Catarata del Toro - Costa Rican Birding Route (1 Viewer)

gdhunter · Jan 6, 2012

It's been a while since I checked out the listing of sites included in the Costa Rican Bird Route, and today I was surprised to find listed (as a "satellite") a mid-elevation site along the western slope of Poas; it's called Catarata del Toro (http://www.costaricanbirdroute.com/sites/satellite.htm#catarata) . The Birding Route doesn't offer any information about expected or possible sightings, but I suspect one might have a chance to see many of the species associated with the nearby Bosque de Paz Biological Reserve & Lodge (and presumably at a fraction of the lodging rate). Such a species list might include (per Lawson's bird-finding guide) Black-breasted Wood-Quail, Solitary Eagle, Black-bellied Hummingbird, Resplendent Quetzal, Strong-billed Woodcreeper, Azure-headed Jay, and Blue Seedeater. That's primarily from Lawson's list of "Target Birds" for Bosque de Paz, but the "Species to Expect" list is lengthy & impressive.

This might prove an especially attractive option to budget-minded birders if Bosque de Paz offers birding tours or trail access to people who are not guests. I find no reference to such access at their website, though.

Birdingcraft · Jan 7, 2012

Yes, that is a promising area. I havent birded there extensively but I know people who have and they had a fair number of middle elevation species. Those species mentioned are possible around there although the eagle, woodcreeper, and seedeater are pretty rare no matter where you look for them. It would probably turn up some good stuff.

Bosque de Paz supposedly offers trail access for a fee (possibly $15 per person or more) but you have to make reservations. More than one person I know who has shown up without reservations was not given access to the place and even making reservations has been tough. There is also pretty good roadside birding in that area.

On another note, the road from that area to Sarchi has been closed and I dont think it has repoened. There is still access from the Caribbean slope though as well as access from Zarcero along the road that passes by Bosque de Paz.

Frozen-in-MN · Jan 7, 2012

How odd - I was just on that same web site looking for a quick stop as we go from La Selva area to Arenal and got interested in Catarata del Toro. Came over to search the forum for opinions on it and found you had just posted!

I had been tempted to take a route past Bosque de Paz and at least bird the road area leading to it on the way by - I think that's the road you mention going through Zarcero. It's probably a longer side trek than it seems due to roads and maybe wouldn't have worked out anyway. It seems Catarata del Toro might not be that far out of the way though.
Any suggestions for a better birding spot that's a reasonable diversion from the La Selva to Arenal route?

Robin

Birdingcraft · Jan 7, 2012

Frozen-in-MN said:
How odd - I was just on that same web site looking for a quick stop as we go from La Selva area to Arenal and got interested in Catarata del Toro. Came over to search the forum for opinions on it and found you had just posted!

I had been tempted to take a route past Bosque de Paz and at least bird the road area leading to it on the way by - I think that's the road you mention going through Zarcero. It's probably a longer side trek than it seems due to roads and maybe wouldn't have worked out anyway. It seems Catarata del Toro might not be that far out of the way though.
Any suggestions for a better birding spot that's a reasonable diversion from the La Selva to Arenal route?

Robin

Unfortunately, it would be a fair detour to go to Catarata on your way to Arenal (maybe 45 minutes off of the main route to Arenal). You could do it but it would it would be best to spend most of the day there to give you adequate birding time. However, if its the only chance to look for middle elevation birds during your trip, it might be worth it. Keep in mind that you can see a fair number of middle elevation species around Arenal Observatory Lodge although the bird species mentioned above dont occur there and are more likely at Catarata del Toro. That said, you could go to the Catarata area and still easily miss them as they arent very common.

It would be a pretty long trip if you took the road up past Bosque de Paz and Zarcero. You could get some birding in along the roadside but I am afraid that most of your time would be spent driving.

A detour up to Cinchona or Virgen del Socorro would take about the same amount of time as the detour to Catarata. Most of the birds there also occur around Arenal Obs. Lodge although the Colibri Cafe is hard to beat for getting shots of several hummingbirds, Prong-billed Barbet, and Emerald Toucanet.

On another note, Lanceolated Monklet has been reported recently along the trail to the waterfall near Fortuna! That general area is great for birding (including the road to the waterfall).

I cant think of too many other spots worth a quick stop as your time would be better spent birding in the Arenal area. I may actually head out that way tomorrow.

Birdingcraft · Jan 7, 2012

Here is a link to some brief info about birds at Catarata del Toro. Price for the trails is the same as national parks and they sound promising. I really have to check them out sometime! Sounds like a good place to stay too.

