for a last walk around the streets, no new birds.

7 April

On the coach trip to the airport I saw a Black-shouldered Kite hovering over a patch of wasteland, my final trip bird.

So, the end of a totally enjoyable holiday in a wonderful country that we would love to visit again (including the non-birder!).  For me, 158 of the 167 identified birds were lifers so I guess it has to be regarded as a pretty successful birding trip as well.  I owe a special thanks to the rest of our group for their tolerance and frequent assistance in spotting, if not identifying, birds.

Birds

1.    Great Tinamou (Tinamus major)
2.    Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster)
3.    Neotropic (Olivaceous) Cormorant (Phalacrocorax brasilianus)
4.    Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga)
5.    Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)
6.    Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens)
7.    Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor)
8.    Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea)
9.    Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)
10.   Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias [cinerea])
11.   Great White (Egret) Heron (Casmerodius albus)
12.   Cattle Egret (Bulbulcus ibis)
13.   Green-backed Heron (Butorides striatus [virescens])
14.   Yellow-crowned Night-heron (Nyctanassa violacea)
15.   Black-crowned Night-heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)
16.   Boat-billed Heron (Cochlearius cochlearius)
17.   Bare-throated Tiger-heron (Tigrisoma mexicanum)
18.   Wood Stork (Mycteria americana)
19.   White Ibis (Eudocimus albus)
20.   Green Ibis (Mesembrinibis cayennensis)
21.   Roseate Spoonbill (Ajaia ajaja)
22.   Black-bellied Whistling-duck (Dendrocygna autumnalis)
23.   American Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus)
24.   Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)
25.   King Vulture (Sarcohamphus papa)
26.   Hook-billed Kite (Chondrohierax uncinatus)
27.   American Swallow-tailed Kite (Elanoides forficatus)
28.   Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus caeruleus)
29.   Common Black-hawk (Buteogallus anthracinus)
30.   Grey Hawk (Asturina plagiata [nitida])
31.   Roadside Hawk (Buteo magnirostris)
32.   Broad-winged Hawk (Buteo platypterus)
33.   Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)
34.   Yellow-headed Caracara (Milvago chimachima)
35.   Laughing Falcon (Herpetotheres cachinnans)
36.   Plain Chachalaca (Ortalis vetula)
37.   Grey-headed Chachalaca (Ortalis cinereiceps [garrula])
38.   Crested Guan (Penelope purpurascens)
39.   Black Guan (Chamaepetes unicolor)
40.   Great Curassow (Crax rubra)
41.   American Purple Gallinule (Porphyrula martinicus)
42.   Sungrebe (Heliornis fulica)
43.   Northern Jacana (Jacana spinosa)
44.   Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus [himantopus])
45.   Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus [hiaticula])
46.   Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)
47.   Spotted Sandpiper (Tringa macularia)
48.   Willet (Catoptrophorus semipalmatus)
49.   Sanderling (Calidris alba)
50.   Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri)
51.   Royal Tern (Sterna maxima)
52.   Band-tailed Pigeon (Columba fasciata)
53.   Red-billed Pigeon (Columba flavirostris)
54.   Short-billed Pigeon (Columba nigrirostris)
55.   Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
56.   White-winged Dove (Zenaida asiatica)
57.   Inca Dove (Columbina inca [squammata])
58.   Plain-breasted Ground-dove (Columbina minuta)
59.   Ruddy Ground-dove (Columbina talpacoti)
60.   White-tipped Dove (Leptotila verreauxi)
61.   Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao)
62.   Crimson-fronted Parakeet (Aratinga finschi)
63.   Orange-chinned Parakeet (Brotogeris jugularis)
64.   White-crowned Parrot (Pionus senilis)
65.   Red-lored Parrot (Amazona autumnalis)
66.   Mealy Parrot (Amazona farinosa)
67.   Squirrel Cuckoo (Piaya cayana)
68.   Pacific Screech-owl (Otus cooperi [asio])
69.   Lesser Nighthawk (Chordeiles acutipennis)
70.   White-collared Swift (Streptoprocne zonaris)
71.   Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica)
72.   Vaux's Swift (Chaetura vauxi)
73.   Violet Sabrewing (Campylopterus hemileucurus)
74.   Rufous-tailed Hummingbird (Amazilia tzacatl)
75.   Variable (Purple-throated) Mountain-gem (Lampornis castaneoventris calolaema)
76.   Magenta-throated Woodstar (Philodice bryantae)
77.   Resplendent Quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno)
78.   Slaty-tailed Trogon (Trogon massena)
79.   Orange-bellied Trogon (Trogon aurantiiventris)
80.   Belted Kingfisher (Ceryle alcyon)
81.   Ringed Kingfisher (Ceryle torquata)
