Vines twist together alongside a trail at Manuel Antonio National Park.
Tag: Costa Rica
At the Canopy Layer, Monteverde Cloudforest Reserve, Costa Rica, 2012
The bridge at the canopy layer reveals philodendrons, ferns, orchids, and other plants, all competing for precious real estate on an avocado tree.
Hanging Bridge, Monteverde Cloudforest Reserve, Costa Rica, 2012
One of the distinctive features of Monteverde (now much imitated) is a bridge over a deep valley which allows visitors to walk by trees at the canopy level, seeing the plants that would normally be far above our heads.
Dragonfly on a Solanaceae, Monteverde Cloudforest Reserve, Costa Rica, 2012
A small black-and-red dragonfly hangs onto what I believe is some kind of Solanum sp.. Our guide gave a name, but I have forgotten it. I do recall him saying that the berries are used by natives as a stomach cure, but that one would have to be really sick to make the disease worse than the cure in this case.
Scarlet Macaws, Pacific Coast, South of Puntarenas, Costa Rica, 2012
While eating lunch, a flock of Scarlet Macaws (Ara macao) landed in the avocado trees across the road. My long lens is not very good, so the image is a bit soft, but I couldn’t miss including it in my Costa Rica set.
Social Flycatcher (Myiozetetes similis) Chicks in Nest #2, Rio Frio, Costa Rica, 2012
Here is another version of the nest, which shows how the log rises from the river a little better.
Social Flycatcher (Myiozetetes similis) Chicks in Nest, Rio Frio, Costa Rica, 2012
Three chicks of the Social Flycatcher, a common bird of Costa Rica, in their nest on a log rising out of the Rio Frio.
Ringed Kingfisher (Ceryle torquata), near the Rio Frio, Costa Rica, 2012
We took a boat tour of the Rio Frio (as close as we could get to Caño Negro in one day from La Fortuna) and saw a number of different birds, including a large number of what I believe to be Ringed Kingfishers (our guide said they were green kingfishers, but all the identification photos I can find of those show them as having a much greener colour). This one was perched and possessed of a large lunch for such a small bird.
Central American Whiptailed Lizard (Amieva festiva?), Manuel Antonio National Park, Costa Rica, 2012
A lizard lounges on a log alongside the trail at Manuel Antonio National Park.
Epidendrum radicans, Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica, 2012
Epidendrum radicans is a terrestrial orchid that grows in open areas–here a field of volcanic boulders on the side of Arenal Volcano.