Going birding in Costa Rica? I hope! The craze for tropical birding is constant and Costa Rica is no exception. Believe me, there is a lot to see in Costa Rica and always more.
In Costa Rica, among the many great things about birding is the fact that so many birding hotspots are accessible. Whether looking for quetzals in the mountains or antbirds below, it won’t take long to reach great habitat.
Over the past few days, my partner and I spent a few days birding and relaxing in the southern Caribbean zone. We stayed at MyA Glamping, a lovely little place located between Puerto Viejo de Talamanca and Manzanillo on the aptly named Toucan Road.
A few tips, observations, and suggestions from the past few days:
The Highway to Limon is Better but Not Completely Done
Route 32 has come a long way. What used to be a two-lane highway filled with heavy trucking now has large stretches of fast, four-lane (still full of trucking but more manageable). The route became more comfortable and faster but…not for the whole trip.
There are still places where barrels and other line blocking objects suddenly appear in the fast lane, forcing you to go into the right lane. They don’t seem to be there for any logical reason but that doesn’t stop them from acting as potentially dangerous obstacles. Pay attention and make sure to drive in the right lane before you suddenly and inexplicably merge.
Road work is still being done. On our drive there, we had an easy and quick ride. On the way back, it was still fine for us but the people heading to Limon were not so lucky. One or two areas of road work caused lines of stopped traffic for an impressive number of kilometers.
Oh yeah, and as a bonus, right now, the road work to widen the bridges before Puerto Viejo is causing additional lines of stopped traffic. The widening of those bridges is necessary, hopefully it will be done soon.
The Southern Caribbean Has Become A Busy Tourist Destination
That is not new but important to mention and not only because it was very different from my first visit in 1994. Back then, this region was truly a different world.
Potholed roads, not many people, limited dining and lodging options…you feel like you have the place to yourself. More accommodation! It’s still beautiful but you’ll be sharing those paved streets with hundreds of other people on bikes and e-scooter stuff.
There are also many other places to stay and good places to eat too but the days of low prices are long gone. Look around and you can still find fair prices and such but, in general, expect to pay a pretty high price.
Still good for night birds
The lowland rainforest is pretty good for night birding, at least in Costa Rica. Around Puerto Viejo and Manzanillo, the forests host a high density of Great Potoos (we counted 5 from one spot and had one jump over our pool!), and the expected owls .
At Toucan Road, our first night began with a Short-tailed Nighthawk flyover and was joined by the aforementioned Great Potoos, a pair of Black and white Owls, two Crested Owls, and the bark-like vocalization of a distant Mottled Owl .
That was two blocks away. At some point, I may have also heard the Middle American Screech-Owl (common there and not hard to find), and I’m sure you might see the Spectacled Owl too.
Roads Worth Exploring but Will Have Traffic
Some side roads are worth birding but some other sites may be better. Toucan Road is fine but it doesn’t go home very far and we didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. It is certainly possible but birding is limited to a relatively small area.
This trip, we didn’t check the Paradise Road even though it’s been good on past trips. I still think the road might harbor some rare species. On our last morning, we explored Margarita Road. It is Ok and may have some rare birds but we didn’t see any good records. Also, there was a fair amount of housing and we had near constant traffic (especially of the horribly annoying dirt bike variety).
We still have parrots, Great Green Macaw, fruitcrow and other birds but no damage.
With that in mind, the best spots might be the Kekoldi trail and tower, early morning roadside birding between Punta Uva and Manzanillo, and the RECOPE Road.
Best in Migration Period
This part of Costa Rica is definitely at its best during the migration season, especially in October. You’ve probably seen birds passing by but it’s always cool to see flocks of Eastern Kingbirds, Scarlet Tanagers, and other migrants on the move.
Resident birding is also good but it’s even better if you can go to the “best spot” mentioned above and Cahuita. Further afield, Selva Bananito, Hitoy Cerere, and Veragua will make you even more beautiful.
If you’re heading to this part of Costa Rica, enjoy the natural bird show and photograph any exotic birds you see. To learn more about where to bird watch in Costa Rica, check out my birding guide to Costa Rica (a 900 page ebook). To identify the birds of Costa Rica, get the Garrigues and Dean field guide, and the Costa Rica Birds Field Guide app.
As always, I hope to see you here!