TRANSFER TO ARENAL REGION WITH A VISIT TO MEDIO QUESO MARSH AND A BOAT CRUISE AT CANO NEGRO.
WEATHER: sunshine all day. Top temp. 25C
At last, a day without rain! We had a terrific day even though we spent a fair amount of time in the bus travelling from one place to another. Our early morning sortie into the depths of the grounds of the hotel produced a few species with a couple of new species for the list. We watched groups of tanagers and the odd hummer, a Pale-billed Woodpecker was making its two-stroke drumming sound but we only a had a glimpse of it as it flew off. A Long-tailed Tyrant chased insects form a perch high up in th canopy and a Ringed Kingfisher dashed off in front of us.
A small group of Mantled Howler-Monkeys sat in a canopy near the hotel restaurant, we watched then for a while and saw them making their heavy-duty howling calls.
Msantled Howler Monkey
Howler Monkey delivering the loudest call in the natural world! Usually at 5am!!
It was before 8am when we set off for our next destination, Arenal Mountain region, but before we headed that way we made two birding stops at Caño Negro, near the border with Nicaragua.
Purple Gallinule at Medio Queso
It took two hours to get to Medio Queso a marshland with an access road dissecting it. We had had a great time there, dozens of birds were dotted all over the marsh, our list was pretty impressive.
American Pygmy Kingfisher
Wee started with an American Pygmy Kingfisher, it posed well for us as a Green Kingfisher dashed by. In the reedy swamp we found Purple Gallinule, Northern Jacana, herons and egrets, Roseate Spoonbills, Wood Storts, Green Heron, Morelet’s Seedeaters and Pinnated Bitterns.
Pinnated Bittern
Snail Kites drifted over the marsh and two of the group found the rarer Northern Harrier. Our list of species was quite impressive but we had to move on, we had a a boat cruise booked for 2pm and the drive to the jetty at Caño Negro was still an hour away.
Laughing Falcon taken by Kevin Jones
Before we boarded the boat we had lunch at a small cantina, we then walked down to the jetty and baorded. The trip last 2 ½ hours and was full of Kingfisher sightings, we listed all three of the common species, Green, Amazon and Ringed. But as we entered a secluded side canal. Looking for an Agami Heron,
Sungrebe by Kevin Jones
We also had two sightings of the Sungrebe and the photographers had a field day with that one. Not many passerines were seen in the reeds and scrub along the banks but one species stands out, the Olive-crowned Yellowthroat.
Emerald Basilisk (Jesus Christ Lizard) takrn by Kevin Jones
We saw some huge examples of Spectacled Caimen, also lots of thr Green Iguana and the Emerald Basilisk. Herons, Egrets, Rufous-naped Wood-Rails, filled our binoculars throughout the trip and just before we set off for the return journey, the captain shouted out “Green-and-Rufous”!!
a amle Amazon Kingfisher by kevin Jones
He had found a Green-and-Rufous Kingfisher, wowza! That was a very rare sighting and even the captain of the boat got excited, we all saw it perched in the gloomy bushes and had flight views of it as it moved from perch to perch. Well what away to finish the trip!!
Green heron taken at Medio Queso
Back on the bus we had a 2-3 hour drive to Arenal, with a few short stops along the way. Jason stopped the bus a couple of times to look at Morelet’s Seedeaters and for a sighting of the Nicaraguan Seedeater, an all-black bird (male) with a huge pink bill.
We also made stop for toilets at a supermarket, this was a regular stop for us because for the last few years a Barn Owl has been roosting inside the supermarket. Sure enough the Owl was there, high up on a girder.
Our last last sighting of the day was along the approach-road to our hotel, a Common Pauraque flew up off the road, but only the people in the first rows saw it.
It was late dinner, but there service was very quick and food hot and tasty, t had been along day but quite fulfilling.