Tour Itinerary
Day 1, January 21 — Arrive independently at San Jose, overnight at nearby Hotel Bougainvillea. Those arriving in San Jose today will be met at the airport by Mike Mulligan. You will be met at the nearest point of public entry. The airport is small, and the meeting location will be obvious. Those arriving in Costa Rica earlier than January 21 can check in at the hotel in the afternoon hours. NatureScape Tours will help you with your travel arrangements in any way we can.
Day 2, January 22 —Morning birding on the excellent grounds of our hotel. Typical birds here include Hoffman’s Woodpecker, Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, both White-eared and Prevost’s Ground-Sparrows. A few years ago we found a pair of rare Tropical Screech-Owls in a bamboo stand here. After loading our air-conditioned bus we’ll head for the Pacific lowlands – stopping at Orotina to search for resident Black-and-white Owls (and possibly a sloth) in the village square. After a quick view from the Rio Tarcoles bridge we will check into the Villa Lapas Lodge and bird the lovely grounds. We may spot Yellow-throated Euphonia, Green Kingfisher and Golden-hooded Tanager. In the nearby coastal community of Tarcoles we’ll look (and listen) for Scarlet Macaw, Turquoise-browed Motmot, Boat-billed Heron and Northern Jacana. Overnight Villa Lapas Lodge.
Day 3, January 23 — Early to Carara National Park, just a few miles away. This is one of the top three birding destinations in the country -- covering the first 300 yards on the River Trail can take a couple hours! Here I’ve seen Great Tinamou, Double-toothed Kite, Laughing Falcon, Mangrove Black-Hawk, Violet Sabrewing, Black-headed Trogon, Rufous-tailed Jacamar, White-whiskered Puffbird, and Lesser Ground-Cuckoo (one of my favorite birds). After lunch we will cover the Figure Eight Trail, discovering a whole host of new birds. Overnight at Hotel Punta Leona, a short drive down the road. Punta Leona is a beach hotel with a fine patch of private tropical forest.
Day 4, January 24 — One of the specialties of the Punta Leona forest is Three-wattled Bellbird. We’ll look for Red-lored and Yellow-naped Parrots, Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, Scaly-breasted and Cinnamon Hummingbirds, Amazon Kingfisher, Masked Tityra. On my last visit here I saw an elusive Black-capped Pygmy-Tyrant. A forest walk near the coastal mangroves should yield Social and Panama Flycatchers, Southern Rough-winged and Mangrove Swallows, Brown Jay, Rufous-naped Wren, Yellow-green and Mangrove Vireos, Scrub Greenlet, Mangrove Warbler, Red-legged Honeycreeper, Blue-gray and Palm Tanagers, Grayish Saltator. We’ll rest a bit after lunch and then enjoy a delightful boat ride through the Rio Tarcoles tidal estuary, seeing Bare-throated Tiger-Heron, Crested and Yellow-headed Caracaras, Anhinga, Wood Stork and many other waterbirds. If we have time we’ll search the beach for Collared Plover. Overnight Punta Leona.
Day 5, January 25 — We’ll check the hotel grounds once more, then pack up for our drive to Talari Lodge. Talari is located near San Isidro del Sur, not far from the famed Los Cosingos, home of Dr. Alexander Skutch, co-author of A Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica. Our route takes us along the Pan American Highway through the Cerro de la Muerte highlands. On our way we’ll watch for Common Bush-Tanager, Black-billed Nightingale-Thrush, Mountain Robin, Volcano Junco and overhead raptors. Overnight Talari Lodge.
