Our Costa Rica Highlights birding tour is designed to see the most species of birds possible during the 7 days we're out birding. We fully expect to exceed 300 species with this itinerary. The tour covers the central Pacific lowlands and Carara National Park,Selva Verde, La Selva Biological Station, Braulio Carillo National Park, and a variety of other locales on the Caribbean slope, San Gerardo de Dota, Cerro de la Muerte, and the Talamanca Mountains. Likely highlights include Pacific lowland specialties such as Scarlet Macaw, Black-and-White Owl, Turquoise-browed Motmot, Fiery-billed Aracari, and White-throated Magpie-Jay, numerous Caribbean slope specialties including the endangered Great Green Macaw, the oddly different Sunbittern, possibly Agami Heron, and highland specialties such as Resplendent Quetzal, Long-tailed Silky-Flycatcher, and Yellow-thighed Finch.
CARARA NATIONAL PARK
We'll spend our first morning birding along the way to Carara National Park, stopping in the town square of Orotina to look for specialties such as Turquoise-browed Motmot and White-throated Magpie-Jay. We'll stop en route to look for Black-and-white Owls at a known roost in Orotina. We'll be staying at upscale Villa Lapas and eating in local restaurants during our stay in the Pacific lowlands. Following check-in and lunch, we'll go birding in Carara National Park, either at the far end of the Laguna Meandrica Trail or in the deeper forest of the Headquarter's Trail. The Laguna Meandrica trail courses through secondary forest and offers the greatest diversity of bird species, while the Headquarters Trail goes through primary forest and is an excellent place to see antbirds and antthrushes.
Early next morning we'll be out birding on the Laguna Meandrica Trail. Scarlet Macaws nest in the area, fly along the Rio Tarcoles and through the forest itself. We are certain to see them. Other birds we're likely to see include Baird's Trogon, Lineated Woodpecker, Orange-collared Manakin, perhaps Lance-tailed Manakin, many species of flycatchers, Black-bellied Wren as well as a variety of other wrens, and a variety of tanagers including Cherrie's Tanager, White-winged Tanager, Thick-billed Euphonia, and Yellow-throated Euphonia. We're also likely to see some parrots such as Orange-fronted Parakeet and Red-lored Parrot and antbirds such as Barred Antshrike and Dot-winged Antwren. With great luck we may even see a Three-wattled Bellbird.
During mid-day we'll take a boat trip on the Rio Tarcoles looking for Scarlet Macaws, Fasciated Tiger-Heron and other birds as well as Red Spider Monkeys and crocodiles. One of our target birds will be the Panama Flycatcher which nests in the mangroves and thickets around the river delta.
That afternoon we'll be back birding in Carara National Park, this time on the Headquarters Trail. Here we'll be especially seeking birds such as the near endemic Black-hooded Antshrike and Black-faced Antthrush. We're likely to see additional species of flycatchers, wrens, and tanagers as well in this very different habitat.
LA SELVA AND SARAPIQUI RIVER BASIN
En route to the Caribbean slope, we'll stop at an overlook to beautiful San Fernando Falls and view hummingbirds at feeders, looking especially for the endemic Coppery-headed Emerald along with several other species of hummingbirds and tanagers readily seen there. We'll also bird an area near Colonia Virgen del Socorro, where we hope to see Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrant, Torrent Tyrannulet, Golden-browed Chlorophonia and other middle-elevation birds.
After checking in at lovely Selva Verde Lodge, we'll eat in an area restaurant and then drive down the road where Green Ibis has been regularly seen the past several years. We've also seen Pinnated Bittern in this same area. Back at the lodge we'll look for the unusual Sunbittern that nests along the Rio Sarapiqui near the restaurant and for endangered Great Green Macaws that are regularly seen across the road and flying overhead.
Next day we'll enjoy some of the best birding in Costa Rica at La Selva Biological Station. Access to the primary forest trails at La Selva has become increasingly limited in recent years, but we're likely to still have good access because our guide has worked there and we know some of the people in charge. We'll be looking for Great Tinamou, Agami Heron, Bare-necked Umbrellabird, Crested Guan, Blue Ground-Dove, Bronze-tailed Plumeleteer, Broad-billed Motmot, Smoky-brown and Chestnut-colored Woodpeckers, White-ringed Flycatcher, Black-throated Wren, Crimson-collared Tanager, and Black-cowled Oriole among many other species.
En route to the Talamanca Mountains, we'll stop to view hummingbirds at El Tapir Nature Reserve, looking especially for Snowcap and Black-crested Coquette that frequent the area. We'll bird the trails near Quebrada Ranger Station in primary rainforest of Braulio Carillo National Park. We hope to see some local specialties such as Yellow-eared Toucanet as well as mixed-species tanager flocks and a variety of antbirds that are major attractions of the park.
TALAMANCA MOUNTAINS
We'll spend 2 nights at wonderful Savegre Mountain Hotel in the valley of San Gerardo de Dota. This is the best place in Costa Rica to see the Resplendent Quetzal, and we'll be there at the peak of their mating season. During our 2007 tour, we saw over a dozen quetzals while we were there. In addition to quetzals, we'll be looking for high elevation specialties such as Scintillant Hummingbird, Gray-tailed Mountain-gem, Volcano Hummingbird, Long-tailed Silky-flycatcher, Collared Redstart, Zeledonia, and Yellow-thighed Finch.. We'll also visit 10,000 ft. high Cerro de la Muerte to look for Fiery-throated Hummingbird, Timberline Wren, and Volcano Junco.
