El Zota Biological Field Station (1 Viewer)

Hi,

In March, 2019 I'll be doing extended stays at Chilamate Rainforest Eco-Retreat (lowland) and Albergue el Socorro (mid-elevation).

However, in 2020 I am planning on staying at El Zota Biological Field Station in Limon for an extended exclusively lowland birding experience as the rates for lodging, food, and transportation are quite reasonable and I've read excellent reviews about the birding there (including Patrick's).

A few questions:

In terms of weather (less rain and the resultant mud) is March the best time of year to go and would rubber boots be necessary during a relatively historical less rainy time of year?

From the field station, is the primary forest walkable in regards to the road conditions and how are the trails within the forest?

Anyone familiar with the guiding services there as I'd like to get one or two orientation guiding days to familiarize myself with the area as I plan to be there over two weeks?

Is the large laguna on the proerty pretty much accessible without the use of a boat?

Thanks,
Les

Les Shulman said:

In terms of weather (less rain and the resultant mud) is March the best time of year to go and would rubber boots be necessary during a relatively historical less rainy time of year?

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Have visited Manzanillo twice (once for just under a month) during March, and those two periods certainly qualified as "less rain and the resultant mud". But each stay did produce a few (mainly overnight) torrential downpours. Am not sure about El Zota's location but I assume the climate is similar.

Have noticed more guides & birders relying on rubber boots not just for the weather but also as an added measure of protection from snakes. That was perhaps even more true in Ecuador, especially during the Amazonian lowlands portion of our trip. Haven't quite embraced practice entirely, but haven't entirely rejected it either.

Gary H

gdhunter said:

Have visited Manzanillo twice (once for just under a month) during March, and those two periods certainly qualified as "less rain and the resultant mud". But each stay did produce a few (mainly overnight) torrential downpours. Am not sure about El Zota's location but I assume the climate is similar.

Have noticed more guides & birders relying on rubber boots not just for the weather but also as an added measure of protection from snakes. That was perhaps even more true in Ecuador, especially during the Amazonian lowlands portion of our trip. Haven't quite embraced practice entirely, but haven't entirely rejected it either.

Gary H

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Wouldn't a good study pair of walking boots be more protective relative to snakes than rubber boots? I also agree they are more difficult to maintain in a humid, tropical environment.

Niels

njlarsen said:

Wouldn't a good study pair of walking boots be more protective relative to snakes than rubber boots? I also agree they are more difficult to maintain in a humid, tropical environment. Niels

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I still rely on mid-calf waterproof hikers for more than half my Neotropical birding, but I did have (and did occasionally use) a pair of much taller rubber boots while in Manzanillo. Am not sure mid-calf protection would suffice for Fer-de-lance, bushmaster, etc. Not even sure rubber boots would!

Re the inquiry that initiated this thread, it's certainly prudent to expect some wet & muddy conditions along some southern Caribbean trails even in the dry season. There were a few trails in Ecuador where durable rubber boots were the only viable option.

Gary H

Weather- always hard to say around there but should be better than Nov-Jan.

Roads and trails- yes, some are accessible from the field station and easy to walk. We had more birds along the road/track but a walk inside the forest is also worth it to look for tinamous and other forest interior species. The primary forest is rather far but the station might be able to drop you there. It was also very quiet each time I visited it.

Guiding service- I have no idea about that.

Laguna- seemed to only be accessible by boat a few years ago. There was one trail that went down to the lake but a boat would be the best way to look for Sungrebe and kingfishers.

Thanks for the input Gary, Niels, and Patrick.

I was in Sarapiqui for 17 days in March, 2016.
Hopefully, the weather and walking conditions at El Zota will be no worse than they were during my stays at Chilamate and La Selva. For the first 11 days, with one interruptive on and off rainstorm one morning being the exception, the only rain (very heavy for a few hours until just before sunrise) occurred in many of the evenings-however, the walking conditions with no mud and only a few large puddles were very good. However, on days 12-14 when I stayed at La Selva there was heavy intermittent rain throughout the day and night resulting in the earthen side trails there ideally (really not so ideally!) perhaps requiring rubber boots to reasonably navigate that terrain at all.

The reason I was asking about the walking conditions was I had read a rave review of the station by Birds of Passage whose only negative was that the walk from the station along the road leading to the primary forest was only doable with a lot of exertion requiring rubber boots, but that was in mid-May and they said that it was so muddy that it was "not even passable with a tractor."

At any rate I will be going there in 2020 as the birding/nature and lodging there seem to be quite compatible with my interests plus I will be spending overall at least a quarter less for the same amount of nights than I did in Sarapiqui. Plus at $200 the RT private transportation to and from the San Jose Airport seems almost like a bargain compared to the cost to/from Sarapiqui as it takes around twice the time to get to El Zota.

Les