Cameras have come a long way from the days when we worried about our film being affected by x-rays at the airport. Nowadays, while we still call them cameras, the digital photographic devices of the 21st century are on such a different level that perhaps it would be better to refer to them as Digital [...]
Continue reading about Want to Take Pictures of Birds in Costa Rica? Visit the Nature Pavilion!
One of the innumerable cool things about watching birds compared to say, mammals, is that many tend to be colorful, decorative, and downright ornate. Not that there aren’t ornate mammals too but let’s face it, the general color scheme for mammal species happens to be brown. Some bird species have even managed to get “ornate” [...]
Ujarras, Costa Rica is a small settlement situated near the Cachi Dam. This structure is in turn located in the Orosi Valley and is meant to hold back the water of the Reventazon River so it can be used to generate electricity. A side effect was the creation of a lake that produced Costa Rica’s [...]
Continue reading about A few Highlights from Costa Rica Birding at Ujarras
Birding hotspots don’t just earn that claim to fame for the bird species that show up. While rarities and high quality species are certainly part of the hotspot equation, other factors also determine a site’s eligibility on the hotspot scale. For example, in Costa Rica, we can surmise that birding in the middle of large [...]
Continue reading about VaraBlanca- Overlooked Costa Rican Birding Hotspot
Hummingbirds are known for their glittering, jewel-like plumage, ad feisty, sprite-like behavior. I’m not sure if they had anything to do with being part of the inspiration for Disney’s Tinkerbell character but she sure acts like one of the Trochilidae. On a near constant sugar high, more than 50 species of hummingbirds zip around Costa [...]
This past weekend, I guided the Birding Club of Costa Rica’s trip to Esquinas Rainforest Lodge and surroundings. I’ve been there once before and as with that first experience, I am just dying to get back there! The birding is pretty much first rate, the herps are pretty darn good too, the service is excellent, [...]
Continue reading about The Birding is Always Good at Esquinas Rainforest Lodge
On the underbirded, super birdy route between San Ramon and La Fortuna, one of the many sites of interest is the Bosque Nuboso El Cocora Hummingbird and Butterfly Garden. It’s just a 20 minute ride from San Ramon to this sweet little site and even a short visit is well worth the $6 entrance fee. [...]
Continue reading about The Hummingbird Garden Near San Ramon
Poas Volcano is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Costa Rica. Buses, cars, and even bicycles make the long, uphill trek to Poas National Park every day of the year, weekends being especially popular. Despite the lines of folks who undertake the Poas pilgrimage, very few are birders. They are there for the [...]
Continue reading about An Impressive Day of Birding around Poas
The rains have made their annual return to Costa Rica and the landscape has shown its thanks with a green blush on the Pacific Slope. Areas that were a dessicated gray-brown just a month and half ago would go unrecognized in their present tropical green attire. Tall, fresh grass adorns fields and road verges, insects [...]
Continue reading about Benefits of Birding Carara National Park at the Start of the Wet Season
Playa Hermosa is a beach in the northwestern part of Costa Rica. There may be other places called “lovely beach” in the country but this is the official one. The beach is decent but, for birding, you should really head inland. I went up that way this past weekend for a short family vacation with [...]
Continue reading about Good Birding in Costa Rica near Playa Hermosa
