Costa Rica Trip Report Home » Forums » Birding » Trip Reports

This report is a work in progress, as I find time... XZX indicates more information is needed. Please don't compare this trip report to others I have done, as it was written much later, and only to highlight a few things.

I went to Costa Rica for 14 days in January 2008 with the intention of learning a lot about tropical birds and taking a lot of pictures. Because it was my wife's first visit to Costa Rica, we decided to hit the main attractions (Arenal, Monteverde, and Manuel Antonio)

All of my trip reports include something about recycling. I could find little evidence of recycling in Costa Rica, but some of the parks had containers set up. So I still tried to ask at the hotels how I could recycle, but without too much luck.

The Birds of Costa Rica: A Field Guide by Richard Garrigues and Robert Dean is the book you want.

The first mistake was to take cab to San Jose. It is much better to go to Alajuela, a city much closer to the airport, and a city which actually has a few trees.

Took a public bus to La Fortuna, the town near Volcan Arenal and the associated National Park. The dirt road that goes to the waterfall is the best place to stay, with accomodations at all price levels. You can get out of your room in the morning and see toucans eating from the papaya trees. Arenal is the best place I visited to see birds. The dirt road that goes around the volcano, maybe a 10 km walk, offers opportunities to see most of the regions birds, monkeys, coatis, and probably other animals. XZX Fill in sample list of birds seen on trip. The hotel at the volcano observatory sets up a fruit feeder twice a day. Here you can see about 20 species of small birds such as tanagers and honeycreepers, and the Montezuma Oropendola. I also met the UK 'Bird Seekers' guide and group here, and was impressed by their programs, including one that starts at 5:30 AM every day.

Next stop, Monteverde, via the standard tourist transport across the lake, to the beautiful cloud forest on the other side of the mountain. Bird Seekers told me they don’t go there in January because of the wind. When I arrived, I was told a few weeks before they had record winds and many down trees. Talk of climate change was in the air. Bird photography in the cloud forest is much more challenging than in Arenal. The birds are in the very tall canopy. You'll find a lot of antbirds and thrushes. The endemic Collared Redstart (aka Collared Whitestart) is common, and if you are lucky you will see a Quetzal. Both reserves and the Selvatura adventure company have hummingbird feeders, and you will find many species there. Alas my tight schedule didn't give me enough time at this amazing photographic opportunity.

I wanted to visit one place off the beaten track, so chose Carara National Park. We stayed at Jaco Beach, where there were no birds, but there is a smaller town that would have been closer XZXgetname. The park is a dry tropical forest and famous for the Scarlet Macaw population. You will see this bird both nesting and in flight. Costa Rica is rich in birds, but the density and variety of the Arenal area is not found in Carara. However there is a brackish water river nearby where you can do a 'Crocodile tour', which doubles as a birdwatching tour. Photography is difficult if not impossible on the boat, but you will see probably 40 species, including Tiger and Boat-billed Herons. Driving to the tour, we passed a bird watching boat company, and I wished I had known about it before. I was unhappy with the Crocodile tour of course because the focus was on finding a crocodile, which they did, and feeding it, which they did not. Next time I will hire a guide, or try the bird watching company.

Next stop, Manual Antonio, the most popular park in the country. The park is very crowded but very beautiful. You will see Sloths and White-faced monkeys. The birds are not as plentiful as the Arenal area, but Costa Rica has many birds. I got shots of a Tinamou and Ground-Cuckoo here.

Back to Alajeula. I always visit zoos, and spent one day at Zoo Ave. The entrance is super-high for non-Ticos (Costa Ricans) compared to Ticos, but it is a nice zoo, if you can tolerate zoos. Many of the birds are injured, and there is much emphasis on education. I was lucky to see a Fiery-billed Aracari and a Red-lored Parrot outside of their respective species cage. Common Chachalacas and smaller birds hang around stealing food.

Volcan Poas is a nice place to visit, but there is much fog that most days you don't see anything. I was very lucky to see the craters for a few moments before they fogged over, and to shoot an endemic Yellow-thighed Finch through the fog. But it is otherwise not a great birding destination.