March 7-22, 2026 with Megan Edwards Crewe & local guide Vernon Campos
Costa Rica draws birders and naturalists like lodestones draw metal filings, and with good reason: its storied reserves hold a tremendous number and variety of species, and it's a safe, tourist-friendly country that's easy to get around in -- this year's plentiful road construction projects notwithstanding. For two weeks, we crisscrossed the country in search of its special birds. We ventured from the humid Caribbean lowland rainforest to the forested foothills around Rancho Naturalista, from the soaring oak forests and stunted paramo of the central mountains to the mangrove-choked Tarcoles River, from the dry thorn forests of the country's northwest to the cool, misty cloudforest around Monteverde. And everywhere, we found plenty to enjoy, racking up some 450 birds, 16 mammals, 15 herps and a myriad cool plants and invertebrates. The tour's "Three Favorite Birds" highlighted the spread of our sightings; though some of the country's marquee birds (Resplendent Quetzal, Three-wattled Bellbird, Scarlet Macaw, Sunbittern) made the list, there were votes for 25 species. Costa Rica is indeed a naturalist's playground!
Our adventure started on our first afternoon, with a couple of owls right on the grounds of the Hotel Bougainvillea. A Mottled Owl snoozed in a creaky stand of tall bamboo while a wide-awake Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl tooted from the top of tree nearby. Cabinis's and Rufous-naped Wrens shouted challenges as they flitted through hedges and scattered trees, our first Lesson's Motmots dazzled as they flashed between ground and nearby branches, and a handsome White-eared Ground-Sparrow scrabbled around in the leaf litter. The next day, we crossed the sprawling suburbs of San Jose and climbed the flank of Volcan Poas. First, we birded our way down a quiet valley towards Virgen del Socorro, stopping first where a Gray-crowned Yellowthroat sang from spiky weeds along the road. A pair of Sulphur-bellied Flycatchers squeaked from the treetops, sounding like dog toys. Further along, a pair of Hepatic Tanagers flicked through branches over the road and a soaring White Hawk gleamed against the blue, blue sky. A Golden-olive Woodpecker excavated a nest hole in a nearby trunk, while a Smoky-brown Woodpecker crawled along branches across the road. Yellow-throated Toucans bounded through the midstory, a Slate-colored Grosbeak serenaded from a mossy branch overhead and a tiny Torrent Tyrannulet made leaping grabs at passing insects from rocks in the middle of the Rio Angél. After a morning's birding (and more than 50 species) we headed to nearby La Paz Waterfall Gardens for lunch. Their hummingbird feeders were busy, with Green-crowned Brilliants, Black-bellied Hummingbirds, Brown Violetears and more jousting over the pickings, and a Purple-throated Mountain-gem sprawled on the ground, sunbathing. Other good sightings included a pair of Prong-billed Barbets nibbling on a fleshy flower spike and a showy Sooty-faced Finch. At a nearby restaurant in La Cinchona, we got close looks at a steady parade of tanagers and a gorgeous pair of Red-headed Barbets nibbling fruit from feeders near the deck, while a Green Hermit fed at a sugar water feeder literally within arm's reach. Then we descended out of the mountains onto the flat plains of the Caribbean lowlands, and headed to our hotel in Sarapiquí.