82.   Amazon Kingfisher (Chloroceryle amazona)
83.   Green Kingfisher (Chloroceryle americana)
84.   Turquoise-browed Motmot (Eumomota superciliosa)
85.   Blue-crowned Motmot (Momotus momota)
86.   White-necked Puffbird (Notharchus macrorhynchos)
87.   Emerald Toucanet (Aulacorhynchus prasinus)
88.   Collared Aracari (Pteroglossus torquatus)
89.   Keel-billed Toucan (Ramphastos sulfuratus)
90.   Black-cheeked Woodpecker (Melanerpes pucherani)
91.   Red-crowned Woodpecker (Melanerpes rubricapillus)
92.   Hoffmann's Woodpecker (Melanerpes hoffmannii [aurifrons])
93.   Golden-olive Woodpecker (Piculus rubiginosus)
94.   Plain-brown Woodcreeper (Dendrocincla fuliginosa)
95.   Spotted Woodcreeper (Xiphoryhnchus erythropygius [triangularis])
96.   Slaty Spinetail (Synallaxis brachyura)
97.   Barred Antshrike (Thamnophilus doliatus)
98.   Slaty Antwren (Myrmotherula schisticolor)
99.   Purple-throated Fruitcrow (Querula purpurata)
100.     White-collared Manakin (Manacus candei [manacus])
101.     Orange-collared Manakin (Manacus aurantiacus [manacus])
102.     Common Tody-flycatcher (Todirostrum cinereum)
103.     Venezuelan (Mistletoe) Tyrannulet (Zimmerius improbus [vilissimus])
104.     Yellow-bellied Elaenia (Elaenia flavogaster)
105.     Yellow-olive Flycatcher (Tolmomyias sulphurescens)
106.     Dusky-capped Flycatcher (Myiarchus tuberculifer)
107.     Tropical Kingbird (Tyrannus melancholicus)
108.     Boat-billed Flycatcher (Megarhynchus pitangua)
109.     Streaked Flycatcher (Myiodynastes maculatus)
110.     Social Flycatcher (Myiozetetes similis)
111.     Grey-capped Flycatcher (Myiozetetes granadensis)
112.     Great Kiskadee (Pitangus sulphuratus)
113.     Cinnamon Becard (Pachyramphus cinnamomeus [castaneus])
114.     Masked Tityra (Tityra semifasciata)
115.     Black-crowned Tityra (Tityra inquisitor)
116.     Mangrove Swallow (Tachycineta albilinea)
117.     Blue-and-white Swallow (Notiochelidon cyanoleuca)
118.     Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Stelgidopteryx serripennis)
119.     Sand Martin (Riparia riparia)
120.     Swallow (Barn) (Hirundo rustica)
121.     American Dipper (Cinclus mexicanus)
122.     Rufous-naped Wren (Campylorhynchus rufinucha)
123.     House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)
124.     Ochraceous Wren (Troglodytes ochraceus [solstitialis])
125.     Orange-billed Nightingale-thrush (Catharus aurantiirostris)
126.     Clay-coloured Thrush [Robin] (Turdus grayi)
127.     Azure-hooded Jay (Cyanolyca cucullata)
128.     Brown Jay (Psilorhinus morio)
129.     White-throated Magpie-jay (Calocitta formosa)
130.     House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)
131.     Yellow Warbler (Dendroica petechia)
132.     Chestnut-sided Warbler (Dendroica pensylvanica)
133.     Blackburnian Warbler (Dendroica fusca)
134.     Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea)
135.     Northern Waterthrush (Seiurus noveboracensis)
136.     Collared Redstart (Myioborus torquatus)
137.     Bananaquit (Coereba flaveola)
138.     Common Bush-tanager (Chlorospingus ophthalmicus)
139.     Dusky-faced Tanager (Mitrospingus cassinii)
140.     Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra)
141.     Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea)
142.     Scarlet-rumped Tanager (Ramphocelus passerinii)
143.     Blue-grey Tanager (Thraupis episcopus [sayaca])
144.     Palm Tanager (Thraupis palmarum)
145.     Blue-hooded Euphonia (Euphonia elegantissima [musica])
146.     Olive-backed Euphonia (Euphonia gouldi)
147.     Tawny-capped Euphonia (Euphonia anneae)
148.     Golden-browed Chlorophonia (Chlorophonia callophrys [occipitalis])
149.     Golden-hooded Tanager (Tangara larvata [nigrocincta])
150.     Red-legged Honeycreeper (Cyanerpes cyaneus)
151.     Rufous-collared Sparrow (Zonotrichia capensis)
152.     Black-striped Sparrow (Arremonops conirostris)
153.     Yellow-thighed Finch (Pselliophorus tibialis)
154.     Blue-black Grassquit (Volatinia jacarina)
155.     Variable Seedeater (Sporophila americana (ex aurita))
156.     Lesser (Thick-billed) Seed-finch (Oryzoborus angolensis funereus)
157.     Blue Seedeater (Amaurospiza concolor)
158.     Yellow-faced Grassquit (Tiaris olivacea)
159.     Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus)
160.     Chestnut-headed Oropendola (Psarocolius wagleri)
161.     Montezuma Oropendola (Gymnostinops montezuma)
162.     Northern (Baltimore) Oriole (Icterus galbula galbula)
163.     Black-cowled Oriole (Icterus dominicensis prosthemelas)
164.     Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)
165.     Great-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus)
166.     Nicaraguan Grackle (Quiscalus nicaraguensis)
167.     Bronzed Cowbird (Molothrus aeneus)

