Costa Rica | An Introduction to Neotropical Birding

About this trip

If you’ve always wanted to go birding in Costa Rica— or never taken a birding trip abroad at all —this program is a great introduction to the neotropical birds of Central America. You’ll spend time in the Caribbean lowlands and the mountainous southern highlands, seeking out species typical of the differing elevations and habitats. Our local birding guides are experts at identification by both sight and sound, and they’ll help ensure your group spots as many of the country’s 900-plus species as possible. Combine that with its accessibility and friendly people, and Costa Rica is a perfect destination for beginners and more advanced birders alike. Plus, you’ll discover wildlife like frogs, monkeys, bats, and sloths.

Highlights

Take guided hikes in the private, 500-acre rainforest reserve at Selva Verde Lodge, which provides habitat to more than 350 bird species, including the endangered Great Green Macaw.
Ascend the 328-foot suspended walkway at Tirimbina Biological Reserve for the chance to see species that spend their time high within the forest canopy layer.
Visit Nectar & Pollen Reserve, a private reserve adjacent to Braulio Carrillo National Park, where some interesting possibilities include the Snowcap, Long-tailed Tyrant, Cinnamon Woodpecker, and White Hawk.
Search for the Resplendent Quetzal, Slaty Flowerpiercer, Ruddy Treerunner, and other high-elevation species in the cloud forests of the Talamanca Mountains.

Meet your leader

Christina Baal

Christina Baal is a wandering bird artist whose dream is to meet and paint 10,000 different species of birds. She discovered the world of birding as a student at Bard College in the Hudson Valley. After graduating with a BA in Studio Art in 2014, she started her own art business, "Drawing 10,000 Birds," and set out to find birds. Christina's adventures have taken her across the country and around the globe to places like Costa Rica, Alaska, the Galápagos, and Japan. Her art has been featured at a number of birding festivals and events, including The Biggest Week in American Birding, Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival, and New Jersey Audubon's World Series of Birding. In 2022, her Burrowing Owl artwork was chosen as the American Birding Association's "Bird of the Year" art. While not painting and chasing birds, Christina works as an environmental educator, bird guide, and art instructor so that she can share her love of birds and art. She currently lives with her partner, a California Condor biologist, in California’s Pinnacles National Park.

Optional Art Workshops with Christina

It can be said that the art of "drawing" is equally as much the art of "seeing." So is, in effect, birdwatching! Thus, the art of drawing birds not only makes you a better birder, it fosters a stronger emotional connection with your subjects. Plus, it's fun! Jump into some simple, no-stress field sketching to enjoy our Costa Rican bird subjects from a different perspective and take home a personal souvenir. These workshops are aimed at beginners, but are fun for any level of skill. To capitalize on the Costa Rican environment and its specialty birds, specific topics we may touch on include beginning a nature journal, rendering plants alongside birds, depicting the quick movements of hummingbirds at feeders, and having fun with color. Clients who wish to participate in the art workshops are encouraged to bring their own favorite art supplies, though basic pencils and paper will be provided.

San José

Dec 2, 2024

Upon arrival in San José, you will be met and taken to Hotel Bougainvillea. Check-in begins at 3 pm. Elevation is 3,100 feet.

Overnight at Hotel Bougainvillea

Sarapiqui

Dec 3, 2024

Early morning birding around the 10-acre grounds of the hotel, then meet for breakfast and an orientation in the hotel restaurant, followed by an introduction to tropical birding from a local expert. Check out of the hotel and travel by bus to La Paz Waterfall Gardens, where you will have lunch and then visit the hummingbird gardens and butterfly farm. Continue on, stopping en route at a café in Cinchona known for its many hummingbird feeders. This afternoon, arrive to Selva Verde Lodge & Rainforest Reserve and take a hike in the reserve with your guide. Selva Verde's reserve protects 500 acres of rainforest, and the lodge offers many covered walks, birding trails, and lookout points, with opportunities to see species such as the Keel-billed Toucan, Great Green Macaw, White-winged Becard, Sunbittern, Acadian Flycatcher, and Wood Thrush. Boots are available for use if the trails are muddy. Take an optional walk this evening to discover nocturnal frogs and insects. Elevation change: From 3,000 feet above sea level in San José to approximately 225 feet in Sarapiquí, with the highest point visited today at 6,200 feet at La Paz Waterfall Gardens.