Costa Rica Trip Report: Day 7 at Bosque Del Cabo

We were up early again today since it was our last full day and we didn't want to waste a moment of daylight. We decided to walk to the main garden and up the road a bit to check to see if the sloth was back. I still hadn't gotten a good enough sloth picture. The main garden had the usual assortment of birds, monkeys, and coatis. As we walked up to the soccer field, we could hear scarlet macaws. Sure enough, a pair was out in one of trees in really good light.




We even got a glimpse of the beautiful Red-legged Honey Creeper, but it was too far away for a decent picture. Walking across the soccer field, we headed into the jungle to look for the sloth. It was back in almost the same location as last time. It must wander off to eat and then come back to this area to sleep. Unfortunately, it was all tucked in and not moving. So, no new pictures.

After breakfast we headed back out to the Titi trail. We have had some great sightings on this trail so why not try it again. Butterflies were the highlight of this trip on the Titi trail. Color seemed to flutter by everywhere. About halfway in, we encountered our first ant swarm of the trip. Ant swarms can attract lots of birds hoping to get their fill and this one was no exception.






The rest of the hike was uneventful but we did see a Great Tinamou and a Yellow-headed Caracara along the road on the way back. The sloth was still sleeping so we headed back to the cabina to wash up for lunch. The monkeys around our cabina were putting on a show that delayed us getting to lunch.







After lunch, we planned to do the grand loop. For us the grand loop starts by walking up the road, heading down the Golfo Dulce trail through the tropical garden all the way to the intersection with the creek trail. Then, we take the creek trail back across the river and come out near our cabina. I think I mentioned it before, but this is a great loop and takes you through all kinds of habitats. Since we were walking past the sloth anyway, we stopped in again. It was finally awake and feeling photogenic.



We also encountered some Golden-naped Woodpeckers in the trees around the soccer field.



As usual, the howlers were out in the tropical garden.



We had to walk right underneath them and one of the males exhibited some angst as we did this so we didn't linger. Monkeys tend to show angst by breaking branches and dropping them or sometimes going to the bathroom. You don't want to be underneath either of these displays. As we walked through the tropical garden, a flash of white caught my eye. It turned out to be a dog which caught us pretty off guard. It was very friendly but didn't belong on the grounds. Unfortunately, it decided to follow us down the Golfo Dulce trail. We were hoping that it came up this trail from the beach and was just returning home...but no. It had decided to hang out with us and scare all the wildlife away. We tried to shake it numerous times but it would always come bounding up the trail tongue flapping and tail wagging. So, we gave up on hiking the grand loop and headed back to civilization to see if one of the staff could take it off our hands. On the way back, we finally found an obstacle that the dog would not cross....the suspension bridge. We were free at last! After this, we lounged on the deck for an hour or two and watched all the goings on around our cabina including the myriad of birds that fly by.







We signed up for the sunset walk with Phillip since we had never done a tour with him before (his vacations have coincided with our trips to Bosque so we really didn't have previous opportunities). Even though we really didn't see anything new on the tour since we take frequent night hikes, the information that Phillip provided was really informative and helped us learn more about this great place. If you visit Bosque del Cabo, do take a tour or two with the guides. You won't be sorry. We ended up seeing bats, wandering spiders, two Cat-eyed snakes, more frogs, more Pauraque, an Opossum, and a brief sprinkling of rain (only the second time all week).

After another great dinner we headed out for our last night excursion. We started by heading up to the pool to find the Masked Smilisca again. Tonight must have been spring break for them because they were out in force and the only thing missing was a keg. First, we saw this one on a bar stool checking out the other frogs.




Then, we headed over to the pool to find two frogs enjoying a dip.




Lastly, the "spring break" motif was proven by this lovely couple.




After leaving the frog festivities at the pool we headed to the small pond for our last chance to see an adult Red-eyed Green Tree Frog. From our earlier hike with Phillip we learned that due to the drought like conditions, the tree frogs just weren't coming down out of the trees. So, that would explain why we could hear them but couldn't find them. Oh well, maybe next time. We did have our last sighting of the Arnold Schwarzenegger like Smoky Jungle Frog, some marine toads, a tarantula and some banana frogs. So, as our last day ends, we reluctantly head off to bed.