This trip report is intended for those who would like to see a broad section of Costa Rica, travel independently & bird along the way in a not too exclusive fashion. If you are on a limited budget it's best avoiding staying at one of the many top end birding lodges, but it should not detract from finding birds and having an truly enjoyable experience.
I won't bore anyone with a list of the 260 birds we saw in the 16 days, this is just about the practicalities and hopefully some good advice and helpful info.
We only used a guide once, but where it’s practical and affordable I would suggest you use their services to find species that are easily missed otherwise. Guides start at about $25 per person.
We had some great experiences and a lot had nothing to do with birds. So many other interesting living things about with plants and flowers the like you have never seen. Two of my best wildlife sightings were not even birds. The Blue Morph butterfly (fairly common) is just about the most heart-stoppingly beautiful living thing I have ever seen. Another was walking into a Tayra (giant member of the weasel family - common but rarely seen) it was so unexpected and totally awesome.
Literature:
I used several books to aid my quest, the obvious field guide “Birds of Costa Rica” – Richard Garriques.
Lightweight, nice illustrations and descriptions, just don’t take the distribution maps too seriously, they are more of a loose guide and you will find certain species out of their given range.
I also printed a “Shortcut List” that I laminated and stuck in the last two pages of the guide, invaluable for quickly finding pages:
http://www.fileupyours.com/view/327948/Birds%20Costa%20Rica%20Shortcuts.pdf
A one page version is also available:
http://www.fileupyours.com/files/327948/Shortcut%20page.pdf
The other book I carried is “Where to watch birds Costa Rica” – Barrett Lawson.
This book was tremendous help in giving advice, some excellent birding sites with their target species and an area list of the species for each location. What’s really helpful is that only regular occurring species are listed, with those that one are more or less expected to find indicated in bold.
http://www.amazon.com/A-Bird-Finding-Guide-Costa-Rica/dp/0801475848/ref=la_B0034NXQ5G_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1342560362&sr=1-1
Another book that gives remarkable insight into understanding tropical bird behaviour,evolution & habitats is “Birds of tropical America” – Steven Hilty
Because neo-tropical birds are so widely different in all aspects from their temperate-zone relatives, this book is a must read before heading down to CR or anywhere else in the tropics.
http://www.amazon.com/Birds-Tropical-America-Curious-Naturalist/dp/1881527565
For birdcalls you can listen or download anything at:
http://www.xeno-canto.org/
Of the many travel guides available my first choice was “The Rough Guide” and second “Lonely Planet”
Season:
This was the start of the rainy (low) season(end June / beg July) and the birds were breeding. I would rather endure a few rainy afternoons than heapfuls of tourists. Prices for car rental & accommodation are lower with most places and you don’t have to book in advance. Most of the migrant species were absent, which for me (as non-American) was a big plus in id’ing birds. You would have Flycatchers and Warblers coming out the yazoo otherwise.
Transport:
Don’t use the public transport system unless you have only one destination, infinite time or even more patience.
Hire a 4x4 if you are going to any of the mountainous or dirt road areas, otherwise a car could do.
We hired a 4x4 from Wild Rider http://www.wild-rider.com , they don’t have any hidden fees and scams, insurance is included. Good prompt service + free road map.
You can probably get away with no GPS, but the stress of finding your way around San Jose might just make it worthwhile (around $4.50 a day). I did not find Costa Rica that bad to drive around in, but there are a few things you have to watch for: Unmarked speed bumps that you cannot see even in the daytime– these are vicious and frequently encountered, locals call them “muertas” (dead bodies).
Most bridges out of cities are one lane only – you have to watch for the CEDA (give way) sign to see who has right of way in this little game of chicken. Have some local coins when driving through / around San Jose, there are loads of tolls.
Speed limits are very random 40 (sometimes 40 minimum) / 60 / 80, we never saw any traffic police but there are speeding cameras around. Double yellow lines that all the trucks ignore are the norm.
Keep your wits about you and your eyes peeled for big holes in the road.
Money:
Everyone accepts USD (smaller notes) or Colones no probs. No one seems to be too fussed about the exact current exchange rate and will happily do 500 CRC to 1 USD.
Cash is king, you will normally pay less for accommodation in cash (up to 20% and / or no tax)
We also used a USD Cash Card for paying at the hotels that it did not make a difference to.
Food:
Soda’s offer the best value for food, Casados (rice, beans, salad, fried plantain and a meat of your choice) are the staple washed down with a glass of fruit juice.
Local beers by European standards are abysmal. Bottled wine is widely available and mostly expensive but you would be sure to enjoy a box of “Clos” wine from Chili.
All the fruit is fantastic, we picked up loads for free that were just dropping from trees in wild abandon.
