Last night I had not gone through my boat trip photos, so my “Other Wildlife” shots (non-bird) missed the American Crocodile and the Green Iguana which are both important animals in the wetlands of Maquenque Lodge and Reserve. And I’m saving the best for last, the BIRDS will be coming soon! Then my online photo gallery of what is now one of my favorite lodges! And maybe I will write about all the wonderful Europeans and Ticos I have met here at Maquenque – not a single other American – all others here are from Germany, France, the Netherlands and Costa Rica. A delightful mixture! 🙂
Here are some shots of non-bird wildlife I haven’t already shown on the blog other than the monkeys and frogs that got their own blog posts earlier. A real rainforest like this is full of wildlife of all kinds and the photo ops are numerous and I’ve seen more than shown here.
White-nosed Coati
“Stink Bug”
Emerald Basilisk
Unknown Caterpillar
River Turtle
Dragonfly
Salamander
Green & Black Poison Dart Frog
Heart-spotted Heliconia
Anole
The photos of my main target, birds, is almost overwhelming as I now have gotten photos here at Maquenque of over 50 different species and with new lifers my total Costa Rica collection is close to 300 species now, though not tabulated yet. I am still sorting and labeling photos and may be for days, 🙂 but will soon have a blog post and an online gallery of Birds at Maquenque. That will include 2 manikins, 2 trogons, plus a Little Tinamou and a Water Thrush as lifers plus more new ones for me!
Yesterday afternoon before I got ready to leave for dinner and write last night’s blog post I had a family of Mantled Howler Monkeys visit my treehouse – browsing for nuts and possibly other food in the trees on two sides of the tree house which is built around an almond tree. Here are a few photos I managed to get before leaving. Photographing up in the treetops is not as easy as you might think because of many limbs, leaves and shadows all around through which one must photograph, seldom getting a clear view of a monkey or bird! But here’s my effort! Click an image to enlarge it.
Last night I went on the lodge’s “Night Hike” with about 8 other guests. It was similar to most other lodge night hikes and I have learned that my big camera is too much trouble on a night hike, so depend on my cell phone for photos. In addition to these frogs I got some insects and tried to photograph a coral snake we saw but failed at that. One of these is a new species of frog for me, the Red Webbed Tree Frog which has red-colored webs between his fingers and toes. Look close and you can see them. Click image to enlarge.
Tomorrow I will begin exploring the virgin rainforests & wetlands of Maquenque Lodge & Reserve in Boca Tapada, Northeast Costa Rica though still in Alajuela Province, yet on the Caribbean Slope, not far from the Nicaragua border. The link on name above is to their website, telling their story. The first video clip below is about their
NATURE, THE REASON I TRAVEL COSTA RICA!
AND MY KIND OF LODGE WITHIN THE NATURE!
I have one of the treehouse rooms . . .
living like Tarzan! 🙂
Their WELCOME to Maquenque Lodge:
On a river
Treehouse
Monkeys near my room
NOTE: They have WiFi only in public areas, not in the rooms meaning I will be more limited on doing a daily blog post, but I will try! Maybe at dinner?
Yes, I actually have some regular readers of my blog and several I have never met, some of whom are contemplating retiring in Costa Rica. One from Texas, a bigger birder than me, has visited several times and is possibly going to move somewhere in Central Valley here next year in retirement, with Atenas one option. One “Retired in Costa Rica” Wannabe from California has been planning a nature photography trip here for months, writing me for advice and with questions. She arrived today with a local flight to the Osa Peninsula in the morning but needed something to do today. I took her toAnimal Rescate Zoo Avein La Garita today with her hotel reasonably close to the airport for her flight out in the morning.
IMPORTANT NOTE: In 2020this facility has been “rebranded” to eliminate the zoo concept and is now called Rescate Wildlife Rescue Center.
We did not finish our walk through the zoo because her camera battery went dead with her other one left in the hotel, but I got a few photos shown below. Note that 4 of the animals in today’s animal gallery or slideshow below were “wild” or not part of the zoo collection! 🙂
It is finished and is the best summary of my most recent trip which you can thumb through electronically for free in my bookstore or click the cover image below:
This morning I got to go on a boat trip through the mangroves and thus saw lots of birds! Though mostly water birds, I did get one new species there that is not a water bird, it is the Common Pauraque (a type of Nightjar bird) which is pictured above. Here’s all the ones I got photos of:
BIRDS at Damas Island Estuary
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
River Scenes
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Lizards
Baby Basilisk
Black Spiny-tailed Iguana
Juvenile Basilisk
A river is more than an amenity, it is a treasure.
Yesterday, 23rd, was a full day with tour of the park and the night hike here at hotel wildlife refuge – thus I did not get photos all processed until today, the 24th, the anniversary of me living in Costa Rica four years now.
I think I have said this before in the blog, but I will repeat that Manuel Antonio National Park is the most visited of all 28 or so national parks in Costa Rica and thus generally my least favorite because it is “loved to death” with too many people (think Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the states with the Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge mess). My last time here was in 2015 with Kevin Hunter and the park tour was different in that we saw some different animals and probably had a better guide who grew up in the area. We saw squirrel monkeys then which we did not this time nor the parrot snake I photographed on that visit, but otherwise similar. And this time we went to all three beaches in the park, while only going to the one main beach last time.
If an animal is spotted by one group, all the other converge on that spot. Too many people!
And this time there are now more trails and a really nice series of bridges or elevated walkways through the mangrove swamp, handicap accessible with braille signs! Though behind the U.S. in handicap accessibility, Costa Rica is moving fast in that direction!
I go mainly for the wildlife, so that is the main slideshow below, but many people come here for the three different beaches inside the park and pay the $16 admission just to spend the day on one of the beaches, so a shot of each of the three beaches is in the second slideshow. Overall, Manuel Antonio is just too “touristy” for me and I have no desire to return here. The hotel with its own wildlife refuge is nice and I love the views from the hillside, but it too is rather “touristy” and overpriced, so I don’t see myself returning here either. But glad I’ve had all these experiences! The Costa Rica tourists see.
The above photo is one of my sunsets at Manuel Antonio National Park in 2015, my first year here! I go back to celebrate 4 years living here! Photographing new birds and other animals, walking forest trails and one of the most beautiful beaches in Costa Rica, getting one or more relaxation massages, and eating gourmet food every day for a week as I create more Costa Rica Nature Photos! That is my kind of Christmas Celebration and I anticipate a fabulous week! Here’s one of the resort’s several videos:
