Birding zone 4 of 5 · The dry side · Arrive Liberia (LIR) or San José (SJO)
The dry side. Guanacaste and the Nicoya Peninsula, tropical dry forest that drops its leaves in the dry season from December to April, and the wetlands of Palo Verde along the Tempisque River. The birding here is open and easy on the legs: the trees are lower and barer than on the wet side, so you see what you hear.
It is where you find the species that do not reach the wet side: Turquoise-browed Motmot, Long-tailed Manakin, White-throated Magpie-Jay, Double-striped Thick-Knee, and on the water Jabiru, Roseate Spoonbill and Wood Stork. Rancho Humo, a cattle ranch one family turned back into wetland and dry forest, is the base we use for Palo Verde, and Tango Mar on the Nicoya coast is where a lot of our birding trips end, with a beach for whoever came with you.
Fly into Liberia and this zone is the start of the trip. Fly into San José and it is the last stop before a short flight home from Tambor, which is how our Nicoya trip is built.
The map
Each number is one of the places worth the mornings below; the small dots are the 4 lodges we use here.
Every place we send birders, in all five zones, is on one map: Costa Rica birding hotspots.
Long-tailed ManakinChiroxiphia linearisGuanacaste's dry forest, Palo Verde to Santa Rosa. All year, easiest December to April.
White-throated Magpie-JayCyanocorax formosaA noisy blue and white jay with a very long tail, common in the dry northwest.
Double-striped Thick-KneeHesperoburhinus bistriatusA big yellow-eyed bird of the dry northwest, hidden by day and loud at night.
Black-headed TrogonTrogon melanocephalusA calm yellow-bellied trogon of the northwest Pacific dry forest edges.
Elegant TrogonTrogon elegansRed-bellied trogon of Guanacaste's dry forest, often sitting still and calling
Streak-backed OrioleIcterus pustulatusOrange oriole with a streaked back, resident in Guanacaste's dry Pacific lowlands.
Spot-breasted OrioleIcterus pectoralisOrange oriole with a spotted breast, local in the dry northwest
JabiruJabiru mycteriaThe Tempisque River at Palo Verde, from the boat. All year, easiest December to April.The Turquoise-browed Motmot first, on wires and fence posts along every dry-forest road, and the Long-tailed Manakin, famous for the dance two males perform side by side for one female. White-throated Magpie-Jay in noisy family groups, Double-striped Thick-Knee in the pasture at dusk, Black-headed Trogon and Elegant Trogon in the dry forest, Streak-backed Oriole and Spot-breasted Oriole in the gardens.
On the water, the big birds of the Tempisque: Jabiru, Wood Stork, Roseate Spoonbill and Bare-throated Tiger-Heron from the boat, and the Mangrove Hummingbird, a regional endemic of the Pacific mangroves, with luck.
At Curú the Scarlet Macaw, the only population on the peninsula, and on the Pochote trogons, motmots and kingfishers along the river.
Each place below has its own page: the birds to look for, getting there, when to go and the lodges we use nearby.
Dry forest, mangrove and wetland on the Tempisque River: Jabiru, storks and spoonbills from the boat, the Mangrove Hummingbird with luck, and our lodge.
See the placeOn the Nicoya coast near Tambor: the peninsula's only Scarlet Macaws at Curú, a boat up the Río Pochote, our beach lodge and the trip that ends here.
See the placeAn active volcano with sulphur lagoons and mud springs, and a 3,400-acre ranch at its foot with over 300 bird species: the birds, the lodge, the way in.
See the placeSanta Rosa and Guanacaste National Parks in the far north: dry forest with trees at least 500 years old and 250 bird species, a guided day from Liberia.
See the placeFour of our lodges are in this zone: a private reserve at Palo Verde, a working ranch under Rincón de la Vieja, a 1,000-acre ranch on the Gulf of Nicoya, and a beach resort on the Nicoya coast for the end of the trip.
Photo: Hacienda Guachipelin
Rincón de la Vieja
A Great Property with A Host of Exciting Activities On-Site
★★★
A 3,400-acre working ranch on the slopes of Rincón de la Vieja, 22 km from Liberia, with dry forest, 32 rivers coming off the volcano and birding from the ranch's own trails. Good when the birder travels with people who do not bird: canopy, horses and hot springs on the same property.
Photo: La Ensenada
Playa Blanca
A Secluded Ranch for Nature Lovers
★★★
A 1,000-acre sanctuary on the Gulf of Nicoya coast that the lodge calls ideal for birdwatchers, with bungalows facing the gulf.
Photo: Rancho Humo Estancia
Palo Verde
A very special natural area located in Guanacaste
★★★
A private reserve on the Tempisque at Palo Verde, a cattle ranch one family has turned back into wetland, mangrove and dry forest. Migrating birds stop here, and so do we, for the water birds of the dry side.
Photo: Tango Mar Resort
Tambor
A Sophisticated Nicoya Beachfront Resort with Fabulous Ocean Views
★★★★
Beachfront on Quizales beach on the Nicoya coast, 35 suites and bungalows, four pools and a nine-hole golf course through grounds full of birds. The end-of-trip lodge, for the shore birds and a rest.
Keep going: add more birds, lodges or tours, then turn your Wishlist into a trip.
