Costa Rica and Crocodiles

Well, we decided to take another adventure and take a small boat with a guide down the Tarcoles River with the hopes of spotting a crocodile.  We did a similar trip in Mexico but really didn’t see much in terms of crocodiles.  Well, this trip was much more successful as we managed to see dozens of crocodiles of all sizes in many locations on the river.  But, before going there, I want you to see this photo of a Scarlet Macaw that I was able to get before we even began our boat ride.  This is one of the most beautiful birds I have ever seen.

With a fair number of photos taken, we finally got into our boat and began the journey down the river.  We were expecting to be gone for about two hours with the idea of being able to see all kinds of bird life as well as the crocodiles.

First up, the Ahinga bird.  Now this is an interesting looking bird indeed.

Next was the Great Blue Heron.  We actually got to see two different Great Blue Herons during our boat trip.  I guess one isn’t always lucky enough to see this many, let alone one of them.  I took a lot of photos of other herons as well such as the Yellow Crowned Night Heron, the Little Blue Heron, the Tricolored Heron and the Boat-Billed Heron.  However, due to space, I decided to limit myself here with a sampling of bird photos.

One strange looking bird that I just had to put here is called the Purple Gallinule.  I’ve never seen this one before so it rates being included.

Now, finally, a crocodile for your pleasure.  This big daddy crocodile was keeping these Black-Necked Stilts company.  He looked rather lazy which suited us just fine.

Of course, our guide decided that he needed to show a few crocodiles in action.  So, smacking the water with a chicken, he attracted considerable attention from the sleeping crocodiles.  It wasn’t long before a few decided to check out what was for breakfast.

The big guys got awfully close to our boat.  It would have been a disaster if they would have preferred to dine on foreigners instead of chicken.

Personally, I preferred it when they stayed on the shore like this guy who seems a bit cranky.  The small white bird in the background is an Ibis.

This small bird is a Green Kingfisher, one of three types of Kingfishers found in the area.

I began to take photos of the Black Vulture when this Yellow-Headed Caracara happened onto the scene.  Maureen and I often see this bird near our beach in the early mornings, but haven’t been able to get a good photo of him.

This is a Great Egret, quite a bit larger than the usual Snowy Egrets we see on the beach or the Cattle Egrets in the fields near the town.

As we neared our starting point after seeing many more birds including a Southern Lapwing, and some Black Hawks, I got to take a picture of this Osprey.  What a treasure trove of photos for my collection.  Finally, we docked the boat and heard some music coming from the building where we booked our boat.

Maureen made friends with these two older guys and managed to get her photo taken with them.

It was time to return back to the villa.  Upon our return, one of our neighbours asked us what we thought of the earthquake.  “What earthquake?” was our response.  Well, it seems Jaco was a shaking with a 5.0 scale earthquake while we were on the river about ten kilometres north of town.  Strange indeed, as the quake was felt as far away as San Jose.  I guess we are just plain lucky.

Another day, and another adventure in paradise.