26th.January, Birding excursion
I set out for another birding excursion early on my last full day at El Remanso. This time I did get a shot of Scarlet Macaws in flight although it is not very sharp. The mostly green Red-lored Parrotdid pose well though including one in flight. Other birds seen were a pair of Orange-chinned Parakeets, a Roadside Hawk, Gartered Trogon, Tropical Kingbird, Red-breasted Blackbird, Magnificent Frigatebird, White-crowned Parrot and Wood Stork.
On the way and better on the way back we saw a troue of spider monkeys, one of the largest monkeys in Costa Rica. If they do not like your presence they poo on you from a great height. They only missed me by a few centimeters in the open back of the jeep.
After breakfast I took a packed lunch and headed for the beach hoping on the way to finally see some capuchin monkeys. In some places such as the Manuel Antonio National Park they are used to people and become quite tame and are easily seen. I had no luck but I did twice see a pair of macaws flying over my head along the beach. However if one does not see them coming from far away there is no chance of getting a photo. There was also a whole flock of pelicans and then later a pair. Only a large black hawk kept still on a low branch long enough for a photo of him scrutinizing me with his beady eye. The so called rock pools were not really worth the name which was a pity. They were just flat rocks at low tide with no sea life. There were turtle tracks in some places but it was not a major site for turtles.