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Costa Rica on a relaxed birding pace

10,000 Birds

Few places boast so many different bird species in such a small area — over 900 species (more than Europe, or all of the United States and Canada combined), including 75 different families, like 51 species of hummingbirds, 48 warblers, and 45 tanagers. It was close to 5 a.m., the best time for city traffic to eat me alive.

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Caribbean Lowland Birding at Ara Ambigua Lodge, Costa Rica

10,000 Birds

Although a lot of beautiful rainforest was replaced by bananas, cattle pasture, and other ag-lands many years ago, at least we can still enjoy great birding at a number of sites, most of which are easily accessible including Sarapiqui, the most visited site in the lowlands north of San Jose.

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Easy, Bonus Birding at Cano Negro, Costa Rica

10,000 Birds

From San Jose, it takes four to four and a half hours but given the excellent birding opps on the way, you might want to allocate a bit more time. Although a straight fast road might not seem to be a big deal, it’s a rare, welcome occurrence in seriously mountainous Costa Rica.