South America, Day 11 - 27 Feb 2018

27 Feb 2018 – Puntarenas, Costa Rica

We arrived into port just before dawn. I awoke to a few Magnificent Frigatebirds soaring in the bay along with a Brown Pelican or two. During breakfast we saw a pair of Stingrays swimming next to the ship. Overhead on the wires a pair of Gray-breasted Martins took roost. Today’s forecast calls for clear skies and temps in low 90’s.

I was scheduled to take an Eco-Cruise on the Tarcoles River with the hopes of seeing some Scarlet Macaws. My bus was completely full with as many as 60 people and every seat filled. The 1.5 hour bus ride would take us over the Tarcoles Bridge that is famous for seeing dozens of American Crocodiles at a time.

We arrived at the Tarcoles River and filled a large touring boat that took us up and down the river. Along the way we saw many of the usual waders one would expect to see in the tropics: Green, Great Blue, Tricolored, and Yellow-crowned Night Herons, Snowy Egrets, Great Egrets, and juvenile Little Blue Herons that are sporting all whites.

Lizards were abundant, as well. We saw Giant Iguanas and Basilisk Lizards along the banks of the river, as well as the numerous crocodiles.

We spotted a Northern Jacana foraging along the river's edge, and having the flash and Better Beamer helped w/ a photograph since the sun was so shiny overhead...

I saw a pair of Scarlet Macaws fly overhead while the rest of the tour was looking at Osprey and Anhingas on the river.  They were followed by small flocks of green parakeets that are most likely Yellow-naped Parakeets. Yellow-crowned Night Herons were roosting on a downed tree in the middle of the river.

We found the first of several Common Black Hawks roosting in trees near Ospreys. Yellow-headed and Crested Caracaras were seen along the shoreline while Turkey and Black Vultures soared overhead. But, they paled compared to the numbers of Magnificent Frigatebirds flying over the river.

I spotted a golden-bellied flicker that would turn out to be a Hoffman’s Woodpecker. Great Kiskadees and Tropical Kingbirds were also seen in several locations, as well as the numerous Mangrove Swallows and Barn Swallows that foraged over the brackish waters.

Great-tailed Grackles and Neotropic Cormorants were abundant along the river, as well. Wood Storks were soaring high up and far away for pics, but were easily seen with the naked eye.

We took a cruise into the mangrove swamp and managed to see a pair of Whimbrel perched in a tree while White Ibis were roosting along the shoreline. As we moved into the mangrove areas a pair of Common Black Hawks were roosting up in the tree.

I spotted a Ringed Kingfisher and tried to get the rest of the group to look for it, but they were more interested in the Anhinga and Brown Pelicans roosting in the trees.

Another Scarlet Macaw flew over the river and I managed a few distant photos.

Another highlight was seeing a Boat-billed Heron deep in the roots of a mangrove tree, but I couldn’t get a clear view through the camera lens. A pair of Roseate Spoonbills were roosting in the trees overhead but I opted to let my boatmates get pics with their iPhones rather than try to photograph the birds with my camera system. Instead, I turned the camera on a kiskadee-looking Social Flycatcher.

We returned to the launch site and I had a few minutes before getting back on the bus. As I photographed a pair of White-winged Doves a Rufous-naped Wren popped into view. It appears similar to our Carolina Wren, with its bold white eye stripe, but this bird was almost 2x larger. Two more would appear in the same area and I would manage a few shots before they disappeared. Just before leaving a small flock of Orange-fronted Parakeets appeared in the trees overhead.

As the bus was pulling out our guide Reinaldo pointed out a group of Howler Monkeys foraging in the trees above us. I decided to stay on the bus as I was in the back seat and didn’t need to photograph them.

We returned to the ship and would pull out of port this evening. Farewell, Costa Rica. We would be at sea tomorrow while heading to Panama and the Canal.

Punta Arenas Port, Puntarenas, CR
Feb 27, 2018 7:00 AM
Protocol: Incidental
Checklist Comments:     Port
37 species

White-winged Dove (Zenaida asiatica)  2
Northern Jacana (Jacana spinosa)  1
Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)  2
Wood Stork (Mycteria americana)  2
Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens)  12
Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga)  1
Neotropic Cormorant (Nannopterum brasilianum)  6
Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)  2
Great Egret (Ardea alba)  2
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)  2
Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea)  1
Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor)  2
Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)  2
Green Heron (Butorides virescens)  2
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (Nyctanassa violacea)  2
Boat-billed Heron (Cochlearius cochlearius)  1
White Ibis (Eudocimus albus)  6
Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja)  2
Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus)  2
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)  2
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)  2
Common Black Hawk (Buteogallus anthracinus)  6
Ringed Kingfisher (Megaceryle torquata)  1
Hoffmann's Woodpecker (Melanerpes hoffmannii)  1
Crested Caracara (Northern) (Caracara plancus cheriway)  1
Yellow-headed Caracara (Daptrius chimachima)  1
Yellow-naped Parrot (Amazona auropalliata)  2
Orange-fronted Parakeet (Eupsittula canicularis)  6
Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao)  4
Great Kiskadee (Pitangus sulphuratus)  2
Social Flycatcher (Myiozetetes similis)  1
Tropical Kingbird (Tyrannus melancholicus)  2
Gray-breasted Martin (Progne chalybea)  2
Mangrove Swallow (Tachycineta albilinea)  2
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)  2
Rufous-naped Wren (Campylorhynchus rufinucha)  2
Great-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus)  2

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S44045949

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)