2019 Costa Rica Journal - Day 3 - Esquinas Rainforest Lodge

This morning we had a private walk with Fernando.  We started at 6 a.m. walking around the grounds

Pineapple plant.

Mark and Fernando in the jungle.

The most commonly seen bird in the Esquinas gardens is the Scarlet-rumped Tanager. The male is a velvety black bird with a bright scarlet rump. They can "puff" it out in a territorial display. 

Scarlet-rumped Tanager male

On the Pacific slope the females are orange on their chest. On the Caribbean side they lack this coloring, leading many authorities to classify them as separate species. But for now, they are "officially" considered to be a single species. 

Scarlet-rumped Tanager female

Remember the "Caiman Pond" sign? It turns out that there are Caiman in the ponds here!

Spectacled Caiman

My, what big teeth you have...

There are not many monkeys or sloths in the Esquinas area, but we did see several Agouti. This Central American rodent looks like a large Guinea Pig!

Agouti enjoying a banana.

We headed back to the lodge about 8:00 for breakfast.

There aren’t many folks staying here right now.

After breakfast we went out again with Fernando to the Lagoon Trail. We came across a group of Red-capped Manakins. The males have bright red heads and yellow thighs. There is a research station nearby and we noticed that this bird has a green band on its right leg. Even more color!

Red-capped Manakin male

One of our target birds at Esquinas was the Black-cheeked Ant-Tanager. This bird has a incredibly small range, occurring only in the forests around the Golfo Dulce.

Black-cheeked Ant-Tanager

Another endemic species (species with a very restricted range) is the Baird's Trogon.  Trogons are a group of birds found in tropical forests around the world, but the Baird's Trogan is found only on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica and Panama. 

Baird's Trogon male

Baird's Trogon female

And you know that you're in the tropics when you see Toucans!  Yellow-throated Toucans were fairly common around Esquinas, and we always enjoy watching them. 

Yellow-throated Toucan

We got back in time for lunch then walked around the grounds some more and relaxed until dinner.

The pool is fed by a crystal-clear stream which has a year round temperature of 75 F.

Frog pond.  There were caiman here too!

Next: What goes bump in the night??

2019 Costa Rica Journal - Day 2 - Esquinas Rainforest Lodge

Our day started early again.  It starts getting daylight a little after 5 a.m.  We walked around the grounds a bit before breakfast.

Outside our room.

Bamboo Orchid

Walking around the grounds.

After breakfast we left for our Rio Coto Mangrove Tour.  We had a 25 minute drive to the boat ramp in the nearby town of Golfito.  This was a 6 hour boat trip.  We were on an Esquinas boat with Melvin as our captain and Andrey as our guide.  There were only 2 other people on the tour with us.

This map shows several boat trips offered by Esquinas Lodge. The Rio Coto Mangrove tour is shown by the heavy lavender line. It explores the mangroves in the estuary where the Rio Coto empties in the gulf. 

The beautiful Golfo Dulce

Just after leaving the dock several pairs of Scarlet Macaws flew over. These huge red parrots are found in only a few areas along the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. 

Scarlet Macaws

We passed by a small lighthouse at the entrance of Golfito Bay that was being used as a roost by some unusual birds. 

Magnificent Frigatebird

This Magnificent Frigatebird male was stretched out enjoying the sun. The large red pouch on their throats is inflated as a breeding display. 

Brown Booby Adult and Juveniles

The striking brown and white adult bird is on the right side of the picture. Several juveniles seemed to be looking for attention!

After a short trip south in the bay, we entered the Rio Coto estuary. 

Our boat was very comfortable and great for wildlife viewing.

We saw four different species of Mangroves in this area. They grow in slightly different habitats but all have the ability to tolerate saltwater and the tides.

White Mangrove

There were a lot of birds to be seen from the boat. Many of the shorebird and wading birds are the same species that we see on the Texas Gulf Coast, but there were plenty of tropical birds as well. 

Common Black Hawk

Common Black Hawk in flight

Boat-billed Heron is one of our favorite tropical species. They are similar to the Night Herons that we have in the states, but they have an enormous, oversized bill. They are a nocturnal species that roost quietly during the day in trees that overhang water.

