Birding Trip to South/Central America (1 Viewer)

[hookem2010]

Well, I had to bail on a trip with friends to NE Colombia this week as my wife is 32 weeks into a difficult pregnancy. As I watch their checklists roll in, I'm trying to channel my envy into planning another trip in the next year or two.
As we all live in Texas, locations in the Americas are the easiest/cheapest to get to. Many of us have already been to the Yucatan, and I would like to find a location that won't have too much overlap with the birds they're currently seeing.
Limitations include...
-Cost- We won't be booking a guided tour for $5,000/person or anything like that. Paying for day guides a couple times throughout a trip would be reasonable
-Time- With parental and job responsibilities, trip length will probably be limited to 10 days
Service- Probably don't want to be in a place that we can't get any phone/internet service for more than a couple of days
Safety- We have to convince our wives that we will be coming back in one piece. I know parts of many countries in Latin America are plagued by violence, but I don't have a firm grasp of how dangerous it is to fly into a major city and book it out to the birding spots

The obvious choice seems to be Costa Rica. One of us has birded briefly on the Caribbean coast, but I've been looking at the Arenal/Monteverde area, with possibly a couple days at another location TBD.
Peru and Ecuador also seem like possibilities. I know they've had increasing civil unrest recently, and I don't know how quickly you can get from the airports to the prime birding spots, for Peru in particular.
I really don't have a great idea of what birding Brazil or the other South American countries would be like.
Panama also seems fairly doable, but I imagine there would be a bit more overlap with the birds mu friends are currently seeing.
I'm sure there are a number of islands in the Caribbean that would be cool, but it doesn't seem like any would provide the bird diversity of a place like Costa Rica.

Any thoughts on good places to plan a trip to, given my limitations?

 

[Xenospiza]

Panama (except Darién) is a reasonable option. Not too dangerous, when compared to other places. Also not a lot of overlap with Colombia considering its proximity.
In Peru, there is good birding close to Lima, but it feels definitely dodgy in places. Going into the mountains will involve some freakishly scary roads, where you might prefer a local driver with nerves of steel. The sites along the eastern Andes all involve extra flights (esp. when on a tight schedule) or many days of driving. Manu Road and environs could entertain you for 10 days: it's probaby a day's drive from Cusco. It's not as hair-raising as the Andes near Lima.
You could probably spend ten days in a part of Ecuador in a similar way.
The Atlantic coast of Brazil has plenty of options between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo which are not too long drives. Brazil is not always easy for access to sites, so you'll often need some local support. It is huge and it's easy to overestimate what you could do.
Panama and Ecuador are especially easy for Americans as they use the dollar.

 

[Miguel Aguilar @birdnomad]

Even visiting other part of Colombia could offer really different birds, for example the Pacific or the Amazon, Colombia itself is really diverse, but any of the options you mentioned is good. Perú is one of the countries I have enjoyed the most, both for its food, birds, landscapes, everything and I think it is pretty safe. The potencial issue about Peru are the distances, maybe is worth to try to dedicate at least 15 days, but you can do a lot in just 10 days.

Costa Rica is also a really good option, the lowlands have a combination of birds from Mexico and Southamerica, but a lot of the mountain birds are unique and really great. Of course even in lowlands there most be a lot of new birds for your group, and you can travel around really quick and safe. I think both Panama and CR would be a good option, in 10 days you can get good chances for most of the special birds. I did CR with a friend, no guides and it was really great, but I do agree getting a guide might give better opportunities for some of the most difficult birds https://ebird.org/tripreport/135792

I would recommend getting to know better the neotropical birds in Mexico or Central america, before trying Ecuador, Peru, or that kind of places, specially if you don't want to get guides for the whole trip, because you might miss a lot if you are not more familiar with sounds and bird families of the Neotropics.

