Best Season:
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Late April to Early May
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November to June
Places to visit:
Monteverde Cloudforest. Nestled in the Tilaran’ volcanic range and facing the dry forest of the Nicoya’s Peninsula, this world known paradise has been an icon for conservationists for decades. Blasted by the Caribbean trade winds at the top of its hills the evergreen forest of Monteverde/Santa Elena holds the one of the most astonishing biodiversity anywhere on earth due its geographical position. Over 400 species of birds have been recorded here and its adjacent preserves on the 3 major ecosystems. Home of the all mighty Resplendent Quetzal, and the weird looking Three wattled Bellbird with its unique call. Dozens of kilometers of trails to explore. Dripping wet forest with more than 400 species of orchids and gentile blown clouds enchants everyone’s eyes. There are very few places on earth so breathtaking at first glance.
Birding Highlights: Resplendent Quetzal, Prong billed Barbets, Lesson’s Motmot, Black Guan, Highland Tinamou, Tawny throated Leaftosser, White throated Spadebill, Tufted Flycatcher, Gray breasted Wood Wren, White eared Ground Sparrow, Emerald Toucanet, Chiriqui Quail Dove, Golden Olive Woodpecker, Golden browed Chlorophonia.
Ensenada: This private reserve is an area that attracts thousands of birds during the migration from the north, and is truly birding to rave about! It is a fabulous area to find dry tropical forest specialities such as Thicket Tinamou, Long-tailed Manakin, Lesser Ground Cuckoo, and the rare Jabiru Stork. This seasonally flooded flatland with deciduous forest is full of possibilities for combination birding. Adjacent to mud flats, mangrove forest and coastline, this region provides the opportunity to see dozens of ducks and heron species, Kingfishers, Frigatebirds, and dozens of migratory species such as Turnstones, Sandpipers, Skimmers, Willets, and Spoonbills.
Birding Highlights: Long-tailed Manakin, Mangrove Vireo, Lesser Ground Cuckoo, Thicket Tinamou, Spot-bellied Woodquail, White-throated Magpie Jay, Pacific Screech Owl, Rufous-browned Peppershrike, Yellow-faced Grassfinch, Double-striped Thicknee, Barred Wren, and Elegant Trogon.
Carara National Park: The greatest birding destinations in the country, this incredible park boasts the second largest population of Scarlet Macaws in Costa Rica! With easy access to all trails, mangrove swamps, pasture fields and forest edges, this destination is friendly for all ages and fitness levels. There are very few places where more than a hundred species can be found on one trail, but the Meandrica trail is infamous for just that. It has become a treasured birding icon where you can seek tinamous, trogons, wrens, antpittas, manakins, cotingas, bellbirds, and antshrikes, among others. The nearby forested edges house many open field birds, such as jays, blackbirds, greenlets, rails, ground doves, motmots, hawks, parakeets, and owls. The mangroves of the Rio Grande de Tarcoles can reward the birder with up to five species of kingfishers, as well as many other shorebirds such as herons and egrets. The most remarkable of this area are the restricted range birds of the mangroves, such as vireos, warblers, cuckoos, flycatchers, and even the elusive Rufous Necked Woodrail and the only true Costa Rican endemic, the Mangrove Hummingbird.
Birding Highlights: Scarlet Macaws, Orange Collared Manakin, Fiery-Billed Aracari, Baird’s Trogon, Riverside Wren, Crane Hawk, Red-breasted Blackbird, Mangrove Vireo, Mangrove Hummingbird, Scrub Greenlet, Cherrie’s Tanager, Great Tinamou, Northern Royal Flycatcher. Carara National Park: Pacifico Lodge Hotel
What is included:
All ground, water, and air transportation (if described) depending on the group size can be an SUV 4×4 or a 17 passenger van.
All activities such as boat tours, park fees, local guides
All accommodations based on double occupancy
3 Meals per day as described. Except on arrival day
What is not included:
Personal travel insurance, gratuities to guides/hotel staff/restaurant services
Alcoholic drinks, extra meals, room services
International flight
Things to consider:
Arrival day: It flight schedule is from 6:00 am to 3:00 pm; we would prefer to drive to our first destination/lodge/forest.
Arrival time after 4:00 pm; overnight Hotel Bouganvillea.
Arrival time after 8:00 pm; overnight Hotel Adventure Inn. An included hotel’s airport shuttle would be arranged.