Thursday, July 24, 2014

Day 10-11: Cararas National Park and Traveling Home

Hey Tyler writing! We bring you this post from approximately 37,000 feet in the air as we are currently flying home at the time this is being written. We are sad to leave because our one day on the pacific coast was so great, we wished we could have had more time to bird it! The day started off with us saying goodbye to Brian Zwiebel, Rob’s friend who also helps run Sabrewing Tours. Brian is an excellent photographer and his pictures can be seen on the Sabrewing Tours website. Then came some disappointing news, Rob informed us that before we woke up, he had walked to the Quetzal Research Station, the place where we photographed the adult male Quetzal the day before. He had seen Emerald Toucanet, Black Guan, and Rufous-browed Peppershrike, which were three birds we worked really hard to see but couldn’t find. We were happy for him but sad that we had missed out on three great high elevation birds. After leaving Savegre, we headed to Carara National Park, a park located where the Tuaz River meets the Pacific Ocean. Carlos had informed us that this would be a great spot for many of the waders, shorebirds, hawks, low elevation birds, as well as being one of the only populations of Scarlet Macaw in the country not to be affected heavily by trapping the birds for pets. As we neared the park, a moment of excitement came as Ethan said that there were two large birds flying towards us, we couldn’t tell what they were until the angle and lighting became better. At the same time everyone exclaimed that the two long-tailed, large, red birds flying at us were Scarlet Macaws! To me, this was the most exciting bird of the trip, one I had been wanting to see in the wild some day for 7 years, ever since I began birding! Within the next hour, we had seen Blue-ground Doves, Golden-naped woodpeckers, Crested Caracara, and Yellow-headed Caracara, surprisingly a bird that is not related at all to the Crested Caracara. We then arrived to Carara and walked the road to the river tour that Carlos had planned for us. We were able to see more Macaws, several rufous naped wren, and 3 Turqoise-browed Motmot at very close distance. On the boat, we hit a jackpot on shorebirds such as Willet, Whimbrel, Collared Plover, Wilson’s Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Short-billed Dowitcher, Ruddy Turnstone, Western Sandpiper, and Spotted Sandpiper. We also had a good number of waders like Great, Snowy, and Cattle Egrets, Rosette Spoonbill, Yellow-crowned Night-heron, Green heron on nest with 2 chicks, and excellent looks at a Bare-throated Tiger Heron. Ethan was able to spot Common (Mangrove) Black-hawk, White-tailed Kite, and Osprey. After the boat, we hiked the River Trail, which is said to be the single best trail in Costa Rica. Unfortunately the rain held most birds back but we still saw amazing things! The birds began after we stood around to watch about 6 White-faced Capuchin and 2 Howler Monkey walk through the canopy. After that, we had a nice flock of birds. Immediately we found a bird that brought Carlos goosebumps (or chickenbumps as he called them), a Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher, one of his absolute favorites! Right after that, a Royal flycatcher came into view. But the best bird here, in my opinion, was definitely the Pheasant Cuckoo, one of the most elusive birds in Costa Rica. Many people search for this bird yet few get to see it because It hides and sings deep in the forest. My dad found two different Slaty-tailed Trogons throughout the walk which were beautiful birds. Unfortunately, the Rufous-tailed Jacamar that Carlos found had flown away by the time we got there. By then, the sun was setting and we had to rerun to the hotel in San Jose so we could get up early this morning to head home. Not much excitement today except for the earthquake that hit the airport while we were waiting. It was powerful enough to shake the building and make my bag fall over. Well, we are sad the trip is over and Rob is already talking about the followup trip! Ethan and I want to thank Sabrewing Tour’s Rob Ripma for an excellent trip and Carlos Vargas for being a great guide and his knowledge of birds and natural history as well as his humor. Thanks everyone! Can’t wait for next time!
Ethan, Rob, Tyler

Cararas National Park


Spiny Iguana

Scarlet Macaw

Turquoise-browed Motmot Pair

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