Clothing:
Long pants are a must when you are hiking. The mozzies are bad but the ants are far worse. Always put insect repellent on your feet and ankles and tuck your pant legs into your socks to stop them running up your legs in a fiery biting frenzy. (According to those in the know you can stand in the middle of a swarm of army ants and they will only come up to your knees as long as you don’t move or mask their trail. I would be happy if anyone else can confirm this theory as my wife was not willing to try it).
For footwear we just used lightweight quick drying running shoes for hikes and waterproof sandals for the rest (I love my Tevas).
Mud was not a problem on the majority of hikes. Inside reserves most public footpaths are paved with gravel and you can rent rubber boots in some.
Lightweight, quick drying clothing is essential, mountains can get a bit nippy at night.
Take some anti-odour stuff as everything (especially shoes) starts to smell after a while.
Accommodation:
We stayed in a mixture of Backpackers “pensions”, B&B’s, Hotels and Lodges.
Our accommodation ranged from between $40 to $90 per day for a double (about $60 average and nearly all included breakfast). Most were excellent, some places presented better value than others.
No need to book in the low season unless it’s a holiday weekend. I would suggest to pre-book at Arenal Observatory Lodge as it’s super-popular with limited space.
Everyone has free WiFi available and regional maps were freely available from most places that we stayed.
Itinerary:
Arrive in San Jose Airport and stayed with a friend for the night – Thanks Dewald !
I would suggest that you do not drive if you arrive after dark, lots of local places to stay in Alajuela and surrounds.
From there we did a loop of about 1000km taking in 9 destinations.
1st Stop - San Gerardo de Dota – Cerro de la Muerte (Mountain of Death!) on the Pacific side the Talamanca Mountains.
Stayed at Trogon Lodge, a bit pricy but really lovely place. If your budget is smaller you can stay on the site that has the Quetzals. Look out for “Mirador de Quetzales” on the left crossing the river over another treacherous bridge a bit after you have passed Trogon Lodge on the way down. This road down to the lodges is unpaved, steep and mean. Whilst driving here we saw a male Quetzal that flew out of the forest, missed our car by a few feet and very obligingly landed on a tree-stump in the open a few meters away. Nice!
2nd - Marina Ballena NP on the Pacific, nearest town is Uvita.
Did three high altitude stops on the way to the coast as per the Where to Watch Guide, easily picking up things like Volcano Hummingbird, Junco and Flower Piercer.
Stayed in Flutterby Lodge, a friendly place with shared bathrooms and well equipped kitchen all set nicely into enclosed gardens(beware falling mangoes though). It’s located a stone’s throw to miles of tropical beach (no entrance fee) and I did most of my birding around the rural country lanes and surrounds.
The other location as per my guide book was at a place called Oro Verde. This is a biological station run by 5 brothers 3 kilometres up a dirt road. they do guided hikes by arrangement and you could possibly stay there too. I was chatting to one of them but a sudden afternoon rainstorm put a rapid end to our conversation.
To get there: As you leave Uvita, take the first road on the right after the second bridge, it’s marked as Josecito if I remember correctly. Bird along the entire road but it’s best around Oro Verde and a little beyond. Good views down to the ocean as well at one viewing point. Saw my first 3 Toed Sloth and Blue Morph here too.
3rd – Manuel Antonio NP, what can I say...
Here’s a excellent example of tourism killing a star attraction. Overrun by gazillions of tourists and pushy guides, my advice would be to head straight past. All you will miss is a very small pretty beach with no soul where wildlife will mug you for your packed lunch. Needless to say we got out as soon as we could.
If you insist on finding out for yourself, I can recommend Villa Prats Hotel a few 100 meters from the park entrance.
4th – Carara NP
Nearest town Tarcoles, we stayed at Cerro Lodge which is fairly new and located on a ridge overlooking the area a bit North of the “crocodile” bridge crossing the river. Really enjoyed staying here, mostly because we had the place to ourselves but you have to see the great “open air – garden” bathroom that each cabina has. Scarlet Macaws are unmissable as they fly over like red barons. Check the road for Pauraque after dark and the grassland alongside for Blue Grosbeak. The NP is a 20 minute drive from here. Note that Carara NP opens an hour later in low season at 8am and the place where you pay for the permit is not at the main building where you would expect it to be. (It’s up a track on the right).
The river trail is near the “croc” bridge and not in the main park. It was not very productive for us on the day but we did encounter Orange-collared Manakins.
Driving around Tarcoles area and the river produced more birds than in the park itself and there is also a dirt road next to the forest going up the hill to a waterfall (opposite the Tarcoles turnoff) that is worth exploring. More on all that in the bird finding book plus an additional location; Parrita River Mouth that's on the way to Carara if you come from the South.