Mammals

1.    Central American Dwarf Squirrel  (Microsciurus alfari)
2.    Variagated Squirrel  (Sciurus variegatoides)
3.    Central American Agouti  (Dasyprocta punctata)
4.    Mantled Howler Monkey  (Alouatta palliata)
5.    White-faced Capuchin [Monkey]  (Cebus capucinus)
6.    Central American Spider Monkey  (Ateles geoffroyi)
7.    Red-backed Squirrel Monkey  (Saimiri oerstedii)
8.    Three-toed Sloth  (Bradypusvariegatus)
9.    Neotropical Otter  (Lutra longicaudis)
10. Tent Bat  (?)
11. Honduras White Bat  (?)
12. Peccary  (Species uncertain)
13. White-nosed coati  (Nasua narica)
14. Mexican Hairy Porcupine  (Coendou mexicanus)
15. Racoon  (Species uncertain)

Others

1.    Whip-tail Lizard  (Ameiva festiva)
2.    Basilisk (Jesus Christ Lizard)  (Basiliscus basiliscus)
3.    Ground Anole (Lizard)  (Anolis humilis)
4.    Black Iguana (Ctenosaur)  (Ctenosuara similis)
5.    Green Iguana  (Iguana iguana)
6.    Spiny Iguana  (?)
7.    Scorpion  (?)
8.    Spectacled Caiman  (Caiman crocodilus)
9.    American Crocodile  (Crocodylus acutus)
10. Black River Turtle  (Rhinoclemmys funerea)
11. Strawberry Poison-dart Frog  (Dendrobates pumilio)
12. Common Dink Frog  (Eleutherodactylus diastema)
13. Snake (Vine/Tree?) (?)
14. Freshwater Sardines  (?)
15. Fireflies  (?)
16. Stick Insects x2  (?)
17. Millipedes x2  (?)
18. Orange-kneed Tarantula
19. Marine Toad  (Bufo marinus)

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