This large bird usually moves around my trees in groups or families and always “chattering.” 🙂 Here in a Nance Tree. See more photos in my gallery: Gray-headed Chachalaca.
Gray-headed Chachalaca
Likes & Dislikes – Punta Leona
LIKES
- Huge transitional forest as a private protected reserve with a large number of plant & animal species. I photographed 21 species of birds on my first visit in 2019, but with a lower energy level this trip and not as good a birding guide, I got only 11 species of birds, though I did also photograph 11 species of butterflies (more than last time), plus 8 species of other animals! They have correctly named it a “Nature Resort.” 🙂
- Great Beaches & Underwater Activities that include the safest and best two beaches for children in coves and absolutely no undertow and very tiny waves. For divers (wish I was one), the first Central American Underwater Museum and first “Restored Coral Reef” that add to the uniqueness of this resort. And of course many other water sports plus a huge array of landside activities and sports for the hyperactive.
- Punta Leona Hotel (Selvamar) has excellent rooms snuggled in among the tall trees with birds and monkeys, internet in your room, full breakfast, and all at what I consider a fair or good price.
Read on for my dislikes and a gallery of more hotel photos.
Continue reading “Likes & Dislikes – Punta Leona”The “Trail of Giants”
“Sendero de Gigantes” is the unofficial nickname for the main forest trail at Punta Leona Nature Resort because of some really large trees on the trail. It took me two tries (2 days) to get the 100+ meters uphill from my room to the trail entrance on the main entrance road and then I didn’t even hike it because after a rain it was a muddy, slippery mountainous trail with lots of steep climbs and I tend to fall on wet surfaces, especially on wet steep inclines like this trail had. In fact I nearly fell going downhill into the trail entrance, so I decided not to hike it for my own safety. The occasional disappointments of being old! 🙂
After this introductory photo, there is a gallery of 4 more shots at the entrance. For younger people who love forest trails, this would be a good one! Especially for the big trees! And maybe some wildlife! 🙂
Poems in the Sky
“Trees are poems that the earth writes upon the sky.”
– Kahlil Gibran
A slideshow of poems in the sky . . .
Continue reading “Poems in the Sky”Crested Guan
One of the good things about Punta Leona is that there are many species of bird and I got only 11 this trip compared to 21 species on my 2019 visit there. Of course the big turkey-sized Crested Guan (my gallery link) is a favorite of many of the foreign tourists. Not good lighting for this shot, but you can see better photos in the above linked gallery from all over Costa Rica.
¡Pura Vida!
In a Forest by the Sea
I got here in more time than usual because of heavy traffic, maybe the many San Jose residents who escape to the coast for Christmas. 🙂 And as always the coast is hotter than the mild climate of Atenas! Fortunately my room was ready ahead of the official check-in time and I went straight to it in what they call the “Selvamar” section of rooms with each pathway of rooms named after a Latin American country. I’m in the Cuba section and love the room with a small outside patio and everything here is surrounded by tall trees, thus tonight’s photo from my room.
I may share photos of my room and the Selvamar rooms area later which is all nestled into the forest surrounded by many tall trees. I think it is the best place to stay for a short visit to Punta Leona and I will tell about other lodging later.
I organized my room and then did a lot of walking and got hot and tired, so I utilized their free shuttle buses to get back to my room. 🙂
Tomorrow morning before breakfast, I take the morning bird walk and then after breakfast the butterfly tour! 🙂 My only other tour is a sloth walk on Thursday. The last time here I also went to Carara NP for birds but decided not to this time, nor the nearby Tarcoles River morning bird boat tour. Instead, I will explore the tidepools and the gigantic trees trail here instead. And later I will write an evaluation of Punta Leona (their website link) telling what I like and what I don’t like about it, but for now just sharing photos and maybe only one photo a day since the internet is a little slow here. 🙂
¡Pura Vida!
Northern Yellow Warbler
Another migrant from up north I think. The northern version males & females look like this while the “Resident Yellow Warbler” here has a female that is also the same while the resident male has a reddish-brown cap. In my gallery I just keep them all together in the Yellow Warbler Gallery. 🙂 And there I have only one photo of a resident male, seen on Rio Tarcoles.
¡Pura Vida!
Favorite “Other Wildlife” Photos 2025
More photos from outside Atenas in this category because I always see more wildlife at the parks, reserves and lodges than at home, which may be best. 🙂 And with less travel this year there were fewer exotic animals, but here’s a few that are pretty interesting 🙂 . . .
Squirrel Cuckoo
Not your every day bird but definitely one of my favorites, the Squirrel Cuckoo, Piaya cayana (my gallery link) is one I’ve seen in multiple locations across Costa Rica, just not frequently. See all those in the above-linked gallery or for my all-time favorite, a portrait of one who posed for me in the Cecropia tree back in 2017: Cuckoo Portrait. A metal print of it hangs in my living room here. 🙂 This one last Sunday was in a tree behind my house only about 40 seconds, so I had to act quick to get these shots before he flew off to a neighbor’s tree and out of sight.
There are 7 species of cuckoos in Costa Rica and I’ve seen and photographed only three, the other two being the Mangrove Cuckoo (in two locations) and the Lesser Ground Cuckoo in one location, (both names are linked to my galleries).
A Thrush Enjoys Leftovers! + Positive News
In the recent days of many creatures eating the ripe palm berries, a Chachalaca or a squirrel broke one of the berry limbs off and it fell to the ground. With many more on the tree, he/she stayed in the tree and the bottom of the pecking order, Clay-colored Thrush, enjoyed the berries off the dropped limb. Plenty for everyone! 🙂 And as I watched this epicurean delight I suddenly realized that these birds have no teeth to chew their food and thus swallow the berry whole! 🙂 I’m enjoying these observations of nature! Simple life in a simple country.
