One Last Look at Costa Rica

This is my last post about Costa Rica...



This overlook was one of the hidden views most people never see unless you were a local. The path was barely used and trecherous, but worth it...








This photo was taken with a Blackberry camera phone. A bamboo tunnel greets you as you enter the resort...









Within the confines of the resort, here is the paver road leading to a restaurant and the bungalows we stayed in. What is nice about this resort is that they leave the jungle intact as much as possible.










A walkway









Here is where the restaurant tries to keep the monkeys and Coati Mundis at bay, by setting up a feeding station, offering fruits for them in the tray pictured here. Every morning after breakfast, we would visit this area and enjoy the show. (See the monkey on the roof and the coati in the foreground)









Here is a very large Angel Trumpet flower.

Let's All Go To The Beach!

I didn't want to carry an expensive camera to the beach, so I left all of my scenic shots to my lil ole iPhone. I didn't know how well it would perform, but I took the gamble anyway, and for the most part, it did o.k. The photos are 3 mg, and I did have plenty of blowout, but I am not complaining. My camera was safe, and that was all that mattered.



Playa Blanca Beach






Turtle tracks- How frickin cool is that? I wanted to come back at night to see the lil guys make their way to the water, but without a flashlight, it would have been quite difficult.













This area was our little piece of paradise at the beach. You know how beaches get soooo crowded? This one isn't and we had probably 75 feet of beachfront to ourselves!

Jesus Christ Lizard

The common Basilisk lizard is part of the Iguana Family. They have the nickname “Jesus Christ Lizard” because when fleeing from a predator, they are very fast and can even run on top of the water. Basilisks actually have large hind feet with flaps of skin between each toe. The fact that they move quickly across the water, aided by their web-like feet, gives them the appearance of “walking on water”. Smaller basilisks can run about 10-20 meters on the water without sinking. Young basilisks can usually run farther than older ones. Like most reptiles, basilisks are active during the day. Most are under a foot in length, but some may grow up to two feet. Their outstanding camouflage allows them to remain motionless and very hard to detect.



This frame was the least fuzzy photo of him running away. I can truly confirm just how fast these guys are, as not even the lightning focus-speed of the Canon 300mm 2.8L prime could keep up! It was awesome to see them running on just 2 legs! We tried to seek them out on the rest of the trip, but only found 1 other, and we couldn't get him to run out in the open for photographic purposes.

Potpourri of Tropical Birds Part 2

Rufous-naped Wren









Social Flycatcher










Spotted Sandpiper










Lineated Woodpecker

This concludes the "birdy" photos from Costa Rica. I hope you found them as interesting as I did!

Hermit Crab Huddle

Hermit Crab Huddle, originally uploaded by Hannibals Animals.

Trying to "macro" with the Canon 300mm 2.8 prime. Needed the extension tube but forgot it in the bungalow...

These crabs measured about 1/2 inch apiece.

Potpourri of Tropical Birds

Streaked Flycatcher- A pretty common bird to spot, I was sorry I only had the mindset to capture him once, as this one is on a wire.






These last 3 birds are a collection of photos taken from a bit more distance than the previous posts. I have just 1 more set of potpourri, and then I have completed my posts of tropical birds. I still have lizards and spiders coming up!



Orange-chinned Parakeet- We found this guy and his mate while going rogue. We were not supposed to be in this particular area, but the rebels we were, took the chance anyway and were rewarded with him, although it was quite distant. (We could "walk" the road, but we were in a golfcart. Small technicality I'd say...)









Yellow-throated Euphonia- Found this male on one of our guided morning birdwalks. He sang beautiful songs, hence the name...









Streaked-headed Woodcreeper- A bird found in the shadows, we saw one a few times, but always hidden from sunlight.

Click on any photo to see larger.

Groove-billed Ani

The Groove-billed Ani is an all-black member of the cuckoo family. At first glance, in my own experience, you walk right past this bird, giving it the "oh, you are just a grackle", then you find out differently and pay attention next time. Closer inspection of this bird was really cool to see! Their bills are enormous!