COSTA RICA BIRDING TOURS
OUR MARCH 2017 BIRDING AND LEARNING FIELD SKETCHING TOUR IS SOLD OUT!
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MAJESTIC FEATHERS IS IN THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING A 2019 COSTA RICA TOUR. PLEASE CHECK BACK OR DROP US AN EMAIL TO TELL US THAT YOU ARE INTERESTED.
HERE IS RECAP OF OUR COSTA RICA 2017 TOUR AS AN EXAMPLE OF A SPECIALIZED TOUR!
ALL THESE AMAZING BIRDS AND LEARNING TO DRAW THEM TOO!
A BIRDING ADVENTURE THAT INCLUDES OPTIONAL DRAWING CLASSES FOR BIRDERS AND ARTISTS OF ALL LEVELS
FEATURING MAJESTIC FEATHERS’ ARTIST IN RESIDENCE
POO WRIGHT – PULLIAM
AND
A NATIVE PROFESSIONAL BIRD GUIDE AND NATURALIST
TBA
WITH
PHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTANCE
BY
KATHLEEN CAMERON
MARCH 10 to 20, 2017
March 10 and 20 are travel days. There are 9 days of birding on this tour.
$2,870 double occupancy from San Jose, Costa Rica
with
POST-EXTENSION Caribbean Lowlands
4 additional days of birding
MARCH 20 TO 24, 2017
March 24 is a travel day
$1,120 double occupancy
RESERVATION DEADLINE EXTENDED TO November 30, 2016
Contact Majestic Feathers Now to Reserve Your Tour: Email Kathleen
Our guides:
Majestic Feathers always hires an expert bird guide and naturalist with years experience guiding in Costa Rica as well as other Central and South American countries.
Meet our artist in residence:
Poo Wright-Pulliam is an avid birder and nature artist. In 2014 she was Majestic Feathers’ Artist in Residence. In 2015 she was the Artist in Residence at Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho. Her piece; A Night On The Moon, was selected from among hundreds of entries to be featured in the Flora of the National Parks exhibition at the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington D.C. The exhibit is a part of the 100th anniversary celebration of the U.S. National Park system. A Night On The Moon is featured on our home page.
About the tour: This is the second time that Majestic Feathers has offered this unique combo tour of birding and field sketching classes. Our 2014 tour with Poo as Artist in Residence was a smashing success. There was not a single drawing class participant that did not rave about the classes. Their comments supported our hypothesis that taking the classes would boost their bird identification skills as well as introducing them to a skill that they had not previously possessed.
All participants reported that the birding was excellent!
We have designed this tour so that the birding is concentrated on three locations where we will thoroughly explore the surrounding habitat by taking short drives to close by birding hotspots and not spend time frequently moving to a new lodge. The lodges we are using are ideal for relaxing and lounging poolside during breaks.
ALL THESE AMAZING BIRDS AND LEARNING TO DRAW THEM TOO!
ITINERARY
March 10 (D) ARRIVE IN SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA: Lodging at the Bougainvillea Hotel. Confirmed participants will receive additional details about arrival day regarding transportation and plans for the day.
March 11, 12, 13 (Days 1, 2, 3) (BLD) Following breakfast we travel from San Jose to La Ensenada Lodge which is located on the Pacific Coast in the province of Puntarenas, on the Nicoya Gulf. The bungalows here are rustic, comfortable and feature hammocks on the front deck. Each bungalow faces the Gulf providing a beautiful view. The pool area is ideal for relaxing after birding. Meals here are served family style and White-throated Magpie Jays and roosting Pacific Screech-Owls will likely be within your view while you dine. Birding here will include traveling by boat to explore the mangrove forest, birding the extensive lodge grounds, traveling to a nearby working cattle ranch for excellent birding, as well as birding other nearby habitat.
Drawing classes will not be scheduled during prime birding times.
We will see well over a hundred bird species during our time in this area including but not limited to: Double-striped Thick-knee, Mangrove and Cinnamon Hummingbirds, Magnificent Frigatebird, Royal Tern, Mangrove Warbler, Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Neotropic Cormorant, Wood Stork, Snail Kite, Roadside Hawk, Limpkin, White-fronted Parrot, Spectacled Owl, Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, Black-headed Trogon, White-lored Gnatchatcher, Long-billed Gnatwren, Streak-backed Oriole and the push of northward bound migrating shorebirds. In this area on 5 consecutive trips we have seen the endangered Jabiru!
