Best Birding in Costa Rica: Hungry Heron on the Hunt!

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, we spent almost two weeks in Costa Rica. Since we are addicted to birding, we were happily excited about meeting new and colorful birds. Learn about some of the best birding adventures and destinations in Costa Rica.

Disclosure: This post might contain affiliate links. If you buy through one of these links, it will not cost you anything extra, but we might get a small commission. Thank you for supporting us. To learn more, please read our full affiliate disclaimer page.

Best Birding In Costa Rica

For such a small country (about the size of New Hampshire and Vermont combined), Costa Rica has an almost unbelievable variety of birds. Over 850 species and still counting. For comparison, that is about double the number of bird species in Canada.

This post was updated and expanded in 2022.

Bordering the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west, Costa Rica is a tropical country with different climate zones depending on elevation and distance to coast.

The central mountains cut Costa Rica in half. Thank to these mountains, there is lots of variety in local climates. You can find hot and dry parts or cool and cloudy ones. Because the cool temperatures, some of the cloud forest houses coffee plantations in Monteverde. The weather in one valley can be completely different to that in the next one over.

First Things First: The Zany Zanate

When I visited Mexico for the first time, I immediately noticed a black and LOUD bird, but it wasn’t a crow. So I asked everyone around me in my not-so-fluent Spanish ( “Pajaro”, “Nero”, “Que es” ??) while wildly gesturing to said bird. Even with my limited Spanish skills, it didn’t take long to learn it was a “Zanate”.

During our vacations in Mexico the zanates were ubiquitous and it didn’t take long for me to figure out that their “official” name in the USA was Great-tailed Grackle. We loved watching them and enjoyed their shenanigans.

Fast forward a few years and lo and behold: my first Costa Rica bird was that very same grackle! Felt like a good birding omen and we indeed saw tons of birds while there.

Zanates definitely are in the same behavior category as sea gulls and crows. They happily snack on whatever food we humans drop and they are loud and very present.

Puntarenas Birding

Thanks to travel hacking with Hilton Honors points, we lucked out on a free all-inclusive resort stay in Puntarenas, on the Gulf of Nicoya. It is a popular cruise stop, so if you find yourself there at a cruise stop, make sure to enjoy a Churchill. No, not the prime minister…

Anyway, our good luck came in threes: zanates, free stay AND a BIRD towel animal in our suite. We definitely were going to rock this Costa Rica birding!

Not a Dead Parrot but Very Alive Parakeets

Every night when dusk was setting in, a whole pandemonium of parakeets would move in. They would land in the palm trees, excitedly discussing what adventures they had that day and where they had found good food sources.

They were LOUD. Endless chattering and frantic flying in a noisy group ensued every time a zanate landed in their tree. Clearly not their favorite bird!

The Costa Ricans call these parakeets pericos and told us they are cousins to the bigger and flashier scarlet macaw. Still not sure of their exact species, but I did enjoy the chatterboxes. They might be Crimson-fronted Parakeets.

Pirates of the Sea: Frigate Birds

Another bird I recognized from Mexico, the schoolyard bully, also called a Magnificent Frigate Bird. Since they don’t like to hunt for themselves, so they will steal food from other birds, like pelicans. There even is a name for that behavior: klepto-parasitism.

We saw Frigates Galore on Isla Contoy, got to pet a whale in Magdalena Bay right next to a frigate colony and enjoyed them in Sian Ka’an, a UNESCO Biosphere reserve. Gracefully and effortlessly gliding through the skies, they always lift my spirit when I see them.

That’s Quite a Mouth Full: Pelicans

Another fascinating and ancient bird is the pelican which inspired this poem

A gorgeous bird is the pelican,
Whose beak will hold more than his bellican.
He can put in his beak
Food enough for a week.
But I’m d—- if I see how in hellican.

C. M. Marshton according to QuoteInvestigator

Always fun to watch, it glides gracefully and then “Splash!” lands in the water and fills its mouth with fish.

While the pelican is draining the water from its bill, gulls often try to steal the fish right out of its pouch—sometimes while perching on the pelican’s head. It looks like this:

Tarcoles River: Never Smile at a Crocodile

Jose’s Crocodile Tour on the Tarcoles

Although we expected a lot of crocodiles and a few birds on Jose’s crocodile tour, we were happily surprised. Sure there were crocodiles, but for us the birds won the show.

Another One Bites The Dust! Heron 1 – Crocodile 0

One of the most amazing birding encounters was when we found out that the #1 predator of crocodiles is a bird!

Tom made a movie showing this exciting encounter:

Witnessing this bird snatching the crocodile was “Better than Discovery Channel!” as our tour guide excitedly exclaimed. Personally, I felt a mixture of compassion for the unlucky baby crocodile and admiration for the bird’s courage in obtaining their meal. We found out that crocodiles are actually really good parents, protecting and nurturing their eggs and their hatch-lings as much as they can.

The Marvelous Mrs Motmot

In addition to the exciting crocodile capture, we saw many other birds. One of the most colorful ones, new to us, was the motmot bird.

They are related to kingfishers and eat both insects and fruit. In Costa Rica it is known as pájaro bobo (“foolish bird”), because it allows humans to come very near it without flying away.

Raptors and More

During our crocodile tour we saw many more birds, like raptors and such.

Moving Target: the Scarlet Macaw

The scarlet macaw was one of the birds we really hoped to see and we got lucky on two different days. One day our tour guide drove us to Tarcoles beach, where he opened his window to listen and soon located two scarlet macaws eating cashews.

Another day we went to Jaco beach, and had lunch there. We were happy to hear the characteristic sounds of a parrot and it didn’t take long before we found a group of four macaws in a nearby tree. They all took off and it was wonderful to see the colorful show they made.

Birding in Costa Rica Conclusion

Costa Rica is truly a birders’ paradise. Have you been to Costa Rica? Did you get to meet cool birds? Any other birding destinations? Please let us know in the comments, we are always looking for new reasons for travel.

My only regret about Jaco Beach is not taking a surfing lesson there, like we did in Hawai’i.

The clock is running. Make the most of today. Time waits for no man. Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That’s why it is called the present.

Alice Morse Earle

Travel the World and Watch Birds

• Never Smile at a Crocodile! Beginner’s guide to Birding in the Everglades;
• Birds, Dolphins and Fish Poop: Discover Sian Ka’an, a UNESCO World Heritage Site;
• Eagles galore!
• Invasive Alien Birds in Hawai’i: don’t get fooled by their beauty;
• Life time bucket list: follow Thousands of Snow Geese;
• Watch a heron take out a crocodile!
• Explore Isla Contoy in Calcun;
• When hiking is too hard: birds on the Manoa Falls Trail;
• Kennebunkport Maine has good birding hotspots;
• Famous bird painting for booklovers: Where is The Goldfinch Painting now? and how it doesn’t even LOOK like a goldfinch;
• Lots of incidental birding on an Alaska Cruise;
• Last but not least: why birding is the best way to socially distance;

Join Us

Would you like to keep up to date with our amazing adventures? Share in all the things that go wrong during our travels? Figure out how you can still enjoy life and travel close by during this pandemic?

Pin Birding in Costa Rica