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 fortunate to be able to visit this gem of a spot with my wife and daughter over the past weekend and look forward to doing a lot more birding at this site in the future.

They also have a nice ozonated pool.
I heard about and was invited to the Finca Luna Nueva Lodge by fellow guide and birding friend of mine, Juan Diego Vargas. Juan Diego spends much of his time looking for birds in Liberia but also guides in many areas of the country and helps out with a number of ornithological projects. One of these has been inventories of the birds at Luna Nueva (check out this link for the details). A few of the more interesting finds were White-fronted Nunbird, Green Thorntail, Black-crested Coquette, and even Great Green Macaw. The nunbirds appear to have a healthy resident population and are readily seen along a trail that accesses primary forest. The hummingbirds are probably seasonal but we had one female Black-crested Coquette over the weekend. The macaw is a very rare, seasonal visitor during October but the fact that it does show up reflects the healthy bird habitat on the farm.
Yes, the fact that the place is a working farm makes it all the more interesting and acts as a ray of sustainable hope in a world whose ecosystems are stressed by the needs of several billion people. Farm workers arrive in the morning and you will probably see a few while birding, but unlike farms that raise monocultures, you will also see lots of birds. At least I did while walking past a mix of cacao, ginger, medicinal herbs, chile peppers, scattered trees, and areas that were allowed to naturally recover. White-crowned Parrots were very common and filled the air with their screeching calls. Bright-rumped Attilas, three species of toucans, Black-throated Wrens, Barred Antshrikes, and other species of the humid Caribbean slope flitted through bushes and treetops while a pair of Gray-necked Wood-Rails ran along paths through the organic crops. The birding was definitely good in the farmed area of the lodge but I think the food was even better.

I finally got a good shot of an atilla!
The Luna Nueva is a proponent of what they call, “slow food”. The apparent antithesis of hamburgers, fries, milkshakes, and other quickly made, over-sugared, and fatty foods, slow food is all about the good taste that comes from using carefully groomed, high quality products. At least this was the impression I got after having eaten slow food at Luna Nueva over the course of the weekend. Everything they served was not only damn good, but it also left me feeling super healthy. Really, if you want to eat some of the healthiest, tastiest food in the country, eat at Luna Nueva.
Now back to the birds! Mornings started off with a fine dawn chorus of humid lowland edge and forest species. This means a medley of sound that included Laughing Falcons, Gray Hawk, toucans, the bouncing ball song of Black-striped Sparrow, Black-throated Wrens, Long-billed Gnatwrens, Dusky Antbirds, Barred Antshrikes, Cinnamon and White-winged Becard, Long-tailed Tyrant, Blue-black Grosbeak, and others.

We also enjoyed a pair of Lineated Woodpeckers that worked a snag in front of our family bungalow.
A few flocks of Olive-throated and Crimson-fronted Parakeets sped overhead and Red-billed Pigeons flapped their way around scattered trees. As morning progressed, hummingbirds became more obvious as they zipped and chipped between patches of heliconias and Porterweed planted to attract them. Speaking of hummingbirds, Luna Nueva is an especially good site for those glittering avian delights. I had at least 8 species during my stay and I’m sure you could see more.

A male Violet-headed Hummingbird was one of the eight species.
In the primary forest, Western Slaty-Antshrikes, Golden-crowned Spadebills, Great Tinamou, and Chestnut-backed Antbirds called from the understory while Chestnut-mandibled Toucan and a few Black-headed Tody-Flycatchers vocalized from the canopy. That latter species is not all that common in Costa Rica so it was good to record it (my first for 2011). Although some of the deep forest species are unfortunately lacking or rare because of poor connectivity with other, more extensive forest, you could use the lodge as a base to bird more intact forests around Arenal or the Manuel Brenes Reserve (both 20 minute drives).
I didn’t do any nocturnal birding but was awakened by the calls of a Black and White Owl on my first night. The habitat is perfect for this species so you should probably see it without too much effort around the lodge buildings.
This was what the habitat looked like around the lodge buildings,

this was what the primary rainforest looked like,

and this was a view from the canopy tower.

