Costa Rica

Costa Rica – the Rich Coast! Over 870 species of birds have been recorded from this small country, renowned for relatively easy birding, good accommodation, comfortable and pleasurable infrastructure, and peaceful policies. Costa Rica with western Panama is a major centre of avian endemism, with nearly 70 species found nowhere else! We visit all major habitats, sampling an astonishing variety of birds. We start on the slopes of Volcan Tenorio, which offers some of the best birding in the whole country, and we spend time birding lush Caribbean foothill forests around Rancho Naturalista, a special place with an impressive list of birds and other forms of wildlife. We bird amazing Carara and Rio Tarcoles, the incredibly bird-rich foothills of Braulio Carillo, and La Selva which has some of the best Caribbean lowland forest remaining in Costa Rica with many unique birds. We visit cloud forests at Tapanti Reserve and high elevation forests and paramo of Cerro de la Muerte in search of Resplendent Quetzal, Silver-throated Jay and many others. Finally, we explore dry forest regions of Guanacaste and the Pacific Northwest, for a whole new suite of birds. As many participants comment, each day just keeps getting better and better!

Highlights:
• Lots of high quality, exciting birding in relatively easy conditions
• Amazingly high diversity in such a small area, in comfortable surroundings and protected areas
 

Itinerary

Day 1. Arrival in San José

The tour begins in the evening after dinner with an orientation at our hotel, possibly finding Prevost’s Ground-sparrow in the hotel grounds. Night in San José.

Day 2. Transfer to Heliconias Lodge, Tenorio Volcano
After an early walk around the hotel gardens, we head northwest, stopping en route at a butterfly farm for scarcer hummingbirds such as Coppery-headed Emerald, a Costa Rican endemic, and Purple-throated and White-bellied Mountain-Gems. We arrive at the marvelous Heliconia Lodge on the slopes of Volcan Tenorio, in time for birding the entrance road and the main trail. Night at Heliconias Lodge.

Day 3. Volcan Tenorio

This site around Volcan Tenorio is rightly claimed to have some of the best birding in Costa Rica. In the excellent primary foothill forest here occur several highly sought species - Yellow-eared Toucanet, Lovely Cotinga, Sharpbill, Keel-billed Motmot and the prize of Heliconias - Tody Motmot, as well as uncommon species such as Ornate Hawk Eagle, Crested Owl, Crested Guan, Great Curassow, Song Wren, Spotted and Ocellated Antbirds, White-fronted Nunbird and other interesting species such as Central American Pygmy-Owl, Black-crested Coquette, Streak-crowned Antvireo, and Nightingale Wren. It also is a regular site for Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo. Night at Heliconias Lodge.

Day 4. Transfer to Guanacaste
We leave Heliconias Lodge after early morning birding, and head for the dry tropical forest biome of Guanacaste. We arrive at our lodgings in time for afternoon birding. Whilst here, we visit several different habitats: evergreen forest, tropical dry forest, savanna pasture, mangroves, saline ponds and lakes, and freshwater marsh. Species typical of dry forests include Thicket Tinamou, Collared Forest-Falcon, Yellow-naped Parrot, Banded Wren, Cinnamon Hummingbird, Scrub Euphonia, White-lored Gnatcatcher, Olive Sparrow, Streak-backed and Spot-breasted Orioles, and Lesser Ground-Cuckoo.
Night near Canas

Day 5. Wetland Birding

We spend the morning birding various habitats; salt pans support a rich assortment of shorebirds, terns and skimmers, savannah pastures have Double-striped Thick-knee and Spot-bellied Bobwhite, freshwater marshes are home to nesting Jabirus as well as Wood Stork, Limpkin, many herons, Black-bellied and Fulvous Whistling-ducks, Muscovy Duck, and Snail Kite. Pacific Screech-owls occur in gardens. Night near Canas

Day 6. Transfer to Carara
We spend the morning visiting habitats not yet covered, then we depart for Villa Lapas and the marvelous park at Carara, perhaps stopping on the way at a spot for Black-and-white Owl, and arriving in time at the Rio Tarcoles bridge where Scarlet Macaws and other birds fly over on their way to their roosts and American Crocodiles loaf along the river bank.. Night at Carara.

