Sightings of a world traveler: Costeno Beach, Colombia

Arriving at Costeno Beach (but staying in Las Brisas Tranquilla) was entering a very different atmosphere than we had been in previously. These hostels are all directly on the beach with many beds to a room or even just crowded hammocks. It has a very relaxed type of party attitude. There is always music playing and people are always drinking but nobody gets wasted or ridiculous. Most of the day people are just laying around drinking on the beach. Costeno Beach Hostal is the most well known and popular one and actually even though we were staying a few properties down we eat there most days. The food was cheap and delicious.

Costeno Beach Hostal

The beaches here are supposedly some of the best beaches for surfing in all of Colombia. It is possible that we just missed the good weather for this entirely but the waves were very very small and basically not worth surfing at all. The swimming here is apparently fine but the riptide still can pull you under pretty easily. I saw a few people wipe out just standing up to their knees but luckily nobody got dragged out at all. I can't imagine the swimming is very enjoyable because the waters are murky with sediment and the beach is quite steep in some places.

Costeno Beach

Besides the fact that I was still quite sick and so stuffed up in my sinuses that I couldn't see through watery eyes or breathe easily at all, I actually had pretty good luck with wildlife at Costeno Beach. The road is built up along the edge of the wetland of the interior and beach. Whiptail lizards littered the road in the brush dumped by the hotels along the road.

Rainbow Whiptail (Cnemidophorus lemniscatus)

The area with hotels is bordered by two rivers. The closest one is to the north and is located near a public parking lot for any locals wanting to visit the beach. There are shacks set up here serving freshly caught and cooked fish.

Costeno Beach

The other side was much quieter. There was some sort of settlement but I don't really know if it is a hotel or what but otherwise it was empty and very few people make the long trek down that side of the beach. But this is where the most number of birds is. The area was crawling with shorebirds, herons, egrets, swallows and kingfishers.

Costeno Beach

The birds were quite active in the mornings and evenings. Along the road and at the rivers were great places to see lots of birds. There was nothing incredibly interesting but still high in numbers.

Blue-winged Teal
Pale-vented Pigeon
Smooth-billed Ani
White-necked Jacobin
Black-necked Stilt

Black-necked Stilt

Black-bellied Plover

Southern Lapwing

Wattled Jacana
Sanderling

Sanderling

Spotted Sandpiper
Royal Tern
Magnificent Frigatebird
Neotropic Cormorant
Brown Pelican
Great Egret

Great Egret

Snowy Egret

Little Blue Heron
Tricoloured Heron

Tricoloured Heron

Green Heron

Black Vulture
Osprey
Ringed Kingfisher

Ringed Kingfisher

Green Kingfisher

Red-crowned Woodpecker
Lineated Woodpecker

Crested Caracara
Yellow-headed Caracara

Yellow-headed Caracara

Orange-chinned Parakeet

Tropical Kingbird
Yellow-bellied Elaenia
Blue-and-white Swallow
House Wren

House Wren

Bicoloured Wren
Pale-breasted Thrush
Great-tailed Grackle

In terms of amphibians is was quite lacking but the dry habitat and wet habitats side by side were a haven for reptiles.
Dormilona (Corallus ruschenbergerii)