Tag: Scarlet Macaw

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Birds at Carara National Park

Orange-Collared Manakin
Carara National Park, Costa Rica
White-whiskered Puffbird
Carara National Park, Costa Rica

Montezuma Oropendola
Carara National Park, Costa Rica
Black-mandibled Toucan
Carara National Park, Costa Rica
Scarlet Macaw
Carara National Park, Costa Rica

Pale-billed Woodpecker
Carara National Park, Costa Rica

Blue-crowned Motmot
Carara National Park, Costa Rica

Common Black-Hawk (most likely)
Carara National Park, Costa Rica
NOTE: The front is lighter than usual, but it happens on them some.
It does not match other characteristics of Gray or Gray-bellied Hawks
Tomorrow I will post a few shots of other non-bird animals I shot at Carara. 
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ZooAVE and Zoo of a Dinner

We visited Zoo Ave in La Garita today with Abe and Nancy Docktar and then joined Jean and Carolyn for dinner tonight at a local gringo restaurant with a Nashville Band (of retired gringos here) called “FlashBack” playing oldies. An Interesting day!
Flash Back plays for dancing at Augostos Restaurant tonight
Scarlet Macaw at Zoo Ave
Keel-billed Toucan at Zoo Ave
An Injured Toucan rescued and nursed to health
Green Iguana, one of many around the park
Wild Spectacled Owl visiting Zoo Ave
Striped Owl at Zoo Ave
Crested Owl at Zoo Ave
Emu at Zoo Ave
Great Curassow Male at Zoo Ave
Great Curassow Female at Zoo Ave
Squirrel Monkey at Zoo Ave
Spider Monkey at Zoo Ave
Helicopter Damselfly at Zoo Ave
Baird’s Tapir or Central American Tapir at Zoo Ave

Zoo animals are ambassadors for their cousins in the wild.~Jack Hanna

IMPORTANT NOTE: In 2020 this facility has been “rebranded” to eliminate the zoo concept and is now called Rescate Wildlife Rescue Center.

Follow Reagan’s Blog for his view of his visit here!

¡Pura Vida!
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Scarlet Macaws, Lapas, Guacamayo Rojo

Scarlet Macaw flying over the mouth of the Tarcoles River at Pacific Ocean.
All Photos by Charlie Doggett, Tarcoles, Costa Rica

Scarlet Macaws were the main reason I spent a couple of nights at Carara National Park, where one of the two breeding colonies of Scarlet Macaws live, the other being at Corcovado NP and the surrounding Osa Peninsula which I visited in 2009 and got a few distant photos there. I also photographed a couple of the macaws on my 2010 and first Tarcoles River Crocodile & Birds cruise. But there were more macaws this time as June and July is the breeding season. My guide for two days here was Victor Mora Shaves of VicToursCostaRica. He is not a serious birder, but knows most of them and many of their songs or calls. And he did know we could get closer to macaws in Tarcoles Village than in the national park, thus we went there first thing Friday morning where all but one of these photos were made. We returned to Tarcoles Saturday morning for a mangrove boat tour with just me and him for a lot of other birds but no Macaws except flying way overhead. A separate post on that is coming with other bird photos. I’ll also do a post of our hike in the park for tomorrow, though it was a little disappointing compared to other parks I have visited (for the quantity of birds). Well here are some of the decent shots of Scarlet Macaws, not a single great one here, but okay and typical of shots birders get. You just can’t get close like in the zoo. But no zoo shots here!

Names used in Costa Rica are  Guacamayo Rojo  o Lapa  Note that I stayed in Hotel Villa Lapas which in English would be The House of Macaws. This artwork of Lapas is between the rest rooms off the lobby area helping define their location and name: 


The blue is Guacamayo Azul and the red Guacamayo Rojo and both are Lapas.
Hotel Villa Lapas is the closest to Parque Nacional Carara.
Problem with painting is that there are not blue & yellow macaws here!
They’re in South America and more rare than scarlet. Blue or Hyacinth
Macaws are even more rare, but did live in Central America once.

Scarlet Macaw, a typical shot in the trees.  Tarcoles, Costa Rica.
The one on right is upside down, also common.
Scarlet Macaw “loving couple” – they mate for life! Tarcoles, Costa Rica.
“Double-Dating” with one upside down!  🙂  Tarcoles, Costa Rica
Scarlet Macaws in different light – Tarcoles, Costa Rica

Scarlet Macaws above the Tarcoles River Mouth, Tarcoles, Costa Rica
Colorful birds! And beautiful flying!

Scarlet Macaws inside Carara National Park, Costa Rica.
Photo made across pond with cell phone through spotting scope.
Better photo ops with the fishermen in Tarcoles!

Rainforest Alliance article “About Scarlet Macaws.”  in “Kids Corner” 

Color is a power which directly influences the soul.
~Wassily Kandinsky
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Spelling Bee and Carara National Park

All the students walk to and from
school, are clean cut, polite, friendly

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT SPELLING BEE
Tomorrow, Thursday, 30 July 2015, I’m starting the day as a “Native English Speaker” at Colegio Liceo de Atenas, the big high school near where I live, to serve as a judge and maybe to pronounce the English words for their English Language Classes Spelling Bee. They have 3 full-time English Teachers in a Spanish-speaking school! A big high school!

How fun this will be! Even though I was going to leave early on my birding adventure, I can’t turn down an opportunity like this to relate to the community! I’m trying hard to not be like most of the segregated expats who only associate with each other. I didn’t move to Central America to spend all my time with North Americans! I’m here to get away from them! 🙂 (No offense now! I still like some of you! But I sure like the culture down here better.) So I will leave for Carara at 11:00 after the Spelling Bee! FYI the school Facebook Page.    or  School Video   and    Google Images  of the school or just Google the school and you will see pages for the students to do homework, etc. You will get a report from me on this for sure!

Hope to get a better shot than this one on
my 2011 Tarcoles River Cruise as a day trip
from the Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship,
our FBN Panama Canal Cruise

CARARA NATIONAL PARK
Now for the planned trip: I have a rent car and I’m spending two nights at Hotel Villa Lapas at
Tarcoles, the closest one to the Carara Park and have scheduled a 5-hour guided tour of the park with hopes of Scarlet Macaw photos. This is mating season in the second most populous Scarlet Macaw forest of the country, so maybe some cute, cuddly couples to photograph!  🙂 But regardless, there will be many birds and much else to photograph! And if not raining too much, I will hike to the tallest waterfall in the country or at least see it from a distance at a nearby botanical gardens. I’ve done the nearby Tarcoles River cruise 3 times, but that is always another option if I get bored – ha, ha!

Tico Times article on Carara National Park

Costa Rica Bureau Page on park (not sure if it is official park page, if any)

One National Parks Page on the park (maybe not official)

A Guide Service Page     and the Wikipedia Page is good

And hopefully more than overfly shots like this one I made in 2009 at
Corcovado National Park in the South on Osa Peninsula. 

“One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.” ― John Muir, Our National Parks

And my PHOTO GALLERY of Costa Rica Birds if you want more!  🙂