Category: Rainforest

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“Like water off a duck’s back . . .”

That familiar idiom was seen literally during the several rains of my visit to Maquenque Lodge in early July, shown here in photos of a Muscovy Duck in the rain (link to my gallery). But I guess I could also use the phrase as the idiom it is known for when I read about the idiotic president and Republican politicians of the United States while living a more relaxed life in the nature and beauty of a tropical paradise country with no army, no wars, no enemies and no national hatred or fears . Pura vida! Trump affects me like water off a duck’s back! 🙂 (Though I do sometimes mourn for what is happening to my country of birth and shake my head in disbelief.)

Muscovy Duck, Maquenque Ecolodge, Boca Tapada, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

Trip BIRDS Gallery Finished

I finally processed all the bird photos from my 2026 Maquenque Trip linked at:

BIRDS (43 species alphabetically) with one “Lifer” (1st time seen), the Yellow-olive Flatbill.

And yes, on previous trips I had 61 and 62 species, but I’m an old man now plus it rained every day this trip, so considering that, 43 was not a bad number. 🙂

¡Pura Vida!

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Groove-billed Ani

This striking bird is seen occasionally in my garden, but Maquenque Ecolodge is still my #1 place to see and photograph the Groove-billed Ani (my gallery link) and in more interesting situations including a photo of a family of 8 Groove-billed Anis lined up together on a fence! 🙂

And yes, there is a Smooth-billed Ani (my gallery link) that books say is seen only along the South Pacific Coast where the Groove-billed is not usually seen but I have a shot from the South Caribbean from where others have posted photos on iNaturalist, plus iNat shows some reported in the Northern Central Valley hills. They are still more rare than the Groove-billed which is literally seen all over Costa Rica up to 1,500 feet altitude. 🙂

Groove-billed Ani, Maquenque Lodge, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

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Green Ibis

Maquenque ranks up there with Tortuguero on seeing and photographing the Green Ibis, though this time I was not able to get a close as before plus the cloudy/rainy weather made them look darker or nearly black, but they are always dark as you can see in my gallery: Green Ibis (linked). Just 2 shots here with more in the gallery. And though they all have a green tint, it is difficult to get that green to show up in a photo.

Green Ibis, Maquenque Eco Lodge, Boca Tapada, San Carlos, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

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Green Heron

Where there’s water there’s Green Herons and I have a lot of photos from all over Costa Rica of this interesting bird in my gallery: Green Heron. And as in this wet look photo below, they can have many different looks, particularly when fishing from a limb , , ,

Contorted Green Heron fishing at Maquenque Eco Lodge, Boca Tapada, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

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Julia Heliconian

The Julia Heliconian (my gallery link) was also prevalent at Maquenque as in my garden, another favorite butterfly. Here’s the distinctive side view and top view . . .

Julia Heliconian, Maquenque Eco Lodge, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Julia Heliconian, Maquenque Eco Lodge, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

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Gray-headed Chachalaca

Another bird nearly as big as the Crested Guan and Curassow at Maquenque is the Gray-headed Chachalaca (my gallery link) and this chattering big bird is also common at my house while the other two are not. These three shots are representative of the many different looks that Chachalacas seem to have. I particularly like the second photo below of a very wet Chachalaca in a rain. 🙂 And note that both male and female have the red dewlap on their neck during mating season (unlike Crested Guans which is only the males.) In fact, male & female Chachalacas are almost identical, though males tend to be a little larger.

Gray-headed Chachalaca, Maquenque Lodge, Costa Rica
Continue reading “Gray-headed Chachalaca”
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Cocoa Woodcreeper

This is another one of the fine birds that I photographed from my back porch at Maquenque in two different sightings. I’ve seen this bird in only 2 other lodges but these were my best shots ever while just sitting on the back porch. 🙂 See more photos from these sightings plus those from the other two lodges in my gallery: Cocoa Woodcreeper (linked).

Cocoa Woodcreeper, Maquenque Eco Lodge, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

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Howler Monkey

While I was waiting on the arrival of Walter for my return trip the boat driver took me across the river to a tree with several of these Mantled Howler Monkeys (my gallery link). They are almost constantly looking for something to eat and here it is leaves. See more shots in the above linked gallery from my many trips all over Costa Rica..

Mantled Howler Monkey, Maquenque Lodge, Costa Rica
Mantled Howler Monkey, Maquenque Lodge, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

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Great Curassow

The other big forest bird (like the guans shown earlier) is the Great Curassow (my gallery link) and the first photo is of two females and a second photo of one male. Note that the male is mostly black like the guans, but has a bright yellow bump on his beak while the male Crested Guan has a red waddle. And interestingly to me is that the Curassows have bigger crests than the Crested Guans with crest in their name. 🙂 The above linked gallery has better photos than these two. I guess I’m getting “rusty” or “slow on the draw” as an action photographer! The birds wait for no one and never pose! 🙂

2 Female Great Curassow, Maquenque Lodge, Costa Rica
1 Male Great Curassow, Maquenque Lodge, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

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Spectacled Caiman

I don’t make reptiles a priority focus in my photography, but in a true rainforest of Costa Rica you will always see either the American Crocodile (my gallery link) which at Maquenque is only on a Rio San Carlos boat trip OR the smaller Spectacled Caiman (my gallery link) which is in the lagoons of the lodge. Snakes are seldom seen in the daylight and I no longer take the night hikes because I risk falling, but that is the best way to see them. This Spectacled Caiman was in a lower lagoon right at the water overflow location, probably hoping for a fish to wash over the dam. 🙂 Just one photo this time.

Spectacled Caiman, Maquenque Lodge, Costa Rica – Sort of disguised as a log or rock. 🙂

¡Pura Vida!

New Frog Species Discovered in Costa Rica

Read about the new species with the scientific name of Isthmohyla nacientes (linked article in Tico Times). It is a mountain tree frog living only above 4,000 feet.

New mountain tree frog discovered in Costa Rica, Isthmohyla nacientes.

For more information: A Facebook Page in Spanish

And Naturalista Costa Rica’s Post also in Spanish.

And a little bit on Wikipedia. All 3 articles can be translated to English by Google.

¡Pura Vida!

In the land of nature!