Day 6, January 26 — On the productive grounds and neighboring fields of Talari are Short-billed Pigeon, Blue Ground-Dove, Orange-chinned Parakeet, Stripe-throated Hermit, White-necked Jacobin, Purple-crowned Fairy, Blue-crowned Motmot, Fiery-billed Aracari, Olivaceous Piculet, Golden-naped and Red-crowned Woodpeckers, Plain Xenops, Black-hooded and Russet Antshrikes, Orange-collared Manakin, Rufous Piha. We’ll point our bus back uphill, stopping at Vista del Valle. At this lovely mountainside place I’ve spotted Little Tinamou, Green-crowned Brilliant, Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush, Buff-throated Saltator, and Silver-throated, Flame-colored and Cherrie’s Tanagers. We continue up the highway and turn off to Savegre Lodge. Birds along the way include Black-and-yellow and Long-tailed Silky-flycatchers, Sooty-faced and Yellow-thighed Finches. Our descent into the Rio Savegre valley may reveal Barred Parakeet and Emerald Toucanet. Overnight at Savegre Lodge.
Day 7, January 27 — We’re at about 7,000 feet altitude here. The climate and the birdlife have definitely changed from the Pacific lowlands. In the cool morning we’ll observe Slaty Flowerpiercer by our cabins, and the feeders will be busy with Green Violet-ear (gorgeous), Gray-tailed and White-bellied Mountain-gems, Magnificent and Scintillant Hummingbirds. Kevin will lead us on a search for the mystical Resplendent Quetzal. More possibilities are Black Guan, Ruddy Pigeon, Collared Trogon, Golden-olive Woodpecker, Spot-crowned Woodcreeper, Spotted Barbtail, Ruddy Treerunner, Buffy Tuftedcheek, Lineated Foliage-gleaner, Dark Pewee; Boat-billed, Golden-bellied, Yellowish and Tufted Flycatchers. We’ll find Gray-breasted Wood-Wren, Black-capped Flycatcher, Sooty Robin, Flame-throated Warbler. Overnight Savegre Lodge.
Day 8, January 28 — More time on the trails of the lodge’s forest preserve. Highland Tinamou, Buffy-crowned Wood-Partridge, Buff-fronted Quail-Dove, Costa Rican Pygmy-Owl, Dusky Nightjar, Silvery-fronted Tapaculo, Ochraceous Pewee, Silvery-throated Jay and Wrenthrush are some of the rare/secretive species I’ve seen (or heard) here in the past, and we’ll look for them.
On the Tower Road at over 11,000 feet we will walk slowly to avoid altitude sickness. Fiery-throated and Volcano Hummingbirds, Timberline Wren and Peg-billed Finch are our targets in this bleak and often foggy paramo habitat. La Georgina Restaurante on the highway will be a welcome stop for a hot drink and a bird or two. Our nightjar and pygmy-owl search will be conducted after supper. Overnight Savegre Lodge.
Day 9, January 29 — Pack up early and we’re off for the Caribbean lowlands. Our bus carries us north, around the colonial city of Cartago and on to La Selva Biological Station. Originally established in 1954 and operated by the Organization of Tropical Studies, La Selva covers about 4,000 acres, most of which is primary tropical rainforest. An average of 13 feet of rain falls here annually. We’ll stay here three nights, and you will never forget your stay.
Approaching La Selva we’re on the lookout for Olive-throated Parakeet, Squirrel Cuckoo, Groove-billed Ani, Common Tody-Flycatcher, Long-tailed Tyrant, Piratic Flycatcher, Shining Honeycreeper. The road into the Administration Office can deliver Great Green Macaw, Slaty Spinetail, Great Antshrike, Black-headed Tody-Flycatcher, Long-billed Gnatwren, Olive-crowned Yellowthroat, Nicaraguan Seed-Finch, Gray-headed Kite, Bat Falcon, White-throated Crake, Gray-chested Dove, White-crowned Parrot, Striped Cuckoo, Snowy Cotinga. La Selva has over 400 bird species on its list – it’s difficult for me to decide which ones to mention. Overnight La Selva Biological Station.
