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!

Hotspots

White-fronted Parrot

Eventually all good things must come to an end. With one day left and physical exhaustion finally catching up with me, we decided to dedicate our lives to creating a new hotspot for Tuxtla Gutierrez.  And find those blasted parrots flying around our hotel!

Tropical Kingbird

For days, we observed possibly hundreds of these birds flying from our hotel to the park across the street. There were at least two species that kept squawking over our heads as we slipped our hotel card into the door.   It drove us nuts! By the time we'd get back, the sun would be setting or we'd be exhausted from our daily treks out into the field. We'd see their shadows fly above our heads and try to find the field marks with our binos. So after our tour, the hunt began.  And we walked our neighborhood and scoured every building and tree out there. Here's what we discovered. 

Caña Hueca Park

There was indeed a park next to our hotel.  It was safe for us to carry our cameras, at least during the day. This park was a place for people to mainly exercise.  But from within it, there were a great number of bird species flying around!  To make it even more enticing, a canal flowed through a part of the area attracting several water birds like Snowy Egrets and Neotropical Cormorants. When I looked on ebird, I realized that this park was not an ebird hotspot.  It's within a green area of the city and a perfect spot for local and visiting/migrating birds.  The park is known as Caña Hueca. 

juvenile Social Flycatchers

Around the park area, we visited several shopping centers to observe which birds intermingled among the humans.  It was a bit strange for shoppers to watch us snap photos of birds in the parking garage area:)  Beyond caring anymore:)  

Grey-breasted Martin

Anyhow, back to the parking garage.  I saw a bunch of these swallows flying into the shade and I thought they were Northern Rough-winged Swallows. Thanks to Michael Retter, he said, "HEY!  Those are Grey-breasted Martins!"  Mother of pearls, he is right.  I have only seen this species once in Antigua, Guatemala.  Instinctively, I knew I had to take a picture of this bird.  But I had Northern Rough-winged Swallow in my brain.....not a Martin:)  Thank you Michael for catching the ID!   

The park itself is lovely for people who love to run.  They had this soft padding throughout the area and I have to admit that I didn't mind walking on it:)

Along the way, we found our parrots in large numbers around the park feeding on the various fruit trees.  

There were several times when a large seed or fruit almost knocked me out!  White-fronted Parrots hid everywhere in the foliage.  Sometimes they could be seen out in the open.  AND they were ALWAYS heard:)

Groove-billed Ani

We had several Groove-billed Ani hanging out in the trees!  And then there were Scrub Euphonias darting around the branches. Some even hung out at our hotel!

Scrub Euphonia

The place was amazing! We had 27 species in this park alone!  It just proves that you don't have to go far sometimes to find amazing birds. 

Looks just like the leaves

Parrots and Parakeets have always been a fascination for me.  To be honest, I hate their chatter.  Their squawking hurts my ears too much BUT I love everything else about them.  They are social.  They are highly entertaining in the wild once you spot them. And they have a VERY set routine.  They get up early in the morning and make a lot of noise to wake up the hotel birders.  No need for an alarm.  Then they head over to the park or Marriott hotel and feed off the trees around the property.  By 5:00 PM, it's time to head back to their "sleep" area and snuggle in together on top of the Marriott hotel roof or other man made structures. By observing their daily routine, we were able to track them to their food sources and get great pics. 

Green Parakeets

It is my hope that this park will become a hotspot for future birders visiting Tuxtla Gutierrez.  There aren't many hotspots at all within the city and yet I know the city is full of surprises. If people ebirded like they did in Tucson, I can only imagine what would be found!  I wouldn't mind living there for a year and exploring the various watering holes, etc around town. 

Green Salsa Chilaquiles

 Every chapter in our life must close.  And for me, this trip to Mexico was healing.  I still had a torrid love affair with chilaquiles.  Perhaps the best breakfast or hangover cure out there. But I was so sad. I wasn't ready to go home.  I sat looking at my food not wanting to eat.  Because it meant that once I ate it, I would not have a decent plate of chilaquiles for a LONG time after.  So I took a picture.  It's refried black beans, green or red salsa over fried tortilla strips with shredded chicken and topped with delicious Mexican cheese that just screams, "OH YEAH!"  And so on my last bite, my affair ended.  Oh love can be so cruel!

But then something perked me up.  A cow. The cow is a symbol of my Wisconsin roots.  It reminded me of where I grew up. The coffee was Mexican and I remembered why I pursued Spanish as my passion.  When I mixed the two together, I remembered why I chose Tucson as my home.  I will be back Mexico.  I have missed you. 

On our flight into Mexico City, we flew over the volcano known as Popocateptl near the beautiful colonial city of Puebla.  I suffered from a bit of nostalgia. I hiked those mountains. I lived there.  I became "me" there.  While I saw many birds on this wonderful trip, I couldn't help but think of all of my human experiences in this country.  While the guided tours were awesome (as were the people), I won't do them again. Part of the reason I love to bird abroad so much is that I get to know the local people in the area. And that comes from my Spanish training. It enriches the whole experience.  Plus when I find a bird, I earn it.  No one found it but ME. And that's a life bird earned in my book. I know there will be times when I need to call on someone for help.  The Nava's Wren is a perfect example of THE bird I could not find on my own. This trip was amazing and it better defined who I am as a birder. For that I am grateful.  And to people like Laurie Foss and Michael Retter(and everyone else!) who put this trip together, THANK YOU!  It was flawless.  You guys did a great job!  

A Giant Swallowtail greets me on my return home to Tucson.  This butterfly was laying eggs on my citrus plants in our garden. We all live in an amazing world!

As Las Aventuras leaves the neotropical world behind, we return back to Madera Canyon and begin the third chapter of "Americano". Until next time friends.........