Molly and I visited El Viejo for the third time yesterday, and the folks at this beautiful location never cease to impress! We had booked the 9:00 am river tour for our family, a group of eight. As always, you should arrive early and with your guide’s permission and agreement head immediately to the river for the cruise. Thus, we arrived at 8:30 am, and were the first touring boat. Our guide, Hernán Chaverri, was superb! I was the only birder in our group, but he kept everyone entranced and engaged from my youngest grandchild (age 8), the teenagers, my daughter and her husband, up through Molly and me. Thankfully, I was able to get everyone rallied early in the morning for our 90 minutes drive.
After the river cruise, Hernán asked if we would like to visit the wetlands (driving loop). He did an amazing job of moving back and forth between two cars, and keeping the non birding folks engaged. The thousands of Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks did not hurt, either! However, for me the star of the show was the Laughing Falcon. I have always waned to see this bird, and Lady Luck and Hernán’s sharp eyes came through in an amazing way!
Laughing Falcon
Other stars were …
Double Striped Thick-Kneed
Green Kingfisher
Jabiru Stork
Russet Naped Wood Rail
and finally …
Snail Kite
We finished our time a Hacienda El Viejo with a lunch in their beautiful, historic open air lodge. If interested, here are our two eBird reports:
Finally, it you are a coffee lover … purchase some Organikos Coffee! You may find this product in the El Viejo gift shop, or have the coffee shipped to the USA. While I am a Diet Coke drinker who dislikes the taste of coffee, this small company has a commitment to conservation. I had fun talking with the Organikos owner who was delivering product. Not only does this coffee grower believe in conservation, their son attended the Cornell School of Ornithology and is off now doing bird research! As always, my link to Organikos (or any company) is non sponsored.
Discover more from 365 Days of Birds
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
What an amazing trip! Thanks for all the travel advice…CR is on my bucket list also!
Thank you for sharing this, Rich! Costa Rica is on our Bucket List! Is El Viejo just for day tours (seems that way from the site)? Do you typically stay nearby?
Molly and I stay on the Pacific side of Costa Rica, which is NOT the birding norm. Most tours bird the rain forests nearer to the Caribbean and Costa Rica’s capital, San Jose. Instead we fly into Liberia, and always first visit the rain forests near Costa Rica’s Volcano National Park, which are about three hours from the Liberia Airport. After a few days at our Eco Lodge we driver to Las Catalinas on the Pacific Ocean. Please realize this is NOT a birding vacation. I do not generally hire guides and tend to bird locations on my own. I think most people hire guides.
With respect to Hacienda El Viejo, we actually just sign up via their web site for the first public tour of the morning. El Viejo provides a guide as part of one’s paid fee, which also includes lunch. The experience is 1/2 day, not a full day.