Tortuguero National Park

National Park · Costa Rica

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Photo © C T Johansson

Photo © C T Johansson — CC BY 4.0 — Source: Wikimedia Commons

Canals and lagoons thread through a labyrinth of lowland rainforest where the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica meets the wetland frontier. This is terrain shaped by water—tidal channels carved through dense vegetation, oxbow lakes ringed by emergent palms, and mangrove passages that form highways for boats and wildlife alike. The landscape here sits at the intersection of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, where freshwater rivers meet brackish lagoons and the forest floor becomes sodden through much of the year. The habitat supports an abundance of wading birds and aquatic specialists, small to medium forest mammals adapted to wetland margins, and reptiles that hunt equally in water and shade. Caiman rest on exposed banks; turtles emerge seasonally from deeper channels to nest on the park's beaches. Monkeys move through the canopy above, while songbirds and raptors occupy the full vertical profile from forest floor to emergent crowns. The biodiversity is driven by this mosaic of water and wood—neither pure rainforest nor pure wetland, but a productive fusion that concentrates wildlife in accessible abundance.

This park has become essential terrain for anyone serious about photographing Central American wetland fauna and observing migratory water birds during winter months. The narrow waterways and open lagoons offer unobstructed sightlines from canoe or small boat—a rarity in rainforest travel—making wildlife observation and photography far less dependent on luck than in denser upland reserves. Early morning light across the water is exceptional, catching roosting birds and foraging mammals before the canopy heat haze sets in. The seasonal nesting of marine reptiles on the park's black-sand beaches provides a distinct draw for those visiting between May and November, when breeding activity peaks. Access is exclusively by boat or small aircraft; there are no road connections, which has preserved the park's remoteness and ensured that visitors arrive committed rather than casual. This isolation, combined with the park's position on major Central American migration routes and its year-round resident populations, makes it a destination where patient naturalists and photographers see more wildlife per hour than in many more famous reserves.

Keel-billed Toucan

Ramphastos sulfuratus

Anhinga anhinga

Bare-throated Tiger Heron

Tigrisoma mexicanum

Northern Jacana

Butorides virescens

Montezuma Oropendola

Psarocolius montezuma

Great Green Macaw

Pitangus sulphuratus

Boat-billed Heron

Cochlearius cochlearius

Collared Aracari

Pteroglossus torquatus

Slaty-tailed Trogon

Coragyps atratus

Great-tailed Grackle

Quiscalus mexicanus

Yellow-throated Toucan

Ramphastos ambiguus

Mesembrinibis cayennensis

Amazon Kingfisher

Chloroceryle amazona

Russet-naped Wood Rail

Aramides albiventris

Magnificent Frigatebird

Fregata magnificens

Pale-billed Woodpecker

Campephilus guatemalensis

Little Blue Heron

Egretta caerulea

Northern Black-throated Trogon

Trogon tenellus

Hudsonian Whimbrel

Numenius hudsonicus

Pale-vented Pigeon

Patagioenas cayennensis

Blue-grey Tanager

Thraupis episcopus

Purple Gallinule

Porphyrio martinica

Variable Seedeater

Sporophila corvina

Ringed Kingfisher

Megaceryle torquata

Laughing Falcon

Herpetotheres cachinnans

Social Flycatcher

Myiozetetes similis

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird

Amazilia tzacatl

Pelecanus occidentalis

White-collared Manakin

Red-lored Amazon

Amazona autumnalis

Tropical Mockingbird

Common Tody-Flycatcher

Todirostrum cinereum

Black-cheeked Woodpecker

Melanerpes pucherani

White-tipped Dove

Leptotila verreauxi

Pandion haliaetus

Green Kingfisher

Chloroceryle americana

Clay-colored Thrush

American Pygmy Kingfisher

Chloroceryle aenea

Olive-backed Euphonia

Euphonia gouldi

Chestnut-colored Woodpecker

Celeus castaneus

Crowned Woodnymph

Thalurania colombica

Amazona farinosa

Olive-throated Parakeet

Eupsittula nana

Roseate Spoonbill

Western Cattle Egret

Lineated Woodpecker

Dryocopus lineatus

Boat-billed Flycatcher

Megarynchus pitangua

White-necked Puffbird

Notharchus hyperrhynchus

Black-cowled Oriole

Icterus prosthemelas

Double-toothed Kite

Harpagus bidentatus

White-crowned Parrot

Short-billed Pigeon

Patagioenas nigrirostris

Groove-billed Ani

Crotophaga sulcirostris

Thraupis palmarum

Penelope purpurascens

Red-capped Manakin

Ceratopipra mentalis

Long-billed Hermit

Phaethornis longirostris

White-crowned Pigeon

Patagioenas leucocephala

Streak-headed Woodcreeper

Lepidocolaptes souleyetii

Melodious Blackbird

Yellow-bellied Elaenia

Elaenia flavogaster

Golden-hooded Tanager

Stilpnia larvata

Green-breasted Mango

Anthracothorax prevostii

Black-striped Sparrow

Arremonops conirostris

Sarcoramphus papa

White-whiskered Puffbird

Malacoptila panamensis

White-breasted Wood Wren

Henicorhina leucosticta

Grey-headed Kite

Leptodon cayanensis

Chestnut-backed Antbird

Poliocrania exsul

Grey-capped Flycatcher

Myiozetetes granadensis

Bright-rumped Attila

Attila spadiceus

Mangrove Swallow

Tachycineta albilinea

Tropical Kingbird

Tyrannus melancholicus

Grey-breasted Martin

Progne chalybea

Yellow-crowned Night Heron

Nyctanassa violacea

Tringa semipalmata

Spotted Sandpiper

Actitis macularius

Semipalmated Plover

Charadrius semipalmatus

Heliornis fulica

Black-crowned Antshrike

Thamnophilus atrinucha

Tricolored Heron

Egretta tricolor

Great Blue Heron

Chestnut-sided Warbler

Setophaga pensylvanica

Northern Tropical Pewee

Contopus bogotensis

Bay-breasted Warbler

Setophaga castanea

Thalasseus maximus

Nyctibius grandis

Leucophaeus atricilla

Black-necked Stilt

Himantopus mexicanus

Black-collared Hawk

Busarellus nigricollis

Rufescent Tiger Heron

Tigrisoma lineatum

Broad-winged Hawk

Buteo platypterus

Purple-throated Fruitcrow

Querula purpurata

Prothonotary Warbler

Protonotaria citrea

Northern Barred Woodcreeper

Dendrocolaptes sanctithomae

Lesser Greenlet

Pachysylvia decurtata

Tityra semifasciata

Eastern Wood Pewee

Contopus virens

Eastern Kingbird

Tyrannus tyrannus

Semiplumbeous Hawk

Leucopternis semiplumbeus

Green-and-rufous Kingfisher

Chloroceryle inda

Belted Kingfisher

Megaceryle alcyon

Crotophaga major

Hirundo rustica

Grey-rumped Swift

Chaetura cinereiventris

Mangrove Warbler

Setophaga petechia

Eurasian Whimbrel

Numenius phaeopus

Black-bellied Whistling Duck

Dendrocygna autumnalis

Cairina moschata

Blue-winged Teal

Spatula discors

Lesser Nighthawk

Chordeiles acutipennis

Nyctidromus albicollis

Nyctibius griseus

American Black Swift

Cypseloides niger

Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift

Panyptila cayennensis

White-necked Jacobin

Florisuga mellivora

Band-tailed Barbthroat

Threnetes ruckeri

Stripe-throated Hermit

Phaethornis striigularis

Purple-crowned Fairy

Heliothryx barroti

Red-billed Pigeon

Patagioenas flavirostris

Aramus guarauna

Pluvialis squatarola

Southern Lapwing

Vanellus chilensis

Greater Yellowlegs

Tringa melanoleuca

Ruddy Turnstone

Arenaria interpres

White-rumped Sandpiper

Calidris fuscicollis

Thalasseus sandvicensis

Franklin's Gull

Leucophaeus pipixcan

Eurypyga helias

Great Shearwater

Mycteria americana

Sula leucogaster

Fasciated Tiger Heron

Tigrisoma fasciatum

Black-crowned Night Heron

Nycticorax nycticorax

Swallow-tailed Kite

Elanoides forficatus

Microspizias superciliosus

Ictinia plumbea

Geranospiza caerulescens

Rostrhamus sociabilis

Great Black Hawk

Buteogallus urubitinga

Rupornis magnirostris

Pseudastur albicollis

Buteo plagiatus

Short-tailed Hawk

Buteo brachyurus

Red-tailed Hawk

Buteo jamaicensis

Central American Pygmy Owl

Glaucidium griseiceps

Pulsatrix perspicillata

Lophostrix cristata

Gartered Trogon

Trogon caligatus

Baryphthengus martii

Broad-billed Motmot

Electron platyrhynchum

Rufous-tailed Jacamar

Galbula ruficauda

Notharchus tectus

White-fronted Nunbird

Monasa morphoeus

Rufous-winged Woodpecker

Piculus simplex

Cinnamon Woodpecker

Celeus loricatus

Crested Caracara

Caracara plancus

Falco rufigularis

Peregrine Falcon

Falco peregrinus

Brown-hooded Parrot

Pyrilia haematotis

Finsch's Parakeet

Psittacara finschi

White-flanked Antwren

Myrmotherula axillaris

Yellow-olive Flatbill

Tolmomyias sulphurescens

Yellow-bellied Flycatcher

Empidonax flaviventris

Long-tailed Tyrant

Colonia colonus

White-ringed Flycatcher

Conopias albovittatus

Rhytipterna holerythra

Dusky-capped Flycatcher

Myiarchus tuberculifer

Great Crested Flycatcher

Myiarchus crinitus

Lipaugus unirufus

Black-crowned Tityra

Tityra inquisitor

Cinnamon Becard

Pachyramphus cinnamomeus

Vireo olivaceus

White-throated Magpie-Jay

Cyanocorax formosus

Cyanocorax morio

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Stelgidopteryx serripennis

Band-backed Wren

Campylorhynchus zonatus

Rufous-backed Wren

Campylorhynchus capistratus

Cantorchilus nigricapillus

Stripe-breasted Wren

Cantorchilus thoracicus

Southern House Wren

Troglodytes musculus

Swainson's Thrush

Catharus ustulatus

Passer domesticus

Yellow-crowned Euphonia

Euphonia luteicapilla

Yellow-throated Euphonia

Euphonia hirundinacea

Chestnut-headed Oropendola

Psarocolius wagleri

Scarlet-rumped Cacique

Cacicus uropygialis

Baltimore Oriole

Icterus galbula

Yellow-tailed Oriole

Icterus mesomelas

Icterus spurius

Red-winged Blackbird

Agelaius phoeniceus

Northern Waterthrush

Parkesia noveboracensis

Mourning Warbler

Geothlypis philadelphia

Olive-crowned Yellowthroat

Geothlypis semiflava

Setophaga coronata

Scarlet Tanager

Piranga olivacea

Black-faced Grosbeak

Caryothraustes poliogaster

Green Honeycreeper

Chlorophanes spiza

Shining Honeycreeper

Cyanerpes lucidus

Buff-throated Saltator

Saltator maximus

Coereba flaveola

Plain-colored Tanager

Tangara inornata

Solitary Sandpiper

Tringa solitaria

Collared Forest Falcon

Micrastur semitorquatus

Crypturellus soui

Slaty-breasted Tinamou

Crypturellus boucardi

Ring-necked Duck

Aythya collaris

Grey-headed Chachalaca

Ortalis cinereiceps

Common Nighthawk

Chordeiles minor

Short-tailed Nighthawk

Lurocalis semitorquatus

Chuck-will's-widow

Antrostomus carolinensis

Spot-fronted Swift

Cypseloides cherriei

Chestnut-collared Swift

Streptoprocne rutila

White-collared Swift

Streptoprocne zonaris

Chaetura pelagica

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Archilochus colubris

Bronze-tailed Plumeleteer

