Birding Costa Rica’s Northwestern Pacific Coast

“Jabiru,” called Charlie, our Costa Rica Expeditions guide. The large bird rose to the sky over the catfish ponds at Guardia with slow steady wing beats. It clearly was larger than the storks that also were in flight.
Our Audubon Naturalist tour group had traveled north on the Interamericana Highway to Liberia, [...]

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Birding Costa Rica’s Guanacaste Lowlands

As we dropped down through the clouds hovering over the crest of the Cordillera Guanacaste, the landscape suddenly changed. Our Audubon Naturalist Society (ANS) tour group had entered Costa Rica’s dry seasonal forest and was greeted with rolling hills of dry grass, cattle ranches, rice fields and sparse trees. Never in my wildest [...]

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Birding Costa Rica’s Northwestern Lowlands at Caño Negro

A variety of waders fed in the marshy areas on both sides of the road as we headed towards Caño Negro –Great, Snowy and Cattle Egrets, a Roseate Spoonbill, Wood Storks, a Green Heron and Northern Jacanas were dotted around the edges of the ponds. The air was balmy, with a slight breeze – [...]

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Birding Costa Rica’s Central Mountains at Bosque de Paz

Hummingbirds danced in and out of the bushes as they visited the feeders at Bosque de Paz , a private ecological preserve between Poás Volcano National Park and the Juan Castro Blanco National Park in Costa Rica’s Cordilleran Central. There were Magnificent Hummingbirds, Green Hermits, Purple-crowned Fairies, Green-crowned Brilliants, Magenta-throated Woodstars, and my favorite [...]

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Birding the Caribbean Lowlands in Costa Rica

“Toucán,” Niño, our driver and excellent spotter, announced excitedly. We had just gotten out of the bus and were walking along the road leading to the La Selva Biological Station.
As I focused my binoculars on the bare branches that extended above the lush tropical rainforest, another Toucán flew in. The early [...]

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Birding Savegre Mountain Hotel

Its red breast glistened in the branches of the tree. Marino Chacon, our guide and one of the owners of Savegre Mountain Hotel, had stopped along the side of the road a short distance from the lodge where the Resplendent Quetzal was known to hang out. While we watched through our binoculars, Marino [...]

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