Oops, did I say canopy tower? It turns out that the Luna Nueva has had a canopy tower for years but the birding community didn’t know anything about it! The lodge has gone unnoticed and rather undiscovered because it was marketed to student groups and botanically slanted tours for most of its history. Birders, herpitologists, and other aficionados of our natural world should start showing up on a more regular basis once the word gets out about this place.

Hognose Viper- one of the many reasons why herpitologists will like this place. Others are frog ponds that attract Red-eyed Tree Frogs and Cat-eyed Snakes, and a healthy herp population inside the forest.
From the tower, I mostly had common edge species but the looks were sweet as candied mangos and it should turn up some uncommon raptors, good views of parrots, and maybe even a cotinga or two at the right time of the year.

A Blue-Gray Tanager from the tower.

A Squirrel Cuckoo from the tower.

A Yellow-crowned Euphonia in a fruiting Melastome at the base of the tower.

A Common Tody-Flycatcher on the side of the road (they were pretty common and confiding- my kind of bird!).
The following is my bird list from our stay (115 species):
Great Tinamou
Gray-headed Chachalaca
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Gray Hawk
Gray-headed Kite
Laughing Falcon
Gray-necked Wood-Rail
Red-billed Pigeon
Ruddy Ground-Dove
White-tipped Dove
Gray-chested Dove
Crimson-fronted Parakeet
Olive-throated Parakeet
Orange-chinned Parakeet
White-crowned Parrot
Red-lored Parrot
Squirrel Cuckoo
Groove-billed Ani
Black and white Owl
White-collared Swift
Long-billed Hermit
Purple-crowned Fairy
White-necked Jacobin
Steely-vented Hummingbird
Bronze-tailed Plumeleteer
Rufous-tailed Hummingbird
Green-breasted Mango
Violet-headed Hummingbird
Black-crested Coquette
Violaceous (Gartered) Trogon
Chestnut-mandibled Toucan
Keel-billed Toucan
Collared Aracari
Black-cheeked Woodpecker
Smoky-brown Woodpecker
Rufous-winged Woodpecker
Pale-billed Woodpecker
Lineated Woodpecker
Plain Xenops
Northern barred Woodcreeper
Wedge-billed Woodcreeper
Cocoa Woodcreeper
Black-striped Woodcreeper
Streak-headed Woodcreeper
Barred Antshrike
Western Slaty Antshrike
Dusky Antbird
Chestnut-backed Antbird
Dull-mantled Antbird
Yellow Tyrannulet
Golden-crowned Spadebill
Paltry Tyrannulet
Yellow-bellied Ealenia
Piratic Flycatcher
Yellow-olive Flycatcher
Black-headed Tody-Flycatcher
Common Tody-Flycatcher
Northern Bentbill
Ochre-bellied Flycatcher
Bright-rumped Atilla
Long-tailed Tyrant
Tropical Pewee
Dusky-capped Flycatcher
Boat-billed Flycatcher
Great Kiskadee
Social Flycatcher
Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher
Tropical Kingbird
Cinnamon Becard
White-winged Becard
Masked Tityra
White-collared Manakin
Lesser Greenlet
Brown Jay
Gray-breasted Martin
Long-billed Gnatwren
Tawny-faced Gnatwren
Tropical Gnatcatcher
Stripe-breasted Wren
Bay Wren
Black-throated Wren
House Wren
White-breasted Wood Wren
Clay-colored Robin
Buff-rumped Warbler
Bananaquit
Red-throated Ant-Tanager
Olive (Carmiol’s) Tanager
Passerini’s Tanager
Golden-hooded Tanager
Blue-gray Tanager
Palm Tanager
Blue Dacnis
Green Honeycreeper
Red-legged Honeycreeper
Thick-billed Seed-Finch
Variable Seedeater
Yellow-faced Grassquit
Blue-black Grassquit
Orange-billed Sparrow
Black-striped Sparrow
Buff-throated Saltator
Slate-colored Grosbeak
Black-faced Grosbeak
Blue-black Grosbeak
Melodious Blackbird
Bronzed Cowbird
Yellow-billed Cacique
Montezuma Oropendola
Yellow-crowned Euphonia