Caño Negro Wildlife Reserve

During our Arenal stay, we had the option to explore the wild world of the Caño Negro Wildlife Reserve.  It is a MUST SEE location for birders.  And anyone who loves wildlife. And it's easy.  You just get on a boat and float down the river.

I listened to our guide speak about this oddly colored Mantled Howler Monkey.  She shared with us the whole story about how this color sequence happens with Howlers but I got lost in the discussion.  It was very Jamie and Cersei Lannister like.  Anyhow, I was more interested in the societal behaviors of this poor monkey.  

Imagine being born this way.  You are prone to more attacks because you stick out like a sore thumb.  Therefore, your community abandons you. How would you feel?  For months this male was depressed.  That is until this female found a liking for this sexy ginger Howler.  Today, he is a new man monkey and very happy. His story choked me up a little.  I should also add that he is only one of the two known oddly colored Mantled Howler Monkeys in Costa Rica. 

Our guide was excellent.  So was our boat operator. Before the trek into the reserve, I asked her about a certain bird.  I don't know why I did it.  I just did. If we found it, it would make for the second coolest sighting of our trip after the Spotted Antbird. Turns out, they both had seen the bird recently!  I nearly messed myself.  Tip to birders traveling abroad. Always speak with the locals.  We don't have time to naturally absorb everything around us.  Communication is key as you will see.  There is nothing to be ashamed of here.  In Tucson, I can diddle daddle and explore weird spots on my own for birds.  I don't have that luxury while on a tight schedule. This is why networking is VERY important.

People go "goo-goo-ga-ga" over these cute little Green Iguanas.  Much like our little turtle issues here in the US, the locals like to take these cute tiny iguanas and make them pets.  Then they grow up to look like the big guy below.  Not so cute. Still.  That is one cool looking iguana. 

During our trip to Chiapas, Mexico two years ago, we spotted our first Red-legged Honeycreeper.  They were everywhere in Costa Rica.  I was finally able to get a nice capture of one on this day trip. 

Kingfishers.  Who doesn't love them?  At this reserve, you have the chance of spotting 6 different species of Kingfisher!  We only spotted 3 of them.  The most common of the species was the Amazon Kingfisher. 

Then I heard talk of bats.  I like them too!  But they were difficult to find.  These are the Proboscis Bats.  

Why do they line up like this on the tree?  To look like a snake so that the predators won't eat them.  Clever strategy. 

I love bats.  And anytime we get to see a new species, I get excited. 

Oh!  That's right.  I'm a birder.  Focus!  The Amazon Kingfisher......

Our boat continued slowly down the river where we found this pair of Black-headed Trogons.  They looked so weird perched on a branch together.  There they sat as still as they could be as if they were posing for an artist to paint them. 

I love reptiles but they do scare the crap out of me. Please don't let this boat flip!  This Spectacled Caiman is the reason why the monkeys won't swim across the river.  

Then the moment we had been waiting for arrived. The tour guide looked in our direction and said, "The Great Potoo is here."  It took everyone on the boat several minutes to find the bird.  How in the world do people find these birds?!!  They look like branches!  Our excitement was contagious because the rest of the passengers got out of their seats to see what were were jammerin' about.  It was kind of a bonding moment for all of us.  The birders suddenly became bird instructors:)

After everyone saw the bird, it was back to the mammals.  Everyone wanted to see a sloth.  Personally I was more interested in observing the White-throated Capuchins. It was incredible.  We observed three species of monkey in one day.  The Capuchins are difficult to spot.  They are probably the most tricky to observe in the wild. 

This family of Capuchins moved stealthily through the leaves proving once again, even with an advantageous viewing spot, that they were tricky to capture on camera.  The focus on my camera wasn't quick enough sometimes.  Or if I did get a shot, it was blurry.  I think this species of monkey is the most intelligent of the three.  Howler Monkeys intimidate.  Spider Monkeys are lazy and go with the flow.  But Capuchins.  They can be stinkers.  Remember my mention of a monkey throwing mangoes at us on Coiba Island in Panama?  It was the White-headed Capuchin doing the throwing:)  

Then.  It happened for the vacationing teachers wanting their sighting of a sloth. The boat erupted into a frenzy of "WHERE?!  WHERE?!!" Please don't tip the boat over. There are caiman in this river. 

Brown-throated Sloth

We had a great time on the river and saw lots of birds like the endemic Nicaraguan Grackle! Ok.  I'll be honest.  That bird is really boring. It basically looks like a smaller version of a Great-tailed Grackle. But if you're a birder....

And the coolest observation of the day for me came from this nesting Golden-hooded Tanager. 

It was hard to keep track of the bird among all the leaves, but we watched the adult build that nest. 

As we ate our lunch, we watched the incredible wildlife show happening around us.  

It had been a return to the hot and humid habitat of the tropical lowlands.  Luckily for us, we were shaded under the roof of our boat. Also note, I'm wearing a second shirt to cover up the sweat. But my gods, it was a good day. 

And yes.  It was as beautiful as it looked.  The secret to planning a trek is locating yourself in birdy central areas with options to do day treks nearby. This was an awesome day.  

We were served a wonderful and hardy Costa Rican meal.  Our journeys to Arenal and Caño Negro would come to a close. Stay tuned for our next exciting journey as it will take us into the clouds......
For the Caño Negro report, click here. 

