The only problem – he is not an eagle! On my first walk at Xandari for more than 2 hours up and down the hills through the jungle here I got a photo of the above bird perched on a dead tree and personally thought it was some kind of hawk. But when I got back an American woman and my Tico bellman both just knew it was an eagle. Well, there are 3 types of eagles in Costa Rica, all three rare and I quickly eliminated them with my bird book. An internet search got me to the right ID which I should have known, though all I’ve seen before now have been on big rivers. It is a Yellow-headed Caracara, (link to eBird description) a fairly common bird in Costa Rica and south through much of South America. See more of my photos of them in my gallery. He is beautiful and you can see why non-birders would think him an eagle. A couple of shots from my hike today with more photos in the coming days. Too tired tonight!
“Nature is the one song of praise that never stops singing.”
I completed my “Trip Gallery” of the 6 nights at Macaw Lodge, Carara National Park, Costa Rica. It is another fabulous nature retreat in Costa Rica and I hope you check out some of the photos I have posted. You can click the print screen image below or this web address: https://charliedoggett.smugmug.com/TRIPS/2019-06-18-24-Macaw-Lodge
Click gallery page above to visit it.
“A great photograph is a full expression of what one feels.”
— Ansel Adams
One of the best things about Macaw Lodge is the beautiful grounds! The owner Pablo’s hobby of horticulture helps! 🙂 I have already done posts on Flowers and Other Green Things,The Waterfall, and yesterday on my Cabin in the Woods – thus you’ve seen some of the grounds but here is a whole lot more photos of just the general look of the grounds and chocolate farm and in my gallery I’m adding a Trails gallery because that is a big part of the grounds, though I barely photographed trails, mostly the trail to the waterfall & spa.
Click on an image in the montage below to see it larger and/or start a manual slideshow.
Macaw Lodge Grounds
Chocolate Farm
Macaw Lodge Grounds
Macaw Lodge Grounds
Macaw Lodge Grounds
Macaw Lodge Grounds
Second Yoga Platform by Stream & Bamboo
“Bee Hotel”
Macaw Lodge Grounds
Main building, dining, etc.
Lake by main building
Macaw Lodge Grounds
Macaw Lodge Grounds
Sunrise near Cabin 10
Sunrise near Cabin 10
Macaw Lodge Grounds
One of multiple lakes
Entrance Walkway from Parking Lot
Macaw Lodge Grounds
Macaw Lodge Grounds
Macaw Lodge Grounds
Macaw Lodge Grounds
Macaw Lodge Grounds
Entrance Road Fern Trees
Main Building Entrance
Macaw Lodge Grounds
Macaw Lodge Grounds
Some kind of “Bee Therapy”
Macaw Lodge Grounds
Macaw Lodge Grounds
Macaw Lodge Grounds
Rain from Dining Room
Main Building
Rain from Dining Room
Macaw Lodge Grounds
Main Lake Spillway
Actually butterflies are everywhere!
Walking Palm Trees
Fruit Trees Orchard
Entrance Road Fern Trees
Bamboo Tunnel & 2nd Yoga Platform
One of two Yoga Platforms
Macaw Lodge Grounds
Chocolate Farm
Lake by Main Building
Yoga Session
There is pleasure in the pathless woods, there is rapture in the lonely shore, there is society where none intrudes, by the deep sea, and music in its roar; I love not Man the less, but Nature more.
~Lord Byron
See my “Trip Photo Gallery” titled: 2019-06–18-24–Macaw Lodge(finished except for a few more bird photos)
My Quick Evaluation: It is one of the better “eco lodges” and more isolated than most at 45+ minutes from a town of any size and no houses or farms nearby. The rainforest surroundings match or surpass most other eco lodge I’ve visited. The rooms are excellent as is the food, though note that you have to request daily maid service and a change of towels. And you need lots of towels because it is the hottest most humid place I think I’ve been to yet (in the middle of rainy season) and hanging towels never dry.
Birding is good or basic, not my best source of birds with one “lifer” here if I labeled the Indigo Bunting correctly. Though note that I did see a Sunbittern which is a rare find anywhere (though this photo not good)! As a comparison, I photographed 30 species here and 53 at Esquinas Rainforest Lodge and about that many at Selva Verde Sarapiqui my first trip there. But this was still good!
There were lots of lizards but I saw no monkeys or other wildlife (though supposedly there). For my morning guided birding hike they secured a local Carara Park area guide who was good but not the best I’ve had. The Muscovy Ducks on the lake are entertaining and they, along with other birds, have babies this time of year (June).
I would return here but probably not anytime soon, since I know of eco lodges that have given me more birds. It was a great location for the Yoga Retreat going on while I was there! And for anyone wanting to just “get away!” About 45 minutes from Tarcoles or an hour from Jaco Beach on a terrible road. Though not required, 4WD would be safer.
It is adjacent to Carara National Park, but on the backside, thus about an hour drive to the entrance on Ruta 34. The Lodge can arrange a driver from San Jose Airport at about $140 each way. I’m glad to answer other questions you may have about this unique place.
In these last 2 or 3 days I’ve seen a lot of the same birds but also got 5 new species shown here plus I’m adding the juvenile of the kingfisher and a new shot of a Muscovy Duck in the rain that I really like which is different from the Mom and babies I shared earlier. Enjoy!
Final Birds, Macaw Lodge
Palm Tanager
Yellow-throated Toucan
Muscovy Duck in Rain
Female Belted Kingfisher
Masked Tityra feeding young in nest
Buff-rumped Warbler
Juvenile Belted Kingfisher
Birds are a miracle because they prove to us there is a finer, simpler state of being which we may strive to attain.
