The Great Curassow, Crax rubra (eBird link) with more information about this big bird, usually a little bit larger than the Crested Guan shown yesterday. But unlike the guan, the female curassow is more colorful than the male, unusual for birds. Though the male of this species has a bright yellow bump above his beak in great contrast to his all-black body, which I guess is to attract females and may be considered brighter to them. 🙂 See more of my photos of this Central-America-only species in my Great Curassow Gallery. I did not see as many of these on the trails but there were more of them at the fruit feeder by the restaurant deck, which is not my prefered place to photograph. These 3 photos were made on a trail.
You who live in Costa Rica or visit here often may not have noticed, but the Arenal Observatory Lodge (the undisputed #1 for nature in the La Fortuna/Arenal area) has recently changed their name to Arenal Observatory Lodge and Trails, sometimes using the ampersand & or spelling out the “and.”
And I, for one, like the name change because it better describes what you come here for; whether looking for birds, butterflies, monkeys or frogs; there are trails that take you from the “Nest” birding tower to the Frog Pond or through the cultivated gardens on through the rainforest to the waterfalls or the continuing farm still on the property and of course the “Los Monos (Monkeys) Trail. And the map is, like much of my language here in Costa Rica, in “Spanglish!” 🙂 For example, the just mentioned “Los Monos Trail” uses the Spanish word for monkeys but the English word for trails, while “River Trail” is all English, as is most of the map, so you Americans don’t have to worry, you can read it and all of the signs! 🙂 Here’s my cell phone photo of the big map first, of the whole reserve, and then of the reverse side, an enlarged map of just the areas close to the rooms and most cabins, where most people do their most walking. If you come here, you must explore the trails! 🙂
All the Reserve Trails on one side of Map . . .
All the trails at Arenal Observatory Lodge
See the enlarged map of close trails on the reverse side, plus a gallery of actual trail shots by continuing online . . .
It was just 3 miles, but there were several hills and a lot of steps going down into the canyon to see the waterfall, but worth it to this childlike old man who is still in awe of such things! And I’ve been to this waterfall 4 other times before! But never get tired of it! 🙂
I always hesitate to include a selfie photo, but here I am as a nearly 84 year old survivor of cancer whose left eye can no longer blink and thus waters and fogs of my glasses :-), in a wide-brim hat and SPF-50 sunscreen that my Costa Rican doctors expect of me! 🙂 While I still enjoy all the little awesome things in life like this hike through a rainforest to a tropical waterfall! It’s my pura vida! 🙂 Here’s 5 photos, including one of the two sets of moss-covered steps I climbed down with my trekking pole and camera!
At least in this area, it is the time that most of the birds are nesting, meaning a different kind of bird activity. The feature shot at top is of a Yellow-throated Toucan coming out of her nest with a berry or seed in her beak. Below you can see a shot of how small the hole is that both the male and female squeeze through. I guess their beak determines the size of the whole, usually a remade or enlarged woodpecker hole. 🙂
And in the spirit of nesting season, there’s also a shot of an unidentified bird on her nest and a hummingbird nest. All this reproduction activity is an important part of the ecology of the rainforest that seems to be coming at the beginning of the rainy season.
The toucan nest hole seems to be just barely large enough for them to get their beaks through! 🙂Continue reading “Nesting Time!”
This is my 5th time to spend five nights at Arenal Observatory Lodge and all 5 times in the same room because I liked it on my first visit! 🙂 It is close to the beginning of all hiking trails and just across a courtyard from the restaurant, and as a corner room, it has two great views! Looking north, I look up at the volcano and looking west I look out over Lake Arenal and this time of year at some magnificent sunsets. Here’s a shot of each of my two views and one of the courtyard between my building and the restaurant. As they say here, “Perfecto!”
This morning my usual transportation of Walter Ramirez Tours and Taxis is taking me away from my home “garden” or “mini-jungle,” featured above, to one of my favorite forest getaways for 5 nights . . .
Arenal Observatory Lodge, the only hotel inside the Arenal Volcano National Park, where I will spend 5 days hiking the trails of a forest with a great variety of plants and animals! Tree Ferns to Toucans and more!
Below are four shots of my little mini-rainforest garden in Atenas that I am proud of and in which I photograph much for this blog! Then following that, another 4-shot gallery from my last trip to the Observatory in 2022. I chose to go in May this year because that is the month I got good sunset photos over Lake Arenal in 2018 and my most monkey shots that year, though anytime is a good time to visit Arenal Observatory Lodge! (lodge website link) 🙂 Looking forward to just being there!
are the two common English names for this beautiful tropical flowering shrub or small tree that comes in white, pink or red varieties. This white one that I pass on my walks to town one website called the “Plumeria rubra var. acutifolia.”
When I lived in West Africa it was called Frangipani by both English and French speakers and by most tribal languages. In Spanish, frangipanis are also referred to as alhelí, alhelí cimarrón, and suche, though in Costa Rica they are called frangipani, plumeria, juche or cacalojoche. Every Central American country seems to have a different name! 🙂
Here’s 2 photos of the one at a house on 8th Avenue in Atenas . . .
Well, at least close to towns like Atenas or anywhere within an hour or two from San Jose. But from my porch, or terrace they call it here, I zoomed in on one of the hills nearby that looked undeveloped. The only sign of humans seems to be one small or moderate-sized house at the end of a dirt road, which could be a cool place to live! 🙂
Zooming in on a Nearby Hill, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Of course Costa Rica has more than 25% of all land protected as wilderness national parks, reserves, or wildlife refuges, but in the more populated Central Valley or anywhere near the capital of San Jose, development is growing rapidly. I am very much aware of how many more cars are on the streets and highways now than just 10 years ago! Plus there seems to be construction work somewhere all the time, even in little Atenas! So it was fun to zoom in on one of the Atenas hills and see only one small house! 🙂
Yes, I know, I’ve done this post before, several times, but every time the flowers are different and I see or photograph them differently. And this time it is a collection of favorite shots from the previous few weeks, late March and early April. Below this one shot for the email version is a gallery of 18 photos, all different flowers and species repeated only when each flower is quite different. Enjoy God’s beautiful jewels from my tropical Costa Rica garden 🙂 . . .
