A lot of birders automatically assume that they have to stay at La Selva when birding the Caribbean lowlands near San Jose. Although that was probably true 30 years ago, birders have had their pick of accommodations ranging from Bed and Breakfasts to full scale eco-lodges since the early 90s. Although you can still stay [...]
Continue reading about Easy, Great Caribbean Lowland Birding in Costa Rica at El Gavilan Hotel
The Sarapiqui region has long been known as one of the main stops on every birding trip to Costa Rica. Home of the La Selva research station, the fame of this rainforest reserve helped spur the development of ecotourism in Sarapiqui during the late 80s and early 90s. Several hotels that cater to birders were [...]
Continue reading about New Birding site in Costa Rica with a Lot of Potential
El Tapir is a defunct butterfly garden (how many sites have that claim to fame?) a couple kilometers past Quebrada Gonzalez on the right side of the highway as you head towards Limon. During the latter 90s it received a fair number of visitors and cabins were being built to provide accommodation for excited, happy [...]
Costa Rica probably hasn’t experienced a good snowfall since the last ice age and even then it was surely limited to the highest peaks. Treeline habitats probably experience frost once in a while but most of the country is consistently warm. The chance of even the tiniest bit of snow further diminishes when global warming [...]
Continue reading about Is It Going to Snow when Birding Costa Rica?
Sleep was almost as evasive as a Harpy Eagle or a dry day in Tortuguero National Park. This did not bode well for the long day of birding that awaited us in the Veragua count circle. Who knows how long we would have to hike in the humid Caribbean lowland heat? Not to mention, we [...]
Not many birders make it down to southeastern Costa Rica. Although the towns of Puerto Viejo de Talamanca and Cahuita are major stops on the backpacker circuit, you don’t see many people walking around with roof prism, light-gathering optics. Birdwatchers are a rare sight in the southeast because they get their Caribbean lowland fix at [...]
Continue reading about The Veragua Rainforest Christmas Count (part one)
Costa Rica has more than one Rio Frio. Even though “Rio Frio” means “cold river”, oddly enough, I have only visited sites known by this descriptive name in the Caribbean lowlands. This region’s tropical humid climate ensures that none of the rivers are particularly cold so I feel perplexed every time I end up being [...]
Continue reading about A Brief bit of Birding in Costa Rica around Rio Frio
Sadly, the places that act as true models for sustainable living are far and few between. This is all too apparent when driving along just about any road in Costa Rica. Look out the window in any direction and you come face to face with urbanization, pasture, or intensively farmed land. Patches of habitat are [...]
Continue reading about More Organic Farm Birding in Costa Rica at The Finca Luna Nueva
What makes a hotel truly worthy of the “eco-lodge” title? How about one that is also an organic farm, protects primary rainforest, provides employment to locals, prefers guests who dig the natural world, and strives to be sustainable. In all of the above respects, the Finca Luna Nueva Lodge fits the bill perfectly. I was [...]
Continue reading about Good Costa Rica Birding at the Finca Luna Nueva Lodge
Cinchona is known in Costa Rica as the town that was destroyed by a 6.1 magnitude earthquake on January 9th, 2009. Most structures in that quaint town and the surrounding area collapsed, landslides wiped out large sections of route 126, and more than 30 people lost their lives. Birders were especially familiar with the area [...]
Continue reading about Visit The New Cinchona Hummingbird Cafe when Birding Costa Rica
