Day One - Dec 12
From Charlotte, North Carolina, US, on US Air, we arrived without trouble or delay at SJO in Alajuela, Costa Rica, in mid-afternoon to cloudy skies and warm temperatures. Patrick O'Donnell (http://birdingcraft.com/wordpress) met us at the airport in a borrowed sedan and we headed west and south, stopping at Orotina to see the famed Black and White Owls in the town square. With dusk approaching and light fading, we almost missed them but for the help of a vendor, whom we made sure to tip for his efforts.
Stopping at several ATM's trying to get our debit cards to work and a food market, it was just after dark by the time we drove up to Cerro Lodge (http://www.cerrolodge.net), adjacent to Carara National Park. Our host, Federico Ferraro C., met us immediately, speaking excellent English and led us to our nearby rooms. We settled in, freshened up a bit and came to the main patio and dining area for our evening meal of eggs, vegetables, beans and rice, mashed potatoes, flan for desert. Then, it was a walk around the grounds of the lodge where, despite using a Pacific Screech Owl recording, we saw two Black and White Owls and a huge Rhinocerous beetle. Both owls and beetle were impressive.
On the lodge website, the map compass should be ignored but the other information seems correct. One landmark for the turn onto the gravel road that leads to Cerro Lodge is the Guacimo Soda and restaurant directly across the main highway from the turn-off.
According to Federico, the road to Cerro Lodge is called La Barca road, for it once led to a ferry that crossed the Tarcoles River. Liz and I walked that road to its end, but that's another day.
12-13-09
You would think we'd be too exhausted from traveling to have any trouble sleeping but exciting night sounds and local dogs barking managed to break up the passing of the night. Black and White Owls, Ferruginous Pygmy Owls, and Pauraques made up the more pleasant noises. We were birding at first light and before breakfast at 7 had seen many common tropical species. Rufous-naped Wrens, Groove-billed Ani's and Great Kiskadees were common in the shrubs below the patio. Ruby-throated Hummingbirds worked alongside Cinnamon and Steely-vented Hummingbirds in the purple Verbena that edged our breakfast area. Yellow-throated Caracara's, Scarlet Macaws, Orange-chinned Parakeets, Muscovy Ducks flew over as we enjoyed our sumptuous breakfast. Locally made cheese, beans and rice, several fruits plates, including plantains on hot dog buns!, eggs and plenty of good coffee. Liz and I are not meat eaters, so we appreciated the variety of non-carne items. Supplied with abundant calories, Patrick drove us to Carara National Park, minutes away.
There we spent the morning birding on the trails that led from the ranger station. Our entry fee was $10 each; Patrick got the generous Tico discount. There was a break at midday, driving the short distance back to the Guacimo soda. Several meals of cheap but excellent birding food later, we took a side trip down Guacimo Road, which starts out adjacent to the restaurant and heads off like La Barca Road to the Tarcoles River. We found some good birds there but truck traffic from road construction became to noisy and disruptive to continue there for long so it was back to Carara for a few afternoon hours until closing time at 4. We had seen close to a hundred species before we left the National Park before Patrick drove us on to the town of Tarcoles to try a few wetland spots and get our feet on the Pacific beach. That only added to our impressive list which grew to about 122 for the day. Some of the better birds for us to see were Great Tinamou, Crane Hawk, a good variety of Antbirds, Rufous Mourner, Spot-crowned Euphonia, and two tiny birds - Northern Bentbill and Golden-crowned Spadebill.
Back at the lodge and wilted by a day in the 92F heat (32C), we opted for a light evening meal. Requested was a grilled cheese sandwich; served was pan de tostado con queso a la plancha. Having never been to the US, the cook was not bound by preconceived recipes and so we got the local cheese on a warm hot dog bun, with mayonnaise and shredded carrots. It was amazingly good and just the right amount. I tried owling for a short time that evening but didn't have any luck.
12-14-09
Because of a early side trip to Guacimo Road, the parking lot at the head of the Meandrica Trail in Carara NP had a number of cars already there. We stepped out of our own car and spied a Gray Hawk perched close by. With several groups ahead of us, birding was not very active though it's hard to complain about our first Slate-headed Tody-flycatcher, Purple-crowned Fairy and Rufous-tailed Jacamar. We finished that walk hours later and tipped the attendant at the lot who was there mainly to prevent vandalism. The temperatures were even higher than the day before by 2 pm when we said goodbye to Patrick. He was headed back to his home in San Jose to prepare for a holiday trip with his family to the States.
Liz and I passed the next couple of hours in the warm afternoon catching up on bird lists, rinsing out sweat-drenched clothing, and watching the ever present hummingbirds in the verbena bushes. Later, when the sun dropped slightly and shadows began to lengthen, Liz and I did an exploratory walk down La Barca road. It was a pleasant and inviting walk, with very little traffic so we planned on continuing that walk in the morning.
The only other guests we had seen so far was a couple from Canada who were staying at the lodge for one night and on the way to their way to the Nicoya Peninsula. They joined us for an owl walk and we found an active Black and White Owl just below the dining area but no other owls responded to the tapes I played. I don't want to ignore the Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl that roosted next to our cabin and could be heard morning, evening and often in the middle of the day. By his constant presence, he became common.