Cloud Forest & Bird Watching

Though our desperate, 2 month long hunt for a toucan had rendered us unsatisfied and dismayed, we had grown a liking for birdwatching as we had been lucky enough to see many other beautiful species. To give us the best chance of seeing a toucan on our last chance, we awoke early and headed to the national park as it opened. We entered at 7am and spent the next 3 hours spotting birds and finding wildlife, yet, still we had not found the toucan we so desperately desired. That being said, we had seen many of other birds, especially hummingbirds, agoutis, squirrels, a toucanette, and coatis. It was a successful day in every way except the toucan. This was known as the national park for toucans and despite our early start we left empty handed again. We then got a taxi to the cloud forest of Monteverde. Before we entered the park, we stopped at the café where we could see even more hummingbirds that are fed in the outside area. Although we had seen many of the same earlier in the day, these ones were much easier to photograph as they utilised the feeders. They were so beautiful and iridescent. As it was much later in the day, and this was the greater tourist attraction in Monteverde, this spot was far busier. Yet, we had hoped to be able to follow some birdwatching tours to find a toucan. Yet, the path we had taken was clearly the wrong one as we had not managed to find a single group of birdwatchers until the very end. We did, however, see some great stuff. We started by seeing the beautiful waterfall and lots of cool birds as we explored the dense green vegetation. Toward the end of the hike, we went toward the top of the forest and saw why it was called the cloud forest. The high altitude and humidity help the forest to maintain a thick fog that covers the mountain tops. It was really cool to see, but with the high winds the fog comes and goes minute by minute. By the time we left it had already dissipated and left us with the view of the whole forest. On our way out, in what was our last chance, we saw a tour group looking high into the canopy. Although we tend to try be more subtle, they walked right up to us and set up the telescope. We searched for a while to try and find what they were looking for and to our amazement, in our last chance, we saw a toucan. It was as amazing as I had expected. So colourful and unique. As we would begin our journey out of Costa Rica tomorrow, this really was our last chance to see them. Shocking but amazing news for us. After this we were ecstatic. We left feeling great, called a taxi and headed home for a nap. Then it was dinner and relaxing before going to bed for good.Read more