About the Location

(eBird Hot Spot link) This is my go-to birding spot in the La Fortuna area for picking up forest-dwelling species and the dawn chorus. It is a public road that connects the main highway (Rt. 142) to the ranger station at the Peninsula Sector of Arenal National Park. Since it’s a public road, you don’t need to wait for private reserves to open their gates, which is usually about an hour after dawn. With over 450 species reported, there are several specialties this road can help you find.

Why I Recommend It

Other spots like the Arenal Observatory Lodge or Bogarin Trail have their place, of course, but also come with a $20+ per-person entrance fee. It’s often well worth it, especially if you’re after specific species like Uniform Crakes at Bogarin or photographic opportunities in the gardens of Arenal Observatory Lodge. But if you’re a hardcore birder and want to pick up forest-dwelling species and/or the dawn chorus, I usually start my birding tours here at the Arenal National Park.

As noted in my video guide, this is a spot where a guide really comes in handy. Most of the birds will be heard before being seen, and there are specific microhabitat preferences that some species have. If you’d like me to guide you or help you plan where to go, feel free to reach out.

Birdwatching Highlights

This is not a photography-focused destination; it’s the side of a road, often in dense forest with low light. Of course, this is also the only habitat certain species will be found. So it’s not a feeder with clean backgrounds and abundant light, but it is the best way to find and photograph some tricky-to-track-down species. Species I target here include:

Great Antshrike
Tawny-chested Flycatcher
White-fronted Nunbird
Bare-crowned Antbird
Keel-billed Motmot
Yellow-billed Cacique
Long-tailed Tyrant

It’s also a great spot for making audio recordings. Half a dozen species of wrens are regularly vocalizing, and the relative isolation means there’s little background noise contamination.