Costa Rica Highlands & Lowlands, January 10 - 19, 2025
Trip Leader: Evan Farese
Day 1
Guest arrival and settling in at Hotel Bougainvillea in San Jose. With a little bit of time
after getting in from the airport before sunset, we explored the beautiful grounds of the
hotel. We were on the lookout for Mottled Owl, Lesson’s Motmot, and Cabinis’s Wren.
Day 2
We started the day off early and excited! Birding began at sunrise (around 6 AM) on the
grounds of the hotel. We were excited to find fun tropical species like Brown Jay, Blue-
vented Hummingbird, Golden-hooded Tanager, and Cinnamon-bellied Saltator. After, we
made a short drive to a nearby coffee plantation to search (successfully!) for the
endemic Cabanis’s Ground-Sparrow, which is only found in central Costa Rica!
After that, we were off to the highlands!
Day 2-5: The Highlands
We made our way up to high elevation cloud forest, stopping along the way to have
lunch at a picturesque restaurant famed for its hummingbird feeders. We had
Talamanca Hummingbirds, Lesser Violetears, Fiery-throated Hummingbirds, White-
throated Mountain-gems, and Volcano Hummingbirds zooming by our heads as they
visited the many feeders on the deck. We were able to find other fun highland birds at
this site like the elusive Wrenthrush, Large-footed Finch, Golden-browed Chlorophonia,
and Long-tailed Silky-Flycatcher.
We spent mornings in the highlands trying to get the best views of Resplendent
Quetzals and species endemic to the mountains of eastern Costa Rica and western
Panama. We were successful on all accounts, seeing many quetzals, and endemics like
Yellow-winged Vireo, Sooty Thrush, Yellow-thighed Brushfinch, Flame-throated Warbler,
Black-capped Flycatcher, and more.
Afternoons were spent birding favorite hotspots in the highlands like Mirriam’s
Restaurant and the river trail in San Gerardo de Dota. We were on the lookout for
American Dippers, Torrent Tyrannulets, Yellowish Flycatchers, Beryl-spangled Tanagers
and other highland birds.
We stayed three nights at the ecolodge Hotel Gema del Bosque, which provided great
birding and great food! We were able to spot Short-tailed Hawks, Spotted Wood-Quail,
Dusky Nightjars, and even a Bare-shanked Screech-Owl on the hotel property.
Day 5-7: Mid-elevation Caibbean Slope
We left the highlands and drove down to wetter forests on the Caribbean slope. Along
the way, we were able to stop to try to find roosting American Barn Owls and Tropical
Screech-Owls. We arrived at Hotel Quelitales and enjoyed the amazing birding on the
property. The abundant rains make this area of Costa Rica one of the most diverse in
the country. Hummingbird feeders and gardens at the hotel hosted different species
than we found in the highlands including Violet Sabrewing, Black-bellied Hummingbird,
Stripe-tailed Hummingbird, and White-bellied Mountain-gem, among others. We also
enjoyed finding mixed species flocks of tanagers, woodcreepers, becards, and barbtails.
The hotel also provided great opportunities to have intimate experiences with Scaled
Antpitta and Sunbittern.
While in the region, we were able to visit El Copal, a hotspot famous for its bird diversity.
Even though it rained for a good portion of the day, we still saw 70+ species. The
highlight for most was the charming Snowcap, a tiny uniquely colored hummingbird.
Large flocks of tanagers, warblers, flycatchers, honeycreepers, and more passed by the
covered deck we birded from. We were especially excited to see White-collared
Manakin, White-ruffed Manakin, Collared Aracari, Bay-headed Tanager, and Black-and-
yellow Tanager.
On day 7, we also visited Parque Nacional Tapanti, which provided great birding along
the main road. We saw Green Hermits and a Speckled Tanager and even heard an
Ornate Hawk-Eagle.
Day 8: Irazu
We made our way back toward San Jose and Hotel Bougainvillea. As we did, we drove
to the top of Volcán Irazú. Getting up to over 11,000 feet in elevation gave us
opportunities to see some more endemic species. We enjoyed great views of Volcano
Junco, Timberline Wren, Sooty-capped Chlorospingus, and Slaty Flowerpiercer. After,
we made our way across the central valley back to Hotel Bougainvillea.
Day 9: Pacific Lowlands
We were off before dawn the next morning to catch a boat that would take us out on the
Rio Tárcoles in the Pacific Lowlands. This was our first trip into this ecoregion, so we
added many new bird species to our trip list. The boat traveled along the river near its
mouth, including through mangroves, which allowed us to pick up species like
Mangrove Vireo, Mangrove Hummingbird, and Mangrove Yellow Warbler, which we
would have been hard-pressed to find elsewhere. Being that close to the coast, we were
able to see some shorebirds and other coastal species that we hadn’t seen yet.
Highlights were Magnificent Frigatebirds, Collared Plovers, Wilson’s Plovers, Southern
Lapwings, and a Bare-throated Tiger-Heron. We also spotted an American Pygmy-
Kingfisher, a Pale-billed Woodpecker, Common Black-Hawks, Scarlet Macaws, and a
Yellow-naped Amazon from the boat.
After disembarking, we checked out a few spots in town that our guide new about. We
were able to find a roosting Spectacled Owl, a Boat-billed Heron, and a curious
Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl.
After lunch, we visited Parque Nacional Carara and found some lowland rainforest
species. Walking along the trails, we found Yellow-throated Toucans, Slaty-tailed
Trogons, Northern Black-throated Trogons, Bicolored Antbirds, Rufous Piha, and more.
On the way back, we made one more stop along a road with pastures and patches of
tropical dry forest. There we were able to see some dry forest birds that, within Costa
Rica, are typically only found in the northwest. We were thrilled to see Turquoise-
browed Motmot, White-throated Magpie-Jay, Stripe-headed Sparrow, Cinnamon
Hummingbird, and a roosting Pacific Screech-Owl.
Day 10: Departure
Depending on when flights were, people had time to get a little more tropical birding in.
Some were able to reconnect with Motmots and Mottled Owls, as well as see parakeets,
Blue-and-white Swallows, and other more common species before heading to the
airport.