Day 10, January 30 — La Selva has miles of trails – some of them paved. Kevin and a local guide will take us into the forest where we’ll see Crimson-fronted Parakeet, Mealy Parrot, Gray-rumped Swift, Band-tailed Barbthroat, Bronze-tailed Plumeleteer, Broad-billed Motmot, Collared Aracari, Keel-billed Toucan, Black-striped Woodcreeper, White-collared Manakin, White-ringed Flycatcher. Purple-throated Fruitcrow and Bare-necked Umbrellabird are possible. A Sungrebe lurks along the river’s edge. In the afternoon we may explore the grounds of nearby Selva Verde and El Gavilan Lodges. Specialties at these sites include Green Ibis, Sunbittern, Gray-necked Wood-Rail, Short-tailed Nighthawk, Spectacled Owl and Tawny-chested Flycatcher. At the La Chinchona feeders seven or eight species of hummers will literally buzz past your ears, including Brown Violet-ear, Green Thorntail and Coppery-headed Emerald – plus we can find both Red-headed and Prong-billed Barbets. Overnight La Selva.
Day 11, January 3l — We’re off early to Braulio Carrillo National Park. At a stream along the way we look for a sneaky Fasciated Tiger-Heron. Braulio Carrillo is a huge, largely inaccessible rainforest park and we’ll hardly scratch its surface. On the trails are White Hawk, Rufous-winged Woodpecker, Wedge-billed and Spotted Woodcreepers, Brown-billed Scythebill, Striped Woodhaunter, Chestnut-backed and Dull-mantled Antbirds, White-ruffed Manakin, Rufous Mourner, Stripe-breasted Wren, Lesser Greenlet, Buff-rumped Warbler, Chestnut-headed Oropendola, Tawny-capped, Yellow-crowned and Olive-backed Euphonias, plus possibly ten tanager species. This is the only place I’ve seen White-throated Shrike-Tanager. We’ll finish the day with a stop at a former butterfly “farm” and – if the verbena is flowering – look for Green Hermit, Black-crested Coquette, Violet-crowned Woodnymph, Violet-headed Hummingbird and the stunning Snowcap. Overnight La Selva.
Day 12, February 1 — We’re on our way to Arenal Observatory Lodge. But we stop at La Virgen del Socorro and walk a birdy road, watching overhead for hawks. This wet-forest gorge may produce Smoky-brown Woodpecker, Olivaceous Woodcreeper, Red-faced Spinetail, Immaculate Antbird, Nightingale Wren, Yellow-margined and Slaty-capped Flycatchers, Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrant, Pale-vented Robin, Slaty-backed Nightingale-Thrush, Slate-throated and Collared Redstarts and Emerald, Bay-headed and Black-and-yellow Tanagers. At La Paz Waterfall we should spot a Torrent Tyrannulet. Eventually we arrive at Arenal Observatory Lodge, which is set on a ridge facing Volcan Arenal, Costa Rica’s only continuously active volcano. It’s a unique experience to see, hear, and feel the rumblings, and our views this evening should be spectacular. Overnight Arenal Observatory Lodge.
We’ll add to our list on the lodge grounds, but much of our day will be spent in Arenal National Park. Some of our target birds are Gray-headed Chachalaca, Crested Guan, Great Curassow, Red-billed Pigeon, Green-breasted Mango, Slaty-tailed Trogon, Black-cheeked Woodpecker, Buff-throated Foliage-gleaner, Fasciated Antshrike; Dusky, Spotted and Bicolored Antbirds, Thicket Antpitta, Yellow Tyrannulet, Yellow-bellied Elaenia, Cinnamon Becard, White-throated Magpie-Jay. Overnight Arenal Observatory Lodge.
Day 14, February 3 — After a leisurely breakfast Kevin will take us back to San Jose, stopping for new birds at several of his favorite spots. Arrive at Hotel Bougainvillea and enjoy our final dinner. Overnight Hotel Bougainvillea.
Day 15, February 4 — Fly home, tired, happy
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