Boat-billed Heron

Boat-billed Heron

Even though we'd seen this species several time on past trips, we had never noticed the groove down the center of the bill before. 

Another tropical species is the Bare-throated Tiger-Heron. These fierce looking wading birds eat all sorts of fish and reptiles, including baby Spectacled Caiman.  Caiman are alligator-like reptiles that live in Central and South America. The adult Caiman will occasionally eat Tiger-Herons!  Payback, and all that...

Bare-throated Tiger-Heron

We also saw a group of Crab-eating Raccoons along the muddy shoreline. This is a different species than the more common Northern Raccoon. They are slightly smaller, darker, and (you guessed it!!) eat crabs, among other things.

Crab-eating Raccoons

Our "Target Bird" for this trip was the Mangrove Cuckoo. We did spot a couple of individuals way up in trees along the edge of the forest. This picture was taken from a couple of hundred feet away and isn't the greatest, but shows the black mask and tan belly of the species.

Mangrove Cuckoo

We stopped on a stretch of beach for a picnic lunch.

Our lunch spot.

Melvin and Andrey bringing the food and drinks.

After lunch we had about 45 minutes to relax on the beach.

Our guide Andrey and Mark. 

We got back to Esquinas mid-afternoon and were ready to relax with a cold Diet Coke

The lodge made sure we had plenty of Diet Coke.

We walked around a little before it started raining.  We thought this was a cute name for a pond (we had no idea how accurate it was):

It’s very warm and humid in this area.  We were glad the afternoon shower cooled the air a little.

Next time:  A guided hike and a night walk.

2019 Costa Rica Journal - Day 1 - Esquinas Rainforest Lodge

Our first day of travel started early - 3:30 a.m.!

As usual we spent the night at the La Quinta near the San Antonio airport.  This allowed us to leave our car at the hotel and take the hotel shuttle to the airport.  We got on the 4:30 shuttle and arrived at the airport in about 10 minutes.  Our United flight from San Antonio to Houston was on time as well as our flight from Houston to San Jose, Costa Rica where we arrived at 11:30 a.m. CST.

We made our way through the Juan Santamaria International Airport to find our driver, David.  We had a 5 hour drive to Esquinas Rainforest Lodge.

We both lost our usual bet of what would be the first bird we saw (neither of us picked a Great-tail Grackle).  That’s okay, we’ll still get a DQ Blizzard when we get back home.

We stopped for lunch but otherwise it was an uneventful trip.

It was too late to do much but get settled in our room and have dinner.  It had been a very long day.

 Room # 16.

 Our towels made into swans.

This was our fourth trip to Costa Rica and our first time at Esquinas Rainforest Lodge.  Esquinas is a 37-acre private reserve in the jungle of remote Piedras Blancas National Park in southern Costa Rica.  There 18 rooms.

Next time:  More Esquinas and our first tour

What Is The Most Beautiful Bird In The World?

Do you have a favorite?

Male, Resplendent Quetzal

Some people say the Resplendent Quetzal takes the number one spot as the most beautiful bird in the world.

[Across time and cultures, the Resplendent Quetzal has been heralded for its great beauty. With an iridescent green sheen and uppertail covert feathers longer than its entire body, the bird has attracted much attention from pre-Columbian peoples, ornithologists, collectors, market hunters, and birders. Skutch (1944) described the male Resplendent Quetzal as "a supremely lovely bird; the most beautiful, all things considered, that I have ever seen.”]

On our first trip to Costa Rica, in 2008, we saw the Resplendent Quetzel along with many more beautiful birds.

On Saturday we’ll be flying down to Costa Rica for our fourth trip to this amazing country.  We’ll be in an area we have never been to before as well as re-visiting two places from past trips.

Do I think there is one “most beautiful” bird in the world? 

I have two answers to that question.  The first answer is absolutely not - I have seen many beautiful birds and there is no way to pick just one.

My second answer is:  Yes, there is one “most beautiful” bird in the world and I have yet to see it.  That is why I keep looking.

Here are a few bird pictures from our past trips.  In a couple of weeks, we’ll have many more - stay tuned.

Green Violetear

Yellow-throated Toucan 

Violet Sabrewing

Crimson-collared Tanager

Montezuma Oropendola

Collared Aracari 

Teri