There is a very good Soda opposite the turnoff to Cerro Lodge, but they do close early at 5pm.
5th – Monteverde and Santa Elena
The best place to see Bellbird when they are calling (Get familiar with Bellbird and Solitaire calls before) is the viewing platform at Bajo del Tigre. We spotted one straight away perched up in a dead tree on the far right. Good birding to be had all around this area, along the roads, gardens and parking area. If you want to do their trails you can go as early as you like and put the entrance fee through the door if no one is up yet. They also do night walks. The hummingbird feeders at Monteverde are spectacular. I had the pleasure of rescuing a Copper-Tailed that got tangled in some spider webs. For primary cloud forest we did the trails up a Santa Elena NP, a bit quieter than popular Monteverde. The road getting there is very rough half hour drive from town. Saw a Jaguarundi crossing it early morning.
If you want to stay in Santa Elena town I can recommend the Pension Santa Elena or closer to Monteverde the Mariposa B&B.
If you drive the seemingly short distance from Santa Elena to Arenal around the lake allow 3 – 4 hours. The road up and down the mountain to the nearest towns on either side is unpaved.
6th – Arenal NP
Observatory Lodge, don’t stay anywhere else if you can help it. More expensive than other places, snobby staff and they will nail you for the “captive audience” dinner are some negatives but it’s worth it just for the gardens and surrounds alone. Absolutely brilliant even if the volcano stays hidden under a blanket of clouds for weeks (so don’t worry about rooms not having volcano views) Forget about walking in the rest of the park and doing the Trogon trail. There are plenty of trails right on your doorstep 24/7. Great Curasou can be seen in the garden trails around the pool area, just follow the deep booming call. A troop of Spider Monkeys hang out here and I had a fleeting glimpse of a Grey Fox. There are several well placed observation platforms around.
My best experience was watching True Antbirds on the Waterfall Trail. It was captivating to see Ocelated, Spotted and Bicolored Antbirds feed amongst a swarm of army ants two or three meters away from where I was standing. Read the Steven Hilty book if you would like to learn about their fascinating and complex behaviour.
There are other roads & trails a little further out that are devoid of other guests and pass right by tracts of primary forest. Here it was easy to find bird parties and also where we encountered the black Tayra, more Blue Morphs and countless other interesting things.
If there was one place I could have stayed a few days more it was here. Ah, the sounds of Orenpendolas still rings in my ears...
7th – Puerto Viejo Sarapiqui & La Selva
We stayed at Posada Andrea Cristina run by a local family with a passion for wildlife and birds. They are also involved in Green Macaw conservation work and have recue parrots and Two Toed Sloths living on the property. The accommodation is situated next to a rather noisy main road and was a little “closed in” for our liking, but we nevertheless had a fantastic time there. Owner Alex’s son Kevin is a brilliant bird guide and took us walking on private land next to La Selva. First bird of the day was a Bat Falcon sitting casually next to the aforementioned road. Kevin knew and could imitate almost every bird call and showed us many things we would otherwise have overlooked like the Blue Jean poison arrow frog. Saw Orependola feeding Giant Cowbird and Sparrows with a Shiny Cowbird chick, loads of the area target-species like the hard-to-see White-collared Manakin and had a nice flyby by a party of Great Green Macaw. The morning’s birding was followed by one of the best breakfasts we had in Costa Rica. The other option in the area (that we did not do) is to go to La Selva in the morning for their 8am guided nature tour.
I also want to personally recommend the Soda “La Abuela Tipica” nearby for their outstanding good and well priced food.
8th - Puerto Viejo de Talamanca & Cahuita NP
Coco Loco Lodge in Puerto Viejo and the two smaller cabinas at Casa Viva near Punta Uva are both excellent places to stay. Apart from the gardens, the road going inland from near Casa Viva is good to bird along as well as various little wetland / river mouth habitats around. Check the beaches after dark for Night Herons. Punta Uva is a great place to snorkel.
9th – Orosi near Tapanti NP Cachi Dam
Our last location we stayed in the town of Orosi to take advantage of nearby locations like Tapanti NP and a drive around Cachi Dam. The road leading from Orosi to Tapanti is good to bird along. Mostly coffee plantations in-between trees but there are lots of river crossings and a very nice bit of riverine forest on the left just as you leave Orosi located next to the I.C.E PowerStation.
The only problem at Cachi dam is that it’s all fenced off on the dam side and things are it’s not easy to see from the road. Perhaps there is another way down elsewhere with better views?
Pura Vida and enjoy your trip to Costa Rica!
Gerhard Geldenhuys
Suffolk
United Kingdom