BIRD WATCHING AT MACAW LODGE - Center for Biodiversity Restoration

Center for Biodiversity Restoration

An alliance of community organizations dedicated to promoting biological diversity and community well being.

A Costa Rican Non-Profit Foundation

CBPL

COSTA RICA , FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2019 Text and photos: Hugo Santa Cruz

Geographically privileged, the Santuario Macao is located in a transitional landscape between the Middle Elevations, the Northern Lowlands and the Southern Lowlands of the Costa Rican Pacific. This allows it to shelter the birds of these three biogeographic regions, so that in its 400 hectares, 349 species have been recorded so far, making the reserve one of the best sites in the country for birdwatching.

The Macao Sanctuary is also a neighbor of the Carara National Park, the Tárcoles River and the Cerros de la Potenciana; three other sites of great biological importance, which extend the range of the altitude and territorial scope of the observer.

By using Macaw Lodge as a center of operations, it could be considered that the area has more than 500 species of birds.

Thanks to the forest conservation politics and investments in ecotourism, Costa Rica is a world destination for birdwatchers. The Santuario Macao is part of the Costa Rican Birding Hotspots national circuit, and has the pleasure of welcoming birders and photographers from around the world.

The sanctuary landscape restoration work in recent decades has produced mature forests, secondary forests,

ponds, agroforestry plantings and functional gardens. These features give shelter to a great ornithological diversity.

In a single day, a pair of trained eyes and ears can register more than a hundred species of birds – on the Global Big Day of May 9, 2020, 137 species were counted, finishing that day as the eighth best hotspot in the country.

Macaw Lodge and CBR have been restoring habitats to be as bird friendly as possible, and at the same time observer and photographer friendly.

The Santuario Macao is woven with trails and observation sites throughout the different micro-ecosystems.

Your visit will contribute to the conservation of some of the most beautiful birds on our planet.