Thursday, February 14, 2019

Costa Rica 26 January 2019

El Coco - Hotel Carara - Tarcóles River

     After a quick bite to eat and - most essential of all - a coffee, we left for the three hour plus drive to Carara. The journey was pleasant and enabled us to see the Costa Rican countryside and many small towns.
     We knew that check-in time at the hotel was 14h:00 but decided to go and leave our luggage there so that it would not be visible in the SUV to people bent on mischief. The young lady at the reception desk was very accommodating and promised to keep an eye on our belongings herself until the rooms were ready for occupancy.
     A walk along the beach seemed like a good idea.



       Magnificent Frigatebirds (Fregata magnificens) sailed effortlessly above us and were a marvel to watch.



   
     I never tired of watching these birds. When I reach the stage when I can only sit in a rocking chair and watch, I swear I will join the frigatebirds again!




     Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) have an appeal all their own, but do not have the symmetry and grace of the frigatebirds in the sky. But pelicans can swim too, whereas to land on the water means death for a frigatebird. Theirs is a two-dimensional world only.




     The most interesting observation was of a Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) consuming a Laughing Gull (Leucocephalus atricilla) it had taken down.






     Four Black Vultures (Coragyps atratus) were watching the peregrine enjoy its meal, waiting no doubt for the moment it would leave.



     Miriam made the very astute observation that although the vultures moved in quite close to the falcon, they never made eye contact with it while it was eating. 



     Is it possible that this is a submissive gesture? Would eye contact incite an aggressive response from the Peregrine?
     A Royal Tern (Thalasseus maximus) showed not the slightest interest in the whole affair.



     Neotropic Cormorants (Phalacrocorax basilianus) were often seen, for the most part doing not much of anything.



     There was a stream coming out of a nearby forested area and a mare and a foal trotted down the beach right to the confluence of the stream and the ocean, knowing exactly which side to drink fresh water.




     It was hot as Hades on the beach and we returned to the hotel where we ate the lunch we had brought with us, and some even took a dip in the pool.
     We inquired of our delightful young friend at the desk whether she had any information regarding boat trips on the Tarcóles River focused on birds, rather than the standard "crocodile tours." Our luck was in! She had one brochure and even helped us to call the tour operator and before long we were booked to be picked up at 14h:00 to go birding on the river, in a covered boat no less, so we would have a little relief from the burning tropical sun. 
     Right on time a fine vehicle arrived at the hotel, with a driver and a guide with a scope. His first name is Franklin for sure, and it seems to me his last name is Sanchez if I am remembering correctly. In any event he was a terrific young man, a first rate guide and an agreeable companion. 
     As we set off for the boat launch area, very close to the hotel in fact, Franklin was promising a "present" on arrival there. What this might be we had no idea, but it was not hard to tell that he knew it would be special.
     The vehicle stopped, we all tumbled out, and as quickly as you could say, "There it is" two Black-and-White Owls (Strix nigrolineata) were in the scope. "Franklin," I thought, "Your tip is getting bigger!"




     Miriam and I have seen this species before but for everyone else it was a lifer, and an impressive one at that. Even for Miriam and me, it was our first sighting of this species in daylight hours.
     Now if you, dear reader, are not impressed with this beauty, better check your pulse now!
     In no time at all we were on the boat, binoculars at the ready, cameras primed for action, enjoying a slight breeze, at least in part created by the movement of the vessel. It was very pleasant indeed and wherever one looked birds abounded.
     Franklin was on the lookout, spotting everything that moved, and some that didn't, calling them out for his appreciative clients.



        In Canada we have but one kingfisher, and as kingfishers go it is not especially colourful, so sightings of tropical kingfishers are eagerly anticipated. This female Amazon Kingfisher (Chloroceryle amazona) was the first to elevate the heart rate a little.



    Birds, of course, are not the only attractions and basilisk lizards are always interesting to see. This Striped Basilisk (Basilicus vittatus) is a very handsome specimen.


  
     Many of you no doubt already know that basilisks are also known as Jesus Christ lizards on account of their ability to seemingly walk on water. I confess that walking on water is not one of my paltry talents, but Miriam has been known to tell me that I am skating on thin ice!
     Bare-throated Tiger Heron (Tigrisoma mexicanum) was very common in suitable habitat and there were scores of them along the banks of the river, ever alert for a quick meal.



      A couple of Green Herons (Butorides virescens) stalked potential prey in shallow water.


     Surely one of the most exotic birds along a neotropical waterway, one of the most colourful, one of the most enigmatic, is Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) and they were arrayed along the bank for us to see, like an honour guard.




     The American White Ibis (Eudocemus albus) on the right in the first picture seems like a wallflower at a dance by comparison.
     Top marks were reserved for this stunning male in peak nuptial splendour, ready for romance at the drop of a feather.




