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Message: <blockquote data-quote="dwatsonbirder" data-source="post: 2816645" data-attributes="member: 92203">26/06/13 – 8/07/13Costa Rica Wildlife SanctuaryOver the next two weeks my birding was confined to the immediate area around the sanctuary, which wasn’t too bad as this included primary rainforest, river, scrub and even a beach! The reason for the restrictions on movement was due to the brutal murder of Jairo Mora Sandoval at the end of May. Jairo had been the Sea turtle conservation officer for the sanctuary, and on the night of 31st May during a night patrol he and a group of 4 volunteers were kidnapped by local egg smugglers. The 4 volunteers were eventually released after being robbed, but Jairo was not so lucky. This really brought home the dangers of being involved on such a project, but also highlighted how it was more important than ever to support such conservation projects.Our daily routine consisted of cleaning and feeding the various rescued animals, though by far the most enjoyable aspect of our day was exercising the monkeys, sloths, kinkajous and dogs in the care of the sanctuary. I was often to be found wandering around birding with a three toed sloth attached to my hips, a unique look! Avian highlights over the next 14 days included (but were not limited to): Black crowned tityra, Collaredacari, Collared and American Golden plovers, Wood stork, Band tailed barbthroat, Slaty tailed andBlack throated trogons, Grey breasted martin, Black-blue grosbeak, Common black hawk and Lineated woodpecker. The real highlight of our time at CRWS came on the 06/07 when one of our rescued clutches of Leatherbackturtles hatched! This was huge news as this was one of the last clutches rescued by Jairo and their release would be broadcast on television across the planet in his memory as an affront to those still active in the illegal egg trade.The afternoon was manic as ABC, Reuters, Channel 7 and Costa Rican television stations arrived ready for the big release. Several people were interviewed (not me as my Spanish is dire!) and we all posed with a memorial banner before we released the 83 three and a half inch long turtles back to the ocean. Understandably there was a sizable public turnout to show solidarity and Jario’s family were present, and his two younger brothers released the first two hatchlings in memory. It was a very moving moment and yet another moment that will remain with me for the rest of my days.I should mention also our day trip to Cahuita National Park on 29/06 as this was a very enjoyable trip. We left at 5am and arrived at the park just after 7:30am. This park gave us our first taste of the “true Carribbean” – that is white sandy beaches edged by palm trees and Coconuts – and also gave us great views of some fantastic wildlife. Mammals included a confiding Agouti which looked like a cross between a rat and a Reeve’s Muntjac, Two toed and Three toed sloths, but the pick of the mammals was a family party of Coati who fed along the footpath just a few metres away. These are smart looking creatures, almost raccoon like in their appearance and colouration, but with a pointy snout and shining eyes. We got great views as they moved and reeled off lots of photos, I even managed to grab about 20 seconds of video, clearly showing adults and a platoon of youngsters. I decided that I’d delete the crappy photos and keep the video, a bad move. I somehow managed to delete the video and most of the half decent photos! It would be another month before we got good enough views to get satisfactory images.I suppose I should also mention the birds: White tailed kite, Shining honeycreeper, Western slatyantshrike, Dusky antshrike, Black throated and Bay wrens, Slaty tailed and Violatious trogon (Kathi can only say how excited to see this species I was!) Yellow crowned night heron and Royal tern. Yet more quality birds, the Lowlands were delivering!8/07/13 – 10/07/13 Puerto Viejo District, Costa RicaAfter a couple of weeks at the Sanctuary we were ready to pick up the pace and really begin our adventure. We planned to head down the Caribbean and into Panama to the Bocas del Toro archipelago, then cut across inland to David, before heading up the Pacific coast and north into Nicaragua, a journey of about a thousand miles in total which we thought wouldn’t be too much of a push with the time we had.Our next stop was Puerto Viejo where we wanted to soak up some of the Caribbean vibe and enjoy some culture and explore the area a bit. We spent our time pottering about the town having drinks and a few meals out (my Rum Coconut quest was sadly unsuccessful here…) and sampling the beaches and even a bike ride. Although I was attempting to keep the birding to a minimum here, I couldn’t help but notice species such as White lined, Passerini’s and Golden hooded tanagers, Bananaquit, Green heron, Keel billed toucan and Rufous tailed hummingbird.Sadly try as I might, I totally failed not to do any birding on the day we did a 14km bike ride. We were aiming for a nearby National Park, but between the inclines, the humidity, our consumption of water, our rental bikes having only a single gear and not to mention my stops to look at various exotic species; it quickly became obvious that we were never going to make it!A stop at one of several beaches saw Kathi and I part ways, with her hitting the surf and me hitting the bushes and rainforest behind the beach. I had said that I would meet her in an hour, but my, does time fly when you’re having fun… two and a half hours later I emerged out of the greenery having added Yellow billed and Red rumped cacique, Northern barred Woodcreeper, White necked Jacobin, Chestnut rumped woodpecker, Grey necked wood-rail, Tropical gnatcatcher and Stripe throated hermit to my now quickly expanding list. Needless to say that my tardiness wasn’t appreciated, and Kathi didn’t seem to share my delight at having hand-fed Grey necked wood-rail…On the Morning of the 10th July, we said our goodbyes to Costa Rica and headed for the Panamanian border at Sixaola, the next leg of our trip included a few days in the mountains north of David – this was the part I had been eagerly anticipating since we booked our flights back in March. Would it live up to my ever optimistic aspirations?</blockquote>

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