Maquenque Smaller Water Birds

Water birds are impressive and numerous all over Costa Rica with most of these found in all lowland waters on both the Pacific and Caribbean sides. I never tire of river trips or wetland visits because the surroundings are always changing and even though I see some of the same birds every time, they are never the same! At Maquenque I had both a river trip and lived for 5 days on lagoons that attract the same birds in these wetlands (el humedal en español) of the Caribbean Slopes of northern Costa Rica. A birding paradise!

Click Image to Enlarge

¡Pura Vida!

You may also enjoy my Costa Rica Birds Gallery 

and my 2019 Maquenque Lodge Trip Gallery

See the lodge website:  Maquenque Ecolodge

Cañon Negro Birds, Part 1

Squirrel Cuckoo 
Cañon Negro, Costa Rica

Anhinga female 
Cañon Negro, Costa Rica

Yellow-throated Toucan 
Cañon Negro, Costa Rica
Green Heron 
Cañon Negro, Costa Rica
Amazon Kingfisher female 
Cañon Negro, Costa Rica
Boat-billed Heron 
Cañon Negro, Costa Rica

Laughing Falcon 
Cañon Negro, Costa Rica

Red-winged Blackbird 
Cañon Negro, Costa Rica

Social Flycatcher building a nest 
Cañon Negro, Costa Rica

And 9 more tomorrow night, then we start on Tenorio and more from the lodge. Tomorrow (Wed.) I ride the buses back to Atenas.

And my Birds photo gallery

Herons, Egrets & Ibis at Sarapiquí

Bare-throated Tiger Heron
Puerto Viejo & Sarapiquí Rivers, Costa Rica

Little Blue Heron
Puerto Viejo & Sarapiquí Rivers, Costa Rica

Great Blue Heron
Puerto Viejo & Sarapiquí Rivers, Costa Rica

Green Heron
Puerto Viejo & Sarapiquí Rivers, Costa Rica

Green Ibis
Puerto Viejo & Sarapiquí Rivers, Costa Rica

Cattle Egret
Flying over Sarapiquí River, Selva Verde Lodge, Chilamate, Costa Rica
Evening flight to roosting tree.

I did two boat trips from the town of Puerto Viejo on the two rivers that merge near there, the Sarapiqui River and the Puerto Viejo River. The afternoon trip was not bad but the morning trip had more birds and they were somewhat different birds the two times. 

See also my Photo Gallery of Costa Rica Birds

Tarcoles Birds – Post 1 of 2

I chose 28 photos of 24 species of birds I want to show the world, so here is the first 14, in no particular order other than camera numbering or in the order taken. 14 more tomorrow!

Roseate Spoonbill
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Roseate Spoonbill
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Rufous-naped Wren
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
(This is the most common bird in my garden/yard. They’re in the wild too!)

Great Blue Heron with Fish Just Caught
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Great Blue Heron Flying with Black-necked Stilt Flying
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Black-necked Stilt
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Solitary Sandpiper
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
Green Heron
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Great-tailed Grackle male
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Snowy Egret
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Whimbrel
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Cattle Egret
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Yellow-crowned Night Heron
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Osprey with Fish!
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

These photos were all made by me on a 16 December 2016 float trip on the Tarcoles River, Costa Rica, this time with the Jungle Crocodile Safari which specializes in bird watching as opposed to a focus on crocodiles on most of the other companies. I also like Jose and the Jose’s Crocodile Tour, but his one finds more birds for you, about 35 species this trip, and provides a flyer for photo-identification of the birds. Plus if you take the 8:30 AM tour you will see more birds early AND you miss the tour bus crowds. There were just 4 of us plus our guide on our boat this time at 8:30 and when we returned we noticed that the next boat was packed full!

14 more bird photos tomorrow from this same trip.

And my constantly growing BIRDS Photo Gallery online

Egrets & Herons in Nicaragua

Snowy Egret flies in to Tricolored Heron
Selva Negra Mountain Resort, Nicaragua

Little Blue Heron,  Lake Nicaragua at Granada

Green Heron, Lake Nicaragua at Granada

Black-crowned Night Heron, Lake Nicaragua at Granada

Bare-throated Tiger Heron, Lake Nicaragua at Granada

Tricolored Heron, Lake Nicaragua at Granada

Snowy Egret, Lake Apanas, Jinotega, Nicaragua

Snowy Egret, Lake Apanas, Jinotega, Nicaragua

Great Egret, Lake Apanas, Jinotega, Nicaragua

“Patience” is what the egrets and herons seem to say to me! 


The end of a thing is better than its beginning; The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

~Ecclesiastes 7:8 NKJV

First 9 Birds from Tarcoles River

I still haven’t processed all the bird photos from the 2-hour, pre-breakfast float on Tarcoles River last Saturday morning. Maybe I’ll finish them tomorrow, a week after the trip to a favorite place!

Boat-billed Heron, Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
Cerulean Warbler, Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Mealy Parrot, Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
Great Egret, Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Green Heron,  Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
(I’ve many photos of them, but none like this front view)

Ringed Kingfisher, Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
White Ibis hanging out with Black Vultures, Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Black Vulture, Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
Wikipedia on Tarcoles River
It has been declared our most polluted river in Costa Rica, so birding may diminish here. But for now it is the closest place to my house I know of for this kind of birding and bird photography. 
No matter how high a bird flies, it has to come down for water.

MORE BIRDS TOMORROW!

Last 4 Tarcoles Birds

You can see all the birds in my Tarcoles Gallery or wait until the last week of March when I’ll be at Tarcoles again with Kevin this time. Enjoy these then I’ll go back to blogging about life in Atenas.

White Ibis
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Brown Pelican
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Green Heron
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
Northern Jacana
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
“The bird of paradise alights only upon the hand that does not grasp.”
John Berry
My Trip Advisor Review of this trip with photos!

I’ve been photographing birds in Costa Rica since January 2009 and have a special gallery of Costa Rica Birds, with more than 100 species presented alphabetically by English name.