     I could swoon just looking at him!
     A Tricoloured Heron (Egretta tricolor) was also in breeding plumage. Love was indeed in the air on the Río Tarcóles!



     From time to time the boat driver sped up a little to get from one place to another, and we enjoyed the scenery and the breeze.



     Wilson's Plover (Charadrius wilsonia) could be seen scampering up and down sand spits in several locations, but the combination of camouflage and distance was not ideal for photography. Miriam managed one picture, however.



     In the same location was a Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres).



     In total contrast to the frenzied foraging of the shorebirds, a White-tipped Dove (Leptotila verreauxi) moved deliberately, unhurried, with an air of grace and dignity.



     A Roadside Hawk (Rupornis magnirostris) was no doubt alert to every feeding opportunity.



     The river seemed peaceful, yet what dramas of life and death both above and below the surface were constantly played out in the timeless cycle of life on this planet?



     A Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea) had caught a small fish for a snack.



     It would need a lot more to satisfy its appetite.
     What might a Great Black Hawk (Buteogallus urubitinga) desire to see on its menu today?



     There were oohs and aahs aplenty as we saw a couple of American Pygmy Kingfishers (Chloroceryle aenea), always females as I recall.



    Yellow-crowned Night Herons (Nyctanassa violacea) seemed to dot every tree, and some promenaded along the shore, handsome as a dandy on a boardwalk, looking for love.




     We had but one sighting of a Yellow-headed Caracara (Milvago chimachima), obligingly perched in the open for all to see.



    Zebu (Bos indicus) were introduced to Central America from Asia many decades ago, since they tolerate the climate and other conditions better than North American cattle breeds, and are known to be less susceptible to predation by Vampire Bats (Phyllostomidae). They came down to the river frequently to drink and forage on sweet new shoots.



     Franc had always wanted to see a thick-knee, being fascinated by its "googly-eyed" look and he was especially happy when we came across a couple of Double-striped Thick-knees (Burhinus bistriatus).



     In the same location Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla) was very common.



     I think that it is safe to say that in any wetland we visited in Costa Rica, from small ponds to riverine systems, we encountered Black-necked Stilts (Himantopus mexicanus).




     This was the only location, however, where we saw a Willet (Tringa semipalmata).



       Evening was fast approaching as we headed back towards the dock and Western Cattle Egrets (Bubulcus ibis) were coming in to roost for the night, slowly transforming the trees to white.


   
     At Christmas our own tree is principally festooned with white, all decorations handmade by Miriam, and I couldn't help but make the comparison between the two. More birds were flying in by the minute as we drifted past their roost.
     Our quest was not for crocodiles, but one couldn't help but notice them as the moved silently through the water, looking for all the world like your worst nightmare. We had kidded Francine that they especially favoured French Canadian flesh, and when this behemoth whacked its tail against the side of the boat she just about jumped out of her skin!



     Another female Amazon Kingfisher perched close by was perhaps adequate compensation for being startled.



     The sun was really starting to sink, but we still had adequate light for good looks at a Grey-necked Wood Rail (Aramides cajaneus) that came out of the vegetation.



     Minutes later we saw a couple of Southern Lapwings (Vanellus chilensis) to round out the trip.






     By the time we arrived back at the dock sunset was at its peak and a glorious sky bid us farewell.


     It had been a wonderfully productive journey along the river and very enjoyable too. We all felt very satisfied with the experience.
     The company that operates these tours is Mangrove Birding Journeys, mangrove@costaricabirdingjourneys.org. Their Operations Manager is Leonardo Centeno, +506 7173-7302. I recommend them highly.

All species 26 January: Muscovy Duck, Blue-winged Teal, Wood Stork, American White Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill, Bare-throated Tiger Heron, Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Green Heron, Western Cattle Egret, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Tricoloured Heron, Little Blue Heron, Snowy Egret, Brown Pelican, Magnificent Frigatebird, Brown Booby, Neotropic Cormorant, Turkey Vulture, Black Vulture, Western Osprey, White-tailed Kite, Great Black Hawk, Roadside Hawk, Grey Hawk, Zone-tailed Hawk, Grey-necked Wood Rail, Purple Gallinule, Double-striped Thick-knee, Black-necked Stilt, Southern Lapwing, Wilson's Plover, Killdeer, Collared Plover, Northern Jacana, Whimbrel, Ruddy Turnstone, Red Knot, Sanderling, Least Sandpiper, Spotted Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs, Willet, Laughing Gull, Royal Tern, Rock Dove, Inca Dove, Ruddy Ground Dove, White-tipped Dove, White-winged Dove, Groove-billed Ani. Squirrel Cuckoo, Black-and-white Owl, American Pygmy Kingfisher, Green Kingfisher, Ringed Kingfisher, Hoffmann's Woodpecker, Northern Crested Caracara, Yellow-headed Caracara, Peregrine Falcon, Red-fronted Parrotlet, White-fronted Amazon, Orange-fronted Parakeet, Scarlet Macaw, Yellow-bellied Elaenia, Great Kiskadee, Tropical Kingbird, Western Kingbird, Mangrove Vireo, Mangrove Swallow, Rufous-backed Wren, Red-winged Blackbird, Nicaraguan Grackle, Great-tailed Grackle, Northern Waterthrush, Prothonotary Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, American Yellow Warbler. 
David M. Gascoigne,
David M. Gascoigne,

