Tag Archives: Scarlet Macaws

Puntarenas, Costa Rica – The Ultimate “Birding From A Cruise Ship” Port

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Costa Rica is one of the world’s great birding & eco-tourism destinations and really deserves a full land-based trip such as we did in 2013.  But if you happen to find yourself on a Panama Canal cruise, make sure Puntarenas (or nearby Caldera) is included!  Most ships will offer a good choice of eco-tourism options if you want to book with the cruise line.  Here are a few from Princess to give you an idea.

Scarlet Macaw Sanctuary, Boat Tour & Country Drive

Carara National Park, Pura Vida Gardens & Lunch

Rainforest Aerial Tram, Tarcoles River & Lunch

There is also a new Scarlet Macaw Sanctuary (not sure if this is where Princess is going now, they used to go to El Manantial) called the Ara Project.  They used to be based in Alajuela but recently relocated here.  I have pretty extensive posts on Carara & the Tarcoles River Cruise when we were there on a land trip so in this post I will give my advice for a shore excursion when you have limited time.

Puntarenas is one port where you are better off organizing a private trip.  You can sometimes recruit others to share the cost if you join your cruise’s Roll Call on Cruise Critic.  We ended up on our own but the price was reasonable even if we did pay it ourselves.  After much online research, I chose Odyssey Tours and Travel and it was an excellent choice!  The guide knew the local birds well and he took us to a great local place for lunch that had no other cruise people so it was really authentic.  They also have a tour sharing service.

In the map you can see our customized itinerary.  We started from the port (Puntarenas Excursions on the Google map), drove to Carara, spent the morning there, had lunch at that little restaurant on the beach (black line), went back towards the port stopping at the Molas souvenir shop and finishing at the El Manantial Sancturay (roughly “unnamed road”), then back to the ship.

Puntarenas

 

Warning, there is a ridiculous number of photos to follow!  I probably should have split this over 2 posts but I am trying to show you what you can do in just ONE day in this port!

Pre-dawn arrival and we were first off the ship.  Our guide picked us up and we hit the road to Carara to get to the Scarlet Macaws asap.

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We caught the Scarlet Macaws in time for breakfast.  This was a young family, we could tell by the way the young macaw kept going back and forth between his parents.  Since we had such a good view, we hung out here for over an hour.

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Reluctantly leaving the macaw family, we walked through the park looking for any kind of wildlife.

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We had lunch a bit early to make sure we had time for the afternoon program.  The food was delicious an it was only us and one other private tour group of 10 people here.  After lunch, we wandered down to the beach to watch sea birds.

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We had a quick drive through the town of Tarcoles then a quick stop where the crocodiles hang out under the bridge.  Some tour groups feed them.  Being Aussies, we weren’t all that fussed about seeing crocodiles.

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The Molas Souvenir Shop was about halfway back to Puntarenas.  They take all credit cards so I went a bit nuts here!  I would have been even worse if we hadn’t been limited for room!

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I really wanted those tables but didn’t know how to get them back to Australia.

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Enroute to the sanctuary, we lucked upon this beautiful motmot and trogon.

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Final stop was El Manantial Sanctuary.  The birds were rescued from smugglers or in some cases donated by pet owners who couldn’t keep them anymore.  You can see where the Great Green Macaws, Scarlet Macaws and Orange-fronted Parakeets have been set free but still hang around the facility to steal food from their still captive friends.  Only the species that are native to Costa Rica are set free here, others such as the Cockatoos and Hyacinth Macaws will stay in the aviaries.

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Here’s the end of the tour, a quick drive through Puntarenas and we were dropped at the end of the small market that pops up to serve cruise ships.  We did end up buying still more bird themed souvenirs!

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The ship docks at the end of a very long pier so they have a cute little train to get us back to the ship.  My poor husband was exhausted!

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I was more exhilirated after such a successful trip!

