Carara National Park
March 1, 2024
Bird List
Seen and Heard - 77
Total Species - 77
Carara National Park

Some old members were back in Costa Rica for a short visit. Prior to that, I heard that she wanted to do some birding. I was happy to oblige and a quick trip was suggested. It filled up immediately with people who wanted to share time with them and most importantly, get back to birding.
Carara National Park was chosen since it is an easy walk with lots of birds and easy for all of us to get to. It is necessary to log in to SINAC to create a username and password and make a reservation for entering a national park. Not an easy process. We also learned that there is a great variety of prices for guides. We were very pleased with Eliecer Mora and look forward to meeting his wife Sylvia who was very helpful with the planning.
At this time of the year, the park opens at 7 am - 8 am at other times of the year. We were all there promptly at 7 am and found our guide, Eliecer Mora, waiting for us. The paths are mostly, but not always easy walking even for people with some difficulty walking.
We saw many birds including the Great Tinamou, Crested Guan, Lesson’s Motmot, White-whiskered Puffbird, Black-hooded Antshrike as well as varieties of Parrots, Toucans and of course Macaws.
It was a Friday and we found the trails to be very crowded with tourists and their guides and could hear the traffic from the highway. We expected a hot day, but the trails under the canopy were very comfortable. I was told it is much less crowded Monday through Thursday.
After birding, we made our way to StevenLisa’s for lunch. We were all favorably impressed with the quality of the food and service as well as the prices.
It was a wonderful day with quick, easy birding. A good start to hopefully a good year of birding.
Guide: Eliecer Mora with planning assistance from his wife Sylvia Van Baekel
Marguerite

Our Guide - Eliecer
The Group

Tom has shared a link to the images he took. Enjoy.
Tom's Link to Pictures from Carara NP March 1, 2024
And the answer to the Name That Bird Challenge:
In order...
Streaked-backed Oriole
Scarlet Macaw
Baltimore Oriole
White-whiskered Puffbird
Black-headed Trogon
Great Tinamou
Black-hoodeed Antshrike
Riverside Wren
Kentucky Warbler