Rare birds, Carara National Park

I have to apologize for being so behind in my blogs. It certainly can't be because I was too busy since we don't go anywhere or do anything because of Covid-19. I just got plain lazy! Anyway, this blog is about events that happened back in March.

Last blog I told you that we had seen two very rare birds, seldom spotted in Costa Rica. I know you've been anxious to find out about them. They showed themselves totally by surprise and surprised we were!

It was the Tremblay sisters!!! 

So, I have known Helene and Joanne for 63 years! We were neighbours in Hull where we grew up. We've been in contact on and off all those years, sometimes going many years without talking but always taking it where we left off once we were in contact again. 

Hearing of how sick I was they decided to come for a visit this year as I might not be there the next year. Their visit was to cheer me up and give me a chance to explore a bit. They had a rented car which made traveling a lot easier and having found a rental in Atenas it was easy to go back in forth between both our houses. It was by none the best surprise I ever had and very emotional as I too had doubts that I would see them again.

The first place we visited was Carara Park which is not too far from Atenas. The park has accessible trails which were great because I didn't have to walk all the way since we could use the wheelchair.

A beautiful Mot Mot

Look how big the base of this tree is! The base is a triangle and it's for stability.

The three friends

Mourning Warbler

White-Whiskered Puffbird

Unidentified lizard

Yellow-headed Caracara

Red-legged Honeycreeper
The colour on these birds is iridescent, therefore it's really beautiful in the sun.

A mound of shaving at the base of a tree which means...

carpenter ants! They transport the wood that they chew with their mandibles from the tree in order to build nesting sites consisting of galleries. Unlike termites, they don't eat the wood.

Every time you go into nature, there is always something to discover. Like those spiraled branches.

Joanne trying out the Tarzan swing!

This is a map of the whole park. It borders the Tarcoles river which is also where the crocodiles can be seen at the bridge. There is a trail that goes to the river but apparently, there are a lot of snakes and of course the crocodiles!

One very happy woman!

I leave you with another picture of the beautiful Motmot.