Parakeets, motmots and waders in Costa Rica

Still after early in the morning of 23 March 2014, in Guanacaste province in Costa Rica. Along the road to the Pacific Ocean coast, these small orange-chinned parakeets.

Earlier, we had already seen a scissor-tailed flycatcher on a tree.

A bit later than the parakeets, a turquoise-browed motmot couple.

8:50. We arrive at salt pans near the sea, near Colorado village.

Many waders are present. Including western sandpipers. They have migrated here for winter from their nesting grounds in Alaska. They have relatively long bills. Semipalmated sandpipers, present here as well; they are the majority on the photo. They have shorter bills. They nest not only in Alaska, but in Arctic Canada as well.

A whimbrel.

A lesser yellowlegs.

Many grey plovers in the salt pan to the right.

A short-billed dowitcher in “our” pan.

And black-necked stilts.

In the next pan to the right, a few marbled godwits among a flock of willets.

To the left, a lone least sandpiper.

Magnificent frigatebirds fly overhead.

A black-necked stilt group with a willet and a lesser yellowlegs between them.

We continue to the Colorado harbour.

White-fronted parrots on mangrove trees. They are not shy. Maybe half-tame?

Laughing gulls swim in the ocean.

Turnstones sit on mangrove branches.

A royal tern sits at the end of the jetty, along with a neotropic cormorant.

A snowy egret flying.

More magnificent frigatebirds flying.

White ibises on mangrove branches.

We go back.

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