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May 14
We arrive at San José Airport and transfer north towards the country’s northern regions.
May 15
We begin the trip with our first photography session in tropical forest, looking for toucans, hummingbirds, manakins and other forest birds. We also use the day to try to locate nocturnal raptors at their usual roosting sites.
May 16
We spend the day exploring the wetlands of Caño Negro, with two private boat trips, one in the morning and another in the afternoon. We will look for herons, ibises, kingfishers, jabiru and raptors such as the black-collared hawk. There are also chances of spotting caimans at close range. In the evening, we travel to Boca Tapada.
May 17
In the morning, we enjoy a photography session from a hide dedicated to the King Vulture, one of the main targets. We spend the rest of the day exploring the lowland forest around Boca Tapada, looking for keel-billed toucans, great green macaws, woodpeckers, tanagers, parrots and other forest birds.
May 18
We start the day with a session dedicated to hummingbirds, working on flight and perched photography at prepared locations. We will also keep an eye out for great green macaws and other forest birds that frequent the gardens around Boca Tapada. In the afternoon, we leave Boca Tapada and continue towards the Caribbean lowlands.
May 19
In the morning, we combine feeders and forest walks to look for toucans, trogons, motmots, tanagers and parrots. In the afternoon and into the night, we focus on nocturnal wildlife, with opportunities to photograph frogs, reptiles, insects and other animals of the Caribbean forest understory.
May 20
We leave the Caribbean lowlands and begin gaining altitude, as the forest and bird communities gradually change. Along the way, we may encounter raptors and take advantage of any interesting stops before reaching the mountains of Dota, where we begin entering the territory of quetzals and high-elevation hummingbirds.
May 21
We set out early to photograph the resplendent quetzal, one of Costa Rica’s most iconic specise. In the afternoon, we look for mountain hummingbirds, including Talamanca, fiery-throated and volcano hummingbirds, as well as other characteristic species such as silky-flycatchers, parrots, woodpeckers and tanagers.
May 22
We keep part of the morning for another attempt at finding quetzals before continuing towards the Talamanca mountain range. In the afternoon, we combine forest walks and feeding stations to photograph hummingbirds, tanagers, woodpeckers, parrots and other forest birds.
May 23
We spend much of the day photographing from perches and feeding stations, with plenty of time to work calmly with each species that appears. Our main targets are hummingbirds, tanagers, woodpeckers, finches and other mountain birds. Late in the day, we leave the mountains and descend towards the central Pacific coast
May 24
We finish the trip with a private boat trip through the mangroves and along the Tárcoles River. We will look for herons, spoonbills, shorebirds, terns, kingfishers and raptors.
May 25
After breakfast, we transfer to San José airport to catch the return flight.