We spent the next two days exploring the Caribbean lowlands around Sarapiquí and the famous reserve at La Selva. On the reserve's wide, gravelled entrance road and its network of trails and a quiet dirt track nearby, we found a plethora of species. Great Tinamous crept through the undergrowth, occasionally loosing their loud, quavering whistles. White-fronted Nunbirds (a species we don't often see on this tour) hunted along the edges of several clearings. Rufous-tailed Jacamars, Broad-billed Motmots and Slaty-tailed Trogons sat on mid-level branches, keeping a sharp eye on passing prey. We found a good selection of woodpeckers, including Cinnamon, Chestnut-colored and Rufous-winged, and watched a Spotted Antbird flit along the forest floor on one of the trails. A couple of wild-eyed Bright-rumped Attilas made repeated forays into a nearby tree. Green Ibis burbled as they flew over and landed in treetops, showing their characteristically short legs. A Long-tailed Tyrant sallied from one treetop and a couple of White-ringed Flycatchers did the same from another. Two Black-throated Wrens flitted, ankle-high, through some roadside bushes and a Rufous Mourner scanned for prey from a branch over the trail. We found a small ant swarm along one trail, with Northern Barred-, Wedge-billed and Plain-brown woodcreepers, plus Northern Plain-Xenops and Red-throated Ant-Tanagers in attendance. A night walk turned up a very cooperative Middle American Screech-Owl and a Great Potoo sitting high on a snag over the river. On a nearby dirt track, a pair of Masked Tityras scuffled with a pair of Black-crowned Tityras over a potential nest hole high in a dead tree, a Bat Falcon munched on a recent kill, two Laughing Falcons chorused from a treetop, a Gray Hawk dried its wings, a couple of Yellow Tyrannulets flicked through the undergrowth and a male Snowy Cotinga surveyed the world from a treetop. Alongside a busy highway we traversed on our journey to the reserve, several pairs of Great Green Macaws checked out possible nest holes in trees behind a tire shop.
On one afternoon, we ventured further afield, visiting the extraordinary garden of artist Jose "Cope" Perez, who's turned his tiny suburban plot into a veritable oasis, complete with a pond, copious hummingbird feeders and a host of tropical plants. With mugs of coffee and cheese empanadas in hand, we sat in his sizable viewing blind and watched as a trickle of toucans, tanagers, blackbirds, oropendolas, thrushes, flycatchers, hummingbirds and more visited the many feeders. A pair of Russet-naped Wood-Rails took splashing baths in the shallow pond and a mama Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth made her slow way through the canopy with an inquisitive baby clamped firmly to her belly. In nearby woodland, a pair of Spectacled Owls and their nearly-grown youngster peered down from the treetop perches and a Crested Owl snoozed on an eye-level dayroost. And before we left, we lured a handsome pair of White-throated Crakes into the open along the well-vegetated edge of a tiny trickling stream just across the road. We returned to the area the following morning to visit Braulio Carrillo National Park, a vast mid-elevation forest that is home to several species not found elsewhere on our tour route. Unfortunately, we failed to find most of them on a frustratingly quiet walk through the soaring trees; a pair of Blue-and-gold Tanagers found above the ranger station just before we left were a small consolation prize, as was the busy flock of Tawny-crowned Tanagers that worked along the edge of the parking lot and a stock-still Fasciated Tiger-Heron we found along the Rio San Jose.
From there, we moved into the Caribbean foothills, first around Rancho Naturalista, then higher to the Orosi area and Tapantí National Park. Rancho is one of the best places in the world to see the spectacular Snowcap, and we weren't disappointed, with both males and females -- as well as several Green Thorntails, Violet-headed Hummingbirds, and an uncommon Garden Emerald -- seen feeding on multiple vervain hedges. The hummingbird feeders on the balcony were a great place to come to grips with the "regulars" (Bronze-tailed Plumeleteers, Crowned Woodnymphs, Green-breasted Mangos, and a zillion White-necked Jacobins) and both Orange-billed and Black-striped sparrows grabbed furtive mouthfuls from the piles of cornmeal below. We ventured to the nearby Silent Mountain road one morning, where a Sunbittern sang its long, whistled song and shook its colorful wings before flying past us under a bridge, and our only group of migrating raptors (about 120 Broad-winged Hawks) spiraled over the ridgeline. Other sightings included a wonderfully confiding Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrant (sometimes a tough species to get a good look at) and a small mixed flock which included Emerald and Black-and-yellow tanagers. Before breakfast the following morning, we walked the top part of the lodge's entrance road. A pair of Tawny-chested Flycatchers right across the driveway from the main building got us off to a good start (though not everybody got a good look) and we added White-collared Manakins, some nest-building Stripe-breasted Wrens, Checker-throated Stipplethroat and Chestnut-capped and Golden-crowned warblers further down the hill. We spent the rest of the morning in the Tuis valley. Our top find was Lanceolated Monklet sitting quietly on moss-covered branch. A little group of Russet Antshrikes worked their way through some trackside trees, Olivaceous, Spotted and Streak-headed woodcreepers crawled up trunks, and a tiny Black-headed Tody-Flycatcher shouted challenges from a surprisingly low branch in the same tree as a White-winged Becard.