I'm a life long birder. My interests are birds, nature, reading, books, outdoors, travel, food and wine.

34 comments:

  1. Por España no se ven estos pájaros, pero tenemos otras variedades. No sé si has estado en España, Parque Nacional de Monfragüe,Cáceres,Extremadura. Me han encantado todas las distintas variedades ¡ son muy hermosos ! Besitos.

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    1. A couple of years ago I was in Spain, Teresa and saw many beautiful birds. We stayed in the northern Pyrenees about an hour or so north of Barcelona.

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  2. Jag blir mållös David när jag ser bilderna och din vackra text, vilket äventyr ni har upplevt i denna fantastiska natur! Har läst ditt inlägg flera gånger för att inte missa något och så har jag googlat på en del av fåglarna som förstås är helt okända för mig. Så fick jag lära mig om fregattfågeln som blåser upp sin strupe för att imponera på sin utvalda dam.
    Jag hoppas att Costa Rica är medvetna om vilken naturskatt landet har och att man vidtagit åtgärder för att skydda och bevara både växt- och djurliv.

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  3. Hello David,
    You have taken so many wonderful images. I can understand your fascination for The Magnificent Frigatebird. They must be magnificent to watch :)
    The little Blue Heron is so cute. I love birds who have blue color.
    If I had to be so close the crocodiles I had been terrifyed.

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  4. Hi David.

    I have been enjoying all these beautiful species that you show.
    What is nature diverse in the different countries?
    Wonderful, nice that I can look a bit with your journeys.

    Super.

    Groettie from Patricia.

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  5. ¡¡Precioso, precioso y mas precioso reportaje amigo David!! que gran variedad y como siempre intachable narrativa querido profesor. La fotos de Miriam todas estupendas. Es una satisfacción despertar y desayunar con este esplendido reportaje. Gracias siempre por compartir tanta belleza junta.
    Un fuerte abrazo de tu amigo Juan

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  6. I am just so jealous, not only of your trip to Costa Rica and all the birds you saw, but mostly because you saw a Peregrine. I think this is the one bird that really tops my favourite's list, though the African Fish Eagle and the Bateleur Eagle are close seconds. I have to admit though that the Black-and-White Owl is more than spectacular 🦉.
    Have a good weekend, cheers Diane

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  7. I think I have a new favourite bird - the Bare-throated Tiger Heron, how beautiful! I don't think i've heard of the owls before, I certainly haven't seen a photo, how lucky to get such good views of them. I am quite envious of your trip so far!

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  8. Good Morning David. That's a great list of species and also a huge diversity of bird families to see in one day. They do say that Costa Rica may be the best place on earth to see birds. It is also good to know that local people can make a decent living by knowing and appreciating their own environment by becoming bird guides. In Gambia the local bird guides tout for custom outside of the hotels, and while some of them are beginners and rip-off merchants, there are many good ones.

    After your exotica, back to basics again and more Linnets for us Saturday. Have a good weekend.

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  9. Wow David, awesome report! The bird sightings were fabulous. I would love to see those owls, what a neat sighting in the daylight. The birding by river sounds awesome and what a great variety of bird species seen. The photos are wonderful too. Enjoy your day and happy weekend!

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  10. I enjoy it. What a nice colors de ijsvogel has (Chloroceryle aenea). Beautiful.

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  11. Wild life, beautiful but tough.
    Strong photos!

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  12. Hola David.

    ¡Qué envidia, qué gran cantidad de aves avistadas y fotografiadas! Costa Rica es siempre un acierto para contemplar y disfrutar de la Madre Naturaleza. ¡Me gustan todas las especies, no puedo elegir tan solo una!

    Pura vida.

    Un abrazo desde Galicia,

    Rafa.

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  13. Wherever you go, David, you seem to find an amazing variety of fascinating birds (and other creatures). It was interesting to see the photos of the frigatebirds (and for once to know the Finnish name: fregattilinnut, exactly the same :)) and it must be wonderful to see them flying.
    Thank you for your comment today. I too am looking forward to seeing the migrant birds return here.

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  14. Oh, i am impressed with the owls, all right! Along with everything else. So many species in one day! I think i like the Pygmy kingfishers best.

