El Copal

Trips: 2

El Copal is a non-profit biological reserve just a short distance from Tapanti National Park. It is a small lodge surrounded by 160 hectares of primary forest. The lodge itself is very rustic with no cell phone service and limited wifi capability. It has three very basic rooms. However, the rooms are very inexpensive, the food is good, and people on site are very friendly. They do not speak English so it's best to have someone with you who speaks Spanish.

There is exceptionally good birding at El Copal. Tanager flocks stream through the trees and watching them from the veranda at eye level is easy and relaxing.  The trails below the lodge are fairly wide and not particularly difficult. On my trip, we scoped an Ochre-breasted Antpitta not far into the main trail. With playback, we called in  several birds  including a Middle American Leaftosser and Dull-mantled Antbird.  Further along we had Zeledon's Antbird, Russet Antshrike, Slaty Antwren, Rufous-browed Tyrannulet, Slaty-capped Flycatcher, and Northern Schiffornis. On the back side of the lodge veranda over a two-day period, we observed Tawny-crowned,  White-vented and Yellow-throated Euphonias, White-ruffed and White-crowned Manakins, Emerald Tanager, Speckled Tanager, Bay-headed Tanager, Black-and-Yellow Tanager, Golden-hooded Tanager, Silver-throated Tanager, Ashy-throated Chlorospingus, Bananquit, Collared Aracari, Mistletoe Tyrannulet, and Collared Trogon. Farther off, we watched both Rufous-winged and Black-cheeked Woodpeckers. Below us in the garden, Snowcap, Green Thorntail, and Purple-throated Mountain-gems took turns on the flowering plants. Black-headed and Rufous-breasted Anthrush called from the forest floor throughout the morning. A Barred Forest-Falcon was called in with a playback right next to the lodge for a brief but very vocal personal encounter.

In what was my single most important sighting in Costa Rica, a Speckled Mourner made a lengthy appearance from the veranda. I was too stunned to get an iPhone camera on it through a scope before it flew. Since there was no photo-documentation, the sighting will remain unofficial in Costa Rica ornithology, but I wrote up some details for friends.

I regard El Copal and the San Gerardo Field Station as the two of the best birding sites in Costa Rica.

Tapanti National Park

Trips: 4

Tapanti is a National Park south of San Jose in the Cartago Province. There are two sections of the park but all observations here are of the lower section which has the easiest access - a graded gravel road that leads up into a higher elevation. The high mountain forest habitat in this park can add a lot of species that might be difficult to find elsewhere. There are accommodations for groups in the town of Orosi, but less formal accommodations may exist in closer proximity (El Copal and Quelitales Lodge).

Tapanti is a particularly good place for furnarids. Birds like Scaly-throated Foliage-gleaner, Ruddy Treerunner,  Streaked Xenops, Red-faced Spinetail, and Spotted Barbtail can be found more easily here. Brown-billed Scythebill is occasionally found in the more mature forests, and it is the only place I have ever observed Rufous-rumped Antwren.

Mid-level elevations around Orosi can produce birds like Mountain Eleania, Gray-crowned Yellowthroat, White-naped Brushfinch, and White-eared Ground-Sparrow.  The locally restricted Cabanis's Ground Sparrow can sometimes be found in pastureland with associated coffee plantations.

Edit: Much of the road to the highest parts of the park is now off-limits. However, there are some roads around Orosi that wull take you into similar habitat, The Rio Macho road at the perimeter of the town can take you up to similar habitat with almost no traffic. The Rio Macho road will show up as a Costa Rica birding hotspot on ebird.

The high forest in the park is also a good location for birds like Black-and-Yellow Silky-Flycatcher, Black-bellied Hummingbird,  Golden-browed Chlorophonia, Golden-bellied Flycatcher, Dark Pewee, White-winged Tanager, Sooty Thrush, Elegant Euphonia, and Spot-crowned Woodcreeper. This park, Savegre Lodge, and Cerro de la Muerte are perhaps the most accessible parks for really high mountain birds if one is driving south from San Jose. For those only driving north or east from San Jose, the Poas Volcano and the Monteverde area are probably the most accessible locations for cloud forest species. 

A GPS system is recommended if driving to Tapanti Park or El Copal.

La Marta Wildlife Refuge is also good Caribbean foothill birding about 30 minutes away from Tapanti and El Copal. There are many of the same birds here as Tapanti and El Copal along some well maintained trails.  The area around the old coffee plantation was particularly good. Here we added Blue-and Gold Tanager, Bright-rumped Attila, Olive-backed Euphonia and Double-toothed Kite to a similar list of birds that we observed in the other two locations mentioned above. The highly localized Rufous-browed Tyrannulet can also be here, usually in pairs. This is a nice refuge with easy access. 

Ebird observations (bar chart) at El Copal - https://ebird.org/barchart?r=L2284561&yr=all&m= 

Ebird observations (bar chart) at Tapanti National Park - https://ebird.org/barchart?r=L447854&yr=all&m=