You didn't mentioned, but Oaxaca is really close to Texas and offers a lot, I guide tours there if you are interested. A 9 to 10 day tour can get you a great diversity, a lot of endemics, I think it is really great option. Glad to help you plan, regardless if you are interested in a tour or not. Not sure if it is OK to share this in the forum, but I guess it can help to figure out a birding route even if you don't want a tour: Oaxaca Birding Tour | Birdnomad

So in summary, I think both Oaxaca (if you haven´t visited yet) and Costa Rica are great for the limitations you mentioned.

 

[Jim M.]

Costa Rica, Ecuador, or Southeast Atlantic Rainforest of Brazil would be where I'd be looking. All offer tons of birds in small areas and are low cost.

 

[TicoTyler]

If you settle on the Arenal/Monteverde area I can give you some specific tips. I live there.

 

[AveryBartels]

As mentioned by Miguel above, another trip to Colombia should definitely not be ruled out, especially if your friends focused on the north coast. The Andes, Amazonian foothills, Choco slopes etc are all really so different from that region that you might a well be visiting a different country. You could quite easily do four 10-day trips to different regions of the country and not have too much overlap. There are also a TON of local guides now, for basically every part of the country which makes arranging things pretty straightforward, and economical.

Otherwise, as others have stated Costa Rica, Oaxaca and Ecuador (especially Mindo area and highlands near Quito) are all very easy and brilliant sites that meet your criteria.

 

[Montereyman]

Costa Rica, Columbia, Belize, Venezuela, and Panama are relatively inexpensive. One drawback with Panama is that there are places where you will need to take an in-country flight. Belize has more English speaking people followed by Costa Rica than the other countries.

Include the cost of a car rental in your trip planning as it can vary greatly with the insurance requirements in some countries. My wife and I have on three trips hired a guide with a car and gained a translator and security person (to watch over our gear in the car) in the bargain. The increase cost of the driver with his car was not substantially greater than our renting a car for our travels.

Check also the CDC vaccination recommendations. Yellow fever for example is becoming more widespread in South America as is dengue fever and polio. I would want to be sure my child had the necessary protection before traveling outside of the USA.

 

[TicoTyler]

Costa Rica, Columbia, Belize, Venezuela, and Panama are relatively inexpensive. One drawback with Panama is that there are places where you will need to take an in-country flight. Belize has more English speaking people followed by Costa Rica than the other countries.

Include the cost of a car rental in your trip planning as it can vary greatly with the insurance requirements in some countries. My wife and I have on three trips hired a guide with a car and gained a translator and security person (to watch over our gear in the car) in the bargain. The increase cost of the driver with his car was not substantially greater than our renting a car for our travels.

Check also the CDC vaccination recommendations. Yellow fever for example is becoming more widespread in South America as is dengue fever and polio. I would want to be sure my child had the necessary protection before traveling outside of the USA.

Even in Costa Rica dengue has been on the uptick.

 

[JWN Andrewes]

It looks like you probably have enough suggestions to be going on with, but it would be remiss if me to not put a word in for north east Argentina. I can't provide logistics, I was there on a work trip, but the area of Ibera marshes around Carlos Pellegrini was very birdy, things like Strange-tailed Tyrant, Greater Rhea, Giant Wood-rail, were roadside birds. Could be combined with eg Iguazu if you want some forest birding too, although I didn't get the chance for that, worse luck. If not this time, worth looking at for the future.

I hope all goes well with your wife and baby, there's a whole other adventure right there! I've managed to turn my first born into a fellow birder, although it took a few years!

Have fun wherever you end up.

 

[TicoTyler]

It looks like you probably have enough suggestions to be going on with, but it would be remiss if me to not put a word in for north east Argentina. I can't provide logistics, I was there on a work trip, but the area of Ibera marshes around Carlos Pellegrini was very birdy, things like Strange-tailed Tyrant, Greater Rhea, Giant Wood-rail, were roadside birds. Could be combined with eg Iguazu if you want some forest birding too, although I didn't get the chance for that, worse luck. If not this time, worth looking at for the future.

I hope all goes well with your wife and baby, there's a whole other adventure right there! I've managed to turn my first born into a fellow birder, although it took a few years!

Have fun wherever you end up.

I do know a good guide there if you need contacts.