March 14, 15, 16 (Days 4, 5, 6) (BLD) On March 14th we travel to the Arenal Volcano area and the town of La Fortuna to our next lodging (TBA) for three nights. Our days will be spent birding in locations near to La Fortuna, and we will bird at the Hanging Bridges in Arenal Volcano National Park, and also will bird and explore the trails at the Arenal Observatory Lodge.
In addition of great vantage points of the Arenal Volcano, birds that we will likely see in this area include but are not limited to: Crested Guan, Great Curassow, White Hawk, Gray Hawk, Red-billed Pigeon, Green Hermit, Violet-headed Hummingbird, Black-crested Coquette, Rufous Motmot, Rufus-tailed Jacamar, Wedge-billed Woodcreeper, Dusky, Bicolored, Spotted, and Ocellated Antbird, Tropical Pewee, Slate-headed Tody-Flycatcher and Golden-crowned Warbler to mention a few.
March 17, 18 (Days 7, 8) (BLD) Savegre Mountain Hotel in the Talamanca Mountain Range. Early morning birding and breakfast followed by departure for the Talamanca Mountains the home of the Resplendent Quetzal. Several stops will be made for birding as we travel to the cloudforest. In the late afternoon we check into the Savegre Mountain Hotel. If we arrive in time for some evening birding on the grounds we will do so.
On day 8 (BLD) We meet at the coffee station and depart for early morning birding followed by breakfast. Part of the day will be focused on finding, and viewing The Resplendant Quetzal. The artist birders will engage in field sketching of the Resplendent Quetzal. A birding hike from the top of the old growth oak forest down to the lodge will take place either later on day 8 or in the morning on day 9.
The Resplendent Quetzal is regarded by many as the most beautiful bird in the Americas. On each of our 6 previous Majestic Feathers visits to this location we have seen the stunning Resplendent Quetzal as well as scores of other high mountain specialty birds. The cool temperatures of this cloud forest habitat offers wonderful conditions for hiking in primary old growth oak forest. It is quite possible to spend hours mesmerized by the constant display of hummingbirds at the feeders and in the gardens of the Savegre Mountain Hotel. We love this place and we know you will too! There are 170 bird species on their bird list reflecting the colors of the rainbow as well as dozens of other dazzling hues. Birds that we will likely see in this area include but are not limited to: Swallow-tailed Kite, Sulphur-winged Parakeet, Green Violet-ear, Striped-tailed, White-throated Mountain Gem, Magnificent, Volcano and Scintillant Hummingbirds, Blue-throated Toucanet, Spot-crowned Woodcreeper, Ruddy Treerunner, Buffy Tuftedcheek, Tufted Flycatcher, Black-faced Solitaire, Long-tailed Silky-Flycatcher and many more.
March 19 (Day 9) (BLD) Early morning birding followed by breakfast. Hike in the Old Growth forest or birding along the Savegre River. Following lunch we will drive back to San Jose with a couple of birding stops along the way. In San Jose we check into the Bougainvillea. This will be our farewell evening for our March 10 to 20 birders.
March 20 (Day 10) Participants traveling back to the U.S. will be transferred to the airport for their flights home. (B) if flight departure time allows. (BLD everyday) for participants continuing on the Post-Extension
Post-Extension: Birding in the Caribbean Lowlands
Itinerary
(Available only to participants that took the main tour)
March 20: (BLD) Following breakfast the Extension for three additional nights of lodging and birding begins. Mid-morning we depart for the Caribbean Lowlands. 2 nights of lodging (March 20, 21, 22) at the Suneno Azul Lodge or Selva Verde Lodge (TBA) with birding along the way.
Birding over the course of March 20, 21, 22, 23 will include: (BLD) Virgen del Socorro, La Selva Biological Station, Braulio Carrillo National Park in the Quebrada Gonzales Section of the Park, and several bird walks on the grounds of the lodge.
One of the top target birds in this area is the Great Green Macaw. The La Selva Biological Station is a birders dream come true hot spot. Counting both the resident and migratory birds the bio station’s bird list includes 400 species, representing almost half of Costa Rica’s birds.
