Los Cusingos

The office where we bought our tickets from a very nice young girl who spoke some English.

Set in the countryside about 15 minutes from our rental, is Los Cusingos Bird Sanctuary or Refugio de Aves Los Cusingos. This 192 acre (78 hectares) reserve once served as the home and outdoor laboratory to the late Dr. Alexander Skutch. In addition to Skutch’s simple home, the property contains a significant parcel of land for conservation and has a network of well-maintained trails that run through the adjacent tropical forest.

Skutch moved to Costa Rica in 1941 and purchased the property that now makes up the reserve. The name Los Cusingos came from the Spanish name for the Fiery-billed Aracari, a relative of the toucan, which frequented the property. Dr. Skutch spent 60 years studying the birds of Costa Rica and wrote 40 books and many scientific papers. 

Today Los Cusingos is managed by the Tropical Science Center which purchased the property after Skutch’s death.

When we researched that park, we were lead to believe that the trails are easy and suitable for everyone young and old which made me think that it might be a good place for me to be able to enjoy nature. WRONG! Right from the beginning, the trail goes down a fairly steep hill which I knew I would have to climb back up. When we got to Dr. Skutch's house, it was under renovation so it was closed to the public - apparently, it is now a museum dedicated to his work. There are many flowering bushes in the garden which attract butterflies. We then went down to the river (Penas Blancas river) which is quite spectacular with its many small rapids. We did catch a glimpse of a beautiful Blue Morpho butterfly in flight. When the sun would hit its wings they would glow like a neon sign. Magical! 

 

I carry my oxygen concentrator in this mesh backpack.

Do not enter the river. In other words - no swimming.

I've got my oxygen on a high level but Glen had to carry me up some of the hills.
Thank God he's strong!

We then started back towards the house and I just couldn't keep climbing. Glen slung me over his shoulder like I was a sack of potatoes and carried me up the hill. We sat on a bench for a while in the garden and I started seeing a lot of beauty around me while Glen kept exploring around the area.

These beautiful trumpet flowers were in a large tree.

Not fun anymore. I'm trying to catch my breath so I can continue up the hill.
It doesn't have to be steep to bring me to my knees. 

We discovered that this black bird had a blue cap only after seeing the picture.
Blue-crowned Manakin

Very nice trails.

This one had just grabbed a small fruit.
Yellow-throated Euphonia

Summer Tanager - we see those frequently enough at our place.

A work of art!

We decided that I could not continue onto the other trail that goes further in the forest. I was already feeling weak and tired. Dammit! I hate myself when that happens. It's not my fault but it's so discouraging! I used to be so active!  Let it go, Jocelyne. Nothing you can do about it...

So after many stops along the way, we made it back up to the office. I sat on the porch and let Glen explore further. The young girl from the office was so nice. She sat with me to keep me company and answered my questions about the park. She then showed me a flowering bush right beside where we were sitting that apparently has a Green Honeycreeper's nest in it. So we got closer and there was the bird! I had never seen one. They are called green but they are more of turquoise with reflective plumage. It so happened that a hummingbird was also attracted to the flowers so it was interesting to watch the Honeycreepers trying to shoo the hummingbird away. After all, he did have a nest in that tree!

Those were the flowers on that bush that were so coveted by both species.

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird

She then called me a short distance down the road and showed me a woodpecker. It looked like the Lineated Woodpecker which we had seen at home a few days after our arrival but when I looked at the picture closely I realized that it was a Pale-billed Woodpecker which is uncommon. So that was exciting!

We were then standing around with a family that had just come into the park when a bunch of parrots (apparently they were Red-fronted parrots) all took off squawking loudly from a nearby tree. We soon saw what was causing the commotion. A Roadside Hawk flew just over our heads carrying one those parrot in his talons. The poor thing wasn't dead and I thought how frightened it must be. The hawk disappeared in the forest. The circle of life. Hard to see sometimes or to accept but that's how it has to be. Thankfully, Glen had come back from his trek and witnessed the whole thing. It's probably the only time we'll see something like that.

I was very disappointed with myself when we came back home as I realized that my walking the trails days were over. But our visit to the park wasn't a total bust. We did see some interesting birds and some beautiful flowers and plants. We don't have time to go back but I would have like to go one more time in the afternoon when the White-faced monkeys can be seen in the trees across the road from the office. We'll have to see monkeys somewhere else.

We're now in full packing mode. We are moving to Atenas in 2 days! I hope that the move will bring more adventure. Just exploring the town and the nearby beach and Costa Rica's capital San Jose will keep us entertained.