These 19 photos are in addition to the bird photos I posted my first day here and of course there will be more! 🙂
There are lots of birds everywhere here, but finding them close enough to make a photo is sometimes a challenge. My guide this morning helped some since he knows the area and where some birds are often found. That will help me with the rest of my days here as I continue to find and photograph birds on my own plus other wildlife and nature. Enjoy!
Birds Today at Macaw Lodge
Lesson’s Motmot
Cherrie’s Tanager or Scarlet Rumped Tanager Cherrie’s
Rufous-tailed Hummingbird
Streaked Flycatcher
Bare-throated Tiger-Heron
Gray-capped Flycatcher
Melodious Blackbird
White-tipped Dove
Variable Seedeater
Golden-naped Woodpecker
Black-bellied Whistling Duck
Muscovy Duck Babies
Clay-colored Thrush
Golden-naped Woodpecker
Muscovy Duck Mama
Gray-cowled Wood-Rail
Black-headed Trogon
Sunbittern rushing up cliff by waterfall
Baby Something (maybe clay-colored thrush)
And I hope you saw my earlier post of the sunrise on my early morning birding hike today! Beautiful!
“Some people are very competitive in their birding. Maybe they’ll die happy, having seen a thousand species before they die, but I’ll die happy knowing I’ve spent all that quiet time being present.”
― Lynn Thomson, Birding with Yeats: A Mother’s Memoir
I wandered around the grounds when I arrived but did not make it to the waterfall today. Had a beautiful, healthy salad for lunch when I met a lovely young couple from Germany who are thinking about moving to Costa Rica. He is a photographer. They are not staying the night in lodge, just day visitors.
I am the only overnight guest here now. It is off season or rainy season and the ride up the mountain from Tarcoles is a rough 45 minutes on a bad road which discourages some, but it is really isolated! That is one thing I love about it! It is also very “wild” with rainforest noises as dark arrives (mostly frogs). It rained much of afternoon so I will explore more tomorrow. Just a few shots for today:
Birds Today
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Other Wildlife
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Grounds Shots
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My Cabin
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Only by going alone in silence, without baggage, can one truly get into the heart of the wilderness. All other travel is mere dust and hotels and baggage and chatter. ~John Muir
Sometimes I think I’m the luckiest guy in the world! Being “Retired in Costa Rica” is simply perfect for me, even if I never left my little casita and garden in Atenas! But on top of that I get to continue exploring one of the most beautiful and ecologically diverse countries in the world! And next week it is to a place that not only have I not seen, but I am yet to meet anyone else who has been there! Even my driver will be going for his first time! 🙂
I urge you to watch their beautifully created introductory nature video to see part of what I will experience next week and also as an expression of why I love Costa Rica so much! Nature! 🙂
Just click the Macaw logo below to see it on YouTube. I’ll give you their website link further down.
This small eco lodge has only eight rooms and is recommended by National Geographic Society. I expect stellar service and food along with my full immersion in the wilderness! The video does not mention birding (I don’t do yoga), but they have birding guides and multiple options for birding with of course many trails I can explore on my own. And they will be my third lodge to visit that has installed Macaw Nesting Boxes, what may save a whole species from extinction!
My current approach to trips is to stay most of a week with birding in the mornings followed by relaxation and photo processing in the afternoon with a great evening meal and early to bed. Some places are more designed for my kind of schedule and I think this is going to be one of those! And may become one of my new favorites! Now explore their website by clicking the link below:
As with most good lodges, there’s a lot to explore on their website as well as on their grounds, like their secret gardens and birding trails, their own waterfall with plunge pool swimming hole, their farm where most food I’ll eat is raised, unlimited birds, insects and other nature to photograph and much more! Six nights there will give me time to explore and discover another great getaway to which I already expect I’ll return! I love new discoveries! 🙂
Keep close to Nature’s heart… and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean. ~John Muir
For those who love birds and realize their importance in the future of planet earth, I hope you have already discovered The Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
It is from this institution or website that I have my best bird identifier, the free app available from your phone app store called: Merlin
The basic app is for North American birds, but includes for many countries, like Costa Rica, a download for free of your country-specific birds. The quickest, easiest and cheapest way of identifying birds you see or photograph.
And participate in the research and learning about birds plus create your own checklist of birds seen through their online base program eBird (also with a phone app):
I have also starting taking online classes on their website, the first of which is free and introduces you to eBird, your personal online record of birds seen.
One of their latest award-winning documentary videos is is worth seeing just the free 2 minute preview: Bird of Prey about the rarest eagle in the world in the Philippines.
If you love and appreciate birds, I hope you will learn about and connect with
This morning I received a WhatsApp Voice Message with the above photo from Rodiber, my guide at Monteverde last month. He was thanking me profusely for the autographed copy of my Monteverde photo book for himself, Costa Rica Expeditions (who service this hotel) and the hotel Monteverde Lodge & Gardens. The girl in photo is one of the several front desk persons who were all very helpful to me during my stay. I sent two copies of book, one for my guide and one for the hotel to use at front desk, in lobby or in their little loaner-library of books for guests.
Since I make a book for most of my trips or the first trip to a lodge, I usually send two books like this. I just concluded my second trip to Selva Verde Lodge and right now not planning a second book. Their two guides on my first visit plus the front desk got copies of my 2016 Selva Verde trip book.
I really enjoy surprising my hosts in thanks for a good experience with the little photo books – not something they expect nor receive from other guests. This is the first one to send me a photo with their thank-you note. A surprise for me now! My response was the typical Costa Rican response to a “Thank You!” which is ¡Con mucho gusto!“With much pleasure!” Ticos are such beautiful people! 🙂
And how about my earlier visit to this same hotel with even more birds? See the TRIP GALLERY: 2016 December 23-27 – Selva Verde Lodge, Sarapiquior click the print screen image of that earlier gallery:
