Birding & Wildlife Sites 

(Listed in approximate order visited)

Carara National Park & Rio Tárcoles
Featuring easy trails for walking, the rainforests of Carara National Park offers a healthy variety of forest interior birds, including the likes of Great Tinamou, Black-faced Antthrush, Streak-chested Antpitta, Rufous Piha, manakins, and more. We will enjoy a boat trip along the Tárcoles River, which is an excellent way to enjoy leisurely views of waterbirds and edge species, raptors, and we will have great opportunities to see (and hear!) Scarlet Macaws, and other parrots too. We often take in views of at least 3 species of Kingfishers, and could see mangrove specialties like Mangrove Vireo and Mangrove Hummingbird. The surrounding dry-forest habitats can have Crane Hawk, Spot-bellied Bobwhite, Black-headed Trogon, and the spectacular Turquoise-browed Motmot. 

Las Esquinas Rainforest Lodge
A birdwatcher's paradise, a number of the iconic endemics such as Black-cheeked Ant-tanager, Mangrove Hummingbird, Charming Hummingbird, Yellow-billed, and Turquoise Cotinga occur here. We will seek these and others at this 37-acre private reserve that borders Piedras Blancas National Park. The managers of the lodge and reserve have been leaders in conservation and sustainability, planting innumerable species of plants and trees in the area, to repopulate it with native flora. The fauna have taken note, and so we now enjoy chances at birds like Baird’s Trogon, Golden-naped Woodpecker, Blue-headed Parrot, Tiny Hawk, Spectacled Owl, and the rare and as yet undescribed “Puntarenas Screech-Owl”.

Perez Zeledon & Buenos Aires Grasslands
With one night in this area, we focus on specialties such as Scaled Pigeon, Orange-collared Manakin, Streaked Saltator, Pearl Kite, White-crested Coquette, and the uncommon Turquoise Cotinga. The General Valley (Valle Generál) here is a good spot for this most handsome cotinga but we’ll need some luck. We also visit the grass savannahs near Buenos Aires hoping for miracles like Ocellated Crake and Rosy Thrush-Tanager, and will make an early evening attempt for the local White-tailed Nightjar in his area too.

Rigor, Pace & Pests: 

• Birding lodges & nice hotels, 3 or 4-star quality. One lodge does not have A/C though is quite comfortable. 

• Excellent food & ability to easily accommodate most dietary needs.

• Guests should prepare for sun exposure, heat, and perhaps some biting insects (mosquitos, ticks).

• Extended periods on foot, walking and standing, with some uneven terrain in hilly areas.

• A couple drives of 4+ hours, otherwise mostly short drive times between sites.

• Early mornings, up before dawn. Usually back to the hotel by 12pm for lunch.

• Afternoon birding or relaxing after lunch, with a couple evenings of night birding.