Surfbird

How to find it

Start with Rocas de Amancio, a rocky beach just north of Dominicalito beach, known as a fairly reliable spot for wintering Surfbirds. Look at the rocks rather than the sand. At high tide, check rock jetties and other hard-to-reach spots where birds roost, often with turnstones and tattlers. As the tide falls they spread out over the exposed rocks to feed, so watch the newly uncovered ledges. Scan turnstone groups for the stockier grey bird. The same rocks hold American Oystercatcher, Ruddy Turnstone and Wandering Tattler, which lets you compare shapes side by side.

How to recognise it

Birds seen in Costa Rica are likely to be in winter plumage, or young birds, so expect a plain look:

Upperparts and breast mostly grey.

Underparts white with streaking.

Bill short and blunt, golden-orange at the base and black at the tip.

Legs yellow.

In flight, a black band at the end of the white rump.

Breeding birds look quite different, with dark streaks on the head and breast, dark spots on the white underparts and rusty patches on the wings, but birds in Costa Rica are usually in the plainer grey non-breeding plumage. The two-toned bill is one of the most useful marks, because it sets the Surfbird apart from Black Turnstone, Wandering Tattler and other rocky-shore sandpipers that share its habitat.

Behaviour and diet

Away from the breeding grounds, Surfbirds feed on shellfish such as mussels and barnacles, plus algae. They work right at the surf line and take little notice of flying spray from the waves.

They scramble over rocks on pounded coastlines, often just out of reach of the water. At high tide they roost on rock jetties or other hard-to-reach spots, often with turnstones and tattlers. As the tide falls they spread out over the exposed rocks to feed. Outside the breeding season they usually go in small flocks, often alongside turnstones.

Where it lives

Outside the breeding season the Surfbird is a rocky shore specialist. It feeds on rocky shores, reefs and ledges along the coast, from the spray zone at the water's edge to just above the tide line.

In Costa Rica it is rarely seen inland and prefers rocky shores bathed by splashing waves. The place to look is the Pacific coast, where the rocky shoreline at Dominicalito is a known spot.

When to see it

A Costa Rican birding blogger suggests visiting the rocky Dominicalito coast between late August and October. Range-wide, Surfbirds can be on their wintering grounds from late July to early May, and on the southern Pacific coast the one clear peak in migrant numbers is in spring, mainly April.

Similar birds

Surfbirds can be mistaken for turnstones, so check the black band at the end of the white rump and the yellow legs. The Great Knot looks much like a larger, longer-billed and somewhat darker Surfbird, so check bill length and the coastal rocky habitat.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

The official Costa Rican Spanish name is Chorlito de Rompientes. Other Spanish names used elsewhere include Playero Brincaolas in Honduras and Mexico, Rompientero in Ecuador and Panama, and Playero roquero, Playero de rompiente and Correlimos de rompientes.

Status and conservation

The AOCR list marks the Surfbird as a migrant (M), a Costa Rican birding guide calls it an uncommon passage migrant, and its global conservation status is Least Concern.