Playa Tamarindo

While visiting Liberia, we had set a day aside for a trek to the nearby Playa Tamarindo.  We were hoping to find some sea birds along the beach and estuary. 

One of the biggest discussions for this trip was whether or not we'd rent a car.  It's easy and many tourists do it. We spoke with several of them about their experiences and for the most part, they were glad they had their car. However, it is also costly and can be stressful during severe weather situations.  Sometimes the conditions of the roads were terrible.  Sometimes we observed that parking was an issue. And other times, we discovered that having a car would have added hours onto our route because we couldn't short cut via boat or train. Local transportation in Costa Rica is sound.  And it's also cheap. So we began our early trek at the Liberian bus station.  Here's a tip for people thinking about using the buses here. ALWAYS find out when the last bus leaves an area and you'll be ok. Schedules change often so speak with the person at the counter selling the tickets. My greatest fear was missing that last bus back to Liberia. 

The local bus stopped at every little town on the way to pick up people wanting a little beach time.  Some people worked in Tamarindo.  Little did we know, but it was also a huge tourist magnet. And there seemed to be plenty of surfers. 

Green Heron

But that didn't stop us from birding.  We were asked by several people if we wanted a nature tour.  The price was around 20 dollars per person.  Knowing that we'd do treks like this in other places, we opted out. Plus, I've found that we're our own best guides. 

Orange-chinned Parakeet

One of our target bird groups was the hummingbird.  Where in the world were they?

We certainly saw signs for them.  And where were the sea birds?  Where were the gulls and terns??!! None of them would have been a lifer but I was looking forward to observing a few of these birds along the beach. From my Central American experiences, I actually think the Caribbean side of Central America is better for sea birds along the coast during the summer.  I was, however, surprised by 2 Brown Pelicans and 4 White Ibis!  Definitely not on my radar. 

It came time for lunch.  Picking a spot was difficult because there were a lot of great places to eat.  I wanted something Costa Rican while the other two wanted something different.  So we found a nice mix of restaurants with general outdoor seating. It was popular with the young surfer crowd.  I listened to the conversations that I once had myself not so many years ago.  "Where are you from again?" "I'm from California. I'm sorry, where did you say you're from?" "I'm from Switzerland." And then on and on.  When will they mention the party? There's always a party involved.  And as if on cue, "Did you go to last night's party? I drank 9 cups of______" The conversations were deep and full of the standard self-absorption that you'd expect to find with young adults. That still didn't stop me from eavesdropping🙂 "Yeah, I've been here and there." And blah blah blah. At one point, one of the dude's asked the Cali girl if she remembered him from the night before.  And she replied straight out, "No." and walked away.  Ouch.  I guess they won't be "hooking up" anytime soon. 

Green Iguana

Sex, alcohol and our crazy youth.  They used to be part of the every day adventure. Not anymore.  Now, instead of the thrill of the party; it's all about finding wildlife.  It's weird how our life priorities change as we get older. We left the surfers behind and no one noticed the "old" people leaving.  Ouch!

Great Kiskadee

Back on the beach, we slowly moved away from the crowds of people and headed towards the estuary hoping to find a Boat-billed Heron or pirate.  We didn't find either, but we did see this....

A parent Mantled Howler Monkey watched as its offspring fed from the lower branches of a tree. 

I kept my distance because I know how powerful these monkeys can be!  Over the years, I've had one try and bite me in Peru.  Another threw poop at me in southern Costa Rica.  And yet another monkey nearly hit me with a mango in Panama.  Thankfully, the longer lens allows us closer viewing. 

At one point, this little one stared into the eyes of Gordon.  He probably thought that Gordon looked like Charlton Heston from Planet of the Apes.  "Look, it's a man!"

The skies became darker and we could hear a storm in the distance. 

Streak-backed Oriole

As we headed back to our bus stop, we paused to look at some birds we have observed in the past.  

White-fronted Parrots above and below. 

And while we saw quite a few birds, I'm not sure we picked up anything new. I know Gordon added his lifer Blue-gray Tanagers to the list.  Still, it was a fun trek to the beach.  

Hoffman's Woodpecker

The most interesting observation for me on this day came from the Brown-crested Flycatcher. It's important to note that this bird is of the Ometepe subspecies. I've noticed that ebird has started listing subspecies for this flycatcher. As we'll find out in several posts, I'll explain why it's often important to add the subspecies listing when possible. 

Brown-crested Flycatcher(Ometepe subspecies)

The nerdy bird discussion must have gotten the best of Micheal.  While he said he was still birding, I caught him using his binoculars for other interesting beach sightings:) 

Then a crocodile nabbed him!😉  Seriously though, we did see two of these large reptiles near the estuary.  Some of you may have heard of a surfer a couple years back attacked by one of these ocean crocs in Tamarindo.  It was a rare incident. From what I saw, the public beach was busy and full of swimmers and surfers.  Crocs prefer the shallower calm waters near mangroves.  As we neared the estuary, where they like to hang out, we kept on the lookout.  There are signs but as we know, not everyone reads them.  Overall, it's really a beautiful place to surf and enjoy the beach.  

For our Tamarindo report, click here.  Until next time.....surf's up!