Ara Project Visit in Manzanillo

Great Green Macaw
On property of Ara Project
Manzanillo, Costa Rica

 

Great Green Macaw
On property of Ara Project
Manzanillo, Costa Rica

 

Great Green Macaw
On property of Ara Project
Manzanillo, Costa Rica

 

Great Green Macaw
On property of Ara Project
Manzanillo, Costa Rica
Macaws mate for life!

 

Great Green Macaw
On property of Ara Project
Manzanillo, Costa Rica

 

Black-mandibled Toucan
On property of Ara Project (and probably stealing Macaw food!)
Manzanillo, Costa Rica

The Endangered Species Great Green Macaw (birdlife.org) (or an easier article on Wikipedia) is listed in my Costa Rica Bird Guide as “rare” or “uncommon” in just a few spots along the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica.

The Ara Project is one of the main reasons this endangered species is returning to Costa Rica. Click the Ara link to read about what they are doing in the Manzanillo area of Costa Rica with the Endangered Great Green Macaw and the less endangered larger population of Scarlet Macaws on our Pacific Coast. Habitat loss is the problem for both species and they help by providing Macaw housing in trees along the Caribbean coast. They have a hospital for injured birds or orphaned babies, but the others are all free and wild but come back “home” in Manzanillo for socializing, food that is provided, and some still use the tree houses or even hollows in trees here because it is a community of Green Macaws.

They exist in 3 other Central American countries and 2 in South America, but endangered throughout their habitat and rare or uncommon to find with fewer than 1,000 total left on earth. So I am thrilled about getting many photos here! The guided tour is set for the same time every afternoon when they are feeding which guarantees you photos. My guide was a Bribri young man named Duaro who is so knowledgeable about the birds and their services there and also speaks very good English! His Uncle Alex was my guide the next day to see birds in the Bribri Reserve (another post coming on that).

 

 

And of course there is my BIRDS PHOTO GALLERY with 200 species from Costa Rica now!

Other Animals at Manzanillo

Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth
Kekoldi Bribri Reserve near Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica
Cool! He was at eye-level right along-side the hiking path.
Closest I have ever been to one in the wild like this.

 

Central American Spider Monkey
Manzanillo, Costa Rica

 

Mantled Howler Monkey
Manzanillo, Costa Rica

 

Central American Agouti
Manzanillo, Costa Rica
Northern Tamandua Anteater
Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica
In field outside entrance to Jaguar Rescue Center
Sand Crab
Manzanillo, Costa Rica
These guys were all along the board walk between my tent & the beach.

 

Black-mandibled Toucan
Manzanillo, Costa Rica
Flying over the Ara Project grounds
Forgot him on the birds day! 🙂

See my galleries of birds, insects and other animals + people/places in my new galleries:

Charlie Doggett’s COSTA RICA  & scroll down for the folders of gallery categories.
PURA VIDA!

TOMORROW I will show you my unique safari tent hotel in Manzanillo and the following day photos of the beautiful beach right outside my tent. And finally, three days of reports on the three institutions I visited while in the South Caribbean: The Ara Project (Green Macaws), Jaguar Rescue Center, and the Kekoldi Bribri Indigenous People Reserve.

I expect to explore the Caribbean every September which is the month this rainforest area of Costa Rica has the least amount of rain and thus less hiking in mud! (Interestingly September is the month the rest of Costa Rica has the most rain.) My favorite spot in the Caribe so far is in the north Caribbean coast, Tortuguero National Park. It is a favorite place to take guests from the states, so I will go there any time of the year and hope to make it there sometime when the turtles are laying their eggs, March-May for Leatherbacks and July-October for Green Turtles. So I will never run out of something to do in the Caribbean of any other part of Costa Rica with so many parks and places I am yet to visit! The adventures continue! What a retirement!

Birds at Carara National Park

Orange-Collared Manakin
Carara National Park, Costa Rica
White-whiskered Puffbird
Carara National Park, Costa Rica

Montezuma Oropendola
Carara National Park, Costa Rica
Black-mandibled Toucan
Carara National Park, Costa Rica
Scarlet Macaw
Carara National Park, Costa Rica

Pale-billed Woodpecker
Carara National Park, Costa Rica

Blue-crowned Motmot
Carara National Park, Costa Rica

Common Black-Hawk (most likely)
Carara National Park, Costa Rica
NOTE: The front is lighter than usual, but it happens on them some.
It does not match other characteristics of Gray or Gray-bellied Hawks
Tomorrow I will post a few shots of other non-bird animals I shot at Carara. 

Tortuguero Toucans

Collared Aracari Toucan
Eating Papaya in the village of Tortuguero, Costa Rica
Black-mandibled Toucan
Tortuguero National Park, Costa Rica
Keel-billed Toucan
At Park Headquarters
Tortuguero National Park, Costa Rica
All photos by Charlie Doggett and copyrighted
It is late and I am tired as we got back home from Tortuguero at nearly dinner time and I had to water the gardens. I will add more photos from Tortuguero tomorrow and the following days. And I hope you are beginning to see why I like Tortuguero so much!  🙂    Pura Vida!


The Toucan by Shel Silverstein

Tell me who can
Catch a toucan?
Lou can.

Just how few can
Ride the toucan?
Two can.

What kind of goo can
Stick you to the toucan?
Glue can.

Who can write some
More about the toucan?
You can!