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  15. Great post with some amazing sightings. I will be bookmarking this page to come back to. Thanks David, I remember your other trip to Costa Rica and remember thinking we need to get there one of these days. It is on our bucket list.

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  16. WOWOWOW Just an amazing line up... the Black n White Owls gorgeous..

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  17. It is fun to see such a variety of wildlife in Costa Rica.
    You had a fantastic trip,David.

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  18. What an interesting and varied place Costa-Rica seems to be! The landscape and the birds in this post look so different from the ones in the previous message. They look almost supernatural. Enjoy the continuation of your trip, David.

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  19. Hi David - beautiful photos by Miriam ... but the little story of each photo is great - as we get to see a little of the country and certainly see lots of birds - amazing range of them; love the lizard - he's special ... now I'd have jumped to the moon - if I'd seen crocodile quite so close! It must have been the most successful river trip - so glad we could join you - cheers Hilary

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  20. Hi David, Costa Rica has some awesome birds. I love the Spoonbills and the Kingfishers are great too. Awesome shots of all the birds. I did not know about the Thick-knees species were seen in Costa Rica. The Basilisks are cool lizards. Your photos are awesome. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Happy Saturday, enjoy your day! Have a happy weekend! PS, thanks for the comment on my blog.

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  21. That is all just amazing! I'm so glad you included a list of what you saw. We see a lot when we spend time at a preserve here in Florida...but what you've seen there is incredible! And you'll want to know that my pulse quickened at the sight of the Black and white Owls! I've never even heard of them! And of course seeing an Owl in the wild is still on my wish list. LOVE that little Pigmy Kingfisher...and your fabulous photos! Happy weekend!

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  22. Biggest WOW! That tiger heron -- oh, that's magnificent. I can't even imagine what it would be like to see that one. And the ibis. I can see why you would swoon. I swoon too! And that was fascinating about the falcon, the vultures and the lack of eye contact. I learn so much here and I always have the best eye candy in the world with the photos!

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  23. Hi David,
    What a day. Such a variety of animals is simply breathtaking. I think that it wasn't easy to observe everything perfectly, so much to see. If the rest of your holiday was similar to this day, you just had a marvellous trip.
    Greetings, Kees

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  24. What a wonderful collection of sightings, particularly that black and white owl. I was surprised to be thinking, "Yes, we have that, too" so often. I'm quite a fan of the roseate spoonbill myself, and from time to time I run into large groups of them here. The green heron, the tri-colored heron, the stilts, and the yellow-crowned night heron are especially common. I have precisely one photo of a ruddy turnstone family; it was good to be reminded of them.

    The tiger heron is beautiful, and impressive. I never would have imagined such a thing -- I'm so glad you were able to show it to us.

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  25. Wow David this is realy amazing so many different birds and so many. And there I saw even a Peregrine falcon. You can find them almost everywere. That Kingfisher is stunning. I can not name them all but it is a joy to see these birds. The Crocodile is also amazing. And as there are more and more people on the Earth you can not avoid seeing them on even the remote places.
    Regards,
    Roos

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  26. Awesome post and wonderful sightings … as are all the photographs.
    Thank you so much for a lovely post.

    All the best Jan

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  27. I needed to take a break, and couldn't stay away so here I am, back again! That is an absolutely amazing array of birds, David - and all in just two days! And you had owls and kingfishers too! I can see how Costa Rica has gained such an excellent reputation.

    I'm looking forward to looking at Pt.3 tomorrow - then I'll only be one day behind!

    The aforementioned problem has turned out to be a little worse than I thought - it looks as if there is a nearby nest with young!

    Love and best wishes to you both - - - Richard

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  28. Very interesting story of your trip, illustrated with beautiful photos of species that I know mostly and have seen across the length and breadth of my country. The natural environment is magnificent, I do not doubt, from here many people go to Costa Rica to see birds, who knows I can go someday

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  29. Hi Both,
    Super post with some wonderful images, the Black and White Owls are so unusual, definitely worth an extra tip just for them.
    Costa Rica appears to be a bird watchers paradise with such a variety to feast upon.
    All the best, John

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  30. Hi David,
    You have seen a lot of animals in a couple days. The species are overwhelming!
    Beautiful all!
    Regards,
    Maria

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  31. It was a great day for you ! So many discoveries. The world of water attracts wonderful species.

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  32. A beautiful post with water birds and birds of prey.
    I find the pink spoonbills very special. In the Netherlands we only know the white spoonbills. For years I thought I was being fooled when I saw a picture of a pink spoonbill, but they turned out to be real.
    It's great that you also show these beautiful pictures of the pink leplaters.
    The other pictures are of course also totally super :-)))))
    With your last photo of the sunset, I completely disappear .-)

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