After a final lunch at Rancho, we headed to our next hotel, stopping on the way for a Tropical Screech-Owl snoozing under a bromeliad in the Paraiso town square, seemingly oblivious to the chaos of horns, barking dogs and shouting children all around it. An early morning walk on the grounds of Hotel Quelitales the next morning netted us a couple of hooting Rufous Motmots, two rather skulky Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrushes and a showy White-naped Brushfinch. Then it was off to Tapanti National Park for the morning, with the luggage loaded on the back seats so that the bus could squeeze under a very low bar on the bridge! With the bus following behind, we walked the first kilometer and a half of the park road -- as far as we could get before we reached the gate which now blocks off the higher stretches of the park. Top sighting may have been a handful of gorgeous Golden-browed Chlorophonias just over the road, but they were hardly alone. Noisy gangs of Common Chlorospingus boiled through the trees, and we ran across several mixed tanager flocks, which included Spangle-cheeked, Speckled, Silver-throated and Bay-headed tanagers. A Yellowish Flycatcher hunted from weeds along the roadside and a pair of Elegant Euphonias flicked through the treetops. Swallow-tailed Kites and an Ornate Hawk-Eagle soared overhead and a pair of Collared Trogons called softly as they moved through nearby trees. Hummingbirds were surprisingly thin on the ground, but fortunately included a few White-bellied Mountain-gems sipping from veils of pink flowers hanging along the roadside. Black-faced Solitaires fluted from the forest, a Lineated Foliage-gleaner investigated dead leaf clusters and little Ochraceous Wrens poked and prodded their way along mossy branches.
After lunch in town, we made the slow grind through Cartago's traffic, then climbed the spine of the Talamanca Mountains, working our way along the Pan American Highway to the Savegre valley. This is where the country's Chiriquí endemics -- restricted to the highlands of Costa Rica and western Panama -- are found. And it's also home to one of Central America's most storied birds: the spectacular Resplendent Quetzal. Thanks to some timely info from a friend, Vernon brought us straight to the roadside nest site and, after only a short wait, we enjoyed extended views of both handsome individuals. That was just one of Savegre's many highlights. A bevy of highland hummingbird species -- Talamanca, Fiery-throated, Stripe-throated and Volcano hummingbirds, Lesser Violet-ear and White-throated Mountain-gem among them -- swirled around feeders and flower beds across the valley. In the moss-draped highland forest, a wide-eyed Costa Rican Pygmy-Owl stared down at us, prey nearly half its size gripped firmly in its talons. Large-footed Finches scrabbled in the leaf litter. A quintet of Spotted Wood-Quail scratched under a feeder below a cafe balcony. A pair of furtive Wrenthrushes twitched through the underbrush, before finally popping out into the open. A Yellow-winged Vireo battered a hapless caterpillar to death on a low branch, Flame-colored Tanagers shouted challenges from treetops and elegant Long-tailed Silky-Flycatchers perched picturesquely on treetops. Buffy Tuftedcheeks rummaged through bromeliads, a Yellow-thighed Brushfinch flashed its namesake yellow thighs and a calling Ochraceous Pewee sat conveniently close to a pair of similarly plumaged Tufted Flycatchers for good comparison. An excursion shortly after dusk netted us great scope views of a singing Dusky Nightjar. Timberline Wrens peeked out from dense bushes while Yellowish and Black-capped flycatchers made repeated sallies from treetops. We found an American Dipper provisioning its nest along the little rushing stream near the lodge's entrance, and watched multiple screeching flocks of Sulphur-winged Parakeets rocket past overhead. On our way out of the valley, we detoured to Cerro de la Muerte -- the Mountain of Death. There, in the higher paramo, a confiding Black-billed Nightingale-Thrush hunted from the guy wire holding up a pole and a pair of Volcano Juncos hopped across the ground nearly at our boot tips.