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Volunteer At The Ara Project, Costa Rica

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Do you love working with parrots? If so, we need your help! Join us for a rewarding experience working with large macaws in Costa Rica.

At the Ara Project’s breeding and release center you will see wildlife, visit a beautiful country and learn about a different culture, and meet new people. Best of all, you will make a difference in the lives of endangered macaws.

Full details are on their website.

Read about my visit to the Ara Project (prior to relocation).

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Use miles to get to Costa Rica for free and hotel points just after you arrive to get your bearing, then transfer to the project.

The Girl And Globe Visits Estación Biológica Las Guacamayas

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As much as I would like to, I can’t get to every eco-tourism lodge in the world so I am very happy to see a fellow blogger, Becky from The Girl and Globe visiting Estación Biológica Las Guacamayas.  She was lucky enough to see the beautiful Scarlet Macaw and lots of mammals!

I don’t want to steal Becky’s photos so here is one I took in Costa Rica.

IMG_0766Becky has just made an in-depth visit around Guatemala and has some great advice for anyone who is planning a trip there.

Use your miles for an award to Central America to visit Guatemala.

Hotel Punta Islita (Near Ara Project) Available With Marriott Points

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The Ara Project had been located in Alajuela for years but were recently served an eviction notice.  They eventually found a new home on Punta Islita and have been working hard to get a new breeding centre and release site up and running.  They are anticipating a “reveal” with a new website on 15 Dec, 2013.

The good news for miles & points collectors is that the nearest hotel, Hotel Punta Islita;  to their new location is available with Marriott Reward points.  It’s a beautiful property and a great place to take the whole family as there are plenty of activities to occupy those who are less interested in bird watching.

Hotel Punta Islita Spa

Hotel Punta Islita is easily accessible from both Liberia International and San Jose International airports. Local 40 minute flights service the regional Islita Airstrip, including private charters. For those who prefer to drive, Hotel Punta Islita can be reached through a good road network connecting with Costa Rica’s main cities. Land transportation takes about two hours from Liberia and about three and half hours from San Jose.  Here you see the location (red star) in reference to the cruise ship port of Puntarenas, the airport at Alajuela & the capital, San Jose.

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The most recent program involves a full partnership with The Ara Project. Jumpstarted in the 1980’s by a retired expat American couple The Ara Project is now staffed by a dedicated group of scientists, administrators, and volunteers who have successfully reintroduced close to a hundred red and green macaw specimens in three wildlife release sites in Costa Rica. Hotel Punta Islita is proud to host the program’s headquarters, donating a plot of land, a specialized aviary cage, living quarters for a biologist, and the biologist’s wages. The recently- inaugurated Lapa Lookout is an education and viewing center where guests can learn and participate in the recovery and release efforts.

Rooms start at $203 USD which is not bad for such a posh hotel.

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You will need 30,000 Marriott Rewards points for a free night here and other than the holiday season, availability looks really good!  If you are new to birding and would like to be introduced to the hobby gently, or your spouse/partner/family wants other activites while you go birding, this is a great choice!

 

An Afternoon At The Ara Project, Alajuela, Costa Rica

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Founded in 1989, the Ara Project (ARA) is a Costa Rican licensed zoological park and non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of the two native macaw species of Costa Rica: the critically endangered Great Green or Buffon’s Macaw (Ara ambiguus) and the Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao).

ARA promotes macaw conservation,  contributes to the scientific community, encourages the protection of tropical forests, and educates the public to assure the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations.

Naturally I was very keen to visit them and see how their breeding centre is run.  They have some macaws who are destined to fly free again in the wild and some who are injured or not healthy enough to survive in the wild so need to be housed in a sanctuary.  Although they have had their Alajuela facility for many years, their landlord has evicted them and forced them to find a new location.  They are in the process of moving to Punta Islita and by the time you read this, they may have already relocated.  If you want to visit them, please contact them on their website to arrange the details.

