Having been to Costa Rica numerous times as a commercial pilot and been afforded numerous opportunities to visit many of the country's hot spots, I agree with Martha that not all can be seen in a single visit, but over numerous visits if one is so fortunate. 

I have just returned from the Guanacaste, where one of the highlights of my visit included a chance encounter with one of the guides from the Organization of Tropical Studies from their Palo Verde NP station, where I had the good fortune of being shown a nesting Jabiru site.  

For those interested in contacting OTS for any guided excursions into the park their website is found below. I'll also include a link to the nest images from my Flickr page for those that might like to view them.


http://www.ots.ac.cr/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/100154638@N03/

Best,

Chuck Gangas

Sent from my iPad

> On Jan 29, 2016, at 10:46, Martha Pfeiffer <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
>  I certainly do not have  the experience or knowledge of Costa Rica that Bruce does, but my six winters down here (I'm in Costa Rica now) have given me a little insight on the richness of this country and the impossibility of covering all the "you must visit" parks and hotspots in a short period of time - how about a lifetime!  I stay in the pacific Northwest and make excursions from here.  If you are targeting certain species of birds I do recommend the book A BIRD FINDING GUIDE TO COSTA RICA by Barrett Lawson.  It lists birds by species and provides a chart as to where one might locate a particular bird.  If that is not your goal, I certainly concur with Bruce's suggestion that you pick up a 10 daybirding tour. I cannot recommend one over the other.  There are others on this list who have done that and always seemed pleased with their experience.  Perhaps they will comment on this thread.  If you do not like the idea of a tour, then I suggest you zero in on a particular area like the Osa Peninsula or the Caribbean/ La Selva/Sarapiqui area and focus on a smaller area rather than the entire country. Good luck!Cheers,  Martha Pfeiffer in Ocotal