Field Guide Recommendations for Costa Rica?

[Josh Kiner]

Hi. I'm headed to Costa Rica in June and was wondering if anyone had field guide recommendations. I'm not a smartphone eBird or Merlin user, so I'm interested in physical books. Thanks in advance!

[Gail Mackiernan]

There is a new book (2023) by Dyer and Howell which I have not seen, Birds of Costa Rica. However ABA named it “Bird Book of the Year” so expect it is excellent.The book we used most recently is Birds of Central America, also pretty new, but this covers the isthmus from Belize to Panama and may be “too much info.”

Gail Mackiernan

Colesville, MD

Sent from my iPad

On Feb 5, 2024, at 6:38 PM, Josh Kiner <jkin...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi. I'm headed to Costa Rica in June and was wondering if anyone had field guide recommendations. I'm not a smartphone eBird or Merlin user, so I'm interested in physical books. Thanks in advance!

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[Robert Parsons]

Hi. I would strongly recommend getting a field guide focused only on Costa Rica. There are plenty of species in Costa Rica to make any field guide already significant in size before adding in additional countries.   There are several that we have used in Costa Rica (we have been five times), but personally, if you don’t already own one, I would try the new Field guide that, Gail recommended.

Robert 

Robert E. Parsons

On Feb 5, 2024, at 4:38 PM, Josh Kiner <jkin...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi. I'm headed to Costa Rica in June and was wondering if anyone had field guide recommendations. I'm not a smartphone eBird or Merlin user, so I'm interested in physical books. Thanks in advance!

[Mike Bowen]

I agree with Robert Parsons that a guide to JUST the birds of Costa Rica is the way to go. Too many additional species if you stray South into Panama and (particularly) Colombia.

Last couple of times I was in Costa Rica I used the Garrigues-Dean guide published by a subsidiary of Cornell U. Press. ("The Birds of Costa Rica.")  Still available although now almost 14 years old, but the bird art is very good, if subtle.  Nevertheless, the new Dyer-Howell book cited by Gail, which I've not seen, is probably the way to go.  It's no more expensive on Amazon than Garrigues-Dean, where both books are available. Buy them both and support the bird book business!!

Mike Bowen

Bethesda

D. H. Michael Bowen
8609 Ewing Drive
Bethesda, Maryland 20817

Phone: (202) 236-0510

Ambassador for American Bird Conservancy, helping ABC help the birds

eBird volunteer Hotspot Reviewer/Editor for Maryland, Delaware, the District of Columbia, and the Republic of Ghana

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[Marcia Watson]

See attached snapshot of books that I’ve used. Have a good trip!

Marcia

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Marcia Watson

Phoenix, MD

On Feb 5, 2024, at 6:38 PM, Josh Kiner <jkin...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi. I'm headed to Costa Rica in June and was wondering if anyone had field guide recommendations. I'm not a smartphone eBird or Merlin user, so I'm interested in physical books. Thanks in advance!

[Robert Parsons]

I have also used all three of these field guides and all good with their own particular strengths and weaknesses.     Just for fun, I would still go with the new one unless you are willing to buy a couple to support the field guide business which isn’t a bad idea!

Robert

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From: mdbi...@googlegroups.com <mdbi...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Marcia Watson <marsh...@comcast.net>
Sent: Monday, February 5, 2024 5:38:36 PM
To: Josh Kiner <jkin...@gmail.com>
Cc: Maryland & DC Birding <mdbi...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [MDBirding] Field Guide Recommendations for Costa Rica?

 

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[Marcia Watson]

I agree, I think it’s worth it to get the new field guide. One issue with print books is that the taxonomy and bird names become outdated. You will want to keep track of birds you see using their current names. 

Marcia 

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Marcia Watson

Phoenix, MD 

On Feb 5, 2024, at 8:32 PM, Robert Parsons <rpar...@exclusiveresorts.com> wrote:



I have also used all three of these field guides and all good with their own particular strengths and weaknesses.     Just for fun, I would still go with the new one unless you are willing to buy a couple to support the field guide business which isn’t a bad idea!

