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| Female White-whiskered Puffbird in Carara National Park |
Among the highlights of our birding trip were three different boat tours for viewing water birds.
The first trip was in Puntarenas on the Río Tárcoles. The other two were near the end of our trip, so I will talk about them later.
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| Río Tárcoles |
We left early in the morning to take a two-hour-long private boat tour of the Río Tárcoles near where it empties into the Pacific Ocean. It included both parts of the main river and some branches that go deep into mangroves.
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| One of the more secluded parts of the river |
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| Riverside vegetation |
Nearly 60 percent of Costa Rica's total population live along its basins and, unfortunately, it is highly polluted.
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| Despite the river's polluted state, we saw lots of people fishing |
Because it runs along a dirt basin and mangroves, its muddy and brown. They warn you not to swim in it, but who would want to?
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| A wide part of the Río Tárcoles |
But, the bordering jungle is pretty and it’s full of birds.
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| Raptors were not my first thought for the jungle, but we saw lots, including this Common Black Hawk |
It’s also full of Costa Rican Crocodiles, a subgroup of American Crocodiles. In fact, Río Tárcoles has one of the highest populations of Crocodiles in the world, with approximately 65 per square mile!
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| Never smile at this guy (although he'll smile back) |
The river supports more than 320 species of migratory, native and coastal birds, including wading birds, parrots, raptors and a variety of warblers, hummingbirds, vireos and so forth.
Magnificent Frigatebirds
The diversity of birds was amazing. One of the most exciting for me was a huge flock of Magnificent Frigatebirds roosting in the trees at the mouth of the river.
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| I never counted, but at least 50! |
I’ve seen Magnificent Frigatebirds before, but only soaring high, high in the air.
And, I’ve never seen the males inflating their bright red neck sacs (used to attract mates). At least, not until now …
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| Two males inflating their gular sacs |
We were treated to flying …
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| A male with the sac retracted |
… roosting …
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| Juvenile Magnificent Frigatebird |
… and all kinds of antics …
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| They can be amusing |
With a wingspan of up to 8 feet (yes!) the Magnificent Frigatebird is the largest species of Frigatebird. It occurs over tropical and subtropical waters off the Americas, between northern Mexico and Perú on the Pacific coast and between Florida and southern Brazil along the Atlantic coast.
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| The ladies don't seem that interested |
They feed on fish taken in flight from the ocean's surface (often flying fish), and sometimes peck at other seabirds to force them to regurgitate their food, after which the Magnificent Frigatebird will dive and catch it before it hits the surface of the water.
Named after fast warships, Frigatebirds are known for their extraordinary soaring skills. They spend day and nights on the wing, with an average speed of 6.2 mph, covering up to 140 miles before landing. They alternately climb in thermals to occasionally as high as 8,200 feet and descend to near the ocean surface. The only other bird known to spend days and nights on the wing is the Common Swift.
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| A female Magnificent Frigatebird |
These birds are impressive. You might even say, magnificent …
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| Coming in for a landing |
Shore and Wading Birds
On the broader parts of the river, we saw a wide variety of Herons and Egrets, including several juvenile Bare-necked Tiger-Herons, so called because of the juvenile’s striped feathers. This was a lifer for me. We also saw Great Blue Herons, Little Blue Herons, a Green Heron, Snowy Egrets …
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| CW: Great Blue Heron, Snowy Egret, Green Heron, Bare-necked Tiger-Heron, Little Blue Heron |
… and a lot of yellow-crowned Night-Herons …
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| Definitely the most common bird on the shore |
… including both juveniles and adults …
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| Left, juvenile; Right, adult Yellow-crowned Night-Herons |
It wouldn’t be a tropical river without Brown Pelicans …
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| Just hanging around |
… Roseate Spoonbills …
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| Fluffing up |
… Royal Terns …
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| Three Terns on a log |
Among our shore-side sightings was another Southern Lapwing, some Willets and some Least Sandpipers …
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| CW: Least Sandpiper, Southern Lapwing, Willet |
Plus, ever-present Anhingas and Neotropic Cormorants (but I photographed only the Anhingas) and some Whimbrels ...
