| Target Birds in Carara Region: Amongst the 400 species in the area, some of our target bird species during our bird walks in the Carara Region include Scarlet Macaws, Orange-chinned Parakeet, White-crowned Parrot, Slaty-tailed Trogan, Scaly-breasted Hummingbird, Blue-throated Goldentail, Steely-vented Hummingbird, Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, Baird's Trogon, Black-throated Trogon, Rufous-tailed Jacamar, Fiery-billed Aracari, Chestnut-mandibled Toucan, Wedge-billed Woodcreeper, Great Antshrike, Black-hooded Antshrike, Chestnut-backed Antbird, Ochre-bellied Flycatcher, Piratic Flycatcher, White-winged Becard, Orange-collared Manakin, Long-billed Gnatwren, Scrub Greenlet, Golden-hooded Tanager, Blue Dacnis, Yellow-crowned Euphonia, Blue-gray Tanager, Palm Tanager, Gray-headed Tanager, White-throated Shrike-Tanager, White-shouldered Tanager, Orange-billed Sparrow, and Montezuma Oropendola (just to name a few). |
| Birds Likely to be Found in Greater Arenal Region:
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Costa Rica 2010
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| Brief Itinerary Day 1: Arrival transfer to Four-Star Hotel in San Jose Area Day 2: 6 am pick up to a birding drive until we reach Rancho Naturalista lodge. Day 3: Day spent birding Rancho Naturalista Day 4: Day spent birding at the Rancho Naturalista. Day 5: Birding drive to Wilson Botanical Garden. This drive will take us through three different habitats until we reach our lodge. Day 6: Full day spent birding Las Cruces Botanical Garden, night (Wilson Botanical Garden) in gallery forest. Day 7: We bird the surroundings of the Gardens and the área of the great birding zone of the town of San Vito for grassland and pasture habitat. Day 8: Early drive to Carara Biological Reserve. A full day of birding the way on rivers, dry forest and grassland. Day 9: Full day birding Carara Biological Reserve. Day 10: Full day birding the road that leads up to Montevede Cloud Forest Reserve. Day 11: Full day birding Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. Day 12: Early departure to the lowlands of Sarapiquí. We drop from the highlands of the cloudforest into the lowland rainforest on the Caribean side. Day 13: Full day enjoying the Caribean specialties at La Selva Biological Station. Day 14: Full day spent at La Selva Biological Station Day 15: Morning spent birding our last time at La Selva, afternoon birding drive to San Jose. San José, night (hotel in San José) or pm flight home. Please request or lodging list, our comprehensive Costs Rican bird list and a more detailed itinerary. |
| Costa Rican Guides Adolfo "Fito" Downs Adolfo “Fito” Downs has been interested in birding and natural history from a young age. A native Costa Rican, “Fito” refined his excellent birding skills and broad knowledge of natural history at La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica (2 years conducting field research and guiding), and at the Smithsonian Institute in Panama (2 years). In addition, he was the resident guide for Neblina Forest-Bolivia for another three years! To date, “Fito” coordinates our groups in Costa Rica. He now leads trips in Ecuador, Costa Rica and Bolivia. Alejandro Solano Alejandro Solano is also Costa Rican and now resides in Ecuador. He has a degree in biology from Universidad Latina de Costa Rica and the most recent acquisition to our staff. He has developed keen field skills and has learned to be a trip leader. Alejandro has worked as resident naturalist guide at Monteverde Cloud Forest and has provided tremendous volunteer work in Costa Rica’s national parks. He has also worked in the United States on the MAPS project at the Institute of Bird Populations in California and at the Redwoods Science Lab, Trinity River Restoration Program at Humboldt University. Besides leading bird trips, his field experience includes surveying, mapping nests and banding birds. In Ecuador, he has conducted bird inventories and surveys, field projects in coastal and southern Ecuador, and conservation work on the endangered Black-breasted Puffleg. Alejandro has also birded Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and southern Brazil. |
Fito Downs welcomes you to some great birding.
