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The last of the three day trips that I participated in with my Canadian Friends was to the Los Angeles Cloud Forest Reserve better known here for its Villa Blanca Cloud Forest Hotel where we had breakfast after a couple of hours of birding. And the clouds never lifted or burned off the entire time we were there. Click the first page of that gallery below to access it or if you prefer an address: https://charliedoggett.smugmug.com/TRIPS/Birding-at-Villa-Blanca-Cloud-Forest-Reserve
¡Pura Vida!
The Peruvian Shield Mantis – Choeradodis rhombicollis (Wikipedia link) is found mostly in Central & South American tropics. I photographed this one last week at Villa Blanca Cloud Forest Resort. And yes, he is related to the Praying Mantis, also found here. In my gallery I have him with other Hooded Mantises, Genus Choeradodis. But both iNaturalist & Google Lens were specific with a species name on this one. 🙂
¡Pura Vida!
Hiding in a piece of vegetation in the Los Angeles Cloud Forest Reserve two days ago. See more from several other locations in my gallery Masked Tree Frog, Similisca phaeota.
¡Pura Vida!
Here’s one shot each of a male & female Collared Trogon, Trogon collaris (my gallery link). They were the first two birds we saw in the Los Angeles Cloud Forest Reserve or Villa Blanca Cloud Forest Resort yesterday. Just waiting on us as we arrived! 🙂 This particular trogon is found only in Central America and the northern portions of South America. And as you can tell from my collection of photos (above linked gallery), is found only in the higher elevations like where we were yesterday, inside a cloud. 🙂
I live in a tropical country, 13° above the equator, with lots of rainforests and cloud forests an hour or so from where I live. Though this Central Valley location is not as humid as a rainforest (except in the rainy season), it is still humid and I’ve learned that humidity does many negative things to my cameras and the lenses .
I recently spent over $300 at the authorized Canon Repair Shop for minor repairs and mainly cleaning of 2 cameras and 2 lenses which had various kinds of mold or other humidity-related problems affecting the electrical connections, the glass and other details.
The repair man was kind enough to reduce some of his future business by recommending that I store my cameras and lenses in a “Dry Box,” which is a metal box containing an electrical device that keeps the humidity down to the level recommended for cameras (40-50%) and at a recommended temperature of 25-29°C. And it costs a fraction of what continued cleaning and repair would cost! (just $150) So a no brainer! 🙂 When you walk in my office now, it looks like I have a little dorm fridge sitting on top of my file cabinet, full of cameras & lenses. 🙂 Anywhere one lives, there are some adaptations that can be made to live with the extremes that might be there. And this will particularly be good when I return from one of my trips to either coast or any rainforest or cloud forest where there’s always more humidity. Humidity damage is now stopped and I expect my cameras to work better! 🙂
Under the ABOUT Menu of my website there is a PHOTOGRAPHER page with a sub-page on My Photography Equipment where I have now added this handy little device to protect my cameras and lenses. 🙂
¡Pura Vida!
This post was made about 2 weeks ago which is about how far ahead I am on creating most of my Blog Posts now since the Christmas trip to Punta Leona.
Many of my U.S. friends who have visited here have included a visit to Poas Volcano NP, which is (“as the crow flies”) just 53.5 km or 33.2 miles from me, though a 2 hour drive through the mountains. 🙂 It has been erupting daily now for a few weeks and increasing in intensity. Today …
The Costa Rican National Emergency Commission (CNE) has declared a red alert for Poás Volcano National Park due to increased volcanic activity, with ash plumes reaching up to 4,500 meters. The park is currently closed indefinitely, and authorities recommend that visitors stay away from the area. Adjacent areas, including Grecia, Sarchí, Alajuela, Poás, Naranjo, Río Cuarto, and Zarcero, are under orange or yellow alerts due to ashfall and gas exposure.
It has always been my favorite volcano to visit in Costa Rica, not only because the closest, but the only one you could look down in the crater and see the bubbling stuff, plus it has a second, older crater with a beautiful turquoise-colored lake. who knows what it will be like after these major eruptions?
Because I live south of Poas and most of our winds are East-West, I don’t get a lot of the ash fall, but some. Before breakfast on my terrace each morning, I wipe the glass-top table off with a Lysol Wipe and then a paper towel. They are black from the small amount of ash we do get. 🙂 Yet farmers near active volcanoes say the ash is excellent for growing vegetables! 🙂
Facebook Video of one day’s eruption: (it would not embed)
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2160888447696509&t=18
And if the FB link above doesn’t work, try the Tico Times article where I first saw it: https://ticotimes.net/2025/04/23/video-poas-volcano-erupts-with-3-5-km-ash-plume-ovsicori-reports
¡Pura Vida!
Just two shots here with this link to my gallery: Nov 18 La Paz Waterfall Gardens, where there are 11 species of birds and 6 species of butterflies, including a new or first-time seen species, the Silver-studded Leafwing – Hypna clytemnestra. And I included the waterfall photos I made on an earlier trip since I did not feel like that mountainous trail in the rain this time. The feature photo at top is of Templo Falls, also in the rain back in 2015! 🙂 Because it was raining most of the time there this trip too, I did not try to photograph the many beautiful flower gardens this trip and the rain had most of the usual hummingbirds hiding under leaves. 🙂 But hey! Cloud Forests and Rainforests need rain! 🙂
¡Pura Vida!
On November 18 we visited two big favorites of tourists with the first being Poas Volcano National Park as soon as they opened at 8 am because clouds often cover the top of that mountain and you then see nothing. 🙂 We had great weather for seeing the volcano, the only one in Costa Rica you can look down into the bubbling cauldron and smell the sulphur. I’m including 4 shots with this post or you can see more in my gallery: Nov 18 Poas Volcano. Tomorrow a few shots from La Paz Waterfall Gardens, the other visit that day near Poas.
Becoming world famous for hikers is the coast to coast (Atlantic to Pacific) hiking trail titled El Camino de Costa Rica (WEBSITE link), a 280 kilometer hike through forests, mountains, farms and small villages with many suggested overnight stays in homes, camping or even a few luxury hotels nearby. 🙂
It took longer after this trip to put the gallery together with a lengthy flurry of activities and first of year requirements, but my Christmas Trip of 2023 December 22-28 — San Gerardo de Dota, Hotel Savegre is ready to visit with all my birds, other wildlife, flowers and landscapes ready to view!