Costa Rica Wildlife – Where we’ve been and what we’ve seen.
May 22, 2019
We have been to Costa Rica three times and will definitely go again. The main reason? The wildlife. If you’ve looked at the previous Costa Rica post and the amazing wildlife pictures in the photography section, you can see why we love it so much.  We haven’t been everywhere (yet), but our journey has taken us from Arenal Volcano in the north, down to the Osa Peninsula in the South, containing one of the most bio-diverse rain forests in the world, Corcovado National Park (wow, I’ve gone all David Attenborogh).  On our travels we have visited a lot of different national parks and this is where we have had the privilege of seeing and experiencing all this great wildlife. Â
La Paz Waterfall Garden and Wildlife Sanctuary.
This is located about 30 minutes outside San Jose in the direction of the Poas Volcano. I mention this park because, as well as the waterfalls (which are beautiful), the park hosts a small collection of indigenous species, mostly rescued and unable to go back into the wild. It’s a real opportunity to see some of Costa Rica’s animals up close, and some of them are so elusive in the wild you probably won’t see them otherwise. 
The amphibian house has a great collection of frogs and snakes, which we managed to get some amazing photos of. They have several species of cat, including the puma, jaguar, ocelot and margay. We have never seen any cats in the wild during our visits to Costa Rica, they are very shy of humans as well as being mostly nocturnal, so having such a clear view and the opportunity to take photos was fantastic.
We also had the most amazing experience of being allowed into the sloth enclosure (not normally allowed unless you are a guest at the lodge), so managed to get pictures and experience the sloths face to face. Â We have seen sloths in the wild several times, but they are invariably at the top of really tall trees. Â Once they knew we were there and they’d “checked us out”, they went about their (extremely slow) business of hanging around.
Have you ever kissed a toucan? Â No, neither had we. Â Visitors are allowed in the toucan enclosure to see the birds without any barriers. Â As we were patient and waited until other visitors had left, the attendants asked if we wanted a kiss from the toucan (we held some seed between our lips, which the toucan very gently took..a kiss, incredible). Â The park also has outdoor hummingbird feeders, and we discovered that the hummingbirds are not shy. Â I stood less than a foot from the feeders and the birds carried on whizzing to and fro between the feeders. Â So close in fact that I could feel the air from the wings of the hummingbirds as they went past my head. The sound as they go past is amazing too. Â A big smile moment.
This is exactly what it says, a forest in the clouds, so it’s a very moist environment. The forest is very thick (as is the cloud) so it makes spotting wildlife very difficult. 
The one thing everyone wants to see in the forest is the Resplendent Quetzal, one of the most beautiful birds from the Trogan family (and rare to the point of almost extinction), coveted for it’s amazingly long tail and beautiful green and red colour. We were lucky to see the male, but only when it was pointed out by a guide. I’m fairly sure we wouldn’t have seen it on our own. Other than that, we actually didn’t see very much at all, this is where a guide may be a good idea. The café outside the entrance is worth visiting to see hummingbirds in their hundreds enjoying the nectar feeders.
Close to the Arenal Volcano (worth a visit, it’s a beautiful conic volcano that is still very active), here you can walk in the forest on suspended canopy bridges. We loved this as you can self-guide if you want (which we prefer for wildlife photography), on 1.9 miles of bridges and canopy paths. Going slowly, this takes about 2 hours. We saw a lot of canopy birds, some snakes and a troop of spider monkeys swinging through the trees.  Being on the suspended bridges is a great experience.  We could see all the different levels of the forest at eye level, as well as below our feet (the bridge is kind of see through, not for the faint of heart)
This is probably the most popular park in Costa Rica, Â It was obvious when we arrived and had to park on the road quite a distance from the entrance. Â We were with our friends from Philly, Larry and Christina, so we self guided. Â Honestly, here you definitely don’t need a guide. Â There are so many people and guides around, all you have to do is look where they’re looking and voila! Â A sloth, a howler monkey, a raccoon. Â We had a great time and saw a lot but it felt a little like being in a zoo and not a real wildlife experience.
Carara National Park
When we visited Carara, we drove ourselves, parked at the ranger station and paid the small entrance fee. Â As soon as we had done this and before we even left the car park we saw a huge iguana and also a road side hawk in a tree. 
The park has really lovely walking trails through it’s forest, which reach down to the Tarcoles river, and there were hardly any other people…bliss. 
This is where we saw the group of capuchins moving through the forest really close to us, and we were completely alone with them. Â There’s nothing more incredible and nothing that will make you feel more at one with nature than being alone with it as the sole observer. Â We also saw a pair of scarlet macaws at their nest in a tree trunk. Â We had no idea this was where they nested. Â I imagined a giant twig nest on a branch. Â When we got to the river, we were able to just stand and let the bird life happen around us. Â We were surrounded by kingfishers, herons, jacamars, toucans, even an agouti and a lizard crossed our path.
Hacienda Baru is a lodge and wildlife refuge between Manuel Antonio and Dominical on the west coast, but non guests can visit the lodge and walk the self guided trails around forest, swamp and down to the beach at a mere $15 for the day (we stopped for a delicious local lunch too). Â We’ve been here twice and really enjoyed it both times, it’s very calm and not busy. Â We’ve seen quite a few mammals, such as the coati, agouti and we even spotted a three toed sloth low down in a tree near the lodge and also one high up in a tree in the forest. 
 I don’t know why, but when you spot wildlife yourself (rather than a guide spotting it), it feels like a massive achievement.  When you’re looking for wildlife you never know what you’re going to see, maybe nothing at all.  For us this is really exciting….the unknown and the thrill of the ‘hunt’.
