Blog 7 A visit to the Rio Ora Estero

The other morning, while friend Wendy surfed at Playa Camaronal, I again explored the lower reaches of the Rio Ora where it meets the sea. Estuaries are amazing places where fresh water gently meets salt and is blended by the tides creating an rich environment of brackish water—a special mix in which many animals thrive. Mangroves grow well here too and provide cover to birds and mammals above the water and critical habitat to young fishes under the water where the roots dip and reach in to the muddy sand.
I arrived with camera and binoculars just as the sun was breaking over the mountains which is bewitching time for many birds and other animals. This is of course when birds’ songs peak and their calling and trilling allow me to find them more easily. On this day, I didn’t see as many birds as I hoped and I did not have the privilege of seeing the endangered Neotropical river otter again, but I did catch a glimpse of a most remarkable bird: the Long Tailed Manakin. It truly was a glimpse and my quickly shot photos of them feeding high in a fig tree, are unfortunately not worthy of posting.  But if you have the inclination, this is a bird worth googling for sure.
Awkward and gangly roseate spoonbills are another fascinating bird to see. They use their wide bill to sift through the bottom river sediments to catch small crustaceans which give them their startling color, just like more familiar flamingoes do. This small flock flew past and landed in a large dormant tree where they preened and napped for an hour or so.

Herons and egrets can be found all over Costa Rica, anywhere there is water. Bare-throated Tiger Herons are well named and stand motionless in shallow water waiting for fish to swim by which they spear with their strong, sharp beaks.

This Snowy Egret is in its breeding plumage. The long feathers on this bird were so desirable for Victorian hat making at the turn of the century that they were hunted to near extinction. They've made a strong comeback in many areas and are relatively common in waterways and along the coast.

So far, I have seen these incredible Malachite Green butterflies only under mango trees where they are feeding on fallen fruit, but this one was on the forest floor litter, perhaps lapping minerals from a dry stream bed.

I walked as far as I could on a narrow riverside trail that fishermen use to get from village to the beach and stopped where it cut inland up through a narrow quebrada which will become a lively stream again once the rains return.

As I turned around to return to the estero, I was surprised to find myself right under a howler monkey troop. It is wise to always look all around you as you move through this country if you want to see things since they are not always in front of you! I would have walked back unawares had not the largest male announced me with his loud guttural growl.

This set up a whole conversation (probably commenting on my rude intrusion) between all of the males who called and howled back in forth, long after I retreated to the river and headed back to the beach. An early naturalist described the howler’s call like a battle between a dragon and a jaguar and I can tell you that that is a perfect description of the sounds that followed me down the shores of the Rio Ora.