Shining Honey Creeper
After a restful nights sleep at Punta Leona we met Paco for our usual early morning walk around the grounds. The highlight of which for me was Paco finding a baby Fer-de-lance snake trying to eat a frog which seemed much too large for it. It was extremely well camouflaged in the leaf litter, only being obvious when it moved, a bit problematic given its reputation!
The fer-de-lance snake, also known as the Terciopelo and Barba amarilla in Spanish, is the most dangerous venomous snake in central America and really is something you do not want to mess with. They can weigh up to 6 kilograms and are often 1.2 to 1.8 meters in length.
Here is a description I found of what happens if you get bitten by one.
“Bite symptoms include pain, oozing from the puncture wounds, local swelling that may increase for up to 36 hours, bruising that spreads from the bite site, blisters, numbness, mild fever, headache, bleeding from the nose and gums, hemoptysis , gastrointestinal bleeding, hematuria , hypotension nausea, vomiting, impaired consciousness, and tenderness of the spleen. In untreated cases, local necrosis frequently occurs and may cause gangrene which often requires amputation”
Hmmm … I think I’ll give that experience a miss then!!!
Luckily, like most venomous snakes, it actively avoids contact with humans with bites generally only occurring when the snake is cornered, pursued, or threatened.
Apart from the fer-de-lance snake the early morning walk was surprisingly quiet and so we soon returned to the hotel for breakfast.
We then boarded the coach for a ten minute drive to Carara National Park and a hot humid walk around the forest. It was typical of the whole trip that birding in the dense forest was hard going with quite often only glimpses of birds, as witnessed by my lack of photographs. One of our group did manage to find a well-hidden Streak-chested Antpitta on the ground and Paco managed to get me on it which was quite a treat. Antpittas are well known for being very elusive and hard to find and are normally heard but not seen. They are strangely shaped birds often being described as like an egg on two sticks!
After another substantial lunch, well we were on holiday after all, we went on a boat trip along the Tárcoles river. This proved to be much more productive than our morning outings and I thoroughly enjoyed the much more relaxed birding on the gentle boat ride. Photography was, not too surprisingly, much easier and, as usual, I took far too many pictures of birds.
First up we drifted by an Osprey which was perched very photogenically on a dead branch. I’m believe I’m right in saying that the Osprey is unusual in that it occurs almost worldwide. There are four sub-species and this one would have been Pandion haliaetus carolinensis which is found from Alaska and Canada through much of central and south America. It differs from Pandion haliaetus haliaetus , our european Osprey, in that It is larger, darker bodied and has a paler breast.
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| Osprey |
Moving on we went by a Great White Egret and an elegant Great Blue Heron. I remember my excitement not so many years ago of finding what was then a Rare Great White Egret on my local patch. With the colonisation march of the Egret family worldwide they are now comparatively common in England.
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| Great White Egret |
Southern Lapwing
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| Roseate Spoonbill |
Further along we drifted past a Southern Lapwing which bore a passing resemblance to our European Lapwing. A Roseate Spoonbill, a resident breeder, posed for photographs as we passed by. In common with the Flamingo, their pink colour is diet-derived, consisting of the carotenoid pigment canthaxanthin. I would find it hard to describe the Roseate Spoonbill as an attractive bird, in particular its head and bill have a bizarre almost alien character. The hole below its eye, obvious in my pic, is actual its nostril, the location of which allows the bird to breathe air while the majority of its bill is submerged underwater as it searches for food.
Wood Stork
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| Black-necked Stilt |
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| Black Hawk |
More and more birds posed in model like fashion as we progressed along the river. A Wood Stork stared at us in seemingly mild amusement and a Black hawk kept a wary eye on us as we went by. A group of Black-necked Stilts fed on the muddy margin. Their long pink stick like legs, an adaption for their feeding habit, always seem so very fragile to me.
Green Heron 
Brown Pelican
Progressing upstream we idled by the river mouth where a muddy bank was home to a number of species, mainly Royal Terns with a couple of Elegant turns. In the surrounding bushes a flock of Brown Pelicans were settling down to roost and a Green Heron posed for us on a branch.
White Ibis 
Cattle Egret roost
By this time we were moving into twilight and literally hundreds of birds, mainly Cattle Egret with a few other species like White Ibis, flew along the river and landed to roost in the river side trees.
Amazon Kingfisher 
Boat-billed Heron
We still weren’t quite done with avian models to photograph as a rather bizarre looking Boat-billed Heron, instantly recognizable by its enormous, scoop-like beak, which resembles an upside-down boat (hence its name), posed elegantly for us. Its believed its unique bill helps it to trap fish, crustaceans, and insects more efficiently in the dark. We were also treated to a brief view of a stunning Amazon Kingfisher and I managed to grab a few pics.
After we docked and left the boat Paco suggested we try for Stripped Owl at a location he knew was good for them Eagle eyed Derek spotted one on perched on the electrical or telegraph wires by the road – a really stunning bird!
It was then back to the hotel for the daily checklist followed by yet more lovely food and drink. I thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon boat ride, one of the highlights of the trip for me.
The next morning Paco suggested that we forgo our normal pre-breakfast birding as the previous morning had not been particularly productive and additionally a landslide on the normal route required a 2 hour diversion to our next accommodation at Selva Verde lodge located centrally north of San Jose. After lunch at Selva Verde we spent some time at the bird feeders where male Shinny Honey creepers gave us fantastic views of this visually stunning bird. The male is purple blue with black wings, tail and throat, and bright yellow legs. The female is, in my opinion, equally attractive with green upperparts, a greenish-blue head, buff throat and buff-streaked bluish underparts.
Variegated Squirrel 
Great Kiskadee 
(olive backed?) Euphonia
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A Euphonia species, I think Olive backed, posed on a branch while a Variegated Squirrel made the most of the abundant fruit laid out for the birds .
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| Critical Endangered Green Maccaw |
During a short walk along the river two Green Macaws flew overhead while making their easily recognised extremely loud and raucous call. Paco had a good idea as to where they were headed so we boarded the coach for a short trip to a local park where we found them feeding in a stand of large Almond trees providing us with excellent views of this iconic and critically endangered central American bird. Paco explained that the nests were widely raided for the cage bird trade and their numbers dropped to just 150 birds in Costa Rica. Much stricter legal protection and, in particular, an educational program as to their eco-tourism benefits for locals, has seen their number increase to some 650 birds.
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Great photos. You made the most of your trip.
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