Caño Negro, Days 3 & 4

We left Selva Verde on the morning of Day 3, headed north to Refugio Caño Negro, which  is located close to the border between Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Caño Negro more or less translates as “black creek”, and is a wetland that contains rivers and lakes (lagunas), and is part of the Caribbean lowlands. We made a stop at a restaurant located at the crossroads of Muelle San Carlos, which restaurant advertises itself as an iguana reserve. Upon our arrival, the management brought out an array of fruits and vegetables, which immediately attracted a crowd of iguanas.

A good-looking lizard!

We made a few more roadside stops as birds were sighted, along with a boa that was displayed to us. The dirt road that led to the Refugio had lots of birds.

White-tailed kite

Southern lapwing

Northern jacana

Boa

Bare-throated tiger heron

Double-striped thick-knee

Roadside hawk

At the lodge and town area.

Caño Negro Natural Lodge sign, by Tom Petersen

Hot lips

Orange-chinned parakeet, by Tom Petersen

Variable seedeater

Lineated woodpecker

Laguna

The following day, we took two boat rides, first going down the nearby river, and then up, which gave access to various riverine habitats. Also, to my surprise, I saw a large tarpon roll in front of the boat.

Observation tower

Evening, on the large laguna

Bat falcon

Great blue heron

Gray-headed kite, about a quarter-mile distant

Roadside hawk

Howler monkeys

Howler monkeys

Green kingfisher, on sign warning of crocodiles

Green kingfisher

Local angler, with rainbow bass

Laughing falcon

Prothonotary warbler

Anhinga

Our main guide, Roger

Snail kite

White-tailed kite

Roadside hawk

Restaurant, at the town square

And I had some precious moments with a flock of Olive-throated parakeets that were eating palm fruits on the grounds of the lodge.

Olive-throated parakeets

Olive-throated parakeet

Olive-throated parakeets

Olive-throated parakeets

Olive-throated parakeet tears palm seeds apart

We left Caño Negro on the morning of Day 5, heading to the Arenal volcano area. As we started out, we saw this heron, sitting on a gate.

Bare-throated tiger heron

Here is the link to Part 3: https://believesteve.org/?p=16422