VIRTUAL TOURS
Live
Enjoy Costa Rica Birding LIVE with Cotinga Virtual Tours - It’s free to join!
Come join us for an incredible Costa Rica birding experience all from the comfort of your own home. Each tour will take you to some of our favorite birding and wildlife hotspots. You will be joined by our exceptional guides Paco Madrigal and Esteban Biamonte. This is the perfect opportunity to see a variety of colorful birds and wildlife from this beautiful country. Whether you’ve been to Costa Rica and would enjoy reminiscing or Costa Rica is in your future travel plans, we’re sure you’ll enjoy it!
Plus the best part...Cotinga LIVE Virtual Tours are completely free to join! Each tour is one hour and we hope to have you enjoying the birds LIVE. Joining LIVE proves to be a valuable experience because you are able to ask your guides questions and get answers in real time. However if you aren’t able to make it to our tour, recordings will be available to watch at your convenience. (You can find them at the bottom of this page).
Cotinga LIVE Virtual Birding Tours are hosted on the Zoom platform by one of our Tour Coordinators. Then the real action is handed over to our expert guides who work as a team so you’re able to see as many species in one hour as possible.
To register for any of our virtual tours, please click the “register now” button. You will be emailed your unique registration link and password to join. See you then!
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The Costa Rican tourism industry has been hit devastatingly hard by the COVID-19 global pandemic and recovery is still terribly slow. To show support and solidarity to our guides and their families we encourage our viewers to leave a voluntary tip. No tip is too small or too large. Every tip is greatly appreciated and makes a huge impact on our local guides’ ability to support their families during these very challenging economic times. Keeping ecotourism in Costa Rica alive is vitally important to conservation so join us to get a little taste of what you could experience on an in-person tour while helping to support ecotourism in Costa Rica.
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Upcoming Virtual Birding Tours
More Free LIVE Virtual Tours Coming Soon!
Past Tours & Recordings
Garden Birding
Mix of Costa Rican Residents Plus North American Migrants
Date: January 12, 2021
Join our guides Paco and Esteban as they invite you into their gardens to share the stunning birds that frequent their beautiful gardens. You will get to see a sneak peek of what is waiting for you in Costa Rica. Some of the species we will see include several kinds of hummingbirds, tanagers, and flycatchers - among many more! At this time of year Costa Rica is hosting some of the North American migrant species wintering in the warm climate for the cold winter months. Although the resident species will be the main stars of the show, you will have the opportunity to see migrant birds such as Swainson's Thrush, Baltimore Oriole, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and a few species of warblers.
Savegre Natural
Reserve and Lodge
Date: December 1, 2021
Time: 8:00am Costa Rica Time
Join us for an incredible Costa Rica birding experience all from the comfort of your own home. Our exceptional guides Paco Madrigal and Erick Guzman captured shots of wonderful species found in San Gerardo de Dota on top of Cerro de la Muerte. In this highland valley you will have the opportunity to see many species including: Flame-colored Tanager, Collared Trogon, Torrent Tyrannulet, Volcano hummingbird, and Gray-tailed Mountain-Gem, among many others.
Selva Verde Lodge
& Pierella Eco Garden
Date: November 3, 2021
OUR BEST TOUR YET!!
We had an incredible live, virtual birding tour yesterday at Selva Verde Lodge and Pierrella Ecological Gardens in Sarapiqui. In one hour, Paco and Esteban found 37 different bird species, plus numerous butterflies, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians!
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Date: September 29, 2021
Mystery Birding
One of our best virtual tours yet! Watch the recording to see if you can guess the location before we say it outloud! This is a fantastic virtual tour that sees almost a new species per minute! We will be visiting this location live again for another virtual tour, so if you missed this one, keep your eyes open for the next!