Day 7. Carara
 
Carara preserves a large tract of beautiful and bird-rich tropical semi- evergreen forest. It is an amazing place and birding can be marvelous. The site offers a wonderful array of woodcreepers, trogons, and manakins including the stunning Orange-collared, likely displaying when we are there. We could see several species of woodpeckers, flycatchers, antbirds, antwrens and antpittas— the possibilities seem endless! We may find American Pygmy Kingfisher by a woodland pool, or a Boat-billed Heron perched in a tree along the lagoon, or a Long-billed Gnatwren busily hunting insects—or a troop of coatimundis seemingly oblivious to our presence. We look for Baird’s Trogon, Black-hooded, Giant and Barred Antshrikes, Yellow-billed Cotinga, Golden-crowned Spadebill, and many more. We take a boat ride to visit mangroves along the Rio Tárcoles to look for the endemic Mangrove Hummingbird, Panama and Northern Scrub Flycatchers, Mangrove Black Hawk, and shorebirds and waders such as Roseate Spoonbill. We stay at a hotel only a few minutes from the preserve. Night at Carara.

Day 8. San Isidro
We spend the morning walking one of the trails at Carara, perhaps finding Long-tailed and Orange-collared Manakins, as well as Rufous-and-white Wren, Black-faced Antthrush and much more. Leaving Carara we drive south along the Pacific Coasts where we should encounter species such as Red-crowned Woodpecker, Pearl Kite and American Swallow-tailed Kite. We stop at Hacienda Baru, and birding the trails and ocean shore could produce specialties such as Snowy-bellied Hummingbird and Fiery-billed Aracari, whilst offshore Brown Boobies should be fishing. We then head to our lodge near San Isidro del General. Here we encounter yet another suite of birds, such as Smooth-billed Ani, Turquoise Cotinga, Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush, Lesser Elaenia, Cherrie’s Tanager and Streaked Saltator. Night near San Isidro del General.

Days 9 and 10. Cordillera de Talamanca
We bird our hotel grounds in the early morning before heading off to the cloud forest and páramo of the Cordillera de Talamanca. Along the way we stop at a location for White-tailed Emerald and Red-headed Barbet, and visit the high paramo for Volcano Junco and Timberline Wren. Then it is off to our lodge in the Valley of the Quetzals. Here, along dirt roads and forest trails passing among trees draped in epiphytes, we find a new suite of birds such as Fiery-throated Hummingbird, Ruddy Treerunner, Buffy Tuftedcheek, Black-capped Flycatcher, Long-tailed and Black-and-yellow Silky-Flycatchers, Collared Redstart, Large-footed Finch, Silvery-throated Jay, and the magnificent Resplendent Quetzal. Nights at Savegre Lodge.

Day 11 - Tapantí 

We leave in the morning and head for the Tapantí Reserve, where we spend most of the day. The Reserve is a great example of middle to high elevation Caribbean forest. Here we look for Black Guan, Brown-billed Scythebill, Streak-breasted Treehunter, Black-bellied Hummingbird, Green-fronted Lancebill and Chestnut-headed Oropendola. Night in Orosi

Day 12 - Rancho Naturalista

We may revisit Tapanti early in the morning, then we drop into an organic coffee farm, before driving to Rancho Naturalista, a 125-acre ranch and preserve located in premontane rain forest at 300 feet. Rancho has a rich diversity of mid-elevation species and is a location for some exceptionally scarce birds. We spend the rest of the day first on the balcony of the lodge, enjoying an astonishing parade of exceptional birds from hummingbirds to tanagers and oropendolas, and then explore the nearby rich forests, searching for such local species as Tawny-chested Flycatcher, Snowcap, Black-crested Coquette, Dull-mantled Antbird, Tawny-throated Leaftosser, Whistling Wren (an amazing singer!) and many other goodies. Night at Rancho Naturalista.

