We were originally looking to get a photo of the long-tailed manakin , and never intended to get so deep into the bush-- or to do a video hike. We did get the photo, and also ran into a troupe of white-faced coati, the ubiquitous agouti, but fortunately no vipers or fer-du-lance.
23 May, 2011
Carara National Park, Quepos, Manuel Antonio Park
Carara National Park lies between rain-forest hills and the (seasonally) drier coastal plain. This well-preserved "transitional" forest harbors a great diversity of animal life for its modest size. What was striking to us was how much more prominent reptiles were here than in other areas we visited-- including this eyelash viper below that had ensconced itself in the hinge of the ladies latrine!
The Pacific Coast around Quepos is fairly rocky,
but our resort, Arenas del Mar, had two great sandy beaches . . .
. . . along with lots of colorful tropical land crabs . . .
. . . and iguanas of varying size (who, incidentally, like to eat tropical land crabs).
After trudging through a variety of ecosystems looking for birds, we decided to take a break and go for a boat ride and a secluded swim in a lagoon inside Manuel Antonio Park . . .
. . . and of course ended up doing some more birding (female frigate birds roosting, below, a sight rarely seen on the mainland) . . .
. . . and at the oddly patriotic rock that makes up one of las gemellas, or "twins" . . .
. . . we saw these lovely bridled terns and a brown booby.
But it wasn't all birds. We did see a few dolphins . . .
. . . and more than a few white-faced capuchin monkeys to say adios as we departed.
. . . along with lots of colorful tropical land crabs . . .
. . . and iguanas of varying size (who, incidentally, like to eat tropical land crabs).
After trudging through a variety of ecosystems looking for birds, we decided to take a break and go for a boat ride and a secluded swim in a lagoon inside Manuel Antonio Park . . .. . . and of course ended up doing some more birding (female frigate birds roosting, below, a sight rarely seen on the mainland) . . .
. . . and at the oddly patriotic rock that makes up one of las gemellas, or "twins" . . .
. . . we saw these lovely bridled terns and a brown booby.
But it wasn't all birds. We did see a few dolphins . . .
. . . and more than a few white-faced capuchin monkeys to say adios as we departed.
11 May, 2011
Urban Birding
Armed only with cameras, we set out on a day of birding when spring had officially declared itself in Minneapolis. We were rewarded with 80+ temperatures and 48 bird species within a 2 mile radius of our downtown loft.
Some of our favorite spots were this Scarlet Tanager, which is usually only found in mature forest, rarely in urban areas....
The most-welcome harbinger of summer, the Baltimore Oriole....
A Cooper's Hawk making a nest in the middle of a city....
And a pair of Wood Ducks, among the most beautiful of ducks.
The entire species list is as follows: Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Mallard, Canada Goose, Wood Duck, Ring-billed Gull, Cooper's Hawk, Bald Eagle, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Northern Flicker, Downey Woodpecker, Eastern Phoebe, Great Crested Flycatcher, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, American Crow, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Chimney Swift, Barn Swallow, Cliff Swallow, Black-capped Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, House Wren, American Robin, Swainson's Thrush, Grey Catbird, Brown Thrasher, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, American Redstart, Common Yellowthroat, Scarlet Tanager, Northern Cardinal, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Chipping Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, House Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, European Starling, Baltimore Oriole, House Finch, American Goldfinch.
We also ran across this raccoon, who seemed a little sheepish at being caught in the open before dark.
09 May, 2011
Images of Vancouver Island
The aptly named Miracle Beach, where we found solitude, bracing onshore winds, hundreds of wigeons (and the odd shoveler) in the surf . . . and of a trove of morels!
Towering Douglas Firs . . .
The BC Capitol Building at dusk (taken from the window of our suite at the Magnolia Hotel) . . .
The Cathedral Grove at MacMillan Park . . .
A friendly snail . . .
Dramatic sea and sky . . .
The world's largest freestanding totem . . .
and Beach Eagles! Are you kidding me?
No kidding. Juvenile Bald Eagles in the surf.
The eye-stripe indicates age between 2 and 3 year old.
The lighthouse at Campbell River . . .
And last but not least, the many, many (did I say many?) slugs. If you are nice to them, they can tell you where the morels are hiding.
The lighthouse at Campbell River . . .
And last but not least, the many, many (did I say many?) slugs. If you are nice to them, they can tell you where the morels are hiding.
Vancouver Island, arrival and Butchart Gardens
As the Vancouver Airport is closer to Richmond than the city centre, we decided to take a float plane to Victoria rather than the train back into the ferry.
A short 30 minute ride, but still amazing views, reminiscent of the Marlborough Sounds of NZ.
Then into charming Victoria, where our hotel was just steps away from "the airport".
The spring weather was damp and cool, but never prevented getting out and about. This photo (below) was taken from the 'side' steps of the Royal BC Museum looking back towards the Fairmont Empress Hotel, and shows both the French and First-Peoples' influences of the region.
Because we made such good time (and gained 2 hours flying west), we had time on our travel-in day to see the Butchart Gardens . . .
The highlight of which is the amazing "sunken garden", once a limestone quarry pit (look closely, you can see the lone remaining stack from the old concrete works).
Although it was not yet in full bloom, the Japanese Garden is also very impressive.
Even though it skips forward to the end of our trip, here's a view (and video) of downtown Vancouver from the air (again, via float plane).
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