rpowell

We are planning a trip to Costa Rica in Jan. and had planned to spend our time north of SJ. Some in our group are very interested in seeing quetzals. I know the most popular area for them is San Gerardo de Dota, but that is out of our way. Have any of you seen quetzals in Arenal, Monteverde or Cano Negro?

atravelynn

I saw one in Monte Verde in April (not last April, but a distant April). It was through a spotting scope set up by our guide who was quite helpful.

Will you have your own scopes? You may want to arrange a good birding guide in advance who will have the equipment if you don't. Since a quetzal sighting is a priority I think a good birding guide would be worth it.

volcanogirl

We didn't see any in Arenal or Cano Negro - hear of lots of sightings in Monteverde though.

Percy

Saw one in Monteverde also in the month of April...but you have to be lucky.

Mid April early May is their mating season and you ought to see the male do that flutter dance.... spectacular (Wow!)!!!!

Percy

JeanH

I, too, have seen them in Monteverde.

CarolM

One more vote for Monteverde... saw a quetzal in December (several years ago) in Monteverde Park, also with a guide who had a scope. He took my video camera and held the lens to the eyepiece of the scope, so I actually have video of it! No matter where you decide to visit, definitely, definitely go with a guide. I loved Monteverde

Bill_H

Does anyone know the best places to photograph quetzals (not just view them, but be close enough to enough birds to photograph them well)? We were thinking about Saverge but welcome other suggestions ...

Bill

ttraveler

I too was lucky enough to see a quetzal at Monteverde. It was many years ago though.
A wonderful place to see many quetzals is in Boquette Panama. We stayed at the Coffee Estate and hired a wonderful guide named Chago.After a long bumpy ride we were rewarded with many many quetzals. What a beautiful bird.

volcanogirl

When we were riding from San Jose to the Peace Lodge, we were just relaxing and chatting, and our driver said, "Did you see that?" We responded that we hadn't, and he said, "Quetzal" - we completely missed it as it flew right by our van. Argh.

Percy

As has been mentioned San Gerardo de Dota , with a private guide is a good site to film the Quetzal.

Going during their mating season is the best time.

I hope you go Bill_H because I know what you photos are like and I will be first on the list waiting to look at them!!

Percy

Pat_Hewitt

I am in Monteverde right now. No Quetzals, but this is not the season for them. January through Easter is a great time to see Quetzals. We have seen several Mot-mots and huge brown jays. Been feeding bananas to a tropical fox too.

Quetzals are birds found only at high altitudes, and Arenal and Cano Negro are not high enough. So Monteverde is your best bet up north.

San Gerardo de Dota is an excellent place for sightings as well. But if you are going to the Arenal area, you are much closer to Monteverde.

Hope this helps! Let me know if I can offer more advice.

Warm Regards,
Pat Hewitt
(Travel professional)

atravelynn

Bill H, Of course YOU would ask about photographing them! I bet you will too!

Bill_H

Hey Lynn, just got word today that there were enough cancellations at Ndutu for us to move up from the 'wait list' we have been on since last January, so we are going to Kenya and then Tanzania 3 weeks later ... crazy! So the Costa Rica birds will definitely have to wait for us, unless we win the lotto

B

furlyfreckles

Here's a tip: Go with a guide and ask him to use all the queztal bird calls. Once you learn them, you can use them on your own self guided hikes. My son memorized them and had the knack for replicating 2 of their calls. We were on a canopy tour in Monteverde in March or April. While we were walking, we heard the quetzals before we saw them. We patiently waited on the bridge spanning above the forest canopy. My son would call to them. Finally a quetzal flew straight up above the canopy and dove back down into the forest. That's how we saw the quetzal on our trip. It was fantastic!

rickandpat

As we drove into the Monteverde parking lot in Feb. 2005, we saw a lot of people standing around looking into a tree. Sure enough, 3 queztals (mom, dad and juvenile, that stayed in those trees for many minutes while we all took photos.

Suzie2

We enjoyed watching a pair build a nest just this July while doing a tree identification course in Monteverde and elsewhere. It was in a dead tree right on the far left trail. We have seen them more in late Jan and Feb in Monteverde than at other times.

I know San Gerardo de Dota is not on your itinerary for this trip but you (or someone else) might be interested in the following.

Our most unbelievable viewing was in San Gerardo de Dota. There is a private finca near the well known lodges in that area like Trogon and Savegre. We were able to sit on the side of a small hill and just watch them for hours. They were flying all around us. I had one fly by at waist level and about 4 feet away from me. This was just by the parking lot. The finca has planted trees there that the quetzals really love and you need to go while they are fruiting to see so many in one small place. We go a lot in Feb and this is when we saw them there.

shillmac

San Gerardo de Dota is definitely the place to see quetzales without much effort as others have already said. So, of course, for photography, you can't beat the location. We've never been there during their mating season, only during late June/early July. Still, seeing them very close to the hotel (Hotel Savegre) and near the cabins is extremely common even in the "off" season. After several visits and several just so-so photos, I finally got one this past June that I am pleased with.

My impression is that you can see one with luck in Monteverde, and it sounds like the chances are definitely better during mating season.

So good luck to you--they really are spectacular! I agree with the suggestion that you should get yourself a good birding guide--there are a lot of pretty cool birds in addition to the quetzal. One of my favorites to see (and hear) is the three-wattled bellbird, also in Monteverde.

Have a great trip, rpowell!

glover

Another vote for San Gerardo de Dota and Savegre. A female quetzal sat on the fence post next to our car (5 feet away OMG) - on the dirt road into Savegre. As we took pictures of her, a male and another female flew into a nearby tree (maybe 20 yards away).

On an earlier trip our Monteverde guide spotted one wwwwaaaaayyyy in the distance, which we got of view of in his scope.

rpowell

Thanks for your input. It sounds as though spotting quetzals in Monteverde would be iffy in Jan., but a good possibility in San Gerado. Is this crazy... at the end of our trip, what if we had a rental car and drove from Arenal to San Gerado and spent one night there to be up early for a birding tour.(I feel that this is a lot of fuss for one activity.)

shillmac

It is too much effort for one night, you are right. I think that you would be exhausting yourselves at the end of your trip when you should be relaxing!

I'd hope for the best at Monteverde. Seeing a quetzal is neat, but it's not going to make or break your enjoyment in MV!

Do plan to return to Costa Rica one day and plan a couple of nights at San Gerardo. It's a lovely place to savor and enjoy for a couple of days--not a lot of activity there, so is one of those nice "relaxation stops" where you can pace yourselves more slowly.

Have a wonderful trip!