After a full morning of
birding with Armando, we had lunch and got ready for our afternoon tour.
Our driver picked us
up for our 15 minute drive to the Tarcoles River dock. We were not sure what to expect but were
pleased to see that, other than our driver, we were the only passengers on the
boat!
We set off for our 2 hour ride
on the Tarcoles river.
Tarcoles River.
View from the front of the boat.
Mangroves are endangered
in Costa Rica but prolific along the Tarcoles River as you near its mouth.
Mangroves
The Tarcoles river has the second largest population of
crocodiles in Costa Rica. We saw more than a dozen of them, ranging from a few feet long up to a 15 foot long monster (second and third pictures below).
Most were basking in the sun, but one in the water got splashed by our wake and decided to show us his teeth!
And this one decided to mosey on down the beach.
Our guide did a great
job getting us close to the birds and wildlife. We got outstanding looks at five kingfisher species. Mark didn't get pictures of the Belted Kingfisher but he got all of the others!
American Pygmy Kingfisher
Green Kingfisher
Ringed Kingfisher
Amazon Kingfisher
We also saw plenty of herons and egrets, including one of our favorite tropical birds, the Boat-billed Heron. This nocturnal heron looks a lot like a Black-crowned Night-Heron, except for the huge bill and dark eye.
Boat-billed Heron
We also saw several birds of prey along the river.
Common Black-Hawk
Gray-headed Kite
Yellow-headed Caracara
Toward the end of the boat trip we were treated to a pair of Great Blue Herons displaying. We don't know if this was two males displaying for territory or a male/female couple, but they kept this up for quite a while.
Great Blue Herons displaying
Next time: Day 7: Our last day in Costa Rica.
Birds seen on the
Tarcolis River:
Black-bellied
Whistling-Duck
Blue-winged Teal
Wood Stork
Neotropic Cormorant
Anhinga
Bare-throated Tiger
Heron
Great Blue Heron
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Cattle Egret
Yellow-crowned
Night-Heron
Boat-billed Heron
White Ibis
Roseate Spoonbill
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
White-tailed Kite
Gray-headed Kite
Common Black Hawk
Harris’s Hawk
Black-necked Stilt
Southern Lapwing
Northern Jacana
Whimbrel
Least Sandpiper
Spotted Sandpiper
Willet
Laughing Gull
Ruddy Ground-Dove
Groove-billed Ani
Scaly-breasted
Hummingbird
Ringed Kingfisher
Belted Kingfisher
Amazon Kingfisher
Green Kingfisher
American Pygmy
Kingfisher
Hoffmann’s Woodpecker
Crested Caracara
Yellow-headed Caracara
Peregrine Falcon
Tropical Pewee
Panama Flycatcher
Great Kiskadee
Tropical Kingbird
Mangrove Swallow
Barn Swallow
Prothonotary Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Cherrie’s Tanager
Blue-gray Tanager
Red-winged Blackbird
Great-tailed Grackle
Black Iguana
American Crocodiles
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