Costa Rica 15 till 30 December 2001

• As we had only 13 full birding days, I created the itinerary in this way that we would see a fair amount of Costa Rican specialities and concentrate on a few locations mainly around the centre with visits to both Caribbean and Pacific slopes and the highlands as well....Chris Steeman reports

Costa Rica March 13 - 26, 2001

• All roads to Monteverde are in poor condition and it is a slow and bumpy ride. but it is well worth the effort !! The Monteverde cloud forest reserve is beautiful with many quality birds.I spent a 12 hour day in the reserve walking slowly almost every trail...Visit the hummingbird gallery near the entance and go birding along the road to the reserve and in town....Stijn De Win reports

Costa Rica 24 March to 8 April 2001

• I have long had an ambition to see tropical rain and cloud forest a
  
  nd to see an active (erupting) volcano. Central America seemed to provide an opportunity to fulfil both of these ambitions. My wife Sue is not a birder and the choice of Costa Rica was almost made before the extent of the birding possibilities were fully appreciated...Keith Edwards reports

Costa Rica February 17-March 3, 2001

• Rancho Naturalista is a well-known birding lodge in the Carribean slope foothills. Life at Rancho is simple: eat, sleep and go birding. Mostly go birding. The food was very good, the accommodations were comfortable and the birding was terrific. On the first day I tallied an amazing 45 lifers...Gavin Edmondstone reports

Costa Rica ( 8-23 April 2000)

• Costa Rica is a small country which is well known for the abundance of its wildlife and its enlightened attitude to conservation. Neither my wife nor I had ever visited Latin America and we were looking for somewhere other than Africa to visit. We decided on Costa Rica because of the wildlife and because we knew it to be a relatively safe and stable country. This report by David Kelly covers that trip.

Costa Rica (23rd Feb - 2nd March 1999)

• Ruth and I had always wanted to bird in Costa Rica - that Birding Paradise which thrives on Twitcher Appeal and which every birder craves to visit. Bren McCartney reports

Costa Rica (12th -19th Dec 1998)

• I planned a trip to Mexico in December 1998 and cancelled it at the beginning of the month since I could not rent a car because of my age (72). Of course, I was disappointed, and had given up hope of birding in the south in the near future. Then, on 10 December I read a message....Peter Browne reports....

(Post 2001 reports here)

Travel & Site Guide to Birds of Costa Rica With Side Trips to Panama Buy from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk This is not a birding field guide, but a helpful guide to quite a few Costa Rica birding sites. Very good descriptions of sites included (including some information not available elsewhere) but many other places were not covered. The author's assessments are useful.

Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica Gary Stiles: Buy from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk This is a superior field guide to a country with one of the richest assortments of bird life anywhere. Written and illustrated by top experts, this book has it all: 52 excellent color plates, detailed species accounts, brief write-ups of 70 birding localities

Helm Identification Guides: Birds of the West Indies Herbert Raffaele: Buy from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk This identification guide covers all the birds known to occur in the West Indies, a total of 563 species. Species texts cover all aspects of identification and include the full range of local names for the bird. Accompanying each speices text is a distribution map showing the bird's range within the West Indies. Every species is illustrated in the 86 colour plates, and many island "forms" (where relevant) are also depicted. The "locality checklist" included provides an at-a-glance, island-by-island guide to the distribution and status of all species. This is the BEST book available for the West Indies

Recommended travel books for Costa Rica:

Lonely Planet - Costa Rica Rachowiecki: Buy from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk An excellent feature of the book is that Mr Rachowiecki has divided the country up into areas that can quickly and efficiently be examined for such facilities as accommodation, food, national parks, wildlife and many other groups. And the book begins with a "Facts about Costa Rica" section with draws attention to revelant information about the country's culture, weather, health and other important facts a first-time explorer really needs to know.

Costa Rica: the Rough Guide Jean McNeil: Buy from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk An esential guide for the Eco-Tourist. The book includes detailed maps of the national parks, with details of how best to visit them. For some of the Parks, there is even information on how to hire a local wildlife guide! There is comprehensive coverage of Costa Rica's abundant wildlife including some of the key species to be expected. This guide presents essential information about how to get around without spending a fortune.