In the 1997 Christmas Bird Count, local birders at Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve identified 368 species, more than anywhere else in the world. This was the first year a Christmas Count was held at Monteverde, but in the 1996 count, 326 species were logged at La Selva Biological Research Station.

Costa Rica is renowned in the world over for the excellent birding in its protected areas, which encompass a variety of ecological zones, including dry tropical forest, tropical rain forest, and cloud forests. About 870 species have been found in the country.

Julio Sánchez, president of Costa Rica’s Ornithological Society, points out that bird watching, once exclusively a tourist activity, has been increasing steadily in popularity among Costa Ricans. “Now, wherever you go, everybody knows their birds”, he says. An excellent field guide, the “Birds of Costa Rica” by Gary Stiles and Alexander Skutch, is available in both English and Spanish.

Literally hundreds of natural history guides throughout the country are crack birders, and can help visitors rack up dozens of additions to their life lists while in Costa Rica. Sánchez says that the most-sought bird in Costa Rica is the Resplendent Quetzal, which is most easily seen on Cerro de la Muerte near the town of San Gerardo, and at Monteverde.

The Three-Wattled Bell Bird is another specie birders can find at Monteverde. Scarlet Macaws, on the top of everyone’s list, can be easily seen at Carara National Park. Be at the bridge there from 6 to 6:30 in the morning, or from 5 to 6 in the afternoon, and you will see them flying from their roosts in the mangroves into the reserve.

Carara is a birding hot spot, according to naturalists Carlos Gómez and Amos Bien, with populations of Boat-tailed Trogons, Violaceous Trogons and Rufous-tailed Jacamars.

Birders are also seeking hummingbirds, most easily seen at lodges where feeders have been put up, in Monteverde, San Gerardo, and Cinchona, for example. Tanagers and Manakins can be found in mid-level forest.

Excellent birding spots in the Caribbean rain forest are La Selva Biological Station and Tortuguero National Park. Birders at La Selva will be surprised at how tame the birds have become in this long-protected reserve. In the watery world of Tortuguero are found five species of kingfishers, Chestnut-Billied Herons, Sungrebes, Rufescent Tiger Herons, and three species of toucans.

Expert birders will be looking for Costa Rica’s endemic species, about fifty of which are found in the mountainous regions. These include the Bare-Necked Umbrella Bird, the Zeledonia, the Black and Yellow Silky Flycatcher, and the Long-Tailed Silky Flycatcher. Three endemic species are found on Coco Island: a finch, a cuckoo and a flycatcher.

The best tips for birding in Costa Rica are: visit several habitats, including dry tropical forest on the Pacific side, a cloud forest like Monteverde and a rainforest site such as La Selva or Tortuguero. Take a copy of the “Birds of Costa Rica”, and hire a naturalist guide in each area who specializes in birds. If 368 species could be seen at Monteverde in a single day, just imagine how many you can see during your vacation in Costa Rica!