Next morning, Monday 28th Nov. I had a quick breakfast & headed off in torrential rain towards Guanacaste, the dry North Pacific lowland region. I would try Palo Verde Biological Station. Palo Verde National Park was established to conserve this area of vital floodplain, marshes, limestone ridges, and seasonal pools from the encroachment of civilization, which was putting the ecology of the area at risk.
Crested Caracara - caracara cheriway
Visitors can stay at the Park headquarters or at the Biological Research Station, a sister institution to the one I had stayed at in La Selva. I would try the latter first as I had been happy with them before. On the long dirt road to the Park I encountered this handsome Crested Caracara walking across the road in front of me. I duly stopped & took his picture.
Reception at Palo Verde Biological Station
When I reached the barrier at the Park Entrance the guard was a bit disconcerted that I intended to stay but did not have a booking. The Biological Station and the Park Headquarters were still some kilometres along the dirt road and he didn't know if he should charge me entrance fees which are normally included in the cost of staying overnight. I said I would try my luck & if not I would pay when I returned to exit later that day. He seemed happy with this and let me through. At the Biological Station they were very happy to accommodate me, any extra income from paying guests is very welcome.
Northern Jacana - jacana spinosa
After I had settled in and absorbed all the written warnings about snakes, scorpions and "Africanised Bees" I went for a stroll around the Station & onto a boardwalk that went out over the wetland. This is a vast area of waste-deep water meadow covered in aquatic plants, including water lilies but mostly water hyacinth. There were a few species of birds clearly visible, many Northern Jacana which looks a bit like a Water Rail with a dollop of custard cream on its forehead...
Purple Gallinule - porphyrio martinicus
...and plenty of Purple Galinules, the bird that stole its name from ours.
I decided to hire a boatman and take a trip on the nearby Tempisque River. This turned out to be a lot less productive than the Tarcoles River but I did get very good sightings of Yellow-crowned Night Heron, .....
I decided to hire a boatman and take a trip on the nearby Tempisque River. This turned out to be a lot less productive than the Tarcoles River but I did get very good sightings of Yellow-crowned Night Heron, .....
Yellow-crowned Night Heron - nyctanassa violacea
Yellow-crowned Night Heron - nyctanassa violacea
.....some White Ibis, including this juvenile
 American White Ibis juvenile - eudocimus albus ....but most of the birds were not new. In fact this was not a very productive boat trip for birds, we did see a few but they were mainly ones I had seen before... |  Coati ...but when we disembarked I came face-to-face with a large Coati in a small tree by the boat landing. We were both taken by surprise and with my large lens was unable to focus on such a large animal before he scurried away, this is an archive shot. |
Great Curassow - crax rubra
Around the Station buildings, in the gardens I picked up some Great Curassows, large pheasant-like birds that forage on the ground for fruits and arthropods. Most of the birds I see are fairly common species with stable populations, but the Great Currasow is listed as Vulnerable. Habitat loss and over hunting have reduced their numbers dramatically so it was nice to see them easily here in a safe environment.
Black-bellied Whistling Duck - dendrocygna autumnalis
As at La Selva there was a free guided walk in the morning, so at 6:30 I and a British couple and their daughter (who were on a cycling holiday!) duly showed up at Reception where we were met by Davinia the Station Head for our two-and-a-half hour tour. Davinia is a young Spanish lady, a post-graduate biology student studying crocodiles for her PHD, and as far as I could tell she runs this place. She is a very enthusiastic and highly knowledgable guide whose passion for wildlife and conservation was clearly evident. She is a very keen ornithologist, and I use that word advisedly as it is different from a bird-watcher.
We walked down to the marshes and I got a few decent shots of the Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, of which there were many.
We walked down to the marshes and I got a few decent shots of the Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, of which there were many.
Black-bellied Whistling Duck - dendrocygna autumnalis
The Limpkin makes a nice image amongst the water hyaciths. It is the only bird in its genus (Aramus) but ts closest relatives are the Crane family. It feeds on molluscs but here the apple snail makes up the bulk of its diet.
Limpkin - aramus guarauna
Orange-fronted Parakeet - eupsittula canicularis
We picked up a couple of new parrot species for my "list" in the trees, the Orange-fronted Parakeet and a nice White-fronted Parrot. Parakeets have rounded or pointed tails while the usually larger Parrots are square tailed.
White-fronted Parrot - amazona albifrons
Davinia suggested that we might take advantage of my 4 x 4 vehicle to go in search of the Jabirus. Jabirus are very large Storks, a large male can be more than 1.5m tall. The name is Tupi Indian meaning "Swollen Neck", which as you can see is quite descriptive. Davinia knew of a nest and after a wet and bumpy drive we were lucky enough to find the birds in situ. They are very impressive, their sheer size is one factor plus those enormous black upturned bills and bloated black and red neck make them an imposing sight. They use the large bill to scoop up prodigious amounts of prey, fish, molluscs, amphibians, small reptiles and even mammals are taken to satisfy that large bulk. Their numbers have recovered from the 1980's when they were threatened with habitat loss and hunting, but the species has made a good recovery and is now of least concern.
Jabiru- jabiru mycteria
Another sighting I was happy about was the Mangrove Cuckoo, it was the only one I saw and I managed to get a quick snaphot to prove it.
Mangrove Cuckoo - coccyzus minor
I was also well pleased with these shots of a Black-headed Trogon in the dry forest. A very handsome bird.
Black-headed Trogon - trogon melanocephalus
Black-headed Trogon - trogon melanocephalus
The Green Heron is a species I have seen many times before but I like this photograph, it is a good pose and composition.
Green Heron - butorides virescens
Here's another couple of birds I have seen many times, this Wood Stork wandered across the road inviting a photo, so I duly obliged.
Wood Stork - mycteria americana .......and this Roadside Hawk made a nice picture, living up to its name on a tree watching the road, like a er, hawk!
Roadside Hawk
Barn Swallows are another very widespread species, found almost worldwide although not Australia. Here they are slightly different from European birds in that the underparts are an orangy buff colour, matching the rufous forehead. The bird on the right is a juvenile, note the short tail, but the buff underpart colouring has not yet developed. Perhaps the scientific boys will divide the species one day.
 Barn Swallow - hirundo rustica |  Barn Swallow juvenile - hirundo rustica |
Finally the Scissot-tailed Flycatcher, a very elegant bird. Not actually a true flycatcher but a member of the Kingbird family, they migrate here from the USA in winter and have just started arriving in some numbers.
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher - tyrannus forficatus
