Costa Rica Part IV: Sarapiqui River Cruise

Back to Costa Rica. I am going to attempt to execute this post with concision and precision.

One afternoon I scheduled us for a boat trip on the Sarapiqui River. I didn't expect to see a ton, but afternoon birding is hard anyways, so why not just hang out on a boat for a while? It's pretty much like geri birding, you just sit there and look at the things that are presented in front of you. Plus, there was a realistic-albeit-not-high chance we could see Sunbittern. We could have booked a boat through Hotel Gavilan, but I ended up going with Oasis Nature Tours and booked our boat through their Facebook page. A very low and mostly unobscured two-toed sloth passed out next to the parking lot was a good sign when we arrived at the main boat dock at Puerto Viejo.

Our guide (Carmela) and driver were on time and our party of four had the whole boat. Carmela wasn't a great birder (I wasn't expecting one) but she was a good guide and really came through for us later in the trip. She also introduced us to something we had not previously noticed, the Tico/Tica habit of attaching an affirming short question ("yes?") or affirmative sound to the end of sentences spoken in English that aren't meant to be questions. For example, instead of saying "Here in Costa Rica, it is the dry season", one would say "Here in Costa Rica, it is the dry season, mmhmm!", where the second syllable of "mmhmm" is much higher than the first and both syllables are spoken rapidly, so it sounds really enthusiastic. It's rather similar in emphasis to the "su-wheet!" call of a Pacific-slope Flycatcher. We all thought it was a brilliant mannerism.

So much for being concise...

There were tons of Mangrove Swallows, many of which would feed right next to the boat or remain perched while we passed very close by (see above). Another common but more familiar bird worth mentioning (not pictured) was Spotted Sandpiper...I don't know if I've seen so many in one place in my life.

A mixed flock along the shore contained this Bay-breasted Warbler. It was cool to see them outside of spring and fall migration for the first time, even though they all looked like fall migrants.

I rarely see Anhingas up close so was happy to crush on this bird a bit. In the first two pics you can see it getting at the oil gland at the base of its tail. Mmmm, sweet precious Anhinga oil...

Cattle Egrets are common in the area, and a couple flocks were taking their afternoon egret tea down in the river.

We saw quite a bit of non-avian wildlife. I think these are Rhinoclemmys funerea, black river turtles aka black wood turtles. Life turtle! We also saw a guy on the riverbank mocking us for birdwatching. In response, I also mocked us for birdwatching, which guide and driver appreciated. Their English was good enough to know what "NERDS!" means.

This green iguana was a particularly fine specimen.

Of the three monkey species we saw on the trip (howler, spider, white-faced capuchin) I think I like howlers the most. They make the coolest sounds by far and have the best scrotums, as you can see here.

The nerds enjoyed themselves. Boat times are good times.

We also saw our first spectacled caiman of the trip. This one has a massive insect next to its eye, presumably trying to get tasty caiman tears.

Yeah, it happened. About halfway through the trip, Carmela let us know that we had an excellent chance at seeing a Sunbittern. She was right and the bird obliged. This was a life bird for all of us and I was beside myself. The bird gods were with us.

We got great, prolonged looks. This is one of those birds that you see for the first time and think to yourself, "I can't believe I'm actually looking at this". Sunbittern is an iconic species and there are not enough superlatives out there to do it justice.

And yes, we got excellent looks at everything it had to offer. I could not have been happier.

It was a winning afternoon on the river topped off by an unforgettable bird. Stoked!

Birding La Selva Biological Station Part I: Hainers Gonna Hain

White-necked Puffbird!!!! All photos today from La Selva.

La Selva Biological Station is world famous for the research that gets done in the huge tract of primary forest there...but aside from that important fact, the birding is epic and that is why you and I know it. In fact, the birding here is considered legendary in some circles, so we were really excited to hut the trails here. Upon arriving, we were initially disappointed to find out that A) It costs $32 to get in and B) All that gets you is a guided tour. In retrospect, it might just be worth it to spend a couple nights there to get full access to the extensive trail system (as well as get all your meals on site)...but we bit the bullet, and just hoped that our guide would be a deec birder.

We lucked out; we got a Jedi birder Tico (whose name was pronounced "Hainer"...Tico names were generally not familiar sounding to us) who did an ace job catering to our birdnerd group. Hainer really knew how to spot wildlife deep in dense foliage, much to our amazement, especially birds. By the time we left, we agreed that the birding was so good that it was worth the cost; it turned out that La Selva's entrance fee was the most we paid for the whole trip.

This puffbird was one of my favorite birds of the trip. Look how lovable it is.

Hainer was actually so good that after that morning we began using his name to describe miraculous bird sightings, i.e. "Dude, I can't believe you Hainered that parrot. How the fuck did you even see it? Jesus Christ." Hainers gonna hain, know what I'm saying?

One of the highlights of the trip was when Hainer left us at the end of the morning and we were thanking him for getting us on so many birds. Frank gushed to him, "Hainer, you have amazing eyes.", which totally made Hainer think Frank was coming on to him. Many laughs were had at Frank's expense for the rest of the trip.

More La Selva birds to come soon!

Puffbirds really have a unique bill shape...anyone know what their favorite foods are?

Crested Guan. Lots of these huge, prehistoric monsters roam around La Selva, be it in the deep woods or next to the cafeteria.

Guans know how to cut a pretty sweet profile.

Crested Guan bomb.

I guess its about time I posted a picture of a parrot, since this is the rainforest and all. This is a Red-lored, a very common and widespread Amazona parrot that goes all the way north into northeastern Mexico.

Frank and Stilt get crowded by a Brit photographer. This is the awesome suspension bridge that runs over the river.

La Selva was where we finally ended the trogonless segment of the trip. This is a female Slaty-tailed Trogon, probably the easiest trogon to identify in the country.

After Gartered Trogon (formerly known as Violcaceous Trogon), Slaty-tailed was the most abundant trogon of the trip.

Rufous Mourner. It looks a lot like a Rufous Piha.  Both are cool birds that are really good at just sitting around for long periods of time. Being rufous.

There it is.

You might recognize this creature better in this position, instead of hanging like a bat. It's a Two-toed Sloth.

Dipper Dan may look like he is noticing a third nipple for the first time, but its actually a tick embedded in his chest. I've been in many worse places for ticks, mosquitoes and biting flies in the U.S., but expect more than a little of your blood to be sucked out while in the tropics.