Frozen-in-MN · Jan 8, 2012

Birdingcraft said:
Unfortunately, it would be a fair detour to go to Catarata on your way to Arenal (maybe 45 minutes off of the main route to Arenal). You could do it but it would it would be best to spend most of the day there to give you adequate birding time. However, if its the only chance to look for middle elevation birds during your trip, it might be worth it. Keep in mind that you can see a fair number of middle elevation species around Arenal Observatory Lodge although the bird species mentioned above dont occur there and are more likely at Catarata del Toro. That said, you could go to the Catarata area and still easily miss them as they arent very common.

It would be a pretty long trip if you took the road up past Bosque de Paz and Zarcero. You could get some birding in along the roadside but I am afraid that most of your time would be spent driving.

A detour up to Cinchona or Virgen del Socorro would take about the same amount of time as the detour to Catarata. Most of the birds there also occur around Arenal Obs. Lodge although the Colibri Cafe is hard to beat for getting shots of several hummingbirds, Prong-billed Barbet, and Emerald Toucanet.

On another note, Lanceolated Monklet has been reported recently along the trail to the waterfall near Fortuna! That general area is great for birding (including the road to the waterfall).

I cant think of too many other spots worth a quick stop as your time would be better spent birding in the Arenal area. I may actually head out that way tomorrow.

Patrick -
Thanks for the sanity check. The Catarata website says it's only 15 minutes off the route, and only 30 minutes from Zarcero. That would be doable, but it sounds like I'd be better off lingering at Tirimbina that morning, or if I feel I've done well enough there, head straight to Arenal.
The Fortuna waterfall was totally under my radar, in spite of all the reading I've done - I may check it out.

Thanks again,
Robin

gdhunter · Jan 8, 2012

Birdingcraft said:
Here is a link to some brief info about birds at Catarata del Toro./QUOTE]

Following that link took me to their main web page, but following their "Birds" link took me to a very interesting report from a May (year not specified) Birding Club of Costa Rica field trip (43 species, including Crested Guan, Green Thorntail, Black-bellied Hummingbird, Prong-billed Barbet, Red-faced Spinetail, Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrant, White-throated Spadebill, Azure-Hooded Jay, and Ochraceous Wren). And that was despite torrential rain!

Birdingcraft · Jan 9, 2012

Frozen-in-MN said:
Patrick -
Thanks for the sanity check. The Catarata website says it's only 15 minutes off the route, and only 30 minutes from Zarcero. That would be doable, but it sounds like I'd be better off lingering at Tirimbina that morning, or if I feel I've done well enough there, head straight to Arenal.
The Fortuna waterfall was totally under my radar, in spite of all the reading I've done - I may check it out.

Thanks again,
Robin

Hmmm, those times sound kind of short to me- maybe with some really fast driving? Since driving times here tend to take longer than one thinks, I bet you would be better of maximizing your birding time at either Tirimbina or Arenal as you mention.

Yes, that waterfall has become quite the tourism complex but it can still turn up some great birds. If you do go there, there will b a bunch of people walking on the trail but I bet you will still see some good ones. The road to the waterfall can also be very productive.

jimscarff · Jan 24, 2012

Tirimbina --> Arenal & Catarata del Toro.

1) Tirimbina --> Arenal - We drove from Arenal/Fortuna to Puerto Viego (east of Tirimbina) last February, and it has absolutely awful traffic. The GPS said it would take 2 or 2 1/2 hours. It took us more like 4 1/2 and a local driver told us we were very lucky, the road is notorious for delays. The problem is that this has become the main route for trucks between Limon on the Caribbean coast and Nicaragua, and it gets a huge amount of truck traffic. Then one (or more) the trucks jack-knife on the very twisty, or go partly over the edge, and everything gets backed up or stopped for hours.

In Fortuna, be VERY CAREFUL about not leaving stuff in your car. We had lunch with the car pretty much in view, and someone broke the lock on the driver's side and stole $4,000 of camera equipment that was on the floor of the back seat out of view.

2) Catarata del Toro. We drove south from Rio Cuarto to the Catarata last February. The road is very narrow (everyone slows down if a car is coming the other way) and quite twisty. Luckily there is very little traffic on this road. Be aware that it can be very wet and you could be in the middle of a cloud. If memory serves there is a restaurant near the falls and Greg Basco often holds hummingbird photo workshops there as one of his favorite locations (http://www.fotoverdetours.com/workshop-offerings/). We only had about 45 minutes we could spend there (long story) and it was raining hard. We then continued the drive down to Zarcero and back to San Jose. Budget lots of time, these are slow roads.

Catarata del Toro - Costa Rican Birding Route (1 Viewer)

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