Robert

Get Outlook for iOS

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From: mdbi...@googlegroups.com <mdbi...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Marcia Watson <marsh...@comcast.net>
Sent: Monday, February 5, 2024 5:38:36 PM
To: Josh Kiner <jkin...@gmail.com>
Cc: Maryland & DC Birding <mdbi...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [MDBirding] Field Guide Recommendations for Costa Rica?

 

See attached snapshot of books that I’ve used. Have a good trip!

Marcia

_____________

Marcia Watson

Phoenix, MD

<IMG_2371.jpeg>

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[Gail Mackiernan]

Speaking of supporting the bird book business, Princeton is having one of their 75% off sales and some very good bird books are available for a mere pittance. Alas while the sale does not include the newest Costa Rica guide, it does include the Birds of Central America as well as mouth-watering goodies such as Birds of New Guinea, if one wanted to dream a bit!

Gail Mackiernan

Colesville

Sent from my iPad

[Denise Ryan]

I just got back from CR two weeks ago birding around Arenal and Monteverde and used the Garrigues and Dean's the Birds of Costa Rica: A Field Guide and found it to be quite good. It was not perfect because it is a decade old. However, it did contain some very specific information to Costa Rica only. The example is differences between the collared trogon and the orange-bellied trogon. They were different birds at the time of the printing but now the orange-bellied is considered a color morph subspecies of the collared trogon.

And just my unsolicited two cents to the conversation, consider hiring bird guides to make the most of your time on the ground. It certainly is an added significant expense to your trip, but it will add so much more to your identification and enjoyment of the bird life and other wildlife such as spotting a sloth, bats, insects, and reptiles.  I also just birded on my own after my guide's shifts were done for the day. We found the typical plan was meeting at 6 am or a bit before and going non-stop for 5 hours. I'd take a lunch break and go back to walk more trails or explore on my own and picked up more species. Also nice is that I did not want to lug a scope around on my trip and all of my guides had their own scopes and they were quick to get on the bird and get the scope in focus for a look at the bird. If you'd like some site specific recommendations, feel free to email me off the list.

Have a great trip!

Denise Ryan

[lisawil...@gmail.com]

We are going to Costa Rica this week and bought the Dyer and Howell guide. It is excellent. I like that it includes descriptions of various habitats/ecozones and where they are found in CR.

Lisa Wilcox Deyo

Carderock Springs, Betrhesda, MD,

[Steve Johnson]

Here is an excellent electronic app, and a book, for Costa Rica. Written by Pat O'Donnell, an American ex-pat who has lived and guided in Costa Rica for about 30 years. First, the app:

https://birdingcraft.com/wordpress/category/costa-rica-birding-app/

https://birdingcraft.com/wordpress/category/costa-rica-birding-app/

The book, available in print or PDF, is not a field guide per se, but a guide to help you find the birds.

https://birdingcraft.com/wordpress/wherehowfind-birds-in-costa-rica/

https://birdingcraft.com/wordpress/wherehowfind-birds-in-costa-rica/

I spent a single day birding in the Tarcoles (PN Carara) area with Pat. We saw (and I listed) 135 species in 11 hours. Thanks to his book (for planning ahead) and his app (for ID-ing birds in the field), we had 293 species for the whole trip.

Good luck on your trip!!

Steve Johnson

Richmond, Virginia

On Monday, February 5, 2024 at 6:38:32 PM UTC-5 Josh Kiner wrote:

[Josh Kiner]

Wow, thanks everyone! This is all really useful. Birding isn't really the purpose of the trip (a "family friendly" tour with friends and small children), but probably like many of you, birding always becomes a purpose. There are stops in Monteverde and PN Manuel Antonio, so I won't complain. : ) 

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[Marcia Watson]

Ah, if small children are involved, you might want a butterfly field guide too.  Try Butterflies, Moths, and Other Invertebrates of Costa Rica: A Field Guide, by Carrol L. Henderson, Univ. of Texas Press. 

Marcia 

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Marcia Watson

Phoenix, MD 

On Feb 6, 2024, at 10:42 AM, Josh Kiner <jkin...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Gail B. Mackiernan]

Also a mammal guide -- you will probably see Coatis, Agoutis and hopefully, some Monkeys too!

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