Costa Rica Birding Tour
Pacific High-Low Adventure
Osa Peninsula Extension

6 Full Days of Birding


with
Tico Tours ^TM

Osa Penisula Extension- 7 Days/6 Nights

Dates: January 28- Feb 3, 2007

Price: $975; Single Supplement $255

Includes: Accommodations, all meals, private ground transportation,RT domestic airfare San Jose-Golfito, guide (specialized on birdwatching),and all entrance fees.

For 8 Participants (+ Leader, Local guides where required and Driver)

Leader: Mike Boatwright

Expect: c250 species

ITINERARY

Day 1: Fly from San Jose to Puerto Jimenez. We will take a 1-hour flight from San Jose to Puerto Jimenez with Sansa Airlines aboard the comfortable 12 passenger Cesna Grand Caravan turbo-prop plane. Upon arrival in Puerto Jimenez on the beautiful Osa Peninsula, we will be transported to Bosque del Río Tigre Lodge. The lodge is located on the Tigre River just outside the small town of Dos Brazos on the Peninsula de Osa. This remote location in the Reserva Forestal Golfo Dulce surrounding Corcovado National Park gives the visitor a truly exhilarating sense of the tropical rainforest. The lodge itself is completely surrounded by primary and secondary forest.

The 31 acre private wildlife reserve, which is connected to several other private reserves, includes both secondary and primary forest, numerous trails, creeks and lagoons, a refreshing 50 foot waterfall and a collection of local orchids. In the sanctuary can be found three types of cats, Pizotes, Tayras, poison dart frogs, monkeys and an abundance of birds. The whole area is one of the BEST spots for bird watching in Costa Rica.

Night Bosque del Río Tigre Lodge

Day 2: All day birding the area around the lodge.On a 2 1/2-3 hour morning bird walk we should see 40 to 50 species (some groups have spotted over 100 species). There are always a variety of active nests surrounding the lodge. In the past years birds found nesting here include Gray-headed Tanager, Orange-collared Manaquin, Red-capped Manaquin, Buff-rumped Warbler, Riverside Wren, 8 species of hummingbirds, Scarlet-rumped Cacique, Bananaquit, Cherries Tanager, Tropical Gnatcatcher, Golden-hooded Tanager, Lineated Woodpecker, Golden-naped Woodpecker, Fiery-billed Aracari, Blue-black Grosbeak, Orange-chinned Parakeet, Common Pauraque,and numerous flycatchers. With all these nests visible from the house we will have the pleasure of viewing the bird's social and feedings habits and watching the interactions of the competing species.

Night Bosque del Río Tigre Lodge

Day 3: All day birding the area around the lodge . This morning we will take a very special "Roadside Birding Trip" to Rincon. This is a great trip usually totaling around 80 species, many of which are more difficult or impossible to see near the lodge. We start before dawn so we can catch the parrots cruising the fields at first light, the Striped Cuckoo displaying, the Red-breasted Blackbird, Yellow-bellied Seedeater, Rufous-breasted Seedeater during morning feeding time and still be able to make it to the bridge in time to catch the Yellow-billed Cotinga flying back and forth across the river in a sort of social display that is yet to be studied. We should also encounter Turquoise Cotinga, often in the same tree as the Yellow-billed Cotinga, Mangrove Hummingbird, a Costa Rican endemic, Red-rumped Woodpecker, Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Pearl Kite, and possibly Giant Cowbird. There are usually a good assortment of raptors to seen on the way back to the lodge around mid-day.

Night Bosque del Río Tigre Lodge

Day 4: Morning birding the area around the lodge before heading to Puerto Jimenez for boat ride to Golfito. There are a number of excellent birding areas within a short walk of the lodge. The forest directly adjacent to the lodge has numerous trails good for Marbled Wood-Quail, Scaly-throated Leaftosser, and the endemic Black-cheeked Ant-Tanager. Habitat along the river and creeks in the area is good for White-tipped Sicklebill and White-crested Coquette among many others. The taller trees on the ridges can be good for Tiny Hawk and the glowing Turquoise Cotinga. Hummingbird feeders near the lodge attract Beryl-crowned (Charming) Hummingbird as well as several hermit species. Banana feeders attract Blue-crowned Motmot and various tanagers. Since the owners, Liz and Abraham, live and guide here they are able to find nesting birds and study behavior and territories which they will surely share with us. Abraham’s ability to find nesting hummingbirds is becoming legendary!

Upon arrival at Golfito's Restaurant Samoa del Sur in Golfito, we will travel by boat (approx. 30 min. one way) along the scenic coast (passing by a Brown Pelican roosting site) to the Golfo Dulce Lodge at Playa San Josecito.

The Swiss owned and operated Golfo Dulce Lodge is surrounded by the undisturbed primary lowland rainforest of the Piedras Blancas National Park, an extension of the Corcovado National Park and the clear waters of the Golfo Dulce. The remote lodge at Playa San Josecito is only accessible by a boat. With 340 bird species (including Red-fronted Parrotlet, Mangrove Hummingbird, Turquoise Cotinga, the endemic Black-cheeked Ant-tanager, and Scarlet Macaw) identified and an abundance of wildlife, this place is a hidden heaven for bird and nature enthusiest. The secluded lodge offers comfortable accommodation in airy, separate built Deluxe Bungalows or in Standard Rooms. All accommodations are spacious and nicely furnished, with private bathroom (solar heated water) and a private porch with hammock and a rocking chair, ideal for listening to the many sounds of the jungle and for birding. Delicious, family-styled meals with a tropical touch are served in the restaurant with a small bar.

Night Golfo Dulce Lodge

Day 5: All day birding around the lodge and surrounding forest. Birding around the lodge can be spectacular with flocks of Mealy Amazon, Scarlet Macaws, Black-cheeked Ant-Tanager, King Vulture, Black Hawk-Eagle ,Bat Falcon, Crested Guan, White Hawk , Spectacled Owl,Beryl-crowned Hummingbird, White-crested Coquette 4 species of trogons, Chestnut-mandibled Toucan, Fiery-billed Aracari, Golden-naped Woodpecker, Black-faced Anttrush Black-hooded Antshrike, various species of manakins, Scarlet-rumped Cacique, Yellow-crowned Euphonia, Blue Dacnis, Orange-billed Sparrow, Golden-crowned Spadebill,and Riverside Wren all being possible.

Night Golfo Dulce Lodge

Day 6: Boat excursion to the mangrove swamps of the Rio Esquinas. After breakfast, we will take a boat tour to the mangroves and estuaries of the Rio Esquinas. For the first half an hour this tour leads along the densely forested coast of the Golfo Dulce to the estuary of the Rio Esquinas with its mystic mangrove swamp, a paradise for birding. Going up the river, we will watch for caimans, crocodiles and water turtles enjoying their sunbaths. Depending on the tide, we will follow one of the tight and shallow estuaries until the point, where the stilts of the mangroves do not allow us to go any further. Some birds we may see include, Laughing Falcon, Yellow-headed Caracara, Squirrel Cuckoo, Purple Gallinule, Northern Jacana, Blue-crowned Motmot, the four types of indigenous species of kingfishers (Amazon, American Pygmy, Green, and Ringed), Common Tody, Boat-billed, Gray-capped, and Social Flycatchers, Roseate Spoonbill, and Boat-billed Heron. On the boat ride back to the lodge,we may see dolphins.

Night Golfo Dulce Lodge

Day 7: Transfer by boat to Golfito for flight to San Jose Airport for flights home.