Category: Tarcoles River

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New Graffiti/Mural at Sports Park

They are replacing all the old graffiti murals that were on this sidewalk wall.
This is first one completed. The whole wall was painted black first, then tags (below),
now this over one of the tags, a turquoise scribble.
Atenas, Costa Rica

For a year or more this is what was in the above spot:

Last year in the same location.

Then early in January these “tags” were painted with the bright turquoise at far right being where the current cartoon mice reside. I hope the other tags are overpainted too. I like the mice!

-o-
Unfortunately we have Polluted Rivers in the “Green” country of Costa Rica too. Click the link for an online English newspaper article prodding the government to do more. Sad for me that this is about the Tarcoles River, the closest birding river for me and of course dangerous for the birds. The Tarcoles has tributaries coming from the big city of San Jose which is one of the problems. Be sure to see the video in the article showing all the plastic bottle caps and other junk found in the stomach of a fish. Shocking!

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Other Photos (non-bird) from Tarcoles River

Scenic Tarcoles River
Tarcoles, Costa Rica
Scenic Tarcoles River near it’s Mouth into the Pacific Ocean
Tarcoles, Costa Rica

Jungle Crocodile Safari boat
Tarcoles, Costa Rica

American Crocodile
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Paper Wasp Nest
Tarcoles River Costa Rica

Hopefully you saw all the bird photos on the last two days’ posts! Also of interest may be:

Trip Photo Gallery: 2017-07-29- Tarcoles River

All of my photo galleries on Birds       or just Costa Rica Birds

And the boat tour company we used: Jungle Crocodile Safari

Pura Vida from Costa Rica!

~Charlie

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More Birds from Tarcoles River Trip

Arranged in the order presented in the book The Birds of Costa Rica, A Field Guide by Garrigues & Dean which puts families and similar birds together.

Bare-throated Tiger Heron
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Great Blue Heron
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Great Blue Heron in an Interesting Posture
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Cattle Egret
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Snowy Egret
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Yellow-crowned Night Heron
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Great Egret (left) and Whimbrel (right)
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Whimbrel
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Spotted Sandpiper
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Mangrove Swallow
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
Groove-billed Ani
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Ringed Kingfisher
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Yellow Warbler, resident male with orange head
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
And did you see the Birds in Flight posted yesterday? Including 3 more species not included here.
Plus note that we saw a lot more birds than what I included here, just my only decent photos! 
AND this was my first time to go to and from Tarcoles on public bus. Cheap & fun! Going down was a breeze, but we got wrong info on our return bus and ended up going through San Jose, but oh well, all part of the adventure!  🙂
Trip Photo Gallery: 2017-07-29- Tarcoles River

All of my photo galleries on Birds       or just Costa Rica Birds

And the boat tour company we used: Jungle Crocodile Safari

Pura Vida from Costa Rica!

~Charlie
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Some Birds in Flight from Today at Tarcoles

Had a wild bus adventure to Tarcoles and back today with Ed Fair. More photos, stories tomorrow.

Roseate Spoonbill
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

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Magnificent Frigate Bird female
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Ringed Kingfisher
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Great Egret
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Oops!   –   Snowy Egret
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Trip Photo Gallery: 2017-07-29- Tarcoles River


All of my photo galleries on Birds       or just Costa Rica Birds

And the boat tour company we used: Jungle Crocodile Safari

Pura Vida from Costa Rica!

~Charlie
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Other Wildlife at Tarcoles this Week

Brown Basilisk or Jesus Christ Lizard
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Brown Basilisk or Jesus Christ Lizard
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

American Crocodile
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

American Crocodile
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
Green Iguana
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Spiny-tailed Iguana or Black Ctenaura Iguana
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

As always on this blog you can click a photo to see a larger version on black background.

Yeah, it is possible to sometimes see a monkey, sloth, coati, agouti, bat or other mammal, though no longer frequent on Tarcoles. People population growth reduces the animal population everywhere!

You can see all of the photos from this day trip at  2017-13-April Tarcoles Float Trip  gallery

Or see my photo collection of OTHER WILDLIFE in Costa Rica  or BIRDS separately

EASTER BUNNY?
And for Easter I have yet to see a rabbit here, though one website says there are 3 species of forest rabbits. The more common agouti twitches his nose like a rabbit, but he’s actually a rodent!  🙂

EASTER IS EITHER RELIGIOUS OR BEACH HOLIDAY FOR TICOS
Easter is purely a religious holiday here officially almost equal with Christmas in importance but purely for the focus on Jesus, not spoiling children with candy. (They spoil them other ways!) I’ll try to get some photos to share from the Easter Mass Processional tomorrow which is big deal everywhere. It used to be a “Dry Week” with no alcoholic beverages sold nation-wide, by law! Now it is up to local communities and is not enforced in the dry cantons.

