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| NORTH
PACIFIC REGION |
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| PALO
VERDE NATIONAL PARK |
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Palo Verde National Park protects a portion of what is called
the Rio Tempisque lowlands, an amazingly diverse patchwork of habitats, including
fresh and saltwater marshes; deciduous, riparian, and evergreen forests; and
mangrove swamps. With a distinctive topography featuring ridged limestone hills
- unique to this part of the country, and attesting to the fact that certain
parts of Guanacaste were once under the water - the Park shelters about fifteen
separate ecological habitats. The marshes are extremely important stopover points
for migrating waterfowl and wading birds, and during the peak season in January
and February, the largest concentrations of these birds in Central America occur
here.
From September to March some 60 species, both resident and
migratory, gather in the lagoons and neighbouring areas to feed and reproduce.
Of these, those with the largest populations are the black-bellied tree duck
with 25,000 birds, blue-winged teal with 15,000, and the wood stork with 4,000
birds. Other very conspicious bird species are the macaws, which already has
almost disssappeared from Guanacaste. Some 279 species of birds have been recorded
in the park, of which 60 are aquatic.
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This park also protects a large area of dry tropical forest
and wetlands formed by the Tempisque River. Access from the Panamerican highway
is only possible during the dry season and 4WD is recommended. Temperatures
can be high, and this climate breeds mosquitoes, but perfect for observing wetland
birds. There are trails to see the wildlife of the dry tropical forest. The
trail to the look out point offers a spectacular view of the wetlands and the
Tempisque River Basin. The most popular tour offered by the hotels is a boatrip
on the Tempisque River and the Park to see the birds, monkeys, iguanas and huge
American crocodiles.
Palo Verde is part of the biogeographic unit known as "
Tempisque River Lowlands ". This park is on the Ramsar list of wetlands
of international importance.
