Where to Go Birding in Costa Rica Upon Arrival?

Planning a birding trip requires a suite of considerations. They take the form of questions like, ” Where do I spend most of my precious birding time? Where do I stay? Who do I go birding with? Do I bring the non-birding family? The non-birding partner, and if so, how can I get in those essential moments of birding AND make them count (!) and will I secretly hate myself or resent my partner because we didn’t bring the car to a screeching halt when that probable lifer Ferruginous Hawk flew over the highway in Colorado, when I didn’t spend more time peering into that bush to see what was making that unfamiliar song in the garrigue of southern France, when I neglected to scream “Stop the car!” when we cruised right on past a flock of lifer Marbled Godwits in Florida?” Obviously, to avoid such mental strain, you just need to take birding vacations with your own fine self or at least with other birders.

I have followed that birding rubric on most occasions and as so, have largely avoided the painful stress of missing birds that could be easily glassed far from home (except the godwits, that actually did happen, I was eighteen, I still remember it, and even though I have seen hundreds since then, it continues to be an uncomfortable memory. One of those semi-painful little regrets because it was damn important to stop for godwits and spoonbills and who knows what else was with them! Ouchness).

I see you now but it doesn’t change the fact that I wanted to see you back then near Fort Meyers, Florida. Will you ever forgive me, oh long-billed shorebird of the northern prairies? Can I forgive myself?

That said, other common concerns may include things like “Do I hire a guide? Do I bring the scope? Do I purchase a full-fledged birding app for Costa Rica or give it a go with Merlin? Will the lodges have coffee in the morning and if not, how do I get some? Maybe I should bring emergency dark chocolate…maybe caffeine bars..”

Extra cacao please, I do believe this helps with the birding…

Of the concerns, one of the most important is where to stay for the first night because this determines where you have that incipient, fantastic, eye-opening lifer introduction. For example, in Costa Rica, you might not want to stay in the middle of San Jose because if you do that, you will subject yourself to unnecessary bird deprivation. The flocks of Crimson-fronted Parakeets will be nice and the Clay-coloreds will be sort of exciting at first but why go that route when you can stay closer to the airport and put the bins on technicolor, crazy Lesson’s Motmot for goodness sake! Or a Steely-vented Hummingbird, or a Rufous-breasted Wren, even a Red-crowned Ant-Tanager, and a real chance at that smart new endemic ground-sparrow thing?

Crazy beautiful bird and it lives in gardens in the Central Valley. My lifer was years ago perched on a picnic table. That was sort of mind-blowing and kind of Alice in Wonderlandish. Like, is that exotic blue and green bird with the red eye and long pendulum tail actually sitting on a picnic table? Pinch pinch, yes it is!

But where does such an intriguing place with motmots and the rest occur? Well guess what? Just outside of Alajuela and that means super close to the aiport! Check out Villa San Ignacio. Formerly known as the Hotel Orquideas, the new Villa offers up the same benefits of proximity to the airport, good service, and birdy habitat along with the additional advantages of new spacious rooms, refurbished grounds, and a downright delicious menu. I was there last weekend for our annual Birding Club of Costa Rica meeting and man was I impressed! The place was so green, replete with big trees, and inviting, I just felt like mindlessly wandering around the gardens for a couple of hours while listening to the ringing songs of Rufous-breasted Wrens, rattles of Hoffmann’s Woodpeckers, and the hoots of motmots. How could you not want that experience?

The Hoffamann’s is one of those snazzy zebra-backed Melanerpes. 

Some Villa gardens.

All of those singing birds were there and some. Since the place backs up to a forested riparian zone and patchwork of fields and woodlots, I dare say many other birds are also possible, at least for the Central Valley. AND, since this site is a bit lower in elevation, you can also see dry forest species like the Olive Sparrow, Streaked Flycatcher, and one of those flycatchers with an uncomfortably long name, the Northern Beardless Tyrannulet.  Speaking of said incognito, does it shave or is it just permanently baby-faced? Might as well change its name to Northern Baby-faced Tyrannulet, or Baby-faced Tyrannulet of the North, or, “Nibit” as that would encapsulate both small size and seemingly insignificant nature of the flycatcher that pretends to be a vireo that got Frankensteined with an Owl World Warbler.

Frankensteins come in many forms.

Whether you feel like pondering over the dull appearance of the Nibit or not, Villa San Ignacio is a very good contender for being the ideal place to start and stop a birding trip to Costa Rica. I plan on using it for tours and yes, it does indeed have the endemic ground-sparrow thingy! Want to stay there? Send me an email at [email protected]  Want some guiding from there to explore highland birding a short drive up the mountain?- [email protected]

The ground-sparrow thingy- reminiscent of a clown except not scary.