cano negro advice
 

Isn't it better to do river trips early in the morning or late in the day in order to have the best wildlife viewing? It seems like most people doing day tours wouldn't get to Cano Negro until ~9 AM. Does it not make much difference in Costa Rica? Any recommendations for spending the night in Los Chiles area if we do drive there for early boat trips?

You can do that; there is a Cano Negro Lodge. I've been in contact with them before thinking we'd do the same, but later decided it was a night I'd rather spend in Arenal. Perhaps with waterfowl 9:00 is as good as 7:00. Certainly for other birding (that done on foot in forest and clearings) 6:00 is better! We saw plenty of wildlife at Cano Negro. Enough to make the trip very worthwhile. But hey, if you have an extra night, the overnight lodge experience might be very interesting.

I forgot to ask about whether the number of animals is increased or decreased in midFeb when it is fairly dry & the water is low. Any idea if the Cano Negro Lodge situated such that you would see wildlife there as well?

Can you drive up to Cano Negro area and catch a boat and save some $? Or is it better to just book a tour out of La Fortuna?

you can drive, road is pretty good!
but, easier to book a trip:

http://costa.rica.typepad.com/cano_n...ome/index.html

Agree with Guanacaste--I'd book the tour. You learn neat stuff on the way going and coming. The guides are a great resource. We used Sunset Tours.