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| Left, female Anhinga; Right, Whimbrel |
Raptors
We saw quite a few raptors along the river. On the wide part, were Ospreys …
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| Two Ospreys |
But, when we got into the mangroves, we saw several Common Black Hawks, one of the birds we saw in multiple places in Costa Rica …
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| Left, adult; Right, juvenile Common Black Hawks |
... and a Plumbeous Kite …
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| The red eyes stand out; "plumbeous" means "gray" |
Mangrove Birds
Along the narrower parts of the river, we saw lots of birds and I managed to photograph some of them. The ones in the thickest parts of the mangrove plants were tricky.
I saw, but never captured, the Mangrove Vireo and Mangrove Hummingbird. But, I was able to photograph the Mangrove Yellow Warbler (which, although considered the same species as our all-yellow Yellow Warbler, looks quite different with deep russet head), the Scaly-breasted Hummingbird, a Prothonotary Warbler and a Baltimore Oriole …
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| CW: Mangrove Yellow Warbler, Scaly-breasted Hummingbird, Baltimore Oriole, Prothonotary Warbler |
We saw one (just one!) Mealy Parrot, so called because a light white frosting on its feathers was said to resemble a dusting of flour (or meal) …
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| Mealy Parrot not looking particularly "mealy" |
And, we saw two Yellow-naped Parrots (also called Yellow-naped Amazons) feeding by the river …
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| Two Yellow-naped Parrots |
This beautiful bird is Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List primarily because of the illegal pet trade. They can easily mimic sounds, including human speech, which makes them popular pets. Yellow-naped Parrots have lost more than 92 percent of their population over the last three generations. Despite this decline, the Costa Rican population is considered to be the stronghold for the species.
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| A highly endangered bird |
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| This was a great spot |
Kingfishers
Costa Rica is a great place for Kingfishers and the Río Tárcoles delivered. We saw four species and I managed to capture three …
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| CW: American Pygmy Kingfisher, Green Kingfisher, Belted Kingfisher |
We saw a Belted Kingfisher (the same kind we see frequently in the U.S.) in the main channel.
In the mangroves, we spent quite a bit of time with an adorable green and russet American Pygmy Kingfisher as it flitted from branch to branch.
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| American Pygmy Kingfisher hiding in the mangroves |
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| In the light! |
An Amazon Kingfisher (slate blue, white and russet like a Belted Kingfisher) flew by several times, but never landed.
But, several Green Kingfishers posed nicely.
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| Green Kingfisher |
These wouldn’t be the last Kingfishers of the trip. Not by a longshot.
Scarlet Macaw
We saw several Scarlet Macaws. A number of them were flying and landing in the treetops near the boat launch when we arrived in the morning. And, then (finally!) we saw one at close range close to where we saw the Yellow-naped Parrots. Such a beautiful bird!
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| These are spectacular birds |
Crocodiles
And, yes, we did see Crocodiles …
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| Lazing in the sun |
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| Perhaps waiting for scraps! |
Costa Rican Crocodiles reside in rivers, swamps, lagoons, small islands and beaches.
Caimans are a little more picky and are mainly found in rivers, mangroves and canals.
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| In the water |
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| These things are huge! |
Crocodiles are the only reptiles to maintain a nest after they lay eggs. They will either dig smaller holes in which to lay the eggs, or create what is called a mound nest where the eggs are covered with mud and dirt that will harden and create a protective layer.
We were very impressed with the boat tour, primarily because it was just our small group on the boat. The driver would go where Juan Diego asked him to and we were able to stop as long as we wanted to look for or photograph a bird. This is another advantage of a birding tour over traveling independently.
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| Río Tárcoles |
I enjoyed the morning immensely.
And, we were finished by breakfast-time.
Back at the Hotel
After the boat trip, we had a brief break at the Hotel Villa Lapas.
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| Very pretty grounds |
I took a walk, but soon regretted in because the full impact of Costa Rican heat and humidity hit me.
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| The Villa Lapas church |
And, it must have hit the birds, too because, there were very few to be found.
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| Just one Yellow Warbler |
The Iguanas, however, seemed to love it. They were everywhere.
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| Black Spiny-tailed Iguanas |
Carara National Park
Then, we spent the later afternoon at nearby Carara National Park, where we took a very steamy, but fruitful (somewhat) hike.
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| The jungle ficus trees are huge |
It protects the Río Tárcoles basin and is notable for its dense tree growth and insects. There seems to be abundant food for birds, including lots of varieties of wild avocados and mangoes.
