Costa Rica Toucans & Hummingbirds 2019

Yellow-throated Toucan (formerely known as Chestnut-mandibled Toucan) is fairly common in the lowlands of Costa Rica.

The name Costa Rica conjures up visions of steamy rainforests, exotic plant and animal life and miles of sun-drenched beaches. Lush jungles, teak and coffee plantations, cattle ranches, banana and cacao plantations, and active volcanoes exemplify the diversity of this Central American country. From cloud forest sub-alpine dwarf vegetation to tropical beach, you’ll experience a dizzying array of climatic conditions during the course of our tour. Costa Rica is an exceptional place to study plant, butterfly and bird life (with approximately 12,000, 1,000, and 850 species known respectively). The climate is gentle, ranging from warm and humid (80º – 90º) in the coastal low lands to cool early morning temperatures (40º) near 10,000 feet. Our itinerary provides us visits to many of the country’s best birding areas. Exceptional natural beauty, combined with tropical birdlife famous the world over, make our Costa Rican adventure a birding and photographer’s dream.

We start our trip with two nights at the world-famous Monteverde Cloud Forest searching for Black Guan, Green Hermit, Lesser (Green) Violetear, Resplendent Quetzal, Lesson’s (Blue-crowned) Motmot, Blue-throated (Emerald) Toucanet, Yellowish Flycatcher, Three-wattled Bellbird, Slaty-backed Nightingale-Thrush, and Slate-throated Redstart.

From Monteverde we travel to the Arenal Observatory Lodge for two nights. The feeders at the lodge offer some great photo opportunities.  Expected species include Crested Guan, Great Curassow, White-necked Jacobin, Violet-headed and Rufous-tailed Hummingbirds, Gartered (Violaceous) Trogon, Broad-billed Motmot, Yellow-throated (Chestnut-mandibled) and Keel-billed Toucans, Red-lored Parrot, Dusky Antbird, Streak-headed Woodcreeper, Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrant, Gray-capped Flycatcher, Stripe-breasted Wren, Costa Rica’s National bird the Clay-colored Thrush, Black-striped Sparrow and Montezuma Oropendola.

Next we move to the Atlantic Lowland Rainforest and the Laguna Lagartos Lodge.  This lodge offers opportunities to photograph Keel-billed Toucans, Yellow-throated Toucans, and Brown-hooded Parrots like no other location! Of course the feeders and adjacent trails attract many other species including Pale-vented Pigeon, Groove-billed Ani, Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, Russet-naped (Rufous-necked) Wood-Rail, Black-headed Trogon, Ringed and Amazon Kingfishers, Hoffman’s Woodpecker, Red-lored Parrot, and Spot-breasted Wren. Another very special opportunity here is the dedicated King Vulture blind. Rather than seeing King Vultures soaring hundreds of feet up or perched a half mile away, you get to watch them feed from just 20 feet! An amazing experience!

Great Curassows lurk in the undisturbed dark forests of Costa Rica.

From Laguna Lagartos we travel east to Sarapiqui.  La Quinta de Sarapiqui Lodge offers wonderful feeders as well as access to a huge variety of subtly different habitats that harbor a wealth of birds, mammals, and plants! Near the lodge we will look for Gray-headed Chachalaca, Bronzy and Long-billed Hermit, Purple-crowned Fairy, Spectacled Owl, Gartered (Violaceous) Trogon, Collared Aracari, Orange-chinned Parakeet, Streak-headed Woodcreeper, Gray-capped Flycatcher, and Orange-billed Sparrow. At the nearby La Selva Organization for Tropical Studies research station we will walk into a 4000 acre tract of undisturbed lowland rain forest to explore for a whole other set of forest birds.

Red-lored Parrots are frequently seen squawking as they fly overhead.

From the Atlantic lowlands we travel uphill to Savegre Lodge at 7000 feet.  With this geographic and elevational change the plant and animal life changes completely.  The warm tropics give way to very cool mornings and very pleasant days searching the moss draped woodlands for Black Guan, Spotted Wood-Quail, Talamanca Hummingbird, White-throated Mountain-Gem, Resplendent Quetzal, Collared Trogon, Sulphur-crowned Parakeet, Spot-crowned Woodcreeper, Mountain Elaenia, Yellowish Flycatcher, a slew of thrushes, Gray-breasted Wood-Wren, Yellow-thighed Finch and Collared Redstart.

Black-billed Nightingale-Thrushes skulk in the underbrush above 7000 feet in Costa Rica and Panama.

We return to San Jose for a last night in fabulous Costa Rica and the end of a memorable trip.