Costa Rica Birding Holiday - February 21 to March 5, 2007
February 25
Rio Tarcoles
A highlight of our trip was a 3.5 hour guided boat tour on the
Rio Tarcoles. There was no time for breakfast – we had a
5:15am departure for a 6am tour.
Our local guide, Luis Campos, was very helpful - we travelled the
river and a few narrow side channels.
We saw amazing wildlife - herons, vultures, hawks, shore
birds, crocodiles, lizards, long nosed bats (lined up vertically
on a tree trunk), Mangrove Warblers, Prothonotary Warblers (which
we have seen at Point Pelee) and four species of king fishers.
Not to mention fantastic scenery! Large areas of land by the
river are for sale for housing developments, very popular to
Americans.
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| Roseate Spoonbill | Mangrove Warbler |
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| Green-backed Heron | Yellow-crowned Night-Heron |
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| Brown Pelican | Brown Pelican |
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| Osprey | Great Egret & Black Vulture (contrasting legs) |
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| Anhinga | Turkey Vulture |
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| Mangrove Black Hawk | Mangrove Black Hawk |
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| Snowy Egret | Prothonotory Warbler |
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| Amazon Kingfisher | American Pygmy Kingfisher |
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| Boat-billed Heron | Bare-throated Tiger-Heron |
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| Jesus Christ Lizard |
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| Purple Gallinule | Green Kingfisher |
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| Yellow-headed Caracara | Double-striped Thick-knee |
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| Tropical Kingbird | Great Blue Heron |
When we returned to the dock, there was plenty of action in the surrounding wetlands. It had been too dark for photography at takeoff, but we lingered here for some time, taking full advantage of the spectacle.
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| Roseate Spoonbill | Whimbrel |
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| Magnificent Frigatebird (imm) | Wood Stork |
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| Little Blue Heron | Green-backed Heron |
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| Semi-palmated Plover | Least Sandpiper |
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| Willet | White Ibis |
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| Northern Jacana with immature | Northern Jacana |
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| Turkey Vulture | Magficent Frigatebird |
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| Great-tailed Grackle (f) | Osprey |
En route to breakfast
We hadn’t eaten yet, so headed for a local restaurant. But just after leaving the river, sharp-eyed Alvaro spotted a Violaceous Trogon and some Anis at the side of the road. (Anis are members of the cuckoo family). Birding from the bus is rather pleasant.
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| Smooth-billed Ani | Violaceous Trogon |
We stopped for brunch (a cold beer is good at 10am!) at a local spot on the ocean, surrounded by flowering trees, and, of course, birds - a special feature was Wood Storks in a tree and close-ups of a Black Vulture.
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| Wood Stork | Black Vulture |
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| Wood Stork & Black Vulture | Hoffmann's Woodpecker |
Carara
In the afternoon, we returned to Carara for another hike. Amy
saw Victor, and gave him some pencils, scribblers, toothbrushes
and toothpaste for his daughters. We have discovered there are
birds in certain trees having a feeding frenzy, even in the hot
mid-afternoon. We also got a glimpse of the rare Baird’s
Trogon.
We even ran into a well-known birder from Ottawa, Bruce DiLabio.
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| Rufous-naped Wren | Bruce DiLabio |
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| Barred Whiptail | Baird's Trogon |
Rio Tarcoles bridge
Later, we stopped at a highway bridge to see the Crocs and some more Anis, and had a fly past of two Scarlet Macaws.
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| Smooth-billed Ani | White-tipped Dove |
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| American Crocodile | American Crocodile |
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| Great Egret | Turkey Vulture |
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| Scarlet Macaw |
Finally, it was back to Hotel Pochote Grande in time for a
swim, the sunset and a farewell fish dinner. We would be off in
the morning to our next adventure.
