Juan Diego Vargas

Juan Diego Vargas is a Costa Rican bird guide based in San Carlos, Alajuela, who has been running highly personalised birdwatching and bird photography services for close to a decade under the brand Birding with Juan Diego. He holds a Bachelor of Arts and Licenciatura in Ecotourism plus a Master of Science in Sustainable Development with an emphasis in conservation of biological resources, and serves as the country coordinator of eBird in Costa Rica. His day trips concentrate on the northern lowlands and Caribbean slope around Arenal Volcano, Sarapiquí, and Caño Negro, with longer custom itineraries reaching the wider country including Carara on the central Pacific and Savegre in the highlands. Target highlights include the Agami Heron of swampy lowland forests and the very localised Nicaraguan Grackle along the Río San Juan border zone. Vargas also leads Lifer Nature Tours, an operation he founded in 2015 that organises trips in Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador, Colombia, and Brazil. His public talks (including with Travis Audubon) recount his personal story of moving from rural bird collector to professional guide and conservation educator.