Birding

There are a myriad of birds to be seen on the Osa. Many of our birding guests are ecstatic at the number of birds that can be seen merely from their verandas, not to mention the trails nearby. We pride ourselves upon our gardens, and many of the tropical plants have been selected with the purpose of attracting birds to our area, such as the papaya tree which toucans love. Some of the best birding on the peninsula is right at Iguana Lodge, with tour companies bringing their clients out our way.

Two other fabulous birding tours are hiking with Abraham near Rio Tigre and the Rio Esquinas boat tour which is tide dependent - at last count 55 species were spotted in one day.

Serious birders know that Neo-tropical migrants journey south from their North American breeding grounds in the fall. Species such as Warblers, Flycatchers, Thrushes, Orioles and Tanagers swell during December – March. Many long distance migrants pass at least half the year here and can be viewed not as northern birds escaping winter’s chill, but as tropical birds that travel north to breed.

The northward exodus begins in March and continues with greater intensity into May. Of course, throughout the year, we enjoy our native birds, including Trogans, Antbirds, Woodcreepers, Toucans, as well as a vast population of Amazon Parrots and Scarlet Macaws. Still an amazing site is the daily display of numerous Scarlet Macaws flying around the town of Puerto Jimenez.

The following birding list was compiled by our four birding friends and guests, Jim and Marilyn Wilson and Dennis and Barbara Baldwin from Colorado. They stayed with us for five nights and noted 108 species. We have also included on the list a few other birds not seen by these particular folks.

Iguana Lodge Birding List (click here).