Bird photography in Costa Rica is pretty darn exciting. There are literally hundreds of exotic, tropical bird species, dozens of glittering hummingbirds, beautiful tanagers, trogons, and more, always more.
Resplendent Quetzals too!
While it’s true that mature forests harbor the highest species totals, they aren’t the best places for bird photography. Yes, trails in rainforest can turn up rare and little photographed bird species but you’ll need the right equipment, time, and stamina.
I’m all for experiencing those forest denizens, I actually prefer that birding method. However, to capture images of birds to my heart’s content, I would go to places with better lighting, comfort, and easier bird access. Happily, in Costa Rica, many such sites exist, too many to mention. A handful of top contenders are Laguna del Lagarto, Maquenque Lodge, Rancho Naturalista, Hotel Quelitales, Arenal Observatory Lodge, Hotel de Campo and Cano Negro, and Quinta Galeon.
There’s lots more places I could mention but in this blog post, I’m going to focus on 5 of the easiest sites for fantastic bird photography. These are very accessible sites within easy striking distance of San Jose and the Central Valley, can be visited on your own, and have an awesome array of feathered subjects.
The Cinchona Hummingbird Cafe
This gem of a site is one of Costa Rica’s classic birding hotspots. If there’s any downside, it’s that the place has become very popular. However, even then, if you don’t mind loud talking and sharing space with a bunch of people, there’ll still be birds.
Situated around an hour and a half from San Jose on route 126, this spot is easy to access and is a wonderful place to enjoy a coffee and meal while photographing a fine selection of middle elevation birds.
The papaya feeders often have Northern American Toucanet, Prong-billed Barbet, and even the fancy Red-headed Barbet!
Although bird species vary, typical subjects also include Silver-throated Tanager, Scarlet-rumped Tanager, Crimson-collared Tanager, and other small birds. On the hummingbird front, this site also typically turns up 7 or 8 species including the extravagant Violet Sabrewing and the endemic Coppery-headed Emerald.
This cafe has gone by several names, the most recent might be the Cafe Colibri. It’s located on the eastern side of the road, around ten minutes north of the Peace Waterfall, and is the only spot on route 126 with a donkey corral on the other side of the road. They may charge for photos but as of September, 2024, folks who use the restaurant don’t have to pay anything extra. Even so, I encourage you to give these bird and birder friendly people a nice donation.
But wait, there’s more! The drive to Cinchona also hosts chances at high elevation hummingbirds and even quetzal. However, to see those, it would be much easier with a guide.
Nectar and Pollen
This is the best site for foothill rainforest bird photography near San Jose. It’s also one of the better sites in Costa Rica! Only an hour’s drive or less from San Jose, Nectar and Pollen has an excellent set up for tanagers, hummingbirds, and other rainforest species.
They do have a trail but for bird photography, it’s better and easier to sit and enjoy a coffee while getting captures of Rufous Motmot, Collared Aracari, oropendolas, and much more.
Hummingbirds also visit the garden and can include Snowcap and Violet-headed Hummingbird among other species. On occasion, White-tipped Sicklebill also makes an appearance.
There’s also a pasture area next to rainforest that can be very good for raptors, the photogenic Long-tailed Tyrant, and various other species. In the wet season, you might even get flybys of Great Green Macaw.
Nectar and Pollen is a small private place situated on Route 32 just north of the Rainforest Aerial Tram. To visit, you must contact Miguel Delgado in advance. He can also update you on entrance fees.
The Tarcoles Area
Hoping for pictures of Scarlet Macaw? Tarcoles is the closest, easiest spot near San Jose. This small fishing village is around an hour and 20 minutes or so drive from San Jose, and offers access to easy roadside photography.
The macaws often feed in trees near the beach and even right in town. Black-headed Trogons, and various other lowland species are also accessible, and boat tours that focus on bird photography are also available.
On the way to Tarcoles, nearby sites such as the Ceiba Orotina area and the Guacima Road can also be good for Double-striped Thick-knee, White-throated Magpie-Jay, and many other species. There’s also the Cerro Lodge road along with Cerro Lodge and the Tarcoles Birding Lodge. Both of these sites can have good photo opps on their grounds. For access, you probably need to pay for a meal, both are worth contacting first.
I should also mention that although you can bird this area on your own, it will be much easer and productive with a guide.
San Luis Canopy
This fun spot is also around an hour and a half from San Jose and is located on the main road from San Ramon to La Fortuna. Officially known as “Parque Aventura San Luis“, this site mostly does exciting and popular zip line tours through beautiful middle elevation rainforest.
There are also several nice tourist shops there and a good local restaurant to dine at after a fine morning of bird photography. The draw for this special place is their tanager feeder set up. Banana and papaya pieces on and near natural perches bring in Emerald, Bay-headed, and other tanager species, often, too close for a long lens!
Even uncommon Blue-and-gold and Black-and-yellow Tanagers can show along with Black-cheeked Woodpeckers and other common birds. San Luis can also have rare birds on their trails, even Bare-necked Umbrellabird, and Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo!
Ask if these birds have been seen. If so, for $10, one of their guides might bring you to them! The entrance fee to explore the trails and hanging bridges on your own might be around $30. It costs $10 to just stick with the tanagers.
The Nochebuena on Irazu Volcano
This spot is a bit further from San Jose but it’s still close enough for easy bird photography. Reaching the Nochebuena area takes around an hour and 40 minutes driving up the main road to Irazu.
This site requires an extra early start to get past San Jose by 6, otherwise, you’ll get stuck in heavy, slow traffic. The Nochebuena is a small, cozy cafe with trails ($6) through high elevation habitats. At 9,000 to 10,000 feet, the trails can be tough on the lungs but that’s where you usually need to go to see the mega Maroon-chested Ground-Dove and Wrenthrush.
If you would rather not go hiking, fortunately, there’s good photo opps right at the cafe and just down the road. Hummingbird feeders attract Talamanca, Volcano, and Fiery-throated Hummingbirds along with Lesser Violetears while the riparian zone and adjacent forest next to it often has quetzal and various other high elevation birds.
As a bonus, a short drive up to the paramo brings you to Volcano Juncos, Timberline Wrens, possible Peg-billed Finch, and other nice birdies.
Going birding in Costa Rica? Have an extra day for bird photography, like maybe at the start or end of a tour? You can’t go wrong with the sites mentioned above. To learn more about these and other birding sites in Costa Rica, prepare for your birding trip, and support this blog, get “How to See, Find, and Identify Birds in Costa Rica”. I hope to see you here!
