Cerro Coyote/Coyote Mountain Preserve
Municipality of San Ramon, Alajuela, Costa Rica
The Natural History of the Cerro Coyote Preserve
The Cerro Coyote preserve encompasses approximately 70 acres on the upper Pacific slope near
the Continental Divide in the Cordillera de Tilarán of northwestern Costa Rica, including one of the final, most northwesterly
mountaintops in the chain. Elevations are between approximately 1200 and 1400 meters in altitude. The Preserve is typical
of the Tilarán, with steep slopes and deep valleys on both sides of the mountain.
Cerro Coyote (Coyote Mountain) serves as a water source and watershed for the Rio Barranca,
which flows into the Gulf of Nicoya not far from Puntarenas. The Preserve straddles both the Pacific and Caribbean sides,
thereby encompassing different life zones.
Cerro Coyote’s climate is similar to other upper Pacific montane areas, such as the famous
Monteverde reserve, which lies just north about 15 miles as the crow flies. The climate is mild—almost Mediterranean—with
montane temperature patterns, seasonal rainfall mostly in the Costa Rican “winter” (May to mid November), and
powerful northeast trade winds. These winds—called “alisios”—are usually at their strongest in December,
diminishing in intensity through April. During the rainy season (May-October), these winds are blocked by warm air masses
that develop over the Pacific slope of which the Preserve is a part, resulting in calm air and rain.
During the dry season, the alisios drive moist air from the Caribbean inland and up the
mountain slopes, where the air cools and clouds form. These clouds produce regular rain on the Caribbean-facing slopes resulting
in the cloud forest environment in places like nearby Piedades Norte, Cerro Azahar, and Los Angeles. The clouds and mists
sometimes get as far as the lower Cerro Coyote Preserve, and often a stream of clouds passes through an east-west wind alley
just to the north of Cerro Coyote, where clouds hit the much drier Pacific slope and then suddenly disappear.
The top of Cerro Coyote is windy and cloudy more than other parts of the preserve, resulting
in a small section of wind swept elfin forest on the exposed Atlantic side, which is Tropical Lower Montane Wet Forest. The
rest of the forest here is Tropical Premontane Wet Forest. Both areas have abundant epiphytic life, including ferns, bromeliads,
and orchids. Some larger trees are buttressed. The climate here is intermediate between Caribbean and Pacific.
During December and January, the trade winds are sometimes joined by cold fronts, resulting
in extremely strong winds and cold temperatures, especially at night. These winds often blow down trees or rip off branches
or leaves.
Below the top of the mountain forested areas are mostly Tropical Premontane Moist Forest, with
more lush areas following the creek and spring areas in the valleys. Epiphytic life is less common than at the top of the
mountain. Bird and animal life generally increases in diversity around the creeks and springs, especially in valleys sheltered
from the wind during the dry season.
Just over the other side of Cerro Coyote, the Caribbean weather pattern predominates. In general,
the Caribbean side of the Tilarán Mountains receives twice as much rain as the Pacific slope. This results in a much more
lush type of forest. Generally, the lower down on the Pacific side, the climate becomes drier and more seasonal. It is often
cloudy and misty in Piedades Sur or San Ramon, while being dry and sunny at Cerro Coyote. These communities have extensive
cloud forest areas that can easily be visited from Cerro Coyote.
The rocks and soils of the Cordillera de Tilarán were formed 2-65 million years ago, with most
of the surface rocks being relatively young (about 2-5 million years). Soil types include rhyolite, which looks like a light
gray sand and was formed by volcanic extrusion; dark colored volcanic soils rich in organic matter from eroded ash and rock
deposits; and eroded areas, especially on steeper slopes, that display heavy red-orange clay that is low in fertility.
The Cerro Coyote Preserve includes three broad life zones: highly seasonal (dry-wet) forest
on the Pacific slope; cloud forest on the mountaintop; and wet rain forest on the Caribbean side (up and over the mountaintop).
In addition there are open, savanna-like areas of the Pacific slope sparsely populated with trees that were formerly used
for pasture. Many of these areas are being reforested, or being allowed to return to a natural state of forest creation and
succession.
A Sampling of Species Viewed at Cerro Coyote
Birds
Black-headed Saltator
Three-wattled Bellbird
Gray-capped Flycatcher
Dusky Capped Flycatcher
Rufous-tailed Hummingbird
Yellow-green vireo
Sulfur-bellied Flycatcher
Yellow-faced Grassquit
Rufous and White Wren
House Wren
White-eared Ground Sparrow
Band-tailed Pigeon
White-tipped Drove
Lesser Ground Cuckoo
Orange-bellied Trogon
Red-faced Spinetail
Rufous Capped Warbler
Masked Tityra
Rufous-collard Sparrow
Tropical Kingbird
Boat-billed Flycatcher
Golden-olive Woodpecker
Red-billed Pigeon
Short-billed Pigeon
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Streaked-headed Woodcreeper
Baltimore Oriole
Collared Trogon
Blue-Crowned Motmot
Black Guan
Keel-billed Toucan
Hoffmann’s Woodpecker
Great Kiskadee
Blue-and-white Swallow
Brown Jay
Clay-colored Robin
Tennessee Warbler
Blue-gray Tanager
Common Paurauque
Turkey Vulture
Black Vulture
Emerald Toucanet
Smooth-billed Ani
Mammals
White-faced Capuchin Monkey (passing through occasionally)
Three-toed sloth
Olingo
Agouti
White-nosed Coati
Collared Pecari
Puma (rarely)
Amphibians
Glass frogs
Marine Toad
Tree frogs
Plants
Ticoglossum krameri (Odontoglossum)
Brassia gireourdiana
Stanhopia cirrhata
Epidendrum barbeyanum
Brasivola nodosa
Catacetum maculatum
Encyclia cordigera
Encyclia hoker
Encyclia fragrens
Epidendrum ciliare
Ep. stamfordianum
Scaphyglotis micrantha
Sobralia macrantha
Gongora armeniaca
Vanilla planifolium
Hexixea bidentata
Barkeria lindleyana
Lockhartia amoena
Pleurothallis costaricensis
Various bromeliad species
Cacti
Hylocereus costaricensis
Opuntia cochenillifera
Seleicereus testudo
The books An Introduction to the Cloud Forest Trees, Monteverde, Costa Rica (Mountain
Gem, 2000) and Costa Rican Natural History (University of Chicago, 1983) were essential to the compilation of the above
information.
Cerro Coyote Preserve
Cerro Coyote, S.A.
Inn at Coyote Mountain www.cerrocoyote.com
+506 383 05 44
