Exploring the Diverse Bird Species of Mistico Park in La Fortuna, Costa Rica
¡Buenos Días, everyone!
Today we began our adventures early in the morning. We woke up at around 4:30 AM to get a head start to our 6:00 AM bird tour at Misitco Park. I was extremely excited leading up to this tour as I am a huge self-described “bird nerd”. I was a little sad that I had not studied up on the bird species in this region of Costa Rica to better prepare myself, but I was reassured by the fact that it would be a guided tour, where they would point out all the bird species for us.
Mistico Park lies 30 minutes away from La Fortuna. It was quite a steep uphill drive on narrow winding roads toward the main reception area. Once we arrived, we were greeted by a couple of Yellow-throated Toucans that our wonderful guide Bernando pointed out to us. They are the largest species of Toucans in Central America, growing as tall as 60cm. They had a very distinct call almost like a yelp. They were hopping across the top of the canopy in search of fruits. On the trees beside them were spider monkeys who were effortlessly traveling from tree to tree with their long limbs and tails. They were dropping remains of guava fruits that they had indulged in. Bernando explained that Spider Monkeys are always on the move to look for more fruit trees. They do not stay around the same fruit tree for too long otherwise they accumulate alkaloids, which can have toxic effects on them. He noted that when the monkeys have too much fruit from the same tree they sometimes go down to the ground and eat clay to cleanse their body from the alkaloid content. In Columbia, Toucans and other birds also eat clay on occasion for the same reasons that the monkeys do. This was different than the Howler Monkeys that we observed, where they hung around the same trees for several hours taking naps in between meals. These species of monkeys are omnivorous but their diet mostly comprises leaves and some fruit. While the adults nap the young baby Howlers run up and down the trees causing mischief, similar to a human baby toddler!
We continued our hike deep into the park and crossed our first hanging bridge. There is a total of 6 hanging bridges within the park, with varying lengths and elevations. The clouds were hanging low today, but we were able to sneak a peek of Arenal Volcano. It felt very unnatural to be swinging on a bridge high above the ground, but from that vantage point, we were able to take a good glimpse of the different levels of the forest canopy.
Once we crossed to the other side we saw a pair of Rufous Motmots with beautiful turquoise tails. I haven’t seen a tail like that in my 5 years of birding! It was astonishing! They had made a home next to a creek in a burrow where they took turns incubating their eggs. So far I can confidently say that the Rufous Motmot is one of my favorite birds so far on the trip.
Moving along the trail, we heard a crashing noise of fallen leaves and branches, a family of White Faced Capuchin were hanging in the trees nearby. They seemed unafraid of our presence. Bernando explained that they were trying to scare us away by throwing branches and leaves. They were more territorial than the Spider Monkeys. Looking into my binoculars the juvenile Capuchin was staring straight back at me challenging me to a staring contest. He may seem young but he was unafraid. We decided to keep moving as we did not want to stress them out.
As we climbed higher into the mountains we saw a White Hawk resting on the top of a dead tree. He was stretching out his wings to dry them in the sun. Usually, they appear mid to late morning perching quietly above the tropical forest. From their vantage point, they are able to spot baby monkeys playing around the trees to feed on them. I was amazed at how our guide Bernando was able to spot such a bird from far away.
This got me curious as to what type of knowledge and skills were needed to become a guide here in Mistico Park Costa Rica, so I asked him a few questions to satisfy my curiosity. He explained to me that in Costa Rica to become a guide you need to complete a two-year certification process from a credited university. Given that eco-tourism now accounts for 5.1 percent of the national GDP ($1.7 billion per year), it is lucrative to become a guide where you can almost double your monthly income. In fact Cost Rica is one of the most visited countries for eco-tourism in Central America welcoming up to 1.7 million tourists per year. This is because of its unique ecology, where it holds 5% of the world’s biodiversity in a country as large as West Virginia. He then went on to mention that there was fierce competition between licensed guides particularly in peak tourist seasons during the dry months (from December to April), where he would conduct on average 15 tours per week compared to 5-7 tours per week during the off-season.
At the end of our tour, we were rewarded with a quick glimpse of a violet-headed Hummingbird nestled comfortably atop its nest. It is one of the smallest species of hummingbirds weighing only 2.9 grams. As our journey through Mistico Park drew to a close, I found myself humbled by the magnitude of nature's resilience and the imperative of our role as stewards of the Earth. In the face of daunting environmental challenges, places like Mistico Park serve as beacons of hope, reminding us of the profound interconnectedness of all living beings.
Stay tuned for the next post, where I will fill you in on the government policies and initiatives that have made Costa Rica one of the pioneers of ecotourism in the world.
¡Pura Vida!
Assma :)
References:
Diaz, G. J. (2015, December 11). Toxicosis by plant alkaloids in humans and animals in Colombia. Toxins. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4690142/
Embassy of Costa Rica. (n.d.). About Costa Rica. http://www.costarica-embassy.org/index.php?q=node/19
Garg, A. (2022, July 6). Ecotourism in Costa Rica: What you should know. The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate. https://ticotimes.net/2022/07/03/ecotourism-in-costa-rica-what-you-should-know#:~:text=Few%20people%20know%20that%20Costa,5.1%25%20of%20the%20country’s%20GDP.
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