DAY 1 - ALAJUELA

International flights arrive in the afternoon or evening. After arrival, you'll take a tax to nearby Hotel Aeropuerto, located just 5 minutes from the airport. The hotel reimburses clients for the taxi in one direction, usually on the return to the airport at the end of the tour. Overnight at Hotel Aeropuerto.

DAY 2 - OROTINA, CEIBA-CASCAJAL ROAD, & CERRO LODGE

We'll depart Alajuela early for our first stop in the the Pacific lowlands, the Ceibo-Cascajal Road, located not far from Orotina. This site is not visited on most Costa Rica birding tours but offers excellent roadside birding through dry forest. The more forested areas are home to Black-headed Trogon, Turquoise-browed Motmot, Long-tailed Manakin, Tropical Royal-Flycatcher, Stub-tailed Spadebill, Nutting's Flycatcher, and Stripe-headed Sparrow. Scrubby areas offer Crested Bobwhite, Striped Cuckoo, the secretive Lesser Ground-Cuckoo, and wintering Grasshopper Sparrow and Painted Bunting. The open fields are home to Double-striped Thick-knee, Southern Lapwing, and Red-breasted Meadowlark. Early in the season he may also visit a site for the very difficult Rufous-necked Wood-Rail in the mangroves near Caldera. Also possible there is Mangrove Hummingbird. We'll bird this area until it starts getting hot in mid-morning. Then we'll continue on to Cerro Lodge, where we'll stay the next two nights. Along the way we'll stop at a site where we can often find White-throated Magpie-Jay, which is at the very southern end of its range around there.

We should arrive at the lodge in late morning and have a little time before lunch to bird the grounds. The lodge grounds feature some very nice gardens as well as some open dry forest along the access road. Over 200 species have been recorded on the lodge grounds. Numerous flowering plants in the gardens along with hummingbird feeders below the veranda attract hummingbirds such as Green Hermit, Green Thorntail, Green-crowned Brilliant, Purple-throated Mountain-gem, Violet Sabrewing, Coppery-headed Emerald, Black-bellied Hummingbird, Blue-vented Hummingbird. Cinnamon Hummingbird. and Rufous-tailed Hummingbird.

During early afternoon we have the option of taking a boat trip along the nearby Tarcoles River. The main birds of interest are found in the Mangroves near the mouth of the river. These are Mangrove Hummingbird, Panama Flycatcher, Mangrove Vireo, and Mangrove Warbler, a color morph of the Yellow Warbler. Other species we're likely to see along the river include Fasciated Tiger-Heron, Common Black-Hawk, Amazon Kingfisher, and Double-striped Thick-knee. We'll devote the rest of the afternoon to birding near the lodge and from the veranda overlooking the gardens. Some of the birds we regularly see around the lodge includes Common Ground Dove, Black-headed Trogon, Hoffmann's Woodpecker, Orange-chinned Parakeet, Orange-fronted Parakeet, Crimson-fronted Parakeet, Rufous-backed Wren, and Streak-backed Oriole. Sometimes the rare Yellow-billed Cotinga shows up as well. Late in the afternoon Scarlet Macaws usually appear at feeders behind the dining room.

The lodge has recently added an observation tower atop a hill, allowing good views of canopy birds. Late afternoon is a good time to climb up there. It's a good place for sightings of the uncommon Crane Hawk as well as other raptors such as Hook-billed Kite, Gray-headed Kite, Gray Hawk, Gray-lined Hawk, Short-tailed Hawk, and Bat Falcon.

The access road is a good place for owling. Possible species include Pacific Screech-Owl, Spectacled Owl, and Black-and-white Owl. Overnight at Cerro Lodge.

DAY 3 - CARARA NATIONAL PARK

We'll devote most of a full day to birding Carara National Park. The park is in a transitional zone between northern and southern Pacific coastal areas and attracts a nice combination of northern and southern species. This park is one of the premier birding locales in Costa Rica. It features two main trails. The Laguna Meandrica Trail is flat and wide, an easy walk that parallels the Tarcoles River and leads through secondary forest. It harbors the highest species diversity in the park. The Headquarters trail is also flat but is mainly asphalt and boardwalk leading through primary rainforest. It has lower species diversity but is home to a number of specials restricted to that habitat.

We'll spend the morning birding the Laguna Meandrica Trail. Specialties typically seen along the trail include White-whiskered Puffbird, Baird's Trogon, Black-hooded Antshrike, Slaty Antwren, Chestnut-backed Antwren, Orange-collared Manakin, Rufous-naped Wren, Black-bellied Wren, Rufous-and-white Wren, Scarlet-rumped Tanager, and Spot-crowned Euphonia. With luck one could also find Long-tailed Manakin and Rufous-breasted Wren. At the end of the trail are some ponds where roosting Boat-billed Herons are normally present in thick understory near the river. Also present sometimes are Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks.

