Planning a birding trip? Besides making sure that you are not birding in unstable and dangerous areas, a birder must know where to bird. When planning a birding trip to Costa Rica, you may wonder if that urban park you saw on a map is worth visiting? What about intriguing eBird hotspots like “Walmart Woods” or “Calle Viquez”? After all, they are official hotspots, must be good birding, right?
Wrong! Take the fable of Walmart Woods as an example. Those “woods” are a piece of green space that meanders along a dirty creek adjacent to a Walmart near the airport. I don’t recommend spending a lot of time there.
Yes, you might get lucky and see Cabanis’s Ground-Sparrow but you probably won’t, other edge species are easily seen elsewhere, and I don’t feel comfortable wandering the quiet urban street showing my optics.
So, no matter how excited you are to go bird watching when you come to Costa Rica, you’re better off watching them away from Walmart Woods. Instead, for the endemic ground-sparrow, I would see about stopping in other places in Heredia or Alajuela or even Cartago.
As for Calle Viquez, yes, that area can have some nice birds but no, I wouldn’t recommend birding there either. What eBird doesn’t mention is that the best birding is on a difficult and often impassable road, and it can take hours to root out interesting species. So, not the best birding sites in Costa Rica in part because access is not very easy.
Make no mistake, eBird has a lot of valuable birding information and ideas. Just keep in mind that it doesn’t paint the whole picture for a site and, in Costa Rica, tends to be automatically biased towards the most visited sites.
So, how do we find out about the best birding sites in Costa Rica? The Internet is easy to use but, sadly, Google is seriously lacking. I realize that the people at Google are trying to improve the search results but sorry, when the first result for various queries related to birding in Costa Rica said that Arenal is a good place to see the quetzal, the Scarlet Macaw is misspelled, and that you can see the Harpy Eagle in Osa, something is not working.
Like some other websites, I could just list some popular birding spots but that doesn’t really answer the question. To cut through the noise of Internet nonsense, based on years of experience, here is my honest, local view of the best birding sites in Costa Rica.
Birding or Bird Photography
What? That’s not a birding site! Well, I’m not going to say that Palo Verde or some random hotel are the best birding sites in Costa Rica because that wouldn’t be accurate. Instead, before giving any answers, I will ask if you plan to go bird watching or do bird photography.
The best birding sites for a birder are different from a bird photographer. Just taking pictures and maybe in the best conditions? Stay in birding hotels and other places with good feeder set-ups and boat rides. There are too many to mention but some stand-outs include Laguna del Lagarto, Rancho Naturalista, Hotel Quelitales, Hotel de Campo in Cano Negro (which also goes by boat), the Tarcoles Birding Lodge and boat ride to Tarcoles, Batsu Gardens, lodges. in Dota Valley, Ensenada Lodge, and Paraiso Quetzales.
As for birders, your best sites depend on the next question.
How Do You Like to Watch Birds?
The best birding sites are subjective because not everyone watches birds the same way. That may sound strange but it is true and factors into the birding trip equation. For example, I enjoy challenging birding in the dense rainforest foothills. I want to open my awareness to the forest and see how much I can see, especially through sound. I also try to see as many birds as possible even if it’s just bits and pieces, up there in the mossy canopy.
I can and do see some unusual and rare species but I understand why that is not every birder’s cup of tea. Some people would rather not quietly crawl through the forest for glimpses of shy forest species, and wait patiently for quail-pigeons and ants that may appear in view. And that’s ok!
We all experience birds in our own way and it’s all good. However, that means that if you prefer to get great views of lots of colorful and common birds, the deep forest may not be the best birding spot for you. The edge of the forest, beautiful hotel gardens, and boat rides may be your personal best spots, probably the ones that suit bird photographers.
With that in mind, the best birding sites for birders who want focused, targeted tropical birding are any areas with extensive forest habitat (eBird hotspot or not) like El Copal , Pocosol Station, Osa Peninsula sites, Manuel Brenes Road, and Veragua to name a few.
The best birding spots for people who prefer to take it easy and look at different birds without having to walk the forest paths include Quinta de Sarapiqui and any number of other hotels with good on-site accommodation, as well as boat rides, especially in the Cano Negro area.
Sites are also available that work for people birding the trails while other birders in their party sit on the verandah. Rancho Naturalista, Arenal Observatory Lodge, the Tarcoles Birding Lodge, Villa Lapas, and Finca Luna Nueva came to mind.
Which Birds Would You Like to See in Costa Rica?
This question is also quite important. If you have seen macaws but not Sungrebe and Nicaraguan Grackle, then the Cano Negro area will be a top birding site. Hoping to see rainforest raptors, tanagers, and cool hummingbirds? Think about any foothill site with as much forest as possible, places like Arenal Observatory Lodge, Skytrek, El Copal, Nectar and Pollen, Pocosol, the La Gamba area and surroundings, the Osa Peninsula, and the northern slope of Rincon de la Vieja.
How about seeing Jabirus and dry birds in the forest? The best birding sites include the Cano Negro area, and sites near Liberia. Bellbirds? Depends on the time of year but Monteverde is perfect for that species and more.
La Resplendent Quetzal? Although they live in all mountain cloud forests (including sites only 45 minutes from San Jose), quetzal tours in Paraiso Quetzal, the Monteverde area, and the Dota Valley are the most reliable way to see one. I also see them regularly in the Poas area but not every visit.
In Costa Rica, the Best Birding Sites Are Yours
That sums things up. However, in general, quality birding in Costa Rica is similar to most places; as long as you are in large residential areas, you are in the right place. How you like to bird and comfort level are other factors to consider. To learn about the sites mentioned above, hundreds of other birding sites in Costa Rica, and how to see more birds in Costa Rica, check out my 900 plus page ebook, “How to See, Find, and Meet Birds in Costa Rica”.
If you have enough time, just make sure to visit these bio-regions/habitats and you will see a lot, probably more than 400 species:
Caribbean Lowland Rainforest
Caribbean Foothill Rainforest
Middle Elevation Forest (cloud forest)
High Elevation Rainforest
South Pacific Rainforest
North Pacific or Dry Forest Habitats
Mangrove and Estuary
Wetlands like Cano Negro
Some FAQs about the best birding sites in Costa Rica
I will end this post by answering these common questions. Hope to see you here!
What are the top sites for birding in Costa Rica?
The top sites for birding in Costa Rica are sites with the most habitat. Some examples include the Osa Peninsula, Arenal area, Monteverde area, El Copal, the Carara area, the Dota Valley, Sarapiqui, Laguna del Lagarto, Veragua, Selva Bananito, and the San Vito area.
Which sites have the most bird species in Costa Rica?
The sites with the most bird species in Costa Rica include the Sarapiqui lowlands reserves, Pocosol station, Rancho Naturalista and nearby sites including Vista Aves and El Copal, and the Carara area.
Where can you see toucans, parrots, and other tropical birds in Costa Rica?
In Costa Rica, you can see toucans, parrots, and other tropical birds in many places! I even see toucans, parrots, and fancy Long-tailed Manakins just outside of San Jose. However, the best places for these birds are lowland sites and rainforest foothills.