These photos are of my visit in August 2013 to the Alajuela facility which is very near the airport; with Jenny very kindly giving us a hasty tour of the Scarlet Macaws & Great Green Macaws before the heavens opened up with a torrential downpour.  It’s amazing what they can do to help these birds!  If you visit them, please be generous with a donation, even if you can’t visit, donation details are below the photos.

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Please, support our work by donating today:

Online fundraising for The ARA Project

http://www.razoo.com/story/The-Ara-Project

Carara National Park, Costa Rica

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Carara National Park in Costa Rica is one of the best places in the world to see Scarlet Macaws.  They flock to the palm trees to eat the nuts and their bright red feathers make them stand out.

GETTING THERE

First see how to get to Costa Rica using a Central America award.  Then you can either rent a car or take the bus or tourist shuttle bound for Jaco and get off at the park entrance.  You can also get a bus from Puntarenas which is a popular cruise ship port.  On a previous visit, we were on a Panama Canal cruise that stopped in Puntarenas and booked a private tour with Odyssey Tours which I highly recommend. Our guide, Alvaro from Odyssey Tours  showed up before 7am and handed us to his birding guide-Nestor who studies biology and knows birds very well. We headed off to Carara National Park to see the scarlet macaws, this is one of the rare places in the world where they are common and can be easily found. The trails were muddy because the first rain of the season had been the previous night and we were struggling to stay on our feet. My husband was the first to fall flat on his back-not hurt but got all muddy. I later fell on my side because I was protecting my camera.

Location of Carara National Park

If you are on a land based trip, I recommend you stay at Villa Lapas.  Yes, it is older and could use some renovations but if you are there for the birds, you can’t beat the location on the south side of Carara National Park and chance to see the macaws and other birds on the grounds.   You can walk to the main part of Carara from here as well if you don’t mind the heat.

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In the map above which I found on Go Visit Costa Rica, I have highlighted the path you need to follow to see the macaws.  You will need a ticket first which costs $10 at the ticket office.  Then walk or drive to where I indicated “Path to palm trees”.  Go as early in the morning as possible to see the macaws fly in and enjoy a breakfast of palm nuts.  We spent about an hour here watching a family of Scarlet Macaws fly back and forth bringing nuts to another apparently more comfortable tree to eat them.  Then we went back to the main office area and took the trail to the right (yellow highlights).  By this time it was getting closer to noon when birds tend to take a siesta so we didn’t see much, just some leaf cutter ants and a cool looking frog.

When we did the tour with Odyssey, they took us to a local Costa Rican diner for lunch, then in the afternoon we saw more birds including a Violaceous Trogon and Turquoise-browed Motmot (the one with the long racquet-tail).  A complete bird list can be found here.

PHOTOS

There’s a lot here as I just couldn’t get enough of the Scarlet Macaws!  Lighting was poor but I did my best!

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Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao)

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IMG_0766 IMG_0763The Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao) is a large, red, yellow and blue South American parrot, a member of a large group of Neotropical parrots called macaws.

Two subspecies present differing widths in their yellow wing band:

  • A. macao macao South American Scarlet Macaw, the nominate subspecies
  • A. macao cyanoptera (Wiedenfeld 1995) North Central American Scarlet Macaw

The Central American scarlet macaw is larger and has blue on its wings instead of green.

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Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao)

Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao)

It is native to humid evergreen forests of tropical South America. Range extends from extreme south-eastern Mexico to Amazonian Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela and Brazil in lowlands up to 500 m (1,640 ft) (at least formerly) up to 1,000 m (3,281 ft). It has suffered from local extinction through habitat destruction and capture for the parrot trade, but locally it remains fairly common. Formerly it ranged north to southern Tamaulipas. It can still be found on the island of Coiba. It is the national bird of Honduras.

