This ‘spoon billed stork’ was so close it almost doesn’t look real. This blog is mostly about our trip to Cano Negro which is a large designated national park full of birds. We actually saw more than 150 different species. The big bonus was that we traveled with three professors and 4 students from the University of Costa Rica who could identify the birds both visually and by their sound. I’m not going to attempt naming them all but I hope you enjoy some of the pictures Marilyn and I took.
Our group of 'birders'
We made the three hour trip to Cano Negro in three cars and arrived late on Friday evening. On Saturday we all got up at 5am to start our boat trip up the Cano Negro river.
Roy (l) and Mario with cameras ready
There are so many beautiful birds in the park but the river is also filled with turtles, caiman (small croc-like animals), fish, and a variety of other species.
Hundreds of caiman line the shores
This one looks like a cartoon but it's real
Our ‘birder’ friends were on the lookout for five specific species which are rare and seldom seen. They managed to find three of them in addition to the more than 150 other species (as I mentioned). Birds can sometimes be hard to see in the thick vegetation but Cindy and Roy were excellent at spotting those which were somewhat camouflaged.
We also did some hiking to a lagoon where we saw many storks and other long-legged birds of all colours. In the evening we went for a walk along the river bank, had dinner in a local restaurant and went to bed fairly early (so we could get up at 5am again on Sunday.
Roy heard about a place where there is a rare bird which can be attracted by displaying peeled bananas so we drove there on Sunday before heading back to San Ramon. They put the bananas out on a feeder and within minutes there was a variety of birds. After about fifteen minutes the one they were hoping to see did show up.
Setting out the bananas
There are two types of red-winged black birds. Some stay in Costa Rica while others migrate (from Canada)
Costa Rica's National Bird
The bird above is the Clay Coloured Thrush which is Costa Rica’s National Bird. It isn’t the most colourful but was chosen because it is an early nester and courts just before the rains. The farmers know the rains are coming when this bird starts to court and they prepare the fields.
Bird eating an orange
There are several varieties of Kingfisher birds. All during our boat trip they were diving and catching fish. They swoop straight down into the water and become completely submerged before coming up again with a fish.
Kingfisher
Hiking along the Cano Negro River
So we saw parakeets, parrots, and toucans which are, of course, the tourist favourites. See if you can spot the birds in these next pics.
This one's easy - four parrots
From Cano Negro to San Ramon there are huge fields of sugar cane, orange tree orchards, bean fields and pineapple plantations. Roy was telling us that many biology students (especially those involved with the environment) will no longer eat pineapple even though it is a huge industry for Cost Rica. The large fields planted with pineapple are mostly owned by Del Monte and other large companies. All over Costa Rica, these plantations have drained wet lands to supply the large amount of water needed to grow the pineapples. In the Southern part of the country many residents have been left without fresh water after the pesticides used on the pineapples have polluted the rivers.
Orange Orchard
Teak Reforestation Project
The sugar cane is now being harvested and processed. We came across a processing factory on our trip. The air smelled incredibly sweet.
Processing sugar from the cane
Meanwhile back at the Ranch
On Monday and Tuesday we did some more small jobs around Gary’s B&B.
Marilyn completed the sign
Bob, Mou, and Gibsin finishing the fire place
Some interesting shots (perhaps)
On our way to Cano Negro we were delayed for more than twenty minutes while two large trucks negotiated passing each other on one of the steep inclines and sharp turns. This is a common occurrence when both trucks arrive at the turn at the same time. The roads are too narrow to allow the transport trucks to turn at the same time as another vehicle (even a car coming the opposite way)
Kelly and Marilyn have been working on learning Spanish since we arrived and have now managed a vocabulary of more than 1000 words. They are both quite good at carrying on a conversation with Ticos and getting me what I need…
Sometimes the clouds get in the way of the view
Note the large thorns on this tree
These plants actually live on the wires
Lots of termite nests on the trees
Marilyn and I are flying back to Canada today and although we are going to really miss Costa Rica we are somewhat excited to continue the work on our new home in Hanley and get ready for spring. This has been an incredible trip and we have experienced so much during the past five weeks. We are especially going to miss the fun times with Gary and Kelly.
