In an earlier post…of a couple of weeks ago…I mentioned the arrival of some unusual big birds (BDBs or Big Damn Birds) that have shown in up lately:

The American Flamingo…over on the Caribbean coast last year.

The Sandhill Crane…currently in some rice fields between Tarcoles and Quepos.

The Jabiru Stork…in the wetlands of Coto 47, maybe or maybe not still around.

Here’s a fourth one but it is much closer to San Vito. This species is NOT a rare bird, oh no. This species is commonly found, even abundant, around the the rice fields of Las Pangas and Coto 47. I refer to the Wood Stork (see below).

The Wood Stork is a very successful and wide-ranging bird, found over much of North, Central and South America. However, the Wood Stork, to paraphrase Eliza Doolittle, ‘…stays mainly on the coastal plain.’ Three Wood Storks are currently paying us a visit up in the foothills. Where are they?

Three Wood Storks were spotted in our very own Humedal de San Joaquin. Look for them behind the Marisqueria Restaurant on the road to Sabalito, near the San Vito airstrip. Peter Wendell tells me he saw it the three Wood Storks ‘…behind the church in the same area.’ These birds are unmistakable; very big, standing about a meter high.

Will the three Wood Storks stick around for a while? Who knows, who can say. All I can say is, if they are smart Wood Storks, they will stick around. Who wouldn’t want to spend some quality time, some relaxing time in San Vito?

Wood Storks; photo courtesy of Peter Wendell