Red – Carara National Park, Costa Rica
Purple – Tambopata, Peru
Blue – Alta Floresta/Cristalino, Brazil

Because the Scarlet Macaw has such a large range, it makes it easier to plan a trip to see them in the wild.  I have personally seen them at Carara National Park in Costa Rica (use a Central American award), Tambopata in Peru (use a nothern South American award) and Alta Floresta & Cristalino in Brazil (use a southern South American award).  Carara can also be accessed by cruise ship passengers, a great way to get your feet wet if you are new to bird watching!  Book a Panama Canal cruise that stops in Puntarenas.

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LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS PARROT

Wikipedia

World Parrot Trust

Birdlife

The Ara Project

VIDEO

The Ara Project in Costa Rica releases some Scarlet Macaws who were bred to fly free and replenish the wild population.

 The filmer cut off the best part, where the Chicos of Tambopata raid the breakfast table!

Traveling From Monteverde To Tarcoles Via Limonal

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Last week, I did a post about the various types of transport in Costa Rica.  In this post, I will show you in detail what the trip is like between Monteverde and Tarcoles (Carara National Park).

I really should have booked this online but I waited on purpose so that Cala Lodge could make the booking and get a small commission as it would have cost me the same in any case.  As it turns out, they don’t have that set up so I might as well have booked it online.  I chose Grayline because it had the latest possible departure from Monteverde and I wanted to have the early morning to visit Monteverde’s Cloud Forest Reserve.

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Although Jaco is the main tourist area in southern Costa Rica, birders would be heading to Carara National Park to see the magnificent Scarlet Macaws.  Carara doesn’t appear in the drop-down menu, nor does Villa Lapas Lodge or Tarcoles.  Just pick the closest drop-off point and explain to the driver where you really want to go.

The minibus was right on time picking us up at Cala Lodge.

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Not sure of the name of the place but we picked up some other tourists there and I loved the stained glass windows!

IMG_0754aI had been expecting that the same minibus would take us all the way to Tarcoles/Jaco and was somewhat annoyed when I found out we had to change buses in Limonal, a place I was not familiar with.

A – Monteverde
B – Limonal
Yellow circle – Palo Verde National Park

My annoyance quickly changed to excitement when we got to the restaurant at Limonal were we did the changeover.  It turned out to be a short distance from Palo Verde National Park and frequented by wild Scarlet Macaws!  Unlike the clipped-wing Yellow Naped Amazon from the other trip, these birds were free but chose to hang out here, probably to steal food left by passengers.

IMG_0769 IMG_0755 IMG_0763 IMG_0766 IMG_0767 IMG_0770I finally managed to tear myself away from them long enough to buy a couple sandwiches, chips & drinks to take on the next bus to Tarcoles.  This was a larger bus and had the free wifi which was good because the scenery wasn’t so interesting on this leg, at least not until Puntarenas.

A – Monteverde
B – Limonal
C – Tarcoles

You can see how twisty the road was from Montverde as we came down the mountain and I was really glad that I wasn’t driving.  The road from Limonal to Puntarenas was a typical highway which got narrower between Puntarenas and Tarcoles.  The driver dropped us off at Villa Lapas which is right next to Carara National Park.  I really liked the door-to-door convenience of these shuttles even if they were more expensive than public buses.  From Montverde, the public bus left way too early, around 6am so wasn’t an option.

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Great Green Macaw Reintroduction – The Ara Project

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Later this year, we will be going to Costa Rica and a few other places in Central America for birding.  One of the biggest problems facing wild birds, especially parrots which can be sold to the black market pet trade is poaching.  Organizations such as the Ara Project are trying to save what’s left of the remaining population of Great Green Macaws by breeding them and releasing them into the wild.  If you plan to be in Costa Rica, they are presently located in Alajuela but due to an eviction by the landlord they are moving to Punta Islita.

Hatched To Fly Free

Hatched To Fly Free

They also need volunteers which would not only be very rewarding but a lot of fun while you help to conserve these beautiful, endangered macaws.  More details on their website.  Don’t forget to download the  Lonely Planet book about volunteering to help you get started!