Costa Rica has a well-deserved reputation among birders as a must-see destination. This little country has a list of over 850 species and a developed infrastructure that makes getting around easy. Though many of the birds found here are widespread throughout the Neotropics, there are also over 60 endemics shared only with neighboring Panama. Our weeklong tour will aim to take in as many of these as possible. The Osa Peninsula Extension gives you a taste of remote Costa Rica and a chance to pick up rare and localized species like Yellow-billed Cotinga and the Costa Rican endemic Black-cheeked Ant-Tanager.

Day 1: Arrival. After arrival in San José you’ll be transported to our comfortable hotel for the night.

Day 2: The Highlands. We’ll start with a bit of birding on the grounds of our San José hotel, where the main target will be the localized Prevost’s Ground-Sparrow. Afterwards, we’ll drive up into the mountains southwest of San José to begin looking for birds of the Chiriquí Highlands. Along the Providencia Road we hope to find Sooty Robin and perhaps a few skulkers like Zeledonia (Wrenthrush) and Large-footed Finch. Our base for the next two nights will be the excellent Savegre Mountain Hotel, set amid lush cloudforest at 2700m. Around the lodge we’ll look for Mountain Elaenia, Scintillant Hummingbird, and the dapper Long-tailed Silky-Flycatcher. After dark, we have an opportunity to try for Dusky Nightjar.

Day 3: Savegre. We bird the trails at Savegre today, in search of Costa Rican Pygmy-Owl, Silvery-throated Jay, and of course the spectacular Resplendent Quetzal. We’ll concentrate on mixed flocks, which should produce Spangle-cheeked Tanager, Flame-throated Warbler, Ruddy Treerunner, and Buffy Tuftedcheek.

Day 4: Cerro de la Muerte to Las Cruces. This morning we’ll leave Savegre and drive south along the Continental Divide, stopping in at a roadside café to check the feeders for Fiery-throated Hummingbird. If the weather cooperates, we’ll also drive up to the páramo to look for Volcano Junco and Timberline Wren. Descending from the heights of Cerro de la Muerte, we’ll enter the endemic-rich Pacific slope rainforest. We’ll make a few quick stops for localized species such as Crested Oropendola before arriving in the foothills near the Panama border. In the marshy areas near San Vito we’ll look for Chiriquí Yellowthroat, Scaled Pigeon, and Bran-colored Flycatcher. By dinnertime we’ll check into the Wilson Botanical Gardens at Las Cruces, our accommodation for two nights. 

Day 5: Wilson Botanical Gardens. Birding around Las Cruces should bring us quite a few Pacific rainforest endemics, like Rufous-breasted Wren, Snowy-bellied Hummingbird, and the striking Fiery-billed Araçari. Other targets include White-ruffed Manakin, Red-crowned Ant-Tanager, and Scarlet-thighed Dacnis. This area also seems to have one of the highest concentrations of Blue-crowned Motmots anywhere.

Day 6: Travel to Carara. After some more early morning birding around Las Cruces, we’ll drive along the coast toward Carara National Park, looking for open-country species like Pearl Kite along the way. Carara is one of the birdiest areas of Costa Rica, due in no small part to its position at the interface of two very different forest types: humid rainforest and dry deciduous forest. After checking in to our lodge, our base for the next two nights, we’ll do some birding locally.

Day 7: Carara NP. Early in the morning we’ll bird the Tarcol River Trail, a wide, easy track absolutely teeming with birds. This is a great place to look for Baird’s Trogon, Royal Flycatcher, Black-bellied and Riverside Wrens, Streak-chested Antpitta, and Stub-tailed Spadebill, as well as roosting colonies of the bizarre Boat-billed Heron. After lunch (and depending on the tides), we’ll take a boat along the Tarcol River Estuary, looking for denizens of the mangroves like Panama Flycatcher and Mangrove Vireo, and with luck, the Costa Rican endemic Mangrove Hummingbird. Bare-throated Tiger-Heron and Roseate Spoonbill are among the waterbirds we’ll see.

Day 8: Return to San José. On our last full day of birding, we could visit another trail in the national park, or possibly bird drier forest for gems like Black-headed Trogon, Turquoise-browed Motmot, and the inquisitive White-throated Magpie-Jay. In the afternoon we’ll return to San José for our final night, making a detour along the way to look for a pair of Black-and-white Owls. Time permitting, we’ll make a short afternoon excursion to check some hummingbird feeders near San José for the Costa Rican endemic Coppery-headed Emerald.

Day 9: Departure. You’ll be transferred to the airport for international departure or an early morning flight from San José to Puerto Jimenez for the Osa Peninsula Extension.

Osa Peninsula Extension

Owing to its remoteness and its large expanses of protected habitat, the Osa is without a doubt the wildest area left in Costa Rica, and it’s home to the largest population of Scarlet Macaws in the country. It’s also loaded with Pacific rainforest endemics just barely shared with Panama, and the Black-cheeked Ant-Tanager, an endemic found in this little part of Costa Rica and nowhere else. The trip is based at the fantastic Bosque del Río Tigre Lodge, a family-run naturalist’s paradise set at the edge of a rocky foothill river.

Day 1: After arriving in Puerto Jimenez from San José we’ll travel to the little village of Dos Brazos and and check into our accommodations at Bosque del Río Tigre Lodge. En route, we can check mangroves along the beach for the endemic Mangrove Hummingbird. After settling into the lodge, we’ll spend the afternoon birding open areas nearby, looking for Scrub Greenlet, Plain Wren, and Costa Rican Swift.

Day 2: We’ll begin the morning with a visit to a lek of Orange-collared Manakins. After watching their animated display, we’ll continue to bird the forest around the lodge, where we might encounter Black-hooded Antshrike, Eye-ringed Flatbill, Golden-naped Woodpecker, Red-capped Manakin, and Marbled Wood-Quail. In the afternoon we’ll walk up the Piedras Blancas River to check flowering trees for the diminutive White-crested Coquette. We’ll also be on the lookout for a secretive Fasciated Tiger-Heron hunting the rapids.

Day 3: This morning we’ll head out before dawn and drive to Rincón, where the Osa Peninsula joins the mainland. Our main target will be the sought-after Yellow-billed Cotinga, though we’ll also likely see Scarlet Macaws and a host of other species. Red-breasted Blackbirds are sometimes found in the cleared fields that line the road. After returning to the lodge, we’ll relax and watch the various feeders for local specialties like Charming Hummingbird, Black-cheeked Ant-Tanager, Gray-chested Dove, and perhaps even a Little Tinamou. 

Day 4: On our last morning in the Río Tigre area, we’ll plan to take another walk up the river, looking for Black-bellied Wren, Slate-headed Tody-Flycatcher, Great Antshrike, and anything we may have missed.  Around midday, we’ll fly back to San José for the final night.

Day 5: You’ll be transferred to the San José airport for international departure.

TOUR INFO:

CLIMATE: Hot and humid in the lowlands, cooler in the higlands. (Nights at Savegre can be chilly.) Rain is seasonal on the Pacific slope; call our office for details on the best timing for this trip.

DIFFICULTY: Easy. There is only one long travel day (Las Cruces to Carara) and the walking is mostly easy, though a few trails at Savegre are somewhat steep.

ACCOMMODATION: Good to excellent throughout.