Category: Wetlands

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The “Other” Nature Shots

Maybe the miscellaneous stuff that didn’t fit in another post shouldn’t be shown, but I liked most of these and so my last post from Playa Cativo Lodge is “Misc.” that I hope you will find some beauty in, as all nature is the art of God. I will show even more in my “Trip Gallery” when finally done, including some nice nature quotes they had posted on some of the trails. But for now that is all of Cativo for the blog and tomorrow more posts from Atenas begin again! 🙂

Bananas!

10 more photos below . . .

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Inside a Coastal Rainforest

I included “coastal” because it is a little different from an inland rainforest like I was in in May at Chachagua Rainforest Lodge – both with lots of rain and streams & ponds but the ocean front has more severe weather and a global warming rising ocean that is washing away the land and the trees one row at a time as shown in one of these photos. Further into the forest is dark and thicker trees and potentially more dangerous wildlife. I did not go too far! 🙂

I am still amazed every time I see a big tree with big roots.

Nine more photos follow . . .

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Bottle-nosed Dolphin

Every morning has been free of rain in the rainforest so far with the usual afternoon and evening rainy season rains that are great for sleeping at night! 🙂

This morning I had switched my planned morning hike in the mountains after learning how steep the trail is to a boat trip up Esquinas River and the Mangrove Forest for birds and maybe other wildlife. The highlight ended up being a group of about 5 Bottlenose Dolphins which are a little different from the Spotted Dolphins I’ve seen at Drake Bay and Uvita. They are “friendly” and followed our boat part of the way back to the lodge. 🙂

Bottle-nosed Dolphin, Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica.

And five more shots . . .

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Two Basilisks

Everyone prefers the Emerald Basilisk, sometimes called Green Basilisk, but the Brown Basilisk is seen just about as much even with his better camouflage. 🙂 In these photos, the Emerald is an adult male with the head crest while the brown without a crest could be either a juvenile or a female. Both are found all over Costa Rica, especially near water. Note that both have a tail longer than the body. And both are sometimes called “Jesus Christ Lizards” because they walk on water (or run).

Emerald Basilisk, Chachagua Rainforest Hotel, Costa Rica.
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Muscovy Ducklings

Muscovy Duck & Ducklings, Chachagua Rainforest, Alajuela, Costa Rica.

On one of the small lakes or ponds at Chachagua Rainforest lived a family of Muscovy Ducks (eBird link) which are native to Central & South America plus Florida & the West Indies. For the second time I’ve been able to capture these resident ducks with babies. Everyone loves little ducklings! 🙂 See some more slightly older Muscovy Ducklings I photographed at Macaw Lodge near Carara National Park in my Muscovy Duck Gallery. Now here are 3 more photos from Chachagua Rainforest . . .

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Living in a Garden

In some ways that