Monteverde is a year-round birding destination, but a few of its most wanted species have seasons worth planning around. This guide sums up when each one is at its best — and what you can count on any month of the year.
Exact dates shift a little every year with weather and fruiting cycles, and wild sightings are never guaranteed — but these are the windows our guides plan around.
Nesting season: roughly March to June
Quetzals live in Monteverde year-round, but the months around the nesting season are the classic time to look for them: pairs are active around nest holes in dead trees, and males in full plumage are at their most striking. Outside those months they still feed on fruiting trees — your guide tracks which trees are producing.
Calling season: roughly March to June
During the breeding months the male's metallic call carries across the highlands and he displays from exposed treetop perches. Outside the breeding season bellbirds typically move to lower elevations, so they are a seasonal highlight rather than a year-round certainty in Monteverde.
Display season: roughly February to May
Males perform their cooperative courtship displays at traditional perches (leks) mainly during the breeding months. The rest of the year they are still around in the forest, just quieter and less showy.
Year-round
Emerald Toucanets, Black Guans and a dozen hummingbird species — Violet Sabrewing, Purple-throated Mountaingem, Green-crowned Brilliant and more — are resident. Whatever month you visit, the early morning is the most active time on the trail.
Trails are drier and mornings often clearer, and the quetzal and bellbird seasons overlap the end of this period. It is also the busiest travel season, so booking tours ahead matters more.
Fewer people on the trails and lush forest. Rain usually builds later in the day, so early starts — like our 6:10 am birding tour — still deliver full mornings of activity.
All photographed by Nasua Tours guides and guests on Monteverde trails. Sightings depend on season, weather and luck — nothing is guaranteed.
Tell us your dates and your target species and we will recommend the reserve with the best recent activity. The private birdwatching tour starts at 6:10 am in Curi-Cancha or the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, with a certified guide and spotting scope.
