High above Turrialba, Rancho Naturalista is Costa Rica’s foremost birding lodge, located in a private reserve where some 450 birds have been recorded. Its balcony offers views of Turrialba Volcano and feeders attract hummingbirds aplenty
With almost perfect weather year round, this a great spot for birdwatchers, naturalists and photographers, and the highlight of many trips to Costa Rica! More than 450 bird species have been recorded in the private forest reserve and surrounding area, and many hummingbirds visit the nectar feeders on the wide balcony that offers distant views of the country’s two tallest volcanoes: Turrialba and Irazú. You can hike and bird the trails on your own, however excellent birding guides can help you make the most of your time. Specialty birds that may sometimes be seen are: snowcap hummingbird, tawny-chested flycatcher, purplish-backed quail-dove, white-crowned manakin, white-throated flycatcher, dull-mantled antbird, thicket antpitta, black-throated wren, black-crested coquette (another hummingbird), tawny-throated leaftosser, northern schiffornis and grey-headed piprites.
There are few better places to see Costa Rica’s wildlife. In such a diverse habitat, each quiet walk invariably reveals a fairy-like helicopter damselfly, a column of leaf-cutter ants, a large blue morpho butterfly, or – if you are really lucky – a weasel-like tayra, ocelot or jaguarundi! Marauding swarms of army ants hunt on the forest floor, while grasshoppers, spiders and lizards try to escape them, and antbirds feed on the fleeing creatures. The forest streams are full of frogs – more than 15 species, including the red-eyed stream frog and the crowned frog, have been recorded here! And a night walk may reveal many unusual insects, frogs and salamanders, as well as mammals such as kinkajou, or even armadillo.
The area is also rich in butterflies and moths, and a large percentage of Costa Rica’s estimated 12,000 moths are found here! A moth lamp attracts vast numbers of moths and other insects, sometimes including harlequin beetle, lichen katydid, leaf mantis or Hercules beetle – a highlight for many visitors. From the balcony at different times of day or night you may see coatimundi, basilisk lizard, variegated and red-tailed squirrels, dusky rice rat, Brazilian rabbit, and a variety of bats. The open areas around the lodge and in the forest are home to many interesting reptiles: lizards and anoles are easily seen, while with care you may come across a snake, such as a fer-de-lance, an eyelash viper, or the harmless vine snake and mussurana.
View suggested itinerary