Click this  One tourist guide to being here for Easter (Semana Santa or Holy Week) with a list of other major holidays included. It is important to know before visiting here because many Ticos travel for many holidays, especially this week, and especially to the beaches, meaning the highways are literally bumper to bumper. It took us twice as long as usual to get to Tarcoles Thursday because of this. I would never go to a beach during Semana Santa (Holy Week). Think Spring Break!

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Birds at Tarcoles

Great Egret
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Crested Caracara
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Yellow-headed Caracara juvenile
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Great Blue Heron with catfish
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Great Blue Heron finding fish
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Roseate Spoonbill
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Bare-throated Tiger-Heron
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Mangrove Swallow
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Tricolored Heron
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Green Kingfisher female
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Whimbrel
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
Tomorrow I will post some photos of other animals and scenery from this trip. And I’ve created a new section of my photo gallery for trips and this is the first trip to get a gallery, though I may still be working on it  when you get there:  2017-13-April Tarcoles Float Trip

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Tarcoles River Today

Charlie & Mark on Jose’s Crocodile Tour
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Tomorrow I will post some of the many birds and other animal photos made. And I think I will start creating galleries for each trip like this to also link to. Mark from Montana is visiting several towns in Costa Rica like Atenas as possible places for him to come live in retirement. We may have to build a wall around Costa Rica if these crazy Americans don’t stop trying to move in!  🙂   But in the meantime I’ll serve on the Welcoming Committee!   🙂

I’ve created a new section of my photo gallery for trips and this is the first trip to get a gallery, though I may still be working on it  when you get there:  2017-13-April Tarcoles Float Trip
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Panama Flycatcher & “Blue Boat”

Panama Flycatcher
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

For the birder readers, this is my first sighting of one of these here and in Costa Rica they are found only along the Pacific Coast. They are also seen in most of Panama. They look most like the Nutting’s Flycatcher which has more of a rufous tail and in Costa Rica is found only in the Northwest corner or Guanacaste Province and also in most of Nicaragua. 

Blue Boat
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Anytime I’m near water I look for what might be considered a “picturesque boat.” This one only barely qualifies, but really stood out against the brown water and bank with green trees. 

Anytime I have a guest who wants an easy half day adventure or birding experience, I take them to Tarcoles River, just a little more than an hour drive west of Atenas – if one of us has a rent car. My next post(s) will show more birds seen on this particular trip which I really enjoyed even if most of the birds are not new sightings. I can never get too many photos of a particular bird, only hopefully a better photo!  🙂
My BIRDS Photo Gallery, including the biggest sub-gallery of just Costa Rica Birds!

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Last of Tarcoles Animal Photos

I got a few more photos, but not really good enough to show (and maybe some of these neither!)

Tarcoles River before flowing into the Pacific Ocean, an hour+ drive from Atenas.
Adjacent to Carara National Park, the last transitional rainforest in the Americas.
Tarcoles, Costa Rica
Yellow-crowned Euphonia, Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Amazon Kingfisher, Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
Boat-billed Heron, a better photo than shown first day.
Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Royal Tern, Tarcoles River Mouth, Costa Rica
Black-crowned Night Heron, Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Snowy Egret, Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
(With trash all around him!)

White-tailed Hawk, Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Brown Basilisk (Striped Basilisk), Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
Mangrove Crab, Tarcoles River, Costa Rica

Juvenile American Crocodile, Tarcoles, Costa Rica

See also my Costa Rica Birds PHOTO GALLERY

Costa Rica Reptiles  PHOTO GALLERY
THE FUTURE OF TARCOLES RIVER?

“That’s what people do when they find a special place that wild and full of life, they trample it to death.” 
― Carl Hiaasen, Flush

I’m hoping that won’t happen to Tarcoles River, but during Dry Season it is full of tourists coming to see the crocodiles and what is worse, the government is building two hydroelectric dams upstream on the Tarcoles River. Plus it has already been labeled “the most polluted river in Costa Rica” as many Central Valley towns dump their sewage and industrial waste into it. Wildness is slowly disappearing everywhere, even in one of the “green” countries! And the lack of rain thus far in this year’s rainy season has been shocking to me!