Backyard Birding
Mix of Costa Rican Residents Plus North American Migrants
Date: October 27, 2021
Join our guides Paco and Esteban as they invite you into their backyards to share the stunning birds that frequent their beautiful gardens. You will get to see a sneak peek of what is waiting for you in Costa Rica. Some of the species we will see include several kinds of hummingbirds, tanagers, and flycatchers - among many more! At this time of year Costa Rica is hosting some of the North American migrant species wintering in the warm climate for the cold winter months. Although the resident species will be the main stars of the show, you will have the opportunity to see migrant birds such as Swainson's Thrush, Baltimore Oriole, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and a few species of warblers.
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Ensenada Lodge
Date: October 6, 2021
Join Paco and Erick at Ensenada Lodge in Guanacaste to explore the tropical dry forests, marshlands, estuaries, and mangroves, characteristic to the northern Pacific region. This is an ideal place to see water birds, raptors, and other species found only in this zone. In the wetlands, we are likely to see Snail Kites, Wood Storks, Roseate Spoonbills, Boat-billed Herons, Black- crowned Night-Heron, Limpkins, and several species of Kingfishers.
Date: September 15, 2021
Carara Area
Watch the recording to see 30 fantastic species of birds and 4 species of reptiles located on the grounds of Hotel Villa Lapas as well as at the edge of the Tarcoles River. Our guides Paco Madrigal and Esteban Biamonte do an amazing job spotting these beautiful creatures in the two locations bordering Carara National Park.
Cope's Garden
Date: September 8, 2021
Cotinga Tours is excited to announce a very special virtual tour that you don’t want to miss! We will be at the famous Cope’s Garden, an unique place to visit that we offer on our tours. You will be joined by our exceptional guides Paco Madrigal and Erick Guzman. You will have the opportunity to see stunning species from this beautiful location such as the Yellow-throated Toucan, White-collared Manakin, Shining Honeycreeper and many more!
Date: September 1, 2021
Backyard Birding
We broke our species record on this tour with 24 different species seen in 1 hour! Paco and Esteban did a fantastic job spotting the stunning birds that frequent their beautiful gardens. You will get to see a sneak peek of what is waiting for you in Costa Rica. In this recording you will see the Easter Meadowlark, a Buffy Crowned Wood Partridge family, and several species of hummingbirds, tanagers and swallows.
Arenal
Date: August 25, 2021
Relive the birding tour at the Arenal Observatory Lodge, which offers breathtaking views of the jungle-covered Arenal Volcano. This is a birding and wildlife hotspot where the stunning natural beauty will astound you. Some of the species we hope to see include Montezuma Oropendola, Keel-billed Toucan, Great Curassow, Red-legged Honeycreeper, and Crested Guan to name a few.
Backyard Birding
Date: August 18, 2021
Join our guides Paco and Esteban as they invite you into their backyards to share the stunning birds that frequent their beautiful gardens. You will get to see a sneak peek of what is waiting for you in Costa Rica. Some of the species we will see include several kinds of hummingbirds, tanagers, and flycatchers - among many more!
Highlights Reel Coming Soon!
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Arenal
Date: June 23, 2021
Relive the birding tour at the Arenal Observatory Lodge, which offers breathtaking views of the jungle-covered Arenal Volcano. This is a birding and wildlife hotspot where the stunning natural beauty will astound you. Some of the species we hope to see include Montezuma Oropendola, Keel-billed Toucan, Great Curassow, Red-legged Honeycreeper, and Crested Guan to name a few.
Paraiso Quetzal
Date: July 7, 2021
Enjoy as we explore an incredible birding hotspot in the misty highlands of Cerro de la Muerte. Paraiso Quetzal’s hummingbird gardens are nestled in a private cloud forest reserve where you can enjoy beautiful, lively hummingbirds as well as the views this location has to offer. Some of the species we hope to enjoy include fiery-throated hummingbird, Long-tailed Silky- flycatchers, Volcano Hummingbird, Acorn Woodpecker, Talamanca Humminbird, and White-throated Mountain Gem among others. If we are really lucky, we may see the Resplendent Quetzal, a natural treasure of this forest.