We'll return to our lodge for lunch and take an afternoon break, spending our time looking at hummingbirds and other species around the gardens. Late in the afternoon we'll return to Carara to bird the Headquarters Trail. Birds we'll be looking for include Gray-chested Dove, Bronzy Hermit, White-whiskered Puffbird, Black-hooded Antshrike, Streak-chested Antpitta, Tawny-winged Woodcreeper, Northern Bentbill, Stub-tailed Spadebill, Riverside Wren, Long-billed Gnatwren, Orange-billed Sparrow, and Yellow-throated Euphonia. Overnight at Cerro Lodge.

DAY 4 - TALAMANCA HIGHLANDS & SAN GERARDO DE DOTA

We have a fairly long day of driving and birding on our way to our next destination, the valley of San Gerardo de Dota in the Talamanca Mountains of central Costa Rica. The drive itself is about 4 hours, but there is plenty of birding en route so we won't arrive in the valley until late afternoon. We'll be driving along the coast as far south as Dominical before turning inland. We'll be passing through Manuel Antonio National Park but won't spend any time there as many Costa Rican tourists from San Jose are usually there enjoying the beaches. Instead, we'll keep on going toward Quepos and then south along the now paved road to Dominical. En route we'll make some short stops to look for coastal species such as Bare-throated Tiger-Heron, Brown Booby, Northern Jacana, wintering shorebirds, gulls, and terns. Quepos is one of the best places to see the little known Spot-fronted Swift, so we'll stop there to look for it.

We'll stop in San Isidro de El General for lunch before ascending a rather steep winding road into the Talamanca Mountains. Once in the mountains we'll stop at La Georgina Restaurant, a well-known place for seeing high elevation specials. The elevation at the restaurant is about 10,000 ft so the hummingbird feeders and habitat below the balcony attract some specials not found at lower elevation. The hummingbird feeders are especially good for seeing Fiery-throated Hummingbird and Volcano Hummingbird. The former is a high-altitude species not usually occurring around our lodge in San Gerardo de Dota. Seed feeders and alpine scrub below the restaurant often draw in other specialties such as Ruddy-capped Nightingale-Thrush, Sooty Finch, Elegant Euphonia, and Large-footed Finch.

After our fairly short stop at the restaurant, we'll continue north and turn off to take the winding road to the top of Cerro de la Muerte, so-named because for a long time people had to travel through these mountains on horseback or on foot to reach San Jose before the highland road was constructed in the 1950's, and ill-prepared travelers sometimes perished en route. Birding the road up to the antenna area atop Cerro de la Muerte should produce several high elevation specialties, notably Timberline Wren, Peg-billed Finch, Sooty-capped Chlorospingus, Volcano Junco, and Large-footed Finch.

After birding the road up to Cerro de la Muerte, we'll continue north to the turnoff leading into the valley of San Gerardo de Dota. We try to stay at Savegre Mountain Hotel in the valley, but it sometimes gets booked early by cruise ship passengers. In that case we'll stay at neary Trogon Lodge or one of the other lodges in the valley. All are very nice. Our birding activities will depend somewhat on which lodge we stay at.

All the lodges have hummingbird feeders, so we'll spend our time after arrival viewing hummingbirds that could include Lesser Violetear, Green-crowned Brilliant, Talamanca Hummingbird, Purple-throated Mountain-gem, White-throated Mountain-gem, Scintillant Hummingbird, Crowned Woodnymph, and Rufous-tailed Hummingbird. Overnight at Savegre Mountain Hotel or similar.

DAY 5 - PARAISO QUETZAL & SAN GERARDO DE DOTA

This morning we'll depart very early for an excursion to Paraiso Quetzal, a lodge above the valley along the main road in the highlands, where they have a program for getting good views of Resplendent Quetzals on a local finca. We'll spend a couple hours there enjoying some really great views of this spectacular bird. Then we'll return to the Paraiso Quetzal Lodge for breakfast and some viewing of hummingbirds coming to feeders there.

Savegre Mountain Hotel owns a private reserve above the lodge and also along the river that runs through the valley. If we're not able to stay there, we plan on arranging to bird their property. We'll want to drive high up the mountain behind the hotel in the afternoon and bird the trail going back down. It's possible to see Resplendent Quetzal once again, though not reliably so. More importantly, we'll seek other highland species of note such as Spotted Wood-Quail, Ruddy Pigeon, Barred Parakeet, Sulphur-winged Parakeet, Lineated Foliage-gleaner, Streak-breasted Treehunter, Ruddy Treerunner, Mountain Elaenia, Yellow-winged Vireo, Black-faced Solitaire, Black-billed Nightingale-Thrush, Long-tailed Silky-Flycatcher, Black-cheeked Warbler, Wrenthrush, Spangle-cheeked Tanager, Silver-throated Tanager, Peg-billed Finch, and Flame-colored Tanager. Overnight at Savegre Mountain Hotel or similar.

