American Crocodile

I can’t wind down my reports on Rio Tarcoles without mentioning the American Crocodile, Crocodylus acutus (my gallery link) which is what brings some tourists to the Tarcoles River, with the “Crocodile Bridge” on Ruta 34 over the Tarcoles being a popular stop for tourists to walk out over the river on the pedestrian lane of the bridge to look down on many crocodiles, often sunning on a sand bar. Warning if coming this year, they are working on the bridge, to widen it, and thus many traffic stops! 🙂 Plus you see the crocs up closer on one of the several boat tours from the village of Tarcoles. I always choose “Crocodile Jungle Safari” because they are the best boat to see the most birds, which have priority over crocs for me. Here’s 2 shots from our February 17 trip (with more in the above linked gallery) . . .

American Crocodile, Rio Tarcoles, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
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Hide-N-Seek Macaws

Well, the ones in the tree appeared to be playing “Hide-N-Seek” with us with one trying to become part of the limb! 🙂 Both the village of Tarcoles and the Tarcoles River are one of the best places to see and photograph the Scarlet Macaw, Ara macao (my gallery link), along with nearby Carara NP. And of course these colorful birds are very popular with the tourists, along with all the other parrots and the toucans! 🙂 Just 3 shots here with more from this trip in the above linked gallery.

Hide-N-Seek Scarlet Macaw, Rio Tarcoles, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
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Common Black Hawk

This is the most seen hawk of all for me, almost everywhere I go. See more of my photos in the gallery Common Black Hawk. Not super good photos this trip, but this one of him flying right above me (close) is kind of interesting! 🙂

Common Black Hawk, Rio Tarcoles, Costa Rica
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Blue-gray Tanager

There are more than water birds on Rio Tarcoles with both shores lined with forests. And this is one of the more common Central & South American birds that even comes to my garden. See more in my gallery: Blue-gray Tanager.

Blue-gray Tanager, Rio Tarcoles, Puntarenas, Costa Rica.

¡Pura Vida!

Black-necked Stilt

This unmistakable to identify, black & white shore bird, with unreal hot pink & very long legs, is found throughout the Americas and on both slopes of Costa Rica in both fresh & salt waters. See my photo collection of this unique bird in the linked gallery: Black-necked Stilt.

Black-necked Stilt, Rio Tarcoles, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
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Black Vulture Juvenile

I’ve seen many black vultures over the years here but never before a juvenile. A family of at least 3 or maybe 4 children were on the ground in the grasses adjacent the river with no adult seen near them. I hesitate to call them babies, but still pretty young with some semi-downy feathers and unable to fly. I guess the nest is on the ground in those grasses, though it seems dangerous to me, even for the larger birds. So I asked Google and its AI said . . .

“Yes, black vultures commonly nest on the ground, usually in secluded areas like thickets, hollow logs, caves, or abandoned buildings. They do not build traditional nests, instead laying their eggs directly on the ground, soil, or debris.”

Black Vulture juvenile, Rio Tarcoles, Puntarenas, Costa Rica

For a lot of photos of adult Black Vultures, see my gallery: Black Vulture

¡Pura Vida!

Bare-throated Tiger-Heron

Another common water bird on most all rivers in Costa Rica is this Bare-throated Tiger-Heron – Tigrisoma meicanum (my gallery link). Fairly common on both slopes from Mexico to Columbia.

Bare-throated Tiger-Heron, Rio Tarcoles, Puntarenas, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

Female Anhingas

We saw only females. The males are solid black and usually seen on the river. See my photo gallery: Anhinga – Anhinga anhinga. Every river and lake in Costa Rica has Anhinga’s on both slopes. Often called “Snake Bird” because after they dive into the water to catch a fish, they swim back to shore with only the long neck above water, appearing as a swimming snake. 🙂

Anhinga female, Rio Tarcoles, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
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