Birding Highlights Tour 12 day tour Call for price Group rates available Based on double occupancy Single supplement an additional $350 Tour Includes: 11 nights of lodging All meals from Dinner on day 1 - Breakfast on day 10 All Transportation in Country Professional Guide Resident Guides(certain locations) All Accommodations All Fee's and entrances (national parks, reserves, etc…) Return flights must depart in the afternoon Dates: 2010 Jan. 25 - Feb. 5: Guide: Erick Castro Day 1: Arrive in San Jose where you will be warmly welcomed by your guide and chauffer and escorted back to your hotel. Spend the afternoon relaxing by the poolside or taking a walk in the lovely gardens to recuperate from your long day of travel. Depending on arrival time, you may also be able to do some birding with your guide on the hotel grounds. This is a good place to see the White-eared Ground-sparrow, the Blue-crowned Motmot, and some colorful hummingbirds. Day 2: Travel to Bosque de Paz Cloud Forest Reserve, where we will spend the next day and a half at one of the most peace full places on earth. Bosque de Paz, a 500-hectare (1200-acre) privately-owned Biological Preserve and lodge, acts as a natural biological corridor connecting the Poás Volcano National Park with the Juan Castro Blanco National Park. It is a spectacularly rich ecosystem because of its privileged location. It is located on the Continental Divide with altitudes ranging from 1400 to 2450 meters above sea level. Over 286 species of birds have been recorded in the reserve. We could hope to see the Black Guan, Chestnut-capped Brush-Finch, Scintillant Hummingbird, Black-faced Solitaire, Collard Trogon and Emerald Toucanet to name a few. Day 3 and 4: Travel to the Arenal Observatory Lodge, which offers breath-taking views of the thundering Arenal Volcano. It is one of Costa Rica´s active volcanoes, where we are sure to enjoy some fireworks. Great photo opportunities! The extensive trails at the lodge allow for tremendous opportunities to view the Crimson-collared Tananger, White Hawk, Brown-hooded Parrot, and the Golden-olive Woodpecker, along with an array of colorful hummingbirds, and three species of Tucans. One night, we will go owling in search of the Black-and-White Owl, Mottled Owl, and Striped Owl in the open fields, below the lodge. Day 5: Travel to Selva Verde Lodge in the tropical lowlands of Sarapiqui, birdwatching along the way. After lunch, explore the wildlife-rich riparian zone along the banks of the Sarapiqui river. This lowland rain forest region at the base of the Caribbean slope is well-known for hosting the greatest diversity of tropical flora and fauna in the country. Here the Sunbittern, Black-faced Grosbeak, and Gray-necked Wood-Rail are a few of the inhabitants of the area. This is the most likely spot on the trip to see the Great Green Macaw, an endangered species that depends on the Dipteryx tree for feeding and nesting. This is one of the emergent trees commonly found in Sarapiqui. Also lurking in the forest are two- and three-toed sloths, 3 different species of monkeys, and peccaries. Day 6:We will spend the morning at the Braulio Carrillo National Park. This dense Caribbean slope rainforest hosts a diversity of birdlife, including Lattice-tailed Trogon, Tawny-capped Euphonia, Blue and Gold Tanager, Brown-billed Scythebill, Black-headed Nightingale Thrush, White-ruffed Manakin, Black-faced Grosbeak, White-shouldered Tanager, and Olivaceous Woodcreeper to name a few. Arrive for lunch and overnight at Selva Verde Lodge, near La Selva Biological Station run by the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS). In the afternoon we will enjoy a 2 1/2 hour boat ride on the slow moving section of the Sarapiqui River. Along the jungle lined river, we hope to see sloth, monkeys, iguanas, kingfishers, raptors, woodpeckers, woodcreepers, warblers, wrens and if we are lucky the Sungrebe. We may also enjoy views of basilisk lizards, river otters, black river turtles and roosting bats. Day 7: Spend the day at La Selva Biological Station run by the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS), clearly a highlight of the tour. The station is among the four most famous tropical research facilities in the world. We will see an outstanding abundance of wildlife. The station is home to more than 420 bird species, more than 500 species of butterflies, 55 species of snakes, and 120 species of mammals. A vast variety of different species of trees can be seen in the arboretum. This is the most likely place to make your tinamou dream come true. There are three species of Tinamou that inhabit La Selva. We will be looking for Rufous Motmot, Trogons, Caciques, Purple-throated Fruit Crow, and Snowy Cotinga, among many others. Animals here are not camar shy, so there will be ample photo opportunities. Peccaries (wild pigs), agoutis, coatis, sloth, and monkeys frequent the area. All of which makes for an unforgettable experience. Day 8: Travel to Hotel Villa Lapa, situated at the edge of the Carara Biological Reserve on the banks of the Tarcoles River near the Pacific coast. We will stop along the way to look for Blue-winged Teals, Least Grebes, Northern Jacanas, Anhingas, and Cormorants. After lunch at the hotel, we will explore the bird-rich trails through the forest, and hope to see Scarlet Macaws and Tiger Herons, among many others. After a delicious lunch at the hotel, we will enjoy a two hour mangrove tour by boat along the Tarcoles River with a local guide. During the tour we will not only be impressed by the giant crocodiles that inhabit the area but also the variety of shorebirds, water birds, and raptors. (Overnight at Hotel Villa Lapas) Day 9: Spend the days in the Carara Biological Reserve, a unique climatological zone where the ecosystem of the humid southern coastal region joins the dry climate of the northern Pacific area, becoming a rich meeting ground for species from both regions. This is truly one of the highlights of the tour, where we hope to find the Orange Collared Manakin dancing in their lek. This is a great location to spot antbirds, up to five different species of Trogons, Rufous-tailed Jacamar, and even Royal Flycatchers. In the late afternoon, we will visit the nearby bridge overlooking the Tarcoles River, where Scarlet Macaws fly over daily. Here you will also be amazed by the gigantic crocodiles basking on the banks of the river. Overnight at Hotel Villa Lapas Day 10: Travel to Cerro de la Muerte. We will spend the morning exploring the misty highland cloud forest reserve at the Finca Mirador de Quetzales, where up to 20 pairs of quetzals have been seen. Some of the other highland species we will be looking for include: Black-and-yellow Silky-flycatcher, Peg-billed Finch, Silvery-fronted Tapaculo, Sooty Robin, Black-billed Nightingale-Thrush, and Sooty-capped Bush-Tanager among others. Before returning to our lodge for lunch, we will visit the Paramo habitat at approximately 3500m above sea level in search of the Volcano Junco. We will have lunch and overnight at the Albergue de Montana Savegre, nestled in a quaint highland valley nearby, also home of the Resplendent Quetzal Day 11: Spend the day exploring the gardens, riparian highland habitats, and old growth tropical oak cloud forests surrounding the Savegre Mountain Lodge. Walking through the gardens and along the Savegre river, we can hope to see Flame-colored Tanager, Collared Trogon, Torrent Tyrannulet, Volcano hummingbird, and Gray-tailed Mountain Gem, among many others.  Some of the other species we will be looking for include Black-faced Solitaire, Spotted Wood-Quail, Buffy Tuftedcheek, Golden-browed Chlorophonia (Blue-hooded Chlorophonia), Ochraceous Wren, Ornate Hawk-Eagle, and of course the Resplendent Quetzal. (Overnights: Savegre Mountain Lodge) Day 12: Travel to the airport for departing flights. (Return flights must depart in the afternoon) *RETURN FLIGHTS MUST DEPART AFTER NOON. *Each morning we will be getting an early start to make the best of our time, and maximize our opportunities to see the most species of birds possible. As an optional outing, one night in each location, we will go owling. Each evening there will also be an optional meeting after dinner to go over the bird list. Tour includes all lodging and meals starting with lunch on Day 1 and ending with breakfast on Day 10; all transportation in Costa Rica in a modern and spacious air-conditioned vehicle with clear glass windows ideal for wildlife viewing; full time private bi-lingual professional guides specializing in birds and natural history; entrance fees to parks and reserves; and taxes. (Airport taxes ($26.00), alcoholic beverages and tips to local staff, guide and driver not included) Price based on double occupancy. Single supplement fee of $350 What sets us apart from other tours. Why Costa Rica is one of the worlds best birding and natural history destinations. Things to Know Policies and general information. In addition to our scheduled itineraries listed above we offer customized small-group birding tours with maximum time in the field, tours for the serious naturalist, as well as fun tours for the everyday nature lover. 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