| Detailed Trip Description: Classic Costa Rica Arrival: Our personnel stationed in San Jose will greet you on arrival and transfer you to your hotel of choice. Night in San José. Rancho Naturalista: Before reaching this wonderful cloudforest, we will drive through the central area of San José looking for Snowcap, Bay-headed Tanager, and Bat Falcon At the Rancho Naturalista we will be looking for Purplish-backed Quail Dove, Tawny-chested Flycatcher, Crimson-collared Tanager, eight different species of hummingbirds and many more. The highway which connects the high mountains of Cerro de la Muerte with the south Pacific valleys will give us the opportunity to find highland specialties such as Timberland Wren, Flame-throated Warbler, Black-capped Flycatcher, Mountain Robin, Fiery-throated Hummingbird and others. Las Cruces Botanical Garden (Wilson BG) With enough time in a comfortable lodge, nice trails plus good habitas, some of our target birds are Streaked Saltator, Fiery-billed Aracari, Blue-crowned Manakin and Turquois Cotinga. In time we will be exploring the areas near San Vito. In this small town we will search for Yellow-crowned Tyrannulet, Band-rumped Swift, Spot-crowned Euphonia. On the road to Carara, we may encounter Brown-throated Parakeet, Scrub Greenlet, Yellow-headed and Crested Caracaras, Pale-breasted Spinetail, Blue-headed Parrot. We will try to reach the grasslands and rivers of Villa Lapas in the afternoon to explore them in daylight. Carara Biological Reserve: we have a chance to see the wonderful Scarlet Macaw, now only found on the Pacific slopes of Costa Rica.In adition, there are a good number of new birds for the trip including; Baird's and Black-headed Trogons, Black-bellied and Riverside Wrens, Mangrove-black Hawk, Long-tailed Manakin, the elusive Streaked-chested Antpitta and Royal Flycatcher.In the afternoon we visit to the mouth of the Tarcoles River searching for Mangrove Vireo, Black-tailed Flycatcher and a variety of Shorebirds. On our way from the Pacific lowlands to the highlands of Monteverde, with innumerable altitudinals habitats along the road, we will stop at different points for Banded Wren, Turquois-browed Motmot and Yellow-throated Euphonia. Monteverde Cloudforest Reserve: we have a good possibility for the endemic Coppery-headed Emerald! The best montane species of the área may be found here in Monteverde: Collared Trogon and Red-headed Barbet, Emerald Toucanet, Speckled, Blue and Gold and Black and Yellow Tanagers, Golden-browed Chlorophonia and a variety of hummingbirds including Violet Sabrewing, Green Violetear, Mountain-Gems and others.Remember, Monteverde is home for the wonderful Resplendent Quetzal.. On the last leg of our trip, we bird the caribbean lowlands (Sarapiquí).A very important region of Costa Rica with abundance of agricultural aereas, amazing rivers and tropical rain forest. Here, we can find the stunning Fasciated Tiger-Heron, Keel-billed and Chestnut Mandibled Toucans, Red-throated Ant-Tanager, Rufous Motmot and the noisy Montezuma Oropendola.The weather is humid and usually we have very hot days. We often will have a very active morning and the activity slows down by mid day to only start again in the late afternoon. La Selva Biological Reserve: when birding the entrance of the station, the habitat is basically grasslands and second-growth forest. Crimson-collared Tanager, Snowy Cotinga, Nicaraguan Seed-finch, Pied Puffbird, Fasciated and Great Antshrikes. While on the trails, the birds we expect to see are: Great and Slaty-breasted Tinamous, Cinnamon and Chestnut-colored Woodpecker, Black-striped Woodcreeper and a diversity of Wrens and Tanagers. We should mention that aside from the great bird opportunities, at La Selva reserve, mammal and reptile life is abundant with opportunities for Two and Three toed Sloths, Howler and Spider Monkeys, Agouties, Collared Peccaries and others. |