Palo Verde National Park
🇨🇷 Costa Rica
🐦 Jabiru Storks Over Flooded MarshesPalo Verde protects Central America's most important Pacific wetland — 18,000+ hectares of seasonal marshes, tropical dry forest, and mangroves where the Tempisque River floods a vast floodplain each rainy season. During the dry months (Dec–Apr), shrinking pools concentrate up to 250,000 waterbirds into a wildlife spectacle visible from lookout points and boat tours.
10.374° N 85.350° W
Wildlife
⭐ Iconic Species
★ 
Jabiru
Jabiru mycteria
★ 
Roseate Spoonbill
Platalea ajaja
★ 
Wood Stork
Mycteria americana
★ 
American Crocodile
Crocodylus acutus
📊 Most Spotted
Black Spiny-tailed Iguana
Ctenosaura similis
Great Egret
Ardea alba
Central American White-faced Capuchin
Cebus imitator
White-nosed Coati
Nasua narica
Great Kiskadee
Pitangus sulphuratus
Bare-throated Tiger Heron
Tigrisoma mexicanum
Green Heron
Butorides virescens
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Dendrocygna autumnalis
Mantled Howler Monkey
Alouatta palliata
Groove-billed Ani
Crotophaga sulcirostris
Northern Jacana
Jacana spinosa
Inca Dove
Columbina inca
📊 Most Spotted
Central American White-faced Capuchin
Cebus imitator
White-nosed Coati
Nasua narica
Mantled Howler Monkey
Alouatta palliata
White-tailed Deer
Odocoileus virginianus
Proboscis Bat
Rhynchonycteris naso
Collared Peccary
Pecari tajacu
Variegated Squirrel
Sciurus variegatoides
Central American Agouti
Dasyprocta punctata
Northern Tamandua
Tamandua mexicana
Ocelot
Leopardus pardalis
Common Raccoon
Procyon lotor
Common Opossum
Didelphis marsupialis
⭐ Iconic Species
★ Jabiru
Jabiru mycteria
★ Roseate Spoonbill
Platalea ajaja
★ Wood Stork
Mycteria americana
📊 Most Spotted
Great Egret
Ardea alba
Great Kiskadee
Pitangus sulphuratus
Bare-throated Tiger Heron
Tigrisoma mexicanum
Green Heron
Butorides virescens
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Dendrocygna autumnalis
Groove-billed Ani
Crotophaga sulcirostris
Northern Jacana
Jacana spinosa
Inca Dove
Columbina inca
Black Vulture
Coragyps atratus
Tropical Kingbird
Tyrannus melancholicus
Little Blue Heron
Egretta caerulea
Cattle Egret
Bubulcus ibis
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
Black Spiny-tailed Iguana
Ctenosaura similis
Green Iguana
Iguana iguana
White-throated Gecko
Gonatodes albogularis
Common Basilisk
Basiliscus basiliscus
Central American Lyresnake
Trimorphodon quadruplex
Rhombic Cat-eyed Snake
Leptodeira rhombifera
Common House Gecko
Hemidactylus frenatus
Central American Boa
Boa imperator
Copper Anole
Anolis cupreus
Western Ribbon Snake
Thamnophis proximus
Cope's Snail Sucker
Sibon anthracops
Köhler’s Vine Snake
Oxybelis koehleri
📊 Most Spotted
Stauffer's Tree Frog
Scinax staufferi
Mexican Smilisca
Smilisca baudinii
Giant Marine Toad
Rhinella horribilis
Yellow Treefrog
Dendropsophus microcephalus
Milk Frog
Trachycephalus macrotis
Sheep Frog
Hypopachus variolosus
Yellow Toad
Incilius luetkenii
Guayaquil Dwarf Frog
Engystomops pustulosus
Mexican Burrowing Toad
Rhinophrynus dorsalis
Forrer's Grass Frog
Lithobates forreri
Mexican White-lipped Frog
Leptodactylus fragilis
Black Jungle-Frog
Leptodactylus melanonotus
Recent sightings in Palo Verde National Park
LIVEiNaturalistAnimal Events
2Jabiru Nesting Season
The Jabiru, Central America's tallest stork, returns to the lower Tempisque basin to nest as shrinking wetlands concentrate its fish and reptile prey. Standing over head-high with a massive black bill and bare red throat, these giants build their bulky stick nests in the treetops.
3Crocodile Basking Season
As the Tempisque River drops and its banks bake in the dry-season sun, American Crocodiles haul out to bask in dense numbers, forming Costa Rica's largest concentration of the species. Rows of these armored reptiles lie motionless along the mud, jaws agape to shed heat.
1Waterbird Mega-Congregation
As the marshes shrink and their floodwaters draw down, tens of thousands of waterbirds crowd onto the last remaining pools in one of Central America's great aquatic bird gatherings. Wood Storks, Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks and rose-pink Roseate Spoonbills pack the mudflats shoulder to shoulder.
Sighting Calendar
Average chance of spotting the park's most-spotted species, month by month
- 1Waterbird Mega-Congregation
- 2Jabiru Nesting Season
- 3Crocodile Basking Season
Sighting Zones
Warmer areas are where all species together are recorded most often.
Essentials
Climate
What visitors saw
Quick answers
What animals can you see in Palo Verde National Park?
The most likely sightings are Black Spiny-tailed Iguana (seen by about 90% of wildlife watchers), Great Egret (seen by about 80% of wildlife watchers), Central American White-faced Capuchin (seen by about 80% of wildlife watchers), White-nosed Coati (seen by about 80% of wildlife watchers), American Crocodile (seen by about 80% of wildlife watchers) — among 889 recorded vertebrate species, based on citizen-science data from GBIF.
When is the best time to visit Palo Verde National Park for wildlife?
August has the highest combined sighting rate for the park's top species in our month-by-month GBIF data. The full sighting calendar on this page shows each species' best months.
Can you see Jabiru in Palo Verde National Park?
Yes — about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Jabiru sighting in Palo Verde National Park, based on 604 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
Can you see Roseate Spoonbill in Palo Verde National Park?
Yes — about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Roseate Spoonbill sighting in Palo Verde National Park, based on 768 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
Can you see Wood Stork in Palo Verde National Park?
Yes — about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Wood Stork sighting in Palo Verde National Park, based on 1,114 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
Can you see American Crocodile in Palo Verde National Park?
Yes — about 80% of wildlife watchers report a American Crocodile sighting in Palo Verde National Park, based on 177 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
Where Wildlife Score
How good is this park for seeing wildlife?Biodiversity
Very goodHow rich is the wildlife?
Sighting
ExcellentHow likely to see animals?
Experience
GoodHow easy and pleasant is the visit?
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