After the cool heights of Savegre, the toasty Pacific lowlands were definitely a bit of a shock! We worked our way north to the vast coastal resort of Punta Leona, our base for the next few days, with a few detours on our way to pick up some special species. First up was a glittering Turquoise Cotinga, which Vernon spotted in a distant treetop while we baked in San Isidro. Next was a panting Common Potoo perched, bizarrely, in a dead tree in full sun. And finally, a brief stop along a busy roadside brought a Mangrove Hummingbird into close focus when it perched repeatedly in some weeds at the edge of a mangrove swamp. The extensive grounds around our lodge yielded many species: a hunting Crane Hawk, a singing Baird's Trogon, a male Great Currasow sitting quietly in the canopy, Double-striped Thick-knees panting on a playing field, a trio of Blue-throated Goldentails, a warbling Blue-black Grosbeak, and more, including garrulous Scarlet Macaws that screeched and squawked and gabbled as they swirled in colorful flocks overhead or sparred in the trees over our rooms. We spent a full day at nearby Carara National Park, walking the Quebrada Bonita trail in the morning and the quieter Sendero Laguna Meandrica in the afternoon. A small antswarm along the former gave us another taste of this neotropical phenomenon, with Chestnut-backed and Bicolored antbirds, Tawny-winged Woodcreepers, a Northern Plain-Xenops and Gray-headed Tanagers gobbling up the invertebrates fleeing from the ants. A mixed flock of Dot-winged and Slaty antwrens twitched past. A Pale-billed Woodpecker hung from the giant fruits it was feasting on. A Tropical Royal Flycatcher sat quietly near its "flood debris" nest and a young, brilliant green Velvety Manakin practiced his dance steps near the forest floor. Along the Sendero Laguna Meandrica, Orange-crowned Manakins sat quietly on their lek, waiting for a passing female and a pair of White-whiskered Puffbirds took vigorous dust baths in the middle of the trail. We found a sleeping Black-and-white Owl high in a tree outside a nearby village, and a mangrove swamp just down the road from there held Northern Scrub-Flycatcher, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Scrub Greenlet and Green-breasted Mango. A Barred Antshrike produced a tail-pumping, virtuoso performance while White-lored Gnatcatchers and Scrub Euphonias fluttered through the trees above it.
A busy morning in the dry Guanacaste thorn forest northwest of Carara yielded a whole new suite of birds. There, the familiar Blue Grosbeak, White-winged and Inca doves, and White-tailed Kite mixed with the more exotic. Turquoise-browed Motmots swung their pendulum tails while a handsome male Long-tailed Manakin displayed his own fancy tail just over our heads. A pair of Spot-bellied Bobwhite serenaded from a head-high branch while a quartet of Stripe-headed Sparrows flicked through a bush nearby. Orange-fronted Parakeets and Streak-backed Orioles nibbled on fruits, a sleepy Pacific Screech-Owl snoozed in a bamboo stand and a couple of immature Hook-billed Kites made a brief appearance before diving into the forest undergrowth. White-throated Magpie-Jays, sporting their distinctive curly topknots, panted in the heat, while a Banded Wren proved more surreptitious as it crawled through dense foliage. We had to work hard for a view of two equally skulking Lesser Ground-Cuckoos, but we got there in the end! That afternoon, a boat trip along the Tarcoles River brought us eye to eye with a host of shorebirds, gulls, terns, herons, and egrets, including a couple of Bare-throated Tiger-Herons that had clearly learned that boatmen bring fish -- as had a Common Black Hawk and a Yellow-headed Caracara, which both demonstrated their impressive "fish retrieval" skills. We spotted four species of kingfisher, including a tiny American Pygmy Kingfisher which whacked an even tinier fish to death on a low branch. A couple of Mangrove Yellow Warblers were a hit, as were a gang of Costa Rican Swifts that repeatedly surged past us as they scooped up mouthfuls of water. Mangrove Swallows trailed after the boat, returning again and again to provision an out-of-sight nest tucked in a corner somewhere. And dozens of Lesser Nighthawks winnowed overhead as we headed back to the dock as the light slowly faded from the sky. We climbed into the low hills near the park the following morning, adding two soaring King Vultures (an adult and an immature bird), a Zone-tailed Hawk quartering a hillside below us and a pair of Golden-naped Woodpeckers sharing a tree with their larger Lineated Woodpecker cousins.
