Most serious birders eventually make their way to Costa Rica. This exciting country is a bucket list destination for any birder because:
- It’s easy to visit: If you live in the USA or Canada, Costa Rica is anywhere from three to six hours by plane.
- Good tourism infrastructure: Good hotels, good food, and good guides.
- Over 900 species have been recorded: Enough said!
Not to mention, close looks at dozens of hummingbirds, tanagers, and loads of other bird species. However, with so many bird species to ponder over, birding in Costa Rica can seem daunting for even the most serious of birdwatchers.
Nevertheless, the good thing about birding is that you can get as serious or be as relaxed about it as you like. If you want to just watch the birds in hotels gardens, there will be plenty to see but not so many that the experience is overwhelming (well, maybe, but in a good way!). If you feel like searching for rare species in the forest, a good guide can help you find and identify those birds. If you just want to focus on bird photography, no problem, check out the Nature Pavilion, Rancho Naturalista, Luna Lodge, Bosque del Rio Tigre, Zamora Estate, and many other excellent sites for taking pictures of birds in Costa Rica.
As far as identification goes, whether you spend every minute of your vacation looking for birds, or just want to know what shows up at the hotel feeder, putting a name on a bird becomes easy with the Costa Rica Birds Field Guide app. Easy search filters help find birds by color, group, pattern on the head, status, and other clues for bird identification.
You can also look at birds listed by family or group, just see the birds that live in the highlands or other parts of the country, study their songs before, during, and after the trip, and learn about as little or as much of Costa Rican birds as you want.
Try the lite version of this birding app for free!
