Thousands of years ago, rugged volcanic mountain ranges erected barriers between the Caribbean and Pacific lowlands, forming a land bridge linking North and South American fauna in Costa Rica, making this small country "big" when it comes to biodiversity, and a mecca for bird lovers worldwide. Join us for an introduction to birding the varied and splendid "hot spots" of beautiful Costa Rica. Venture across mountain cloud forests, deep into valleys and lowland rainforests, through mangroves, along two ocean coastlines, and everywhere in between. Costa Rica is a true paradise for birders. With only 51,100 sq kms (approximate size of West Virginia) Costa Rica boasts 878 distinct and spectacular avian species in easy to access habitats within relatively short distances from one another. Parrots, toucans, tanagers, trogons, macaws, hummingbirds, motmots and flycatchers are only some of the birds to be discovered!
A Costa Rican native, Paolo has been involved with ecotourism since 1992, working as a naturalist guide, birding guide and field instructor, and developing and directing field study programs for several universities.
