Costa Rica - Day 7

Tuesday, January 17, 2023 

We started our day with birding around the gardens before breakfast. There is an extensive trail system and Johan knew the best areas to take us. 

Variable Seedeaters were common, and as with many birds, the males look very different than the females. 

Variable Seedeater - female

Variable Seedeater - male

The Las Cruces Biological Station and Wilson Botanical Gardens have been around for quite a long time, and much has been learned about the plants and animals of Costa Rica here. As we explored we came across a number of reminders of the importance of the area. 

After breakfast we headed out to the canopy tower. Canopy towers are designed to allow observation of the forest from above the canopy itself. Many birds and animals feed high in the trees and are difficult to observe from the ground. Being on a tower gives a different perspective. We have visited many towers in North, Central and South America. Some are massive and sturdy, others much lighter and sometimes a bit sketchy.  But all require that you climb many flights of steps to access the top!

The Canopy Tower from below

Johan and Teri at the top

We saw a variety of birds from the tower, ranging from large and obvious to small and well camouflaged. 

Blue-headed Parrot

Crested Guan

White-crowned Parrot

Common Chlorospingus

Dusky-capped Flycatcher

At one point a King Vulture flew past the tower. This is a large white and black vulture that we always enjoy seeing.

King Vulture

We saw some of the same species from the tower that we'd seen the previous evening at the restaurant deck feeders. The Speckled Tanager is a favorite and we enjoyed seeing it from every angle. 

Fiery-billed Aracari

Speckled Tanager

We got very close looks at a Yellow-throated Vireo, a species that will return to North America (including our home area) to breed in late March. 

Yellow-throated Vireo

After a couple of hours on the tower we descended back to ground level and did some birding along the trails. We spotted a male White-winged Tanager far up in a tree.  I got a photo, but was wishing that this bird had visited us on the tower!

White-winged Tanager - male

Along with the birds we enjoyed seeing the many plants in the garden, and some of the other animals that live here like these wasps. The nest is about 18 inches tall, but the wasps are quite small, less than 1/2 inch long. We see various types of wasp nests throughout the tropics, but have never been bothered by them. 

Wasp Nest

Closeup of Entrance

We finished up our morning with lunch in the cafeteria, and then off to visit a couple of nearby sites!

Next - An airport, some interesting rock carvings, and a night walk. 

Costa Rica - Day 6, Part 2

 Monday, January 16, 2023

We arrived at our next lodge, the Los Cruces Biological Station/Wilson Botanical Gardens at around 3:00.  This complex is owned and operated by the Organization for Tropical Studies, and is primarily a research station, but they also have rooms for visitors.  We were excited to visit this location as it is off the beaten path and not a well-established stop for birders. This location is about 3200 feet above sea level, so was cooler and less humid than our previous lodges. 

We checked into our room which had a large balcony overlooking the forest below.  Each room is named for a family of plant species, with that plant growing in the beds adjacent to the room. We were in the Marantus room. Marantus is a family of plants that are popular as house plants, and often referred to as Prayer Plants. 

 

After we got settled in we met Johan on the deck of the restaurant, where they have a small group of fruit feeders. We immediately started seeing some fantastic birds, including Speckled Tanager, Silver-throated Tanager, Crested Oropendola, and Fiery-billed Aracari. 

Speckled Tanager

Silver-throated Tanager

Crested Oropendola

Fiery-billed Aracari

We also enjoyed a Crested Caracara (a bird that we often see in Texas!) perched at eye level atop a tall palm.

Crested Caracara

Also coming to the fruit feeders were Green Honeycreepers. The male and female are quite different in appearance, but both are really beautiful. 

Green Honeycreeper female

Green Honeycreeper male

As night fell hundreds of Crimson-fronted Parakeets squawked their way overhead. You can always hear parrots and parakeets as they fly to their evening roosts!

Crimson-fronted Parakeets

Being a research station, meals were a simple affair and served in a cafeteria style. We presented ourselves at the counter, were handed a plate of food, and when finished returned our plate to the counter. Quick and easy.  Most of the other diners were college age students who were doing research at the station, but there were a few visiting tourists like ourselves as well. 

Next - A Canopy Tower, and more...

Costa Rica - Day 6

Monday, January 16, 2023

Today was a departure day, so we placed our luggage outside the room by 6:00, had breakfast at 6:30, and went down to the beach for our 7:15 departure. Our large arrival group was going in two different directions this morning, so instead of the larger boat that we arrived on, we had a smaller boat going out. We saw a couple of nice birds on our walk down to the beach. 

Broad-winged Hawk

Chestnut-backed Antbird

Red-lored Parrot

Getting back onto the boat was the opposite of our wet landing.  We waded out into knee deep water and then sort of butt-slid over the side of the boat. The water was very choppy and everyone got pretty wet. We bobbed around in the surf for about ten minutes wondering why we weren't leaving, and it turned out that the Casa Corcovado guide that was to accompany us was late!  He finally arrived and off we went. 

Like the arrival trip this was mainly transportation with limited sight-seeing, but we did see a few Brown and Blue-footed Boobies in the ocean. 

Brown Booby

Blue-footed Booby

Once we'd turned back in to the much calmer Sierpe River, Johan spotted a big troop of Central American Squirrel Monkeys moving in the trees alongside the river and we stopped and watched them for a while. Squirrel Monkeys are the smallest of the Costa Rican monkeys and they were moving steadily up the river. There were at least 50 in the troop and it could have been 100. 

• A squirrel monkey tail is not prehensile, that means they cannot use it to grab onto things. They use it for balance, nothing more.
• They are considered to be one of the cleverest monkeys due to having a large brain compared to the size of their body.
• These groups consist of both male and females and can range in numbers anywhere between 25 and 500! The only time the group splits up is when they’re hunting for food.

Central American Squirrel Monkey

We landed back at the dock where we'd left our vehicle, gathered our luggage and headed out. We gave one of the hotel boat captains a ride to town so that he could catch a bus, and then continued on to some rice fields and agricultural areas where we found some good birds. 

This area of Costa Rica is archeologically significant because of "Bolsas de Piedra", or Stone Balls. Over 300 stone spheres have been discovered scattered throughout the region, and they range in size from a few centimeters up to two meters (over six feet!) in diameter. The spheres are attributed to a now extinct Diquís culture. They are thought to have marked important routes or locations, but their exact significance remains uncertain. 

We visited a small park that had a few of the spheres on display. 

We then did some birding around some rice fields near the town of Niely, which gave us a chance to see some wetland birds like Northern Jacana and Southern Lapwing. 

Northern Jacana

Southern Lapwing

We also saw a Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture, which looks very similar to our Turkey Vulture, but with hints of yellow in the head. 

Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture

Other birds seen in the wet fields were Smooth-billed Ani, Red-breasted Meadowlark, and Fork-tailed Flycatcher. The Ani and Flycatcher are occasional visitors to Texas, and cause quite a stir when they arrive!

Fork-tailed Flycatcher

Fork-tailed Flycatcher nest building

Red-breasted Meadowlark

Smooth-billed Ani

Some of the rural roads and bridges are very narrow, but Johan was an excellent driver and got us where we needed to go!

We enjoyed a nice lunch in the city of Niely and then continued on to our next lodge, arriving at about 3:00. 

Next - Las Cruces Biological Station