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| A female Red-legged Honeycreeper feeding on jungle fruit |
The bugs make Carara a haven for many bird species, including one of the largest remaining populations of wild Scarlet Macaws in the country (oddly, we didn't see any while on the hike).
I said the hike was fruitful: we saw a fair number of birds, almost all lifers.
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| CW: White-lined Tanager, Yellow-crowned Euphonia, Black-hooded Antshrike, Northern Bentbill, Bay-headed Tanager, Royal Flycatcher |
But, this was one of the places I struggled the most with photography. Twice we encountered mixed flocks of birds that zipped around so quickly that it was hard to decide which one to concentrate on. And, the foliage density meant it was dark, dark, dark.
I was shocked that I was able to even pull some of the photos out of almost-black photos, like these of the Chestnut-backed Antbird ...
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| Deep in the dark jungle |
... some were OK for confirmation and eBird posting, but not worth using here. But, there were a couple of stand-outs, like a nice assortment of Trogons ...
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| Male Black-throated, Gartered and Baird's Trogons |
... a lovely Yellow-throated Toucan ...
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| A classic jungle bird |
... a Gray-headed Chachalaca that finally stepped out of the woods ...
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| And, boom! There it was! |
... and, best of all, a beautiful pair of White-whiskered Puffbirds, named for their fluffy plumage and whiskery beak feathers, that posed patiently for us ...
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| Male White-whiskered Puffbird |
Sometimes one or two birds make the whole day worth it ...
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| Female White-whiskered Puffbird |
We also saw a couple of White-faced Capuchin Monkeys that didn't want to stick around to be photographed ...
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| Running through the canopy |
Even with all the difficult to see and even more difficult to photograph birds, it was a great afternoon, even if I did get back to the hotel absolutely soaking wet.
And, we were not done for the day.
Sunset
We at dinner at a restaurant with a spectacular view of Puntarenas and the Gulf of Nicoya. Below us was beautiful jungle, punctuated by a variety of birds flying here and there: Yellow-throated Toucans, Crested Caracaras, Black Vultures, Scarlet Macaws and a variety of Parrots.
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| A beautiful view |
A beautiful Crested Guan landed in a tree right in front of us and posed as it caught the last light of day ..
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| Crested Guan |
As the sun set ...
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| End of a long day |
... the sound of cicadas grew to a deafening level. I have never heard anything like it.
Nighttime Viewing
After dinner, we went out in search of Owls and we found two species: a Spectacled Owl, which hid deep in the trees barely giving us a look at it and a Black-and-white Owl that came out, loudly announcing itself with deep hoots. This was my first attempt at nighttime photography and it was a total fail. I couldn't even get my camera to focus on the Owls, so I got no photos. Still, it was cool to see them.
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| Left, Spectacled Owl, eBird; Right, Black-and-white Owl I took later in the trip |
And, when we got back to the hotel, we spotted a Common Pauraque sitting in the driveway.
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| I took this by headlight! |
Good-bye to the Coast
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| Piractic Flycatcher ("pirate" because it steals nests) |
Early the next morning, those of us who got up early (about half) did a nice guided walk with Juan Diego around the hotel grounds and along a trail off the property into the jungle (we may have even been back in the National Park).
We didn't walk very far because it didn't take long to find interesting birds.
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| Another Lesson's Motmot (missing one tail racket) |
It's amazing how many birds are out before the day gets too hot.
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| CW: Palm Tanager, Bright-rumped Attila, Clay-colored Thrush, female Scarlet-rumped Tanager, Chestnut-side Tanager, Pale-billed Woodpecker, Yellow-throated Euphonia, Scaly-breasted Hummingbird |
And, on the coast, the weather gets too hot. Too fast.
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| A Louisiana Waterthrush enjoying the cool stream |
It's also amazing how the Leaf-cutter Ants, which we saw everywhere, never stop. They just walk with their leaves in long, long lines.
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| The don't eat the leaves; they use them to grow and "farm" fungus |
So, a little walk in the woods ...
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| A banana plant with a bug |
... and on the lovely grounds ...
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| Social Flycatcher (you seldom see the rufous on the head) |
Then, breakfast, where we were visited by another Louisiana Waterthrush ...
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| Right by our table! |
And, then on to the bus to head for the Cloud Forest.
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| Monteverde Cloud Forest |
Trip date: March 9-27, 2022
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