A Day of Birding in Costa Rica

What's a day of birding in Costa Rica like? Is it anything like watching Robins and other familiar species in the garden? Do you scope for waders? Watch the skies for raptors?

In some ways, birding in Costa Rica is like birding back home; you look for birds and then use binoculars to see and identify them. And yes, you can also scope for waders, keep an eye on the sky for hawks, kites, and eagles, and indeed, watch birds right in the garden. However, the birding in Costa Rica is also going to differ from birding back and home, and not just in the types of birds you see. Most of all, you'll see a lot more species, dozens more, even hundreds more species.

Some will act like birds at home but, as befits a place with a list of more than 930 species, you'll also see birds exhibiting a much wider variety of behaviors. The birding dynamic can be somewhat more intense, is always exciting, and incredibly rewarding. Just as birding in Colorado differs from birding in Florida, a day of birding in Costa Rica also depends on where you bring your binoculars. These true stories give an idea of what to expect.

A Day of Birding at a Hotel with Good Bird Habitat

"The alarm went off but I was already awake. Hard not to be on my first day of birding in Costa Rica! I got ready as fast as I could and, not really knowing what to expect, ventured outside. As soon as I opened the door, I started hearing birds; unfamiliar ones, lifers!

I looked for the bird singing a loud, rollicking song and found it but what the heck was it? It had bold eyebrows, was white below, and patterned rufous-brown above! Our guide mentioned, "Rufous-backed Wren" and I thought, no way that's a wren! It was nearly as big as a thrush but that's what they said. Still pondering the over-sized wren, I heard the guide say, "Masked Tityra". Looking up, there it was, a white bird with a pink face!! I kid you not, it had a pink face.

Just as quickly, I heard the guides call out, "Crimson-fronted Parakeets", "Great Kiskadee" (so that's what was making all that racket!), "Blue-gray Tanagers", and more birds, each one a lifer, one after another, each one utterly fantastic. When they loudly exclaimed, "Yellow-naped Parrot!", we knew it must have been a special bird. They were clearly more excited about that than the others. After the big parrots flew on and out of sight, one of them explained why they were excited, "That's a good bird to see. Critically Endangered and Costa Rica is probably it's last stronghold!".

The birds kept coming; fancy Lesson's Motmots with beautiful blue and green plumage, tiny euphonias, lots of Clay-colored Thrushes, more flycatchers that resembled kiskadees but weren't. It was hard to eat breakfast but I managed (too many birds). The rest of the day was similar with more species revealing themselves, bit by bit, Brown Jay by Montezuma Oropendola, and even a small fancy toucan called, "Fiery-billed Aracari"!

The guides said the birds we saw were mostly common garden species. I thought, "If those are regular garden birds, which ones live in the forest?"

A Day of Birding in the Caribbean Lowlands

"The weather was warm and easy-going near San Jose and so was the birding. I thought it was pretty exciting (and it was) but it didn't come close to the birding in the Caribbean lowland rainforest. Just wow! Talk about intense. Garden birds included striking velvet black and bright red Scarlet-rumped Tanagers, gorgeous Golden-hooded Tanagers, beautiful Black-cowled Orioles, photogenic Black-cheeked Woodpeckers, and lots, lots more. Toucans were common!

Throughout the day, on visits to rainforest, seven species of parrots and parakeets flew overhead and we even had views of spectacular Great Green Macaws! The number of birds was astounding and we kept seeing new ones all day long. There were different woodpeckers including the gorgeous Chestnut-colored Woodpecker, woodcreepers, fancy Rufous-tailed Jacamars, more wren species, and even a roosting owl! Honestly, there were almost too many birds to count, maybe 130 species by the end of the day? It might have been more, I'm not sure, I just know that it was one fantastic bird after another.

You might think we had to hike through hot and muddy rainforest or take some expedition to see that many but nope! All that birding was pretty easy-going and even included time to rest after a delicious lunch."

A Day of Birding in Cloud Forest

"I loved birding in the rainforest zone but honestly, it was nice to get to some cooler weather. All it took was driving uphill and there we were, birding in beautiful cloud forest. Tree ferns, moss and a profusion of plants growing everywhere; I never saw anything like it!

There was also a whole new set of bird species. I think we did see Great Kiskadees and a few other common species too but most of the birds were new, birds like Collared Trogon, absurd Violet Sabrewings, and stunning Spangle-cheeked Tanagers. Those fancy little birds foraged in mixed flocks with acrobatic Red-faced Spinetails, Spotted Woodcreeper, and other species.

It was all good but it's hard not to give the prize to the Resplendent Quetzal. I mean, yes, that bird really is beyond your wildest birding dreams. You can totally see why the Mayans revered it. I swear, its feathers were emerald green or jade green or more shades of green with hints of blue and gold, it had an unreal crest, and its crazy long tail...it moved in the breeze! Oh yeah, and its belly looked like some velvet plush red material too."

These stories are brief but they give an idea of what each day in Costa Rica is like. Other birding days visit other birding places in Costa Rica but the results are still the same; dozens of bird species, many utterly fantastic, and, if it's your first trip to the tropics, all are lifers! Our birding tours in Costa Rica (and elsewhere) are a lot like this, contact us to learn about them.