Day 13 – Rancho Naturalista and transfer to Selva Verde
We spend the morning at Rancho, taking in trails not visited the day before. After lunch, we head towards our lodge along the Río Sarapiquí. Night at Selva Verde

Days 14 & 15 - Caribbean Lowlands

We make the lodge our central point for birding several diverse locations in some of the richest areas in Costa Rica. During our stay, we visit La Selva, a wonderful tract of wet lowland rainforest where some 400 species of birds have been reported. We’ll see a fine array of neotropical fauna—tinamous, motmots, puffbirds, cotingas, trogons, toucans, chachalacas, maybe ant-followers at an ant swarm or a Great Curassow walking stealthily on the forest floor, lots of tanagers, as well as monkeys and who knows what else. A boat ride along the Sarapiqui could turn up Fasciated Tiger-Heron, Sungrebe, Sunbittern and American Pygmy Kingfisher! We spend time at mid-elevation forest at Virgen del Socorro, where birding can be fabulous! We will likely encounter mixed-species flocks here, sometimes containing over 15 species, especially tanagers. White Hawks soar over the valley, Violet-headed Hummingbirds sing endlessly from open perches - the list seems endless. Nights at Selva Verde.

Day 16. Braulio Carrillo and back to San Jose
We leave the Caribbean Lowlands and head through the magnificent Braulio Carrillo National Park. Here we will walk trails looking for specialties such as Lattice-tailed Trogon, Ornate Hawk-Eagle, Black-headed Nightingale-Thrush, Black-and-yellow Tanager, and several antbirds and antwrens. Night in San Jose.



Day 17 - Departure

Our tour concludes in San José after breakfast.



Featured birds:

• Snowcap
• Resplendent Quetzal
• Scarlet Macaw
• Coppery-headed Emerald
• Spectacled Owl
• Snowy-bellied Hummingbird
• Fiery-billed Aracari
• Volcano Junco
• Black-crested Coquette
• Turquoise-browed Motmot
• Black-hooded Antshrike

Date: February 23 - March 10, 2013

Duration: 17 days

Limit: 12 people

Price: TBC

Tour Starts & Ends: San Jose, Costa Rica

What to Expect
Our daily travel schedule will vary to account for weather, bird species and habitat. Expect some early morning, before-breakfast walks, as well as late evening viewing. Almost without exception it is best to begin birding at daybreak in the tropics, when bird activity and song are at their peak. In forest regions, we concentrate on “edge” birding until the light is sufficient to enter forest trails. Often bird activity slackens off by noon, when we may return to our hotel for lunch and a short siesta. On occasion, picnic lunches will be prepared for us, maximizing our time in the field and allowing us a more flexible schedule.
We bird again in the coolness of the late afternoon, occasionally staying out after dusk to search for nightbirds. Weather conditions on the trip will range from hot to cool; mostly, it will be warm to hot with a mixture of sun and cloud. Cerro de la Muerte and Volcan Tenorio can be cool, windy and wet, and the Caribbean lowlands at La Selva are likely to be hot and humid. Walking conditions range from easy to moderate; if there has been rain, then trails could be muddy.
Strong, waterproof footwear is advised and a light rain-jacket and waterproof hat are often essential. There will be opportunities for photography, as many birds and other wildlife allow close approach. Bring mosquito repellant - mosquitoes are not usually a problem but can be active after rain. In the evening we eat at the hotel or lodge where we are staying. At this time we discuss the day’s activities, review the list of birds and other wildlife that we have seen and heard, and prepare for the next day.

Trip Summary:
• Diverse birding habitats
• Easy to moderate walking, some hill climbing
• Tropical and temperate climates
• Good to very good accommodation
• 430 + bird species
• 4 to 8 participants with one leader, 9 to 12 with two leaders
• Air-conditioned bus with driver

Past checklists from our Costa Rica tour:

2009 Costa Rica tour (pdf)
2008 Costa Rica tour (pdf)
2007 Costa Rica tour (pdf)
2006 Costa Rica tour (pdf)
2004 Costa Rica tour (pdf)
2002 Costa Rica tour (pdf)