DAY 6 - RESERVA EL COPAL & QUELITALES

We'll depart early for Reserva el Copal, located in the highlands southeast of Cartagena on the Caribbean slope of Costa Rica, about a 3-hour drive. El Copal is a community run project located between Turrialba and Tapanti and features some very good birding. The habitat and birds are similar to those at Rancho Naturalista, which has become exhorbitantly expensive, and there is more forest at El Copal. The most common hummingbird in most of Costa Rica is the Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, but at El Copal that species is actually quite scarce while the most common species is the usually quite uncommon Green Thorntail. Other hummingbirds feeding on flowering bushes and Heliconias include Bronzy Hermit, Green Hermit, Lesser Violetear, Purple-crowned Fairy, Green-crowned Brilliant, White-bellied Mountain-gem, Purple-throated Mountain-gem, White-throated Mountain-gem, Scintillant Hummingbird, Crowned Woodnymph, Snowcap, and Black-bellied Hummingbird.

We'll spend much of the day birding this foothill site. It's especially good for tanagers, including Flame-colored Tanager, White-winged Tanager, Red-throated Ant-Tanager, Tawny-crested Tanager, Crimson-collared Tanager, Scarlet-rumped Tanager, Speckled Tanager, Golden-hooded Tanager, Spangle-cheeked Tanager, Rufous-winged Tanager, Bay-headed Tanager, Emerald Tanager, and Silver-throated Tanager. Many other forest birds are also present. In late afternoon we'll continue on to our hotel near the town of Quelitales. The hotel grounds have hummingbird feeders and gardens that attract about 70% of all hummingbird species found in Costa Rica (more than 30 species), so we'll spend some time relaxing there after arrival. Overnight at Hotel Quelitales.

DAY 7 - HOTEL QUELITALES & SARAPIQUI

We'll spend this morning birding the grounds around Hotel Quelitales. The hotel is surrounded by cloud forest, and some 460 species have been recorded on the property. It's a reliable place to see the extremely elusive Scaled Antpitta from a hide on the property. Other key species of interest include Red-headed Barbet, Ochre-breasted Antpitta, Dark Pewee, Slaty-backed Nightingale-Thrush, Sooty-faced Finch, and Cabanis's Ground-Sparrow.

After lunch at the lodge, we'll transfer to the Sarapiqui area near Puerto Viejo. Along the way we'll stop near El Tapir Nature Reserve to look for Snowcap and other hummingbirds in the flowering beds. This site has always been one of the most reliable places to see Snowcaps, a prized target species of the tour. The very uncommon, tiny Black-crested Coquette can sometimes be seen there as well. From there we'll continue on to Puerto Viejo, stopping to bird some additional sites along the way before arriving in Puerto Viejo. The main target species at these sites are Canebrake Wren, a split from Plain Wren, and Gray-crowned Yellowthroat. Raptors such as White Hawk, Gray-lined Hawk, and Bat Falcon are also possible. Overnight at Hotel Ara Ambigua.

DAY 8 - LA SELVA BIOLOGICAL STATION, SELVA VERDE, & TRANSFER

We'll depart very early for nearby La Selva Biological Station, probably birding the entrance road before entering the reserve. Over 400 species have been recorded in this reserve. Access to some trails is restricted for most groups, but we can usually get exceptional access because our guide is Costa Rican and works at La Selva when not guiding groups. In addition to the entrance road, birding is around the clearing near the visitor center and along an extensive network of trails through primary and secondary forest.

It's preferable to bird the forest interior early when bird activity is at its best. Several hundred species are possible, and we see different ones on every visit, which is typical when birding in rainforest. Possibilities include Great Tinamou, Semiplumbeous Hawk, Chestnut-colored Woodpecker, Pale-billed Woodpecker, Fasciated Antshrike, Great Antshrike, Black-crowned Antshrike, Black-headed Tody-Flycatcher, Bare-necked Umbrellabird, White-collared Manakin, Crimson-collared Tanager, Golden-hooded Tanager, Dusky-faced Tanager, and many more. If an army ant swarm is encountered, obligate and opportunistic army ant followers such as Bicolored Antbird, Ocellated Antbird, Gray-headed Tanager and Red-throated Ant-Tanager are very possible. La Selva is a reliable site for seeing Snowy Cotinga, which we'll make a special effort to see.

At mid-day after birding has slowed substantially, we'll visit a site near town where the endangered Great Green Macaws are reliably found. From there we may drive the short distance to Selva Verde Lodge for lunch if Sunbitterns have been seen there recently along the river. After lunch we'll transfer to Alajuela, about a 3-hour drive, with birding stops en route. Our main target species along the way is the near-endemic Black-bellied Hummingbird near Cinchona. Many other hummingbirds also appear at the feeders there. Overnight at Hotel Aeropuerto in Alajuela.

DAY 9 - END OF TOUR

Our tour ends with breakfast at the hotel. International flights home.

ADDITIONAL INFO
(Not on Menu Above)

• Country Map
• Accommodations
• Photos from Past Tours
• Travel Information

BIRDING LOCALES

• Carara National Park
• Ceiba-Cascajal Road
• Cerro Lodge
• El Tapir Nature Reserve
• Hotel Quelitales
• La Quinta Inn
• La Selva Field Station
• Reserva El Copal
• San Gerardo da Dota
• Talamanca Highlands