Costa Rica here I come! (1 Viewer)

I am planning a trip to Costa Rica in May/June 2006. I am volunteering at a scientific lodge at an indigineous reserve near the Talamanca region, and specifically near Bribri and Puerto Viejo. A lot of the time I am there I will be working with staff on a banding project, but will definetely be doing some birding in my spare time, and am very excited about both. I was wondering if anyone could post any advice in general on birding in Costa Rica, past experiences, what species specifically are seen in this region, or anything you feel is relevant and would like to share or say. Your input would be greatly appreciated.

I'm jealous already. I've done a bit of birding around there and it was excellent. The books that I mentioned in your 'say hello' thread give a few sites in the area. Sekerak has a section on Puerto Viejo de Talamanca and Punta Uva. Some good stuff is on the species list, including Snowy Cotinga. Another site nearby mentioned in Sekerak is Hitoy Cerere Biological Reserve. Rogers' book includes information on Cahuita and Puert Viejo. There is a lot of good undisturbed forest in the area and you will see some great birds. If you are using mist-nets you will almost certainly pick up some birds that are normally very difficult, such as the wrens. Richard Garrigues excellent website is well worth checking out (http://www.angelfire.com/bc/gonebirding/index.html). It includes information on a number of sites in the area (check in the Limon province section). By the way, if you end up with a huge collection of photos of birds that you catch and are wondering what to do with them, I am always looking to fill up the gaps in my photogallery. There are many southern species that just reach into the region of my website (northern central america) that I will almost certainly never get a chance to photograph here. Good luck with the planning.
All the best

Tom