Any birding trip to Costa Rica is a win. Find your way to this mountainous, bio-rich country and you’ll see birds. Oh yes indeed. To give an idea of what’s in store, just this morning, without birding and in an urban zone, I was treated to several avian connections.
A Gray Hawk flap flap flap soars over a busy road. The voices of a Tropical Mockingbird, Great Kiskadees, and a Hoffmann’s Woodpecker bounce off concrete walls. Blue-and-white Swallows chattered above, a pair of Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks floes overhead, and a Rufous-tailed Hummingbird zips between flowering bushes.
If I would have listened more, maybe gone for a morning walk, I would have probably identified 20 other birds.
In the many other, more birdy parts of Costa Rica, the day list moves with leaps and bounds. Toucans in rainforest, flocks of screeching parrots, dozens of hummingbirds, antbirds calling, and more, always more.
Always a win and yet, if you go birding in Costa Rica from now until September 30th at the Hotel Rivel, you could get paid for seeing those birds! There won’t be some wonderful birder benefactor with bottomless pockets. But, there will be a raffle, here’s how to play.
Go Birding at the Hotel Rivel up Until September 30th, 2024
The Hotel Rivel is an eco-retreat located in the Tuis River Valley, south of Turrialba. If you’ve visited Rancho Naturalista, there’s a fair chance you’ve gone birding along that river. It’s one of the commonly visited hotspots near Rancho and a good place to see Sunbittern and tanagers among many other birds.
Lucky birders might connect with Red-fronted Parrotlets and Great Black Hawk. Mega lucky ones could even see a Lanceolated Monklet!
If you hadn’t guessed yet, it’s a wonderful area for birding. To participate in this birding challenge, you’ll have to bird the part of the valley at the Hotel Rivel. Make observations within 3 kilometers of the hotel and you can be in play.
Register for the Birding Challenge, eBird Your Sightings
Before you watch any birds in that area, make sure to sign up for the birding challenge. The hotel has a simple registration form at the bottom of the birding challenge page. They mention that you can also sign up via Whatsapp.
The next thing to do is go birding at the Hotel Rivel, and submit an eBird list from their property that also includes a photo of at least one bird.
More Birding at the Hotel Rivel = More Chances to Take Home the Grand Prize
To participate, you only have to submit one eBird list with a photo of a bird from the Hotel Rivel property. However, to boost your odds, go birding at the Hotel as much as possible.
Here’s how it works (from the birding challenge page):
- Birds = Points = Number of Tickets: Every bird you identify and include in your ebird.org checklist earns you an entry into the final draw. The more birds you see, the more chances you have to win! If you don’t log them in ebirg.org – they won’t count.
- Note that you can have multiple lists but a bird species is only counted once. In other words, three lists that only have Clay-colored Thrush are worth just one point. However, one list with ten species is worth 10 points. If another list is uploaded with those same ten species, it won’t be worth any extra points.
- Photos Matter: Take a photo of each bird you identify. Photos are worth 5 points each, compared to 1 point without a photo. Submit your photos to ebird.org for them to be accepted. Photos must be taken within 3 ks of the Hotel Rivel.
- Rare Bird Bonus: Spot 1 of the 60 rare birds on our list within 3km of Hotel Rivel, and with a photo, you get a whopping 50 points per bird! (3 birds with photos = 150 points = 150 draw tickets!). The rare birds are listed on the birding challenge page. Several would be pretty tough, a few not as much but you’ll still need to get pictures of them.
Grand Prize Drawing on October 5th, 2024 and other Important Information
On October 5th, we’ll find out who wins $2,500 to watch birds at the Hotel Rivel! It’s a beautiful area and although I have yet to visit the eco-retreat, the pictures sure look nice.
However, I can say that I have birded in the Tuis River Valley and look forward to birding there again. It’s a nice hotspot, especially for tanagers!
The Hotel Rivel has 120 acres of birdy habitats and 8 ks of hiking trails, mountain bikes for guests, good food, and excellent, locally grown coffee.
What birds occur there? The list for the Rio Tuis should give a fair idea, and there’s probably more possibilities.
I hope you get a chance to participate in this birding challenge. I hope we do too! The general area near the Hotel Rivel (especially Rancho Naturalista) is fantastic for birding. If Rancho happens to be out of your price range, the Rivel and Vista Aves (another spot with excellent birding) might be good alternatives. It will be interesting to see what people find during this birding challenge!