Bird guides in Costa Rica, Netherlands

We’ve had excellent experiences with two bird guides in particular, one in Costa Rica, with whom we’ve traveled 4 times, including a trip to Ecuador, and one in the Netherlands.

Charlie Gomez of Costa Rica Expeditions http://www.costaricaexpeditions.com/ worked as a student with Dr. Alexander Skutch to research the classic, and thick, Guide to Birds in Costa Rica. He has guided in CR, Panama and Ecuador, among other places, for decades. On top of that, he is a really nice guy and good travel guide as well as a top birder.

The other bird guide we found on line when we had a couple days in Amsterdam before starting a canal barge trip. We discovered that the Oostvaarderplassen http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oostvaardersplassen is a short train ride outside the city. We discovered Flevo Birdwatching http://www.birdsnetherlands.nl/. Our English-speaking guide Taco Spanbroek met us at the train and took us on several hours of fruitful birding … as well as introduced us to the Dutch treat of Stroopwaffels.

I’d highly recommend either of these guides if you’re planning birdwatching in these areas. Charlie works with groups, but Taco will work with individuals.

Excellent. Thank you, Mary!! I’ve been thinking about birding Costa Rica so this is helpful.

I can recommend La Cusinga Eco Lodge, in COSTA RICA, the bird list is http://www.lacusingalodge.com/The%20Birds.pdf it is a great place, you can google it, or go to trip advisor… we can also give you more places to see great birds.

http://www.lacusingalodge.com/

Note, have just heard that Costa Rica Expeditions may be in the process of being sold, so there may be some major changes there. However, our recommendation for Charlie Gomez still stands.

La Cusinga sounds awesome, too. Costa Rica has to be the absolutely best spot we’ve birded. Not only the birds, but the abundance of good sites and lodging. It is also one of the friendliest countries we’ve visited. Always feel very comfortable there.

Hello Mary,

Nice to read a recommendation about ourself on the Internet.
I never forgot the day birding with you. The day started with a dense fog: http://www.birdsnetherlands.nl/003FlevoFog.jpg

The White tailed eagles are now breeding for the third time in a row and are spotted regularly.
And also the Bluethroat is a favorite of visitors to the Oostvaardersplassen.

We are doing well. Birders from the USA, Canada, Belgium, France, Spain, UK, Portugal, Germany, Japan have found us. We now also give excursions in other great birding areas in the Netherlands.
So any birder out there going to the Netherlands. You are very welcome and we will be happy to guide you.
Taco and Rik, FlevoBirdwatching
http://www.birdsnetherlands.nl