More than 1,000,000 tourists visit Costa Rica each and every year - many of them come for the birds (watching that is). Costa Rica offers birders of all levels a wonderful experience. With more than 850 species of birds recorded to date, all found within a short distance.

Over 30% of this country has been set aside for wildlife through both private and national reserves. In Costa Rica you’ll find sea, beach, rivers, waterfalls, mountains, volcanoes, rainforests, cloud forests, lowland jungles, the Pacific coastline, and tranquil Caribbean beaches and all the variety of birds, plants and animals that go with it!

 From the oak forest of the Talamanca Mountains, Central America's highest mountain range, to the cloud forests of Monteverde or Braulio Carrillo National Park, to the lowland rainforest of the Osa Peninsula, birders will discover a rich variety of habitats filled with wonderfully diverse groups of birds. Amongst these are  51 of the 300 species of hummingbirds.

When you visit Costa Rica on a bird watching vacation or holiday and research birds you’ll see there, you’ll quickly discover that there are four major avifaunal zones. These are generally split by natural geographical subdivisions within Costa Rica - the Nicoya Peninsula, the Southern Pacific, the interior highlands and the Caribbean.

The best time to see a wide variety of birds is during the green season - May to November - but dress for rain which usually fall in late afternoon and early evenings. Average green season temperature is 72°F.

Bird Watching in the Southern Pacific Coast > Golfito

 ARENAL VOLCANO NATIONAL PARK 
 BARRA HONDA NATIONAL PARK
 BRAULIO CARRILLO NATIONAL PARK  
 CAHUITA NATIONAL PARK
 CHIRRIPÓ NATIONAL PARK  
 CORCOVADO NATIONAL PARK
 GUANACASTE NATIONAL PARK 
 IRAZÚ VOLCANO NATIONAL PARK 
 JUAN CASTRO BLANCO NATIONAL PARK  
 MANUEL ANTONIO NATIONAL PARK 
 PALO VERDE NATIONAL PARK 
 PIEDRAS BLANCAS NATIONAL PARK
 PLAYA GRANDE MARINE TURTLE NATIONAL PARK
 POÁS VOLCANO NATIONAL PARK 
 RINCÓN DE LA VIEJA NATIONAL PARK
 SANTA ROSA NATIONAL PARK  
 TENORIO VOLCANO NATIONAL PARK AND VICINITY
 WHALE MARINE NATIONAL PARK