We finished the tour in Monteverde, probably the best-known natural area in the country. In the epiphyte-draped forest of the Santa Elena reserve, on the hillsides of the Bajo del Tigre and along the myriad paths of Curi-Cancha, we made our final searches for some of Costa Rica's middle elevation species. Top of the list was Three-wattled Bellbird, and -- after a bit of scuttling back and forth along a couple of steep, twisty paths -- we had fabulous views of a male bonging away from a succession of perches in the canopy. A Bare-shanked Screech-Owl glared from its moss-covered perch, calling softly. Busy mixed flocks swarmed through trees along paths: Ruddy Treerunners and Spotted Barbtails crept up trunks, Lineated and Scaly-throated foliage-gleaners gleaned (appropriately) along branches, Slate-throated and Collared redstarts sallied after insects and Costa Rican Warblers twitched through the undergrowth. A Red-faced Spinetail (or two) ferried endless mouthfuls to a surprisingly large globular nest. Rufous-and-white Wrens chortled from the forest edges, occasionally flicking into view. We finished our trip at hummingbird feeders that attracted a whirlwind of visitors, including big Violet Sabrewings with their flashy white tail tips, tiny endemic Coppery-headed Emeralds, rusty-shouldered Stripe-tailed Hummingbirds, and our only Magenta-throated Woodstars. Then it was the long, slow drive back to San Jose through the interminable construction zone, and our final checklist and farewell dinner.
Thanks so much for coming along! It was good fun birding with all of you. Thanks also to our very capable Costa Rica crew; our outstanding local guide (we're looking at you, Vernon!) and our super capable driver (and at you Luis!) added much to the proceedings. And, of course, thanks to Caroline in our office and Soñia at Costa Rica Gateway, who helped put the whole thing together. I hope this report helps to bring back some good memories!
Other critters of interest:
Mammals:
NORTHERN BLACK-EARED OPOSSUM (Didelphis marsupialis)
NORTHERN GHOST BAT (Diclidurus albus)
HONDURAN WHITE BAT (Ectophylla alba)
THOMAS'S FRUIT-EATING BAT (Dermanura watsoni)
MANTLED HOWLER MONKEY (Alouatta palliata)
WHITE-FACED CAPUCHIN (Cebus capucinus)
HOFFMANN'S TWO-TOED SLOTH (Choloepus hoffmanni)
BROWN-THROATED THREE-TOED SLOTH (Bradypus variegatus)
VARIEGATED SQUIRREL (Sciurus variegatoides)
RED-TAILED SQUIRREL (Sciurus granatensis)
CENTRAL AMERICAN DWARF SQUIRREL (Microsciurus alfari)
CENTRAL AMERICAN AGOUTI (Dasyprocta punctata)
NORTHERN RACCOON (Procyon lotor)
WHITE-NOSED COATI (Nasua narica)
COLLARED PECCARY (Dicotyles tajacu)
WHITE-TAILED DEER (Odocoileus virginianus)
Reptiles and Amphibians:
GREEN IGUANA (Iguana iguana)
BLACK SPINY-TAILED IGUANA (Ctenosaura similis)
STRIPED BASILISK (Basiliscus vittatus)
TROPICAL HOUSE GECKO (Hemidactylus mabouia)
EYELASH VIPER (Bothriechis schlegelii)
NEOTROPICAL BIRD-EATING SNAKE (Psuestes poecilonotus)
AMERICAN CROCODILE (Crocodylus acutus)
SPECTACLED CAIMAN (Caiman crocodilus)
STRAWBERRY POISON DART FROG (Oophaga pumilo)
GREEN-AND-BLACK POISON DART FROG (Dendrobates auratus)
RED-EYED LEAF FROG (Agalychnis calidryas)
BLACK RIVER TURTLE (Rhinoclemmys funereal)
SCORPION MUD TURTLE (Kinosternon scorpioides)
MARINE TOAD (Rhinella marina)
LEAF LITTER TOAD (Rhaebo haematiticus)
You can see my complete trip report on eBird at this link: https://ebird.org/tripreport/486602
You can download a combined PDF of this page and the eBird report at this link: https://fieldguides.com/triplists/cos26TRIPLIST.pdf
-- Megan