Fito Downs

Fito (Adolfo) Downs lives in the rainforest of the Sarapiqui región in Costa Rica where he was born and raised. Birdwatching has been a passion for him since he was only 13 years old. He was also lucky to get his first job at the La Selva Biological Station conducting fieldwork with birds and everything else related to nature and conservation.

His first birding adventure was in Panama back in 1998, working for the Smithsonian Institute in the well-known Soberania National Park (commonly referred to as the Pipeline Road area) for two years. Little by little his passion and vision developed and this took him to Bolivia, where he lived and worked as a birder-guide for more than 4 years!

His extensive ornithological experience in the Neotropical Realm includes not only Costa Rica and Bolivia but also much of Mexico, Guatemala, the whole of Panama including the Darien, Guyana, Colombia, Ecuador (the entire country), Peru (in particular the Cusco and Manu regions) and Chile. A great love of Fito’s is Brazil where he now has very extensive experience and has spent many months living in Southwest Brazil (in particular in Alta Floresta in Amazonia and the in Pantanal and surroundings). He also knows Southeast Brazil and other parts of the country well.

Fito is an enthusiastic birder who also loves to participate in different conservation activities, especially in the southern Amazon where he is highly involved with the premiere Cristalino Lodge and Foundation, having visited that area regularly since 2014, often spending long periods in the region.

Fito has recently developed his skills as a bird photographer and loves to share his knowledge and passion for all things birding with his guests.