This trek swings south away from almost all established tourist routes into a birdwatcher’s paradise. At our lodge near San Isidro we usually find Smooth-billed Ani, Snowy-bellied Hummingbird, Fork-tailed Flycatcher, and Streaked Saltator. Las Cruces also marks the westernmost extension of the range of Blue Cotinga, one of Central America’s most beautiful and sought-after species. We continue south and east virtually all the way to the Panama border en route to the Organization for Tropical Studies Las Cruces Biological Station and the Wilson Botanical Garden. These are prime areas for many Panama specialty birds. We are bound to see Yellow-headed Caracara and Fiery-billed Aracari, a medium-sized toucan whose bill more than fulfills the promise of its name. The beautiful plantings at the Wilson Botanical Garden near San Vito attract a panoply of dazzling tanagers; Passerini’s is one of the most abundant birds of the region, but Silver-throated, Speckled, and Bay-headed are all common. Recent colonists to far eastern Costa Rica include Pearl Kite and Rosy Thrush-Tanager. Other possible species along our route include White-crested Coquette, Lance-tailed Manakin, and the Black-cheeked Ant-Tanager, endemic to the Golfo Dulce lowlands. The grand finale to this tour will be the web of rivers and channels that constitute Tortuguero National Park. Originally intended to protect a major nesting beach of the Atlantic Green Sea Turtle, Tortuguero National Park now embraces 51,870 acres, one the largest areas of tropical rain forest in Central America. Three species of monkeys—Spider, Howler, and White-faced, Three-toed Sloth, and River Otter are frequently seen along the inland waterways. Caiman, iguanas, river turtles, basilisk lizards, and poison dart frogs inhabit the area, along with more than 300 species of birds. Among these are all five tropical kingfishers found in the new world, three species of toucans, eight species of parrots, and other neotropical delights such as Slaty-tailed Trogon, White-collared Manakin, Purple-throated Fruitcrow, and White-fronted Nunbird. Here, too, is a major colony of Agami Heron, a bird many would agree is the world’s most beautiful heron. Our visit is timed so that we may witness the primordial scene of huge Green Sea Turtles hauling up after dark on their nativity beach to lay their eggs. While there is no guarantee of this spectacle, most people who have seen it count it among their most cherished wildlife experiences.

Leaders: Carlos Gomez & Chris Sharpe

Cost of Deep Costa Rica & Tortuguero includes all accommodations, all meals, internal airfare, all transportation, and all entrances beginning and ending in San Jose, Costa Rica—$3995.

$100 will be discounted if Deep Costa Rica & Tortuguero is combined with Costa Rica —$7490.

Photo:  Red-capped Manakin
Photo by:  Paul Cozza

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