At Origins Lodge, we like to think: we are the birds’ choice. Our estate is home to more than 250 bird species, including the three magnificent species of Costa Rica toucans, whose vibrant colors and calls brighten our mornings and dawns. By caring for the forests, protecting habitats, and treading lightly, we aim to earn their trust.
Having been recently honored by our guests in Condé Nast Traveler’s 2025 Readers’ Choice Awards, we know it is not only thanks to our service, design, or gastronomy, but also to the living biodiversity of our estate — where countless bird species fill the skies and the dawn chorus becomes part of the experience. We like to see it as nature’s gratitude in return — birds’ choice, readers’ choice — an alignment that humbles and uplifts us all.
🦃 Did You Know? Costa Rica’s “Turkeys”, the Pava
Though Costa Rica has no true wild turkeys as found in North America, it is home to several turkey-like birds in the family Cracidae. These include species like the Great Curassow, Crested Guan, and Black Guan. 10,000 Birds
In the Costa Rican rainforest, locals often call the Great Curassow and the Crested Guan simply “Pavas” — the same word used for the female turkey. The Pava name comes from their resemblance to turkeys, but also from their proud, almost peacock-like attitude. With their stately walk, curled crest, and curious gaze, the pava seems to carry itself like a forest queen. To encounter one on our Origins Lodges estate is to glimpse the rainforest showing off its elegance, as if nature itself were parading for you. It is always surprising to see Pavas flying from one tree to another despite their quite massive size (3 feet for 8 pounds).
🦜 Did you know ? Costa Rica banned Hunting in 2012
Since banning hunting in 2012, the country has become a rare haven where wildlife flourishes freely. It is one of the main reason of Costa Rica unique Biodiversity with over 930 species of birds — more than the entire United States and Canada combined — now fill its skies, from radiant toucans to proud pavas and iridescent hummingbirds. here in Costa Rica, biodiversity is not just a statistic but a national identity. Here at Origins, nestled between rainforest and cosmos, that same philosophy guides us. We let the forest breathe and birds fly freely… and they invite us, in turn, to reconnect with our own original nature
These birds are not just decorative — they play vital roles in seed dispersal, forest dynamics, and ecosystem health. And here’s a key truth: hunting is strictly illegal in Costa Rica. The country banned sport and recreational hunting back in 2012, making it one of the first Latin American nations to do so.
So while Thanksgiving tables elsewhere may center on turkey, here in at Origins Lodges in Costa Rica rainforest we pay tribute to all birds and especially the numerous Pavas that populates our over 60 hectares estate.
🌄 Why Birds Matter — More Than Beauty
Birds are messengers of ecosystem health. Their songs mark dawn, their flight patterns signal migration, and their presence speaks of forests intact. In tropical regions like ours, birds assist in:
- Seed dispersal: Many trees rely on fruit-eating birds to spread seeds across the forest floor.
- Insect control: Birds keep insect populations in balance, reducing pests.
- Pollination: Some species transfer pollen between flowers, aiding plant reproduction.
- Indicator species: Their presence (or absence) signals the health of habitats.
By nurturing bird habitat — preserving trees, curbing disturbance, maintaining native plant diversity — we acknowledge that nature’s returns are not always immediate, but generational.
🍂 A Thanksgiving Thought — What We Give, What We Receive
This Thanksgiving, in lands where turkey is traditional, we give thanks differently. We give:
- our silence in the forest
- our protection to wings
- our commitment to conservation
- our respect for every feather, every call
And in return, nature gives back in whispers of wind, in flutters of wings at dusk, in the dawn chorus that greets us each day.
At Origins Lodges, we pledge to continue this reciprocity — to be gentle stewards, so that birds choose us, guests choose us, and nature fully blossoms and regenerates.