Birds that we will likely see in this region include but are not limited to: Greater Tinamou, Green Ibis, King Vulture, Bicolored Hawk, Bat Falcon, Sunbittern, Squirrel Cuckoo, Crested Owl, Black-Crested Coquette, Bronze-Tailed Plumeleteer, Common Tody-Flycatcher, Red-Throated Ant Tanager and scores more.
March 23: (BLD) Early morning birding, depart for San Jose with birding along the way. Check in to the Bougainvillea Hotel with time enough to relax and enjoy the grounds. Farewell Dinner.
March 24: Transfers to the airport for flights home. Breakfast if flight departure times allow.
Birding with Optional Drawing Classes Price $2,870* double occupancy, March 10 to 20, 2017 Includes: 10 nights of lodging, three meals a day (beginning with dinner the first night through breakfast on the day of departure if your flight time allows), pick up and transfer to the hotel for participants arriving on March 10, 2017, the services of your full-time bird guide and naturalist Edwin Ramirez, drawing classes with Poo Wright-Pulliam are optional. There is a $60 charge for a drawing kit designed by Poo, a Toyota Coaster air-conditioned bus with full-time driver, national parks, and reserves admission fees, double-occupancy rooms (2 people 2 beds per room) for the cost of $2,870 per person*. This amount is based on a minimum of 10 (ten) participants for the tour. If the tour does not have 10 participants, either the final cost of the tour could be increased to cover the higher per person cost of a smaller group, or the the tour could be cancelled
Post-Extension Birding in the Caribbean Lowlands March 20 to 24, 2017 Price: $1,120 double occupancy Includes:. The $1,120 price is based on a minimum of 6 participants on this portion of the tour. If the extension does not have 6 participants, either the final cost of the extension could be increased to cover the higher per person cost of a smaller group, or the extension could be cancelled. Price includes: lodging, meals, full-time guide, full-time bus driver and bus, and entry fees. There are no drawing classes on the Post-Extension tour.
Not Included: R T airfare, personal expenses along the way, alcoholic beverages, soft drinks and the Costa Rica departure tax of $29.
FOR INFORMATION ABOUT A Single Room Supplement PLEASE CONTACT US: Email
If you are traveling with us as a single, the primary responsibility for finding a roommate is yours. Through our advertising we will make an effort to find another person of the same sex interested in traveling with us for the same dates and also interested in a having a roommate assigned. If a roommate has not been found by the date of the final payment for your tour (11/30/16), it will be necessary for you to pay a single room supplement to cover the higher single occupancy cost of your lodging.
ADDITIONAL IMPORTANT DETAILS RELATED TO THIS TOUR
Contact Majestic Feathers today to reserve your space(s) on this outstanding tour and extension or with any questions you have about the tours: info@majesticfeathers.com Our tours are very popular and we recommend that you reserve space well in advance of the September 14, 2016 reservation deadline.
Once you have reserved space on this tour you will receive emails detailing more information about the tour; a sign up packet, packing and travel suggestions and information, information about making your payments and payment dates.
Flights for this tour should not be booked until it is confirmed by Majestic Feathers that it is time to book your flights. We will be working with a travel agency to secure the best possible price for your flights. You will receive a referral to the agency to book your flights.
Not Included in the price of the tour: Airfare to and from Costa Rica, Alcoholic beverages and soft drinks, Costa Rica exit airport tax $29, medical travel insurance (is mandatory), travel insurance, gratuities that you wish to give, personal expenses along the way.
Join us for this unique adventure and allow Majestic Feathers and the staff at the hotels and lodges to pamper you and to take care of all the daily details. In addition to having a great birding experience, and learning how to improve your field notes and bird identification skills by signing up for the drawing classes, you will experience the pleasure of knowing that you are supporting the valuable conservation efforts of the Foundation for the Conservation and Bio-Cultural Restoration of Finca La Paz. Email us today! Visit our Giving Back Page for more information about this foundation.
Send us an email to request that Majestic Feathers places your contact information on our tour notification email list. We do not share your information or sell it. You will receive approximately 10 emails a year from Majestic Feathers about our tours. Click here
