Birding vacation Costa Rica, Texas, Arizona, etc.

[Zolarcon]

Hi BF,


I know its a lot to ask but here it goes:

I was interested in doing a trip to Costa Rica next year for about 5 to 7 days. Can anyone recommend how to go about this without spending 3000 dollars. Local Tours, Time of year? Places to stay?

Also any info on birding in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona-Local Tours, Time of year? Places to stay? Local guides versus the others? Any books, one would recommend to do a modest once in lifetime trip to see some local birds. I cant spend more than a week in any one of these places. So please bare that in mind.


Thank you very much in advance,
Carlos

[sungrebe]

HI . . . .Bill from New York here. When I was in Tuscon, i Used Melody Kehl's Birding Adventures (her ad is in the Aba magazine and others. She was great, and she knew the area very well. The only tour I took in Texas was the King Ranch tour, in Southeast Tx west of Corpus Christi; I booked through a ad in the trades, and they have knowledgeable and enthusiastic guides that know where the birds are.
If possible, I try to use local guides, who I feel know the areas better than anyone.

[HelenB]

Try this link to a bird guide in Galveston, Texas: http://www.galvestonbirders.org/jimstevenson.htm

For Costa Rica: see my reply to the same question you posted here: http://birdforum.net/showthread.php?p=268636#post268636

[JJP]

Zolarcon;

For such a short visit, one might consider flying into Liberia rather than San Jose. However, since you are from Miami, I suspect American Airlines to San Jose is the only real option - but check and see if there are any flights to Liberia from Miami.

Liberia has only been taking international flights for the last two years - and mostly from Delta. The advantage is that you can be birding on the western coast 5 hours after you leave Miami. Flying into San Jose can make it a little more difficult to get anything done the first day (there are a few options). Flying into Liberia has been a snap for me, and I've done it the last three years. I walk out of this small airport where a man is waiting for me with a rental car. I could be anywhere from Carara to Santa Rosa National Park by mid-afternoon on the first day.

[WMcLean]

I highly recommend going to Costa Rica during the fall raptor migration and visiting the Kekoldi Indigenous Preserve watch site. You can see over 100,000 raptors per day, easily.

A great place to stay, either during the migration or any other time, is Aviarios del Caribe on the Estrella River estuary. Fantastic spot for a multitude of herons and kingfishers, among other things. Very inexpensive B&B sort of place.