Collared AracariPhoto: Natalia Kuzmina
Small on purpose. The Rojas Bonilla family has had this land since 1986, and the refuge is under 6 hectares of gardens, fruit trees and forest edge on the La Fortuna side of the volcano.
What it does well for a birder is the edge. Open fields run into forest here, so the toucans, tanagers and hawks of the forest come out to the fruit trees where you can see them, and the walk ends with breakfast at the bird feeders.
It is the Arenal lodge we suggest for the birder travelling with family who are not birders: the frog sanctuary at night and the butterfly garden keep everyone busy, and the national park is about 6 km away for the big mornings.
The lodge runs its own bird walk twice a day, at 5:45 in the morning and at 2 in the afternoon, about three hours with a certified naturalist guide in English or Spanish. It starts at the Welcome Center and works the trails, the roadsides and the fruit trees, from open ground into the forest, and the morning one finishes with breakfast at the bird feeders. The lodge says more than 352 species have been reported on its land. At night, the guided frog walk goes to the ponds of what the lodge calls its wild frog sanctuary, home to at least 38 frog species by its count.
Photo: Arenal Oasis Ecolodge & Wildlife Refuge
Arenal
Where Tranquility and Rustic Auras meet Sustainability
★★★
A small family lodge 3 km from La Fortuna with its own frog sanctuary, butterfly garden and trails, and guided birdwatching walks run by the family. Basic, in one reviewer's word, and the same review called it magical.
All of these are on the lodge's own bird walk page. In the fruit trees, Keel-billed Toucan and Collared Aracari, with Bay-headed Tanager, Golden-hooded Tanager and the Scarlet-rumped Tanager (your field guide may still call it Passerini's Tanager). At the flowers and feeders, White-necked Jacobin, Violet-headed Hummingbird and Green Hermit.
Over the open ground, White Hawk and Laughing Falcon, and Hoffmann's Woodpecker, a regional endemic, on the dead trunks. The Spectacled Owl and the Black-and-white Owl are on the list too, the two to ask about on the frog walk.
| English | Scientific | Spanish | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keel-billed Toucan | Ramphastos sulfuratus | Tucán Pico Iris | |
| Collared Aracari | Pteroglossus torquatus | Tucancillo Collarejo | |
| Bay-headed Tanager | Tangara gyrola | Tangara Cabecicastaña | |
| Golden-hooded Tanager | Stilpnia larvata | Tangara Capuchidorada | |
| Scarlet-rumped Tanager | Ramphocelus passerinii | Tangara de Passerini | |
| White-necked Jacobin | Florisuga mellivora | Jacobino Nuquiblanco | |
| Violet-headed Hummingbird | Klais guimeti | Colibrí Cabeciazul | |
| Green Hermit | Phaethornis guy | Ermitaño Verde | |
| White Hawk | Pseudastur albicollis | Gavilán Blanco | |
| Laughing Falcon | Herpetotheres cachinnans | Guaco | |
| Hoffmann's Woodpecker | Melanerpes hoffmannii | Carpintero de Hoffmann | Regional endemic |
| Spectacled Owl | Pulsatrix perspicillata | Búho de Anteojos | |
| Black-and-white Owl | Strix nigrolineata | Lechuza Blanco y Negro |
Arenal Oasis is small and homely: a local family runs it, and the accommodation is 14 rustic wooden cabins spread through the forest rather than a hotel block. The bungalows suit a couple or a parent with a child, and the two villas take up to five. Breakfast at Mi Tierrita, the lodge restaurant and bar, comes with birds in the trees around you, and the kitchen cooks Costa Rican food with some organic produce. The rhythm is set by the walks the lodge guides itself: birds in the morning, sloths in the day, frogs at the ponds after dark. La Fortuna town and the hot springs are a short drive away, so it is easy to mix the refuge with the rest of Arenal.
Meals. Mi Tierrita Restaurant & Bar, Costa Rican cooking with some organic ingredients, open daily. Breakfast inclusion is not stated on the site.
Perfect for: a family who would rather walk to a frog pond after dinner than sit by a big pool.
Birding Arenal Volcano National Park from the lodge next to it: the umbrellabird, cotingas and toucanets, the hanging bridges and our trips.
See the placeThe Mistico hanging bridges near Arenal put you level with the canopy birds, with a local guide and the volcano in view. Over 350 species recorded.
See the placeNo fixed trip stays here yet; we build it into a custom trip.
Want to add a luxury stay to your trip? See every hotel we represent on CostaRica.Org (opens in a new window). We plan birding lodges and beach resorts in one trip.
Tell us the birds you want, your dates and how you like to travel, and we will come back with a first itinerary: the lodges in the right order and how many nights each one really needs. That first version is just a place to start.
Or call us: 1 (800) 996-1139 from the US and Canada, +506 4052-2140 in Costa Rica.
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