Chalybura urochrysia

Blue-chested Hummingbird

Polyerata amabilis

Blue-throated Sapphire

Chlorestes eliciae

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Coccyzus americanus

Mangrove Cuckoo

Patagioenas speciosa

Ruddy Ground Dove

Columbina talpacoti

Blue Ground Dove

Claravis pretiosa

Ruddy Quail-Dove

Geotrygon montana

Olive-backed Quail-Dove

Leptotrygon veraguensis

Grey-chested Dove

Leptotila cassinii

White-winged Dove

Zenaida asiatica

Amaurolimnas concolor

Common Gallinule

Gallinula galeata

Fulica americana

Yellow-breasted Crake

Laterallus flaviventer

Grey-breasted Crake

Laterallus exilis

White-throated Crake

Laterallus albigularis

Tachybaptus dominicus

Pied-billed Grebe

Podilymbus podiceps

Charadrius vociferus

Short-billed Dowitcher

Limnodromus griseus

Lesser Yellowlegs

Tringa flavipes

Stilt Sandpiper

Calidris himantopus

Least Sandpiper

Calidris minutilla

Pectoral Sandpiper

Calidris melanotos

Western Sandpiper

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Calidris pusilla

Gull-billed Tern

Gelochelidon nilotica

Chlidonias niger

Ring-billed Gull

Larus delawarensis

American Herring Gull

Larus smithsonianus

Spectacled Petrel

Procellaria conspicillata

Manx Shearwater

Puffinus puffinus

Jabiru mycteria

Red-footed Booby

American White Ibis

Eudocimus albus

Plegadis falcinellus

American Bittern

Botaurus lentiginosus

Pinnated Bittern

Botaurus pinnatus

Egretta rufescens

Gampsonyx swainsonii

White-tailed Kite

Elanus leucurus

Hook-billed Kite

Chondrohierax uncinatus

Morphnus guianensis

Black Hawk-Eagle

Spizaetus tyrannus

Ornate Hawk-Eagle

Spizaetus ornatus

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Accipiter striatus

Northern Harrier

Circus hudsonius

Mississippi Kite

Ictinia mississippiensis

Zone-tailed Hawk

Buteo albonotatus

Swainson's Hawk

Buteo swainsoni

American Barn Owl

Black-and-white Owl

Strix nigrolineata

Jacamerops aureus

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Sphyrapicus varius

Smoky-brown Woodpecker

Leuconotopicus fumigatus

Barred Forest Falcon

Micrastur ruficollis

Slaty-backed Forest Falcon

Micrastur mirandollei

American Kestrel

Falco sparverius

Falco columbarius

Orange-chinned Parakeet

Brotogeris jugularis

Blue-headed Parrot

Pionus menstruus

Scaly-throated Leaftosser

Sclerurus guatemalensis

Plain-brown Woodcreeper

Dendrocincla fuliginosa

Wedge-billed Woodcreeper

Glyphorynchus spirurus

Cocoa Woodcreeper

Xiphorhynchus susurrans

Black-striped Woodcreeper

Xiphorhynchus lachrymosus

Fawn-throated Foliage-gleaner

Automolus cervinigularis

Slaty Spinetail

Synallaxis brachyura

Russet Antshrike

Thamnistes anabatinus

Dot-winged Antwren

Microrhopias quixensis

Checker-throated Stipplethroat

Epinecrophylla fulviventris

Streak-crowned Antvireo

Dysithamnus striaticeps

Barred Antshrike

Thamnophilus doliatus

Fasciated Antshrike

Cymbilaimus lineatus

Great Antshrike

Ocellated Antbird

Phaenostictus mcleannani

Bicolored Antbird

Gymnopithys bicolor

Cercomacroides tyrannina

Spotted Antbird

Hylophylax naevioides

Bare-crowned Antbird

Gymnocichla nudiceps

Black-faced Antthrush

Formicarius analis

Brown-capped Tyrannulet

Ornithion brunneicapillus

Yellow Tyrannulet

Capsiempis flaveola

Mistletoe Tyrannulet

Zimmerius parvus

Ochre-bellied Flycatcher

Mionectes oleagineus

Black-capped Pygmy Tyrant

Myiornis atricapillus

Northern Bentbill

Oncostoma cinereigulare

Slaty-headed Tody-Flycatcher

Poecilotriccus sylvia

Black-headed Tody-Flycatcher

Todirostrum nigriceps

Eye-ringed Flatbill

Rhynchocyclus brevirostris

Yellow-winged Flatbill

Tolmomyias flavotectus

Golden-crowned Spadebill

Platyrinchus coronatus

Tawny-chested Flycatcher

Aphanotriccus capitalis

Sayornis nigricans

Olive-sided Flycatcher

Contopus cooperi

Western Wood Pewee

Contopus sordidulus

Acadian Flycatcher

Empidonax virescens

Willow Flycatcher

Empidonax traillii

Alder Flycatcher

Empidonax alnorum

Least Flycatcher

Empidonax minimus

Piratic Flycatcher

Legatus leucophaius

Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher

Myiodynastes luteiventris

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

Tyrannus forficatus

Bare-necked Umbrellabird

Cephalopterus glabricollis

Carpodectes nitidus

Northern Schiffornis

Schiffornis veraepacis

White-winged Becard

Pachyramphus polychopterus

Rose-throated Becard

Pachyramphus aglaiae

Tropical Royal Flycatcher

Onychorhynchus coronatus

Sulphur-rumped Myiobius

Myiobius sulphureipygius

Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher

Terenotriccus erythrurus

Green Shrike-Vireo

Vireolanius pulchellus

Yellow-green Vireo

Vireo flavoviridis

Philadelphia Vireo

Vireo philadelphicus

Yellow-throated Vireo

Vireo flavifrons

Bombycilla cedrorum

Riparia riparia

Tachycineta bicolor

Southern Rough-winged Swallow

Stelgidopteryx ruficollis

American Cliff Swallow

Petrochelidon pyrrhonota

Black-throated Wren

Pheugopedius atrogularis

Cantorchilus zeledoni

Cyphorhinus phaeocephalus

Trilling Gnatwren

Ramphocaenus melanurus

White-browed Gnatcatcher

Polioptila bilineata

Dumetella carolinensis

Hylocichla mustelina

Grey-cheeked Thrush

Catharus minimus

Catharus fuscescens

White-vented Euphonia

Euphonia minuta

Orange-billed Sparrow

Arremon aurantiirostris

Rufous-collared Sparrow

Zonotrichia capensis

Lincoln's Sparrow

Melospiza lincolnii

Yellow-breasted Chat

Eastern Meadowlark

Sturnella magna

Red-breasted Meadowlark

Leistes militaris

Yellow-billed Cacique

Amblycercus holosericeus

Molothrus oryzivorus

Bronzed Cowbird

Molothrus aeneus

Seiurus aurocapilla

Worm-eating Warbler

Helmitheros vermivorum

Louisiana Waterthrush

Parkesia motacilla

Golden-winged Warbler

Vermivora chrysoptera

Black-and-white Warbler

Mniotilta varia

Tennessee Warbler

Leiothlypis peregrina

Grey-crowned Yellowthroat

Geothlypis poliocephala

Kentucky Warbler

Geothlypis formosa

Common Yellowthroat

Geothlypis trichas

Setophaga citrina

American Redstart

Setophaga ruticilla

Cerulean Warbler

Setophaga cerulea

Magnolia Warbler

Setophaga magnolia

Blackburnian Warbler

Setophaga fusca

American Yellow Warbler

Setophaga aestiva

Black-throated Blue Warbler

Setophaga caerulescens

Setophaga palmarum

Yellow-throated Warbler

Setophaga dominica

Buff-rumped Warbler

Myiothlypis fulvicauda

Cardellina canadensis

Wilson's Warbler

Cardellina pusilla

Dusky-faced Tanager

Mitrospingus cassinii

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Pheucticus ludovicianus

Spiza americana

Blue-black Grosbeak

Cyanoloxia cyanoides

Passerina cyanea

Red-legged Honeycreeper

Cyanerpes cyaneus

Cinnamon-bellied Saltator

Saltator grandis

Black-headed Saltator

Saltator atriceps

Blue-black Grassquit

Volatinia jacarina

White-shouldered Tanager

Loriotus luctuosus

Tawny-crested Tanager

Tachyphonus delatrii

White-lined Tanager

Tachyphonus rufus

Crimson-collared Tanager

Ramphocelus sanguinolentus

Morelet's Seedeater

Sporophila morelleti

Thick-billed Seed Finch

Sporophila funerea

Nicaraguan Seed Finch

Sporophila nuttingi

Slate-colored Seedeater

Sporophila schistacea

Middle American Screech Owl

Megascops guatemalae

Three-wattled Bellbird

Procnias tricarunculatus

Central American Spider Monkey

Ateles geoffroyi

White-faced Capuchin

Cebus capucinus

Alouatta palliata

Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth

Bradypus variegatus

Central American Agouti

Dasyprocta punctata

Mexican Hairy Porcupine

Coendou mexicanus

Northern Neotropical River Otter

Lontra annectens

Northern Tamandua

Tamandua mexicana

Variegated Squirrel

Sciurus variegatoides

Northern Raccoon

Northern Black-eared Opossum

Didelphis marsupialis

Rhynchonycteris naso

Honduran White Bat

Ectophylla alba

Derby's Woolly Opossum

Caluromys derbianus

Central American Tapir

Tapirus bairdii

Dark Four-eyed Opossum

Philander melanurus

Mexican Red Brocket

White-nosed Coati

Lesser Sac-winged Bat

Saccopteryx leptura

Common Bottlenose Dolphin

Tursiops truncatus

Central Neotropical River Otter

Lontra longicaudis

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