Corcovado — second 24 hours

I began our second 24 hours on Corcovado with a brief rest after lunch.

We met again around 2 p.m., and I photographed a Gray-capped Flycatcher (top) and Palm Tanager in a tall tree.

A few minutes later, I took another photo of a Gray-capped Flycatcher.  

We stood near the lodge watching Scarlet Macaws in trees in front and behind us.

A pair of Great Kiskadee were nesting near the lodge.  You can see a chick in the second photo.

Out along the runway, I found a nice butterfly, a Common Mangrove Buckeye.

It also had rained the second night, and again we found where leafcutter ants had dropped their loads because they were not able to follow the scent trail. All that work wasted. They will not reuse these leaves.

I found these trees fascinating.

We found four nice birds in the forest over a 20 minute period:

Sulfur-rumped Flycatcher

Black-striped Woodcreeper

Ochre-bellied Flycatcher

Black-throated Trogon

An hour later we found yet another trogon, a female Black-throated Trogon which I have put here for comparison with the male above.

We found a well-defined Jaguar track in the mud.

The Common Potoo had not moved from yesterday’s perch.  But the light was better today at 4:50 p.m. compared with 7:18 a.m. yesterday.

We reached the same beach along the Sirena River as yesterday.  This time there were crocodiles in the water and on the beach across the river.

The sun was getting low at 5:03 p.m. behind Richard.  Time to head back.  It was a great full day at Corcovado.

May 6, Corcovado runway looking west at 5:09 a.m. after another great night’s sleep in our dorm without walls.

A Bare-throated Tiger-Heron was present.

We found some tree frog eggs in puddles along the runway.

High is a tree in dim light sat a Mealy Parrot. Perhaps it should be called a scrubby parrot.

The sky was still colorful at 5:20 a.m. looking east (first photo) and west.  All are multi-photo “panoramas” with my iPhone.

A spider monkey was hanging out with a vertical tail for stability.  

Still along the runway, a Yellow-throated-Toucan preened and stared.  At Arenal I would photograph a pair mating.

Crested Guan seemed to like the edges along the runway. Here are photos looking toward both sides.

At 5:49 a.m. there was a bit of color and fog beyond the Sirena Range Station.

On both sides of the runway I photographed a bird that resembles the extinct ivory-billed woodpecker, the Pale-billed Woodpecker.

Our boat ride back to civilization was scheduled for 8 a.m., so we headed back to the ranger station.

Arriving there I photographed some distant Mealy-Parrot in a leafless tree.

Before breakfast I made a seven-photo panorama with my iPhone of the bathroom area.

Here is a single image with less distortion that shows the sinks on the left, two of the showers at the back and the toilets to the right.

The boat was quite late for our ride back. This and a long day caused our late afternoon crocodile ride to finish after dark compromising some of the bird photos late in the ride.  A wonderful visit to Costa Rica with almost, but not all, things turning out very well.

I used the time to make photos of the beach with my phone.  My two “real” cameras were packed in my backpack which was inside a large, extra-strong garbage bag.

I sat near the pile of luggage waiting for the boat.  Roger came by and with no exchange of words grabbed my huge garbage bag holding my cameras and headed to the shore.  He then carried it onto the boat, an unexpected help in the challenging waves.  

After I boarded one person still in the water lost hold of the boat and apparently three people went for a swim.  Stephen lost his glasses and one hearing aide.

Eventually we were off crashing along the Pacific.

The boat slowed a bit near some off-short rocky islands so we could take photos of the Brown Boobies.  My real cameras were packed in a garbage bag so I was reduced to using my iPhone.

 

Magnificent Frigatebirds cruised overhead.

The scenery on the ride back was dramatic.

Comparing the two photos below give a feel for how the ocean was bouncing.

We continued to another set of islands, rugged rocks, and crashing surf.  In the third photos you can spot some White Ibis.

White Ibis and Brown Boobies populate the rocks and grasses in the photos below.

When we reached the river, I took a photo of Stephen without glasses.  Still handsome, but a different look.

We approached the docks on the Sierpe River and departed the boat.

Many years (centuries?) ago spherical rocks like the one shown below were discovered in this area.  Their origin is a mystery as is the method of construction.

So ends our adventures in Corcovado National Park.  A wonderful place filled with wildlife.