I have never seen a Green Heron with this long of a neck (or a neck stretched out this long) as most look “short and squatty.” But the coloring and everything else matched the Green Heron and eBird’s AI, Merlin, agreed! See my other photos from other times and places in my GALLERY: Green Heron. Just one photo here from when our boat floated past it on a floating log. The only one I saw close enough to photograph that day.
Green Heron, Rio Tarcoles, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
And here is how Google’s AI answered my question about this stretched neck:
“Green herons are about the size of crow, but they can extend their coiled S-shaped neck to a length equal to that of their body. This “rubber neck” helps them stretch out to catch prey, swallow large critters and position their head without moving the body.” ~Google AI
This water bird is familiar to most people in North America as he is found in all of the contiguous states and in southern Canada south through Central America and the Caribbean Islands and in the northern tier of South American countries, always on or near water. But I do see more of them down here than I did in Nashville! 🙂 You can see my collection of photos made here in Costa Rica at Green Heron Gallery (linked).
Green Heron, Tortuguero National Park, Limón, Costa Rica.
¡Pura Vida!
Trump Stops Mail from Costa Rica
The Costa Rica Post Office (Correos de Costa Rica) informed me earlier that they could no longer accept mail addressed to anywhere in the USA because of the unpredictable tariffs on all mail, including letters, with no way to charge us. Some other shipping services have also stopped sending to the U.S. like Aeropost & ARCR, though I can still receive packages from the States through Aeropost. The local Correos is now suggesting that you use the more expensive EMS, DHL, UPS or FedEx. Every day brings another reason that I’m glad I live here and not there! 🙂 The United States is being destroyed quicker than I thought they could. Below is copied from an email I received yesterday from ARCR . . .
Mail Service to USA and Canada has been Discontinued According to a September 2, 2025, article in La Nacion, due to the duties that the Trump administration has imposed on imports from Costa Rica, los Correos has temporarily stopped accepting mail and packages addressed to anywhere in the United States or Canada. This includes letter mail. It has been reported that Aeropost is following suit. The status of other mail forwarding services is unknown at this time. Check with your mail forwarding service provider.
When are Americans going to wise up and get rid of the worthless Republicans running (ruining) the United States?
Yesterday I shared photos of the Yellow-crowned Night Heron and today the other 4 herons I photographed last week on Rio Tarcoles. A very good birding river! 🙂
Water birds are impressive and numerous all over Costa Rica with most of these found in all lowland waters on both the Pacific and Caribbean sides. I never tire of river trips or wetland visits because the surroundings are always changing and even though I see some of the same birds every time, they are never the same! At Maquenque I had both a river trip and lived for 5 days on lagoons that attract the same birds in these wetlands (el humedal en español) of the Caribbean Slopes of northern Costa Rica. A birding paradise!
Bare-throated Tiger Heron Puerto Viejo & Sarapiquí Rivers, Costa Rica
Little Blue Heron Puerto Viejo & Sarapiquí Rivers, Costa Rica
Great Blue Heron Puerto Viejo & Sarapiquí Rivers, Costa Rica
Green Heron Puerto Viejo & Sarapiquí Rivers, Costa Rica
Green Ibis Puerto Viejo & Sarapiquí Rivers, Costa Rica
Cattle Egret Flying over Sarapiquí River, Selva Verde Lodge, Chilamate, Costa Rica Evening flight to roosting tree.
I did two boat trips from the town of Puerto Viejo on the two rivers that merge near there, the Sarapiqui River and the Puerto Viejo River. The afternoon trip was not bad but the morning trip had more birds and they were somewhat different birds the two times. See also my Photo Gallery of Costa Rica Birds
I chose 28 photos of 24 species of birds I want to show the world, so here is the first 14, in no particular order other than camera numbering or in the order taken. 14 more tomorrow!
Roseate Spoonbill Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
Roseate Spoonbill Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
Rufous-naped Wren Tarcoles River, Costa Rica (This is the most common bird in my garden/yard. They’re in the wild too!)
Great Blue Heron with Fish Just Caught Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
Great Blue Heron Flying with Black-necked Stilt Flying Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
Black-necked Stilt Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
Solitary Sandpiper Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
Green Heron Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
Great-tailed Grackle male Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
Snowy Egret Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
Whimbrel Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
Cattle Egret Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
Yellow-crowned Night Heron Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
Osprey with Fish! Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
These photos were all made by me on a 16 December 2016 float trip on the Tarcoles River, Costa Rica, this time with the Jungle Crocodile Safari which specializes in bird watching as opposed to a focus on crocodiles on most of the other companies. I also like Jose and the Jose’s Crocodile Tour, but his one finds more birds for you, about 35 species this trip, and provides a flyer for photo-identification of the birds. Plus if you take the 8:30 AM tour you will see more birds early AND you miss the tour bus crowds. There were just 4 of us plus our guide on our boat this time at 8:30 and when we returned we noticed that the next boat was packed full!
I still haven’t processed all the bird photos from the 2-hour, pre-breakfast float on Tarcoles River last Saturday morning. Maybe I’ll finish them tomorrow, a week after the trip to a favorite place!
Boat-billed Heron, Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
Cerulean Warbler, Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
Mealy Parrot, Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
Great Egret, Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
Green Heron, Tarcoles River, Costa Rica (I’ve many photos of them, but none like this front view)
Ringed Kingfisher, Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
White Ibis hanging out with Black Vultures, Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
It has been declared our most polluted river in Costa Rica, so birding may diminish here. But for now it is the closest place to my house I know of for this kind of birding and bird photography.
No matter how high a bird flies, it has to come down for water.
You can see all the birds in my Tarcoles Gallery or wait until the last week of March when I’ll be at Tarcoles again with Kevin this time. Enjoy these then I’ll go back to blogging about life in Atenas.
White Ibis Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
Brown Pelican Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
Green Heron Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
Northern Jacana Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
“The bird of paradise alights only upon the hand that does not grasp.” John Berry
I’ve been photographing birds in Costa Rica since January 2009 and have a special gallery of Costa Rica Birds, with more than 100 species presented alphabetically by English name.
