welove2travel
Well-known member
I didn't even have a field guide with me, so ID of many species with by others or not possible. However, the entire country can be birded.
Even San Jose offers birding possibilities. I found a nice place called the Traveler's Refuge (Five Red Ants) which is setup for bird watchers in downtown San Jose. The rooms were clean and bug free with hot water, yet just outside my window in the middle of the city were blue tanagers, fruit bats feeding on the balcony, geckos vocalizing, and so on. Just down the street I saw wild parrots. Her entire courtyard has been turned into an urban jungle giving city birds much needed cover & food.
In Curu I saw Scarlett Macaws which have been successfully reintroduced and are now breeding freely. They are easier to hear than see, but I had one overhead at a leisurely pace. An interesting variety of birds turned up in the nearby cattle pastures. The easiest way to see them was by horse ride (10$ pp). This property also served as a good place to go snorkeling, see tons & tons of monkeys/lizards/deer, and was big enough that it couldn't really get crowded. I had several beaches to myself when I was there. The cabins were fairly rustic but included electricity and running water/flushable toliots. The food was very good. Bats are very easy to spot here.
At La Tirimbina I saw so many bird species, I lost count. Tucans, parrots, you name it. I also saw lots of frog species here such as glass frogs. This was y favorite place of the trip as the food was very good, the lodge comfortable and quite nice, and there were so many activities it would take a full week to cram them all in. Best of all there are nighttime activities so it doesn't get boring being here. A great way to see birds here is to just stand on the bridge and watch the tree tops. The birds will appear before your very eyes. Other than that I relied on sound to find birds like tucans and parrots which are easy to find in flight or in tree tops once heard.
At Cerro Dantas I got a taste of the cloud forest life. Managed to hear a Queztal and see many other bird species, including several hummingbird species. Tapir tracks were all over. Several pretty waterfalls. A fairly difficult hike was required to reach the lodge. Birding in a cloud forest isn't much different from a regular woods in mid summer, you won't find them by running at a fast pace. Unfortunately, we moved a little too fast to see as much as was surely in the area.
Even San Jose offers birding possibilities. I found a nice place called the Traveler's Refuge (Five Red Ants) which is setup for bird watchers in downtown San Jose. The rooms were clean and bug free with hot water, yet just outside my window in the middle of the city were blue tanagers, fruit bats feeding on the balcony, geckos vocalizing, and so on. Just down the street I saw wild parrots. Her entire courtyard has been turned into an urban jungle giving city birds much needed cover & food.
In Curu I saw Scarlett Macaws which have been successfully reintroduced and are now breeding freely. They are easier to hear than see, but I had one overhead at a leisurely pace. An interesting variety of birds turned up in the nearby cattle pastures. The easiest way to see them was by horse ride (10$ pp). This property also served as a good place to go snorkeling, see tons & tons of monkeys/lizards/deer, and was big enough that it couldn't really get crowded. I had several beaches to myself when I was there. The cabins were fairly rustic but included electricity and running water/flushable toliots. The food was very good. Bats are very easy to spot here.
At La Tirimbina I saw so many bird species, I lost count. Tucans, parrots, you name it. I also saw lots of frog species here such as glass frogs. This was y favorite place of the trip as the food was very good, the lodge comfortable and quite nice, and there were so many activities it would take a full week to cram them all in. Best of all there are nighttime activities so it doesn't get boring being here. A great way to see birds here is to just stand on the bridge and watch the tree tops. The birds will appear before your very eyes. Other than that I relied on sound to find birds like tucans and parrots which are easy to find in flight or in tree tops once heard.
At Cerro Dantas I got a taste of the cloud forest life. Managed to hear a Queztal and see many other bird species, including several hummingbird species. Tapir tracks were all over. Several pretty waterfalls. A fairly difficult hike was required to reach the lodge. Birding in a cloud forest isn't much different from a regular woods in mid summer, you won't find them by running at a fast pace. Unfortunately, we moved a little too fast to see as much as was surely in the area.
