A remarkable phenomenon takes place each fall, when millions of raptors – including hawks, kites, vultures, and falcons – migrate southward from North America. It’s an epic journey that creates a stunning spectacle; the birds are sometimes so abundant they seem to completely fill the sky. A new initiative in Sarapiquí, Costa Rica, aims to highlight the unique natural and cultural significance of migratory raptors, while promoting their conservation through education, art, and sustainable tourism.

Earlier this year, conservationists and birders from Costa Rica and abroad, together with members of the Sarapiquí community, launched the first-ever Raptor Fest, or Alas Viajeras Festival. From October 5 to 20, a series of workshops, mobile observatories, educational talks, cultural events, and children’s activities attracted more than 500 attendees in total.

“I think what's great about something like this is that it really is educating the future leaders of Sarapiquí – the young people, the youth – about what they have. It's building community,” said Andrea Holbrook, who was involved in the planning and was present for several days of the festival. “I think something like this can really make a difference in terms of how people see nature and understand its importance, and I think that this event will only continue to grow.”

The festival was a labor of love that came together thanks to the collaboration, dedication, hard work, and support of more than a dozen public and private organizations, including EcoVida/Lapa Verde Refuge, the Dallas Zoo, La Selva Biological Station, Tirimbina Biological Reserve, Selva Verde Lodge, the Sarapiquí Conservation Learning Center, and the municipality of Sarapiquí and its mayor Vanessa Rodríguez, among others.

In many ways, Sarapiquí is an ideal setting for this type of initiative. With mountains to the west and ocean to the east creating a sort of natural funnel, Sarapiquí sits directly in the path of the raptors’ migratory route. During the six-week migration season, the birds fly overhead in great numbers – sometimes as many as 420,000 in a single day. In addition, the area is already recognized nationally and internationally as a birding hotspot, with an established ecotourism infrastructure in place to receive visitors.

Furthermore, the local community already was already hosting an annual EcoFest, and numerous reserves and protected areas held open houses each October. These formed the basis for what would eventually become the Raptor Fest, thanks to a serendipitous turn of events that brought together several key players.

Lapa Verde Observation Tower; photo courtesy of Vanessa Rodríguez

While visiting Selva Verde Lodge in 2022, Dallas Zoo’s Director of Conservation Chris Corpus made the generous offer to donate a Motus station antenna to the region. The nearby Lapa Verde Refuge had an observation tower that would be a perfect location for the new antenna. Plus, EcoVida/Lapa Verde is highly regarded in the region as an education, conservation, and research facility, Andrea said. “This is really about the whole community of Sarapiquí, and I think it takes an organization like EcoVida to pull something like this off so successfully, because there really isn't a sense of competition, but more collaboration and a real embracing.”

Chris and a team from the Dallas Zoo returned to Costa Rica in September the following year to help with the installation of the Motus station antenna, and the Sarapiquí community proudly inaugurated its first HawkWatch site. At that time, Andrea said, Chris was introduced to other members of the Sarapiquí conservation community, and the various parties gathered for a celebratory dinner. “And around that dinner table, we came up with this idea of a festival. So that was the catalyst,” Andrea said. “It was just really a match made in heaven, and we were so pleased to, in a way, facilitate that.”

Dinner at Selva Verde; photo courtesy of Vanessa Rodríguez

From there, the idea took off quickly. David Romero and Randall Montoya, two biologists from EcoVida, began weekly planning meetings. Through their dedication and hard work, along with financial support from the Dallas Zoo and others, the festival went from conception to realization in a single year.

“I have to say, in my history at Holbrook, this is maybe one of the things that I feel most proud of,” Andrea said. “It almost never happens like this. It just flowed. It was amazing. And for it to happen so quickly!”

Organizers are already planning for next year’s event, and they hope the festival will continue to expand to a larger audience while still maintaining its roots in the local community.

“The festival is really Sarapiqueño, you know? I mean, it's really very local,” Andrea said. “But I think it's vital that it started this way, that it started local, and then as we welcome in other people, it'll grow and evolve and change, and I think that'll be interesting to see. I just love that.”

Migrating raptors in Costa Rica; photo by Debbie Jordan

With the hope for more international participation, the event’s organizers emphasize that the migration is a phenomenon that transcends borders, and that the conservation of these creatures and their migratory corridors will similarly require a trans-national effort.

“This raptor migration festival is a way to explore the fact that these species don't know boundaries and are dependent on our ecosystems remaining sufficiently intact to be able to do their migrations. It requires collaboration and connection for conservation to work,” Andrea said.

Watch a short clip of the migration at Selva Verde; video by Andrea Holbrook