Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve

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Photo by LindaD
Osa Peninsula, December 2007

Central America, Costa Rica

Overview

The Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve was established in 1979 to protect lowland forested areas around the Golfo Dulce. The reserve was intended to function as a corridor protecting forest fragments between Piedras Blancas National Park and Corcovado National Park and is 149,593 acres in size.

Birds

Notable Species

Marbled Wood-Quail, Tiny Hawk, Uniform Crake, Scarlet Macaw, Striped Cuckoo, White-tipped Sicklebill, Mangrove Hummingbird, White-crested Coquette, Charming Hummingbird, Red-rumped Woodpecker, Long-tailed Woodcreeper, Black-faced Antthrush, Black-tailed Flycatcher, Yellow-billed Cotinga, Turquoise Cotinga, Black-bellied Wren, Black-cheeked Ant-Tanager, Red-breasted Blackbird, Yellow-bellied Seedeater, Slate-colored Seedeater, Ruddy-breasted Seedeater

Rarities

Harpy Eagle, Crested Eagle, Black-and-white Hawk-Eagle

Check-list

Birds you can see here include:

Great Tinamou, Little Tinamou, Brown Booby, Neotropic Cormorant, Anhinga, Bare-throated Tiger-Heron, Agami Heron, Boat-billed Heron, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, King Vulture, Gray-headed Kite, Swallow-tailed Kite, Double-toothed Kite, Pearl Kite, Tiny Hawk, Crane Hawk, White Hawk, Roadside Hawk, Short-tailed Hawk, Ornate Hawk-Eagle, Black Hawk-Eagle, Collared Forest-Falcon, Gray-cowled Wood-Rail, Uniform Crake, White-throated Crake, Gray-breasted Crake, Gray-headed Chachalaca, Collared Plover, American Oystercatcher, Wandering Tattler, Surfbird, Laughing Gull, Royal Tern, Pale-vented Pigeon, Short-billed Pigeon, White-tipped Dove, Gray-chested Dove, Orange-chinned Parakeet, Crimson-fronted Parakeet, Mealy Parrot, Brown-hooded Parrot, White-crowned Parrot, Scarlet Macaw, Striped Cuckoo, Squirrel Cuckoo, Smooth-billed Ani, Costa Rican Swift, Long-billed Hermit, White-tipped Sicklebill, Purple-crowned Fairy, Charming Hummingbird, Garden Emerald, Blue-throated Goldentail, Mangrove Hummingbird, White-crested Coquette, Scaly-breasted Hummingbird, White-necked Jacobin, Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, Violet-crowned Woodnymph, Black-throated Trogon, Gartered Trogon, Baird's Trogon, Slaty-tailed Trogon, Ringed Kingfisher, American Pygmy Kingfisher, Green Kingfisher, Amazon Kingfisher, Lesson's Motmot, White-necked Puffbird, Black-mandibled Toucan, Fiery-billed Aracari, Golden-naped Woodpecker, Red-crowned Woodpecker, Olivaceous Piculet, Pale-breasted Spinetail, Plain Xenops, Northern Barred Woodcreeper, Tawny-winged Woodcreeper, Long-tailed Woodcreeper, Wedge-billed Woodcreeper, Streak-headed Woodcreeper, Cocoa Woodcreeper, Black-striped Woodcreeper, Barred Antshrike, Great Antshrike, Russet Antshrike, Chestnut-backed Antbird, Bare-crowned Antbird, Bicolored Antbird, Plain Antvireo, Black-faced Antthrush, Orange-collared Manakin, Yellow-bellied Elaenia, Mistletoe Tyrannulet, Piratic Flycatcher, Yellow-olive Flycatcher, Northern Bentbill, Common Tody-Flycatcher, Ochre-bellied Flycatcher, Rufous Mourner, Dusky-capped Flycatcher, Social Flycatcher, Gray-capped Flycatcher, Great Kiskadee, Tropical Kingbird, Rufous Piha, Southern Rough-winged Swallow, Riverside Wren, Isthmian Wren, Black-bellied Wren, House Wren, White-breasted Wood-Wren, Scaly-breasted Wren, Swainson's Thrush, Wood Thrush, Clay-colored Robin, Tropical Gnatcatcher, Yellow-throated Vireo, Lesser Greenlet, Tawny-crowned Greenlet, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, Buff-rumped Warbler, Bananaquit, Black-cheeked Ant-Tanager, White-shouldered Tanager, Summer Tanager, Cherrie's Tanager, Blue-gray Tanager, Palm Tanager, Gray-headed Tanager, Golden-hooded Tanager, Green Honeycreeper, Shining Honeycreeper, Red-legged Honeycreeper, Blue-black Grassquit, Ruddy-breasted Seedeater, Slate-colored Seedeater, Morelet's Seedeater, Variable Seedeater, Yellow-bellied Seedeater, Orange-billed Sparrow, Black-striped Sparrow, Buff-throated Saltator, Blue-black Grosbeak, Red-breasted Blackbird, Melodious Blackbird, Thick-billed Euphonia, Yellow-crowned Euphonia, White-vented Euphonia, Spot-crowned Euphonia

Site Information

History and Use

Established in 1979 to protect lowland forested areas and to connect Piedras Blancas National Park & Corcovado National Park.

Areas of Interest

The Hwy 245 bridge crossing the Rio Rincon is well-known as a reliable site for the endemic Yellow-billed Cotinga, as well as Panama Flycatcher, Turquoise Cotinga, and the endemic Mangrove Hummingbird.

Birding in the village of Dos Brazos (near Bosque del Rio Tigre) reportedly offers the opportunity to find Double-toothed Kite, Scarlet Macaw, Striped Cuckoo, American Pygmy Kingfisher, Red-rumped Woodpecker, and White-necked Puffbird, and along a nearby small stream even White-tipped Sicklebill.

Bosque del Rio Tigre offers superlative birding in relative luxury, and may well be the best place to find Osa specialties that are usually elusive and retiring. Birders not staying there may reserve morning guided bird walks.

Access and Facilities

The most accessible portions of the Reserve are traversed by Hwy 245 from Chacarita to Puerto Jimenez. Lodges in the area include Bosque del Rio Tigre, & Esquinas Rainforest Lodge (both highly regarded birding destinations), Suital Lodge (near Mogos), and Danta Corcovado Lodge (near La Palma). Other possible choices might include El Mirador Osa and Ventana al Golfo, both near Mogos.

Contact Details

See website (below)

External Links

• Information on the National Parks website
• Costa Rica Nationals Parks with map

Search for photos of Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve in the gallery