We’ve seen plenty of birds in this park too, including the rather elusive Great Curassow, a turkey like ground bird with a very impressive mohican (technical term “crest” in the bird world) and my favourite from our last trip, the Orange-collared Manakin. Â This tiny bright orange/yellow bird made himself known to us when we heard a ‘clicking’ sound coming from within in the forest. Â Being curious, myself, Clark and our friend Rob, followed the sound until we saw, low down near the floor, this little chappy darting from twig to twig to floor to twig (the twigs had been beautifully stripped of all foliage), all whilst snapping his wings. Â We believe, proper David Attenborough “Life of Birds” style, that he was dancing around a ‘display arena’ to impress the ladies. Difficult to get a good picture of (but Clark did), fascinating to watch. Â A real find.
Terraba Sierpe National Wetlands
We drove directly to the town of Sierpe.  It’s a very popular spot for various types of tour on the river and most tours leave in the morning.  We’ve tried the full day tour to CAÑO ISLAND for snorkelling, but it’s not the best, the waters were cloudy and you have to snorkel off the boat.  When you have zero sea legs, this is not a good option.  We’ve also done the full day Corcovado trip, which was actually good fun, but a long boat trip on choppy waters and you don’t see much of the park. Our favourite though was the mangrove tour.  We were advised to go late afternoon which turned out to be a good recommendation as the coach and group tours had gone and we had a boat just for the two of us.
Mangroves host completely different types of wildlife than other habitats in Costa Rica. Â Here it’s all about water birds, raptors and crocodiles. Â Our crazy driver even thought it was a good idea to dangle raw chicken pieces for a crocodile while the croc was only a foot from his….feet. Â Nutter.
Corcovado National Park - The Osa Peninsula
Corcovado is the wildlife jewel of Costa Rica and the Osa peninsula is the place where we’ve seen the most wildlife, in numbers and diversity. Â We have been inside Corcovado national park once, but surrounding the park border is an area of primary rainforest that is full of wildlife, the same that can be seen in the park itself and for which you do not need a permit to visit. Â
We’ve stayed on the Osa peninsula twice and both times we’ve stayed in eco-lodges. Â On our first ever experience of Costa Rica, we stayed at Lapa Rios Eco-lodge. Â When I look at the website for this beautiful eco-lodge now, I just can’t believe the prices. Â Of course we went way back in 2004 when the lodge didn’t have the accolade of “National Geographic – Unique lodges of the world“, so the prices were completely different. Â It’s location in primary rainforest just outside the border of Corcovado, is one of a kind. Â This was the first time we had stayed in our own little bungalow, the first time we had an outside ‘jungle’ shower, the first time we had a room with uninterrupted views of the ocean and the first time we had wildlife passing right past our private terrace. Â Amazing guides, fantastic food (I even bought the cook book) and the location on the edge of the jungle and the beach was second to none.
The second time we stayed at Iguana Eco-lodge, right on the beach just outside Puerto Jimenez. Â This is a very chilled lodge, with a great outdoor yoga studio among the trees and a 
swimming pool where you can just lie back and watch the birds, iguanas and monkeys in the trees surrounding the pool. Â I’m not a massive fan of yoga, I get too impatient and want to do something more energetic, but here I was persuaded to attend a session and I have to say, it was a totally different experience doing yoga with the jungle sounds around us, being watched by a black vulture who perched on the railing of the studio. Surreal. The place has a rustic feel, not brand new and shiny, but earthy and attached to nature. Â We stayed in a jungle casita, surrounded by trees and with a view of the beach and sea. Â Being perched up on the 1st floor, we had a fantastic breeze and, OK, I may have nodded off one afternoon while lying in the hammock on our deck listening to the sea. Â Our stay here was finished off perfectly on our last night, New Year’s Eve, when the lodge provided hundreds of paper lanterns to light and send flying into the night sky. Â Magical.
Golfo Dolce
This was so good the first time we did it, we had to do it again this Christmas. Â Imagine, your own private boat and driver, the sun rising, birds waking and making their morning calls, while you gently amble along the smooth open waters of the golf towards the mangroves. Â Once in the mangroves and on the smaller waterways you can really hear the sounds of the insects and birds. Â A rustle in the trees indicating a troop of monkeys passing by. Â Moving so slowly, so quietly, you forget you’re meant to be looking for wildlife. Â It’s too relaxing, too serene a moment as you sit back in your seat and breathe in the damp smell of trees with a hint of salt water, you feel the warm air intensify as the sun gains strength, touching your outstretched legs. Â We had moments where we let the boat just float along with the current. Â With the motor cut, all we could hear were the sounds of the water lapping at the side of the boat, the parrots, toucans and macaws passing overhead or perched in nearby trees, the distant sound of howler monkeys roaring, the sound of a coconut cracking under the skilful machete of our driver (breakfast, mmm). Â
On our first trip we had a few speedy moments where the driver would whizz around a bend in the river to try to catch a crocodile while it was sunbathing (unlucky as we were, it was very exciting).  Not to be trifled with, he explained, as he had lost two dogs in the jaws of (apparently sleeping) crocodiles.  On our second trip, while crossing back across the golf, we had the amazing experience of seeing the pod of approximately 300 spinner dolphins, moving like they were in a peloton, one taking the lead, then another, all in the same direction.  Then a few show offs, propelling into the air in an acrobatic spin before splashing side ways into the water.  Would we go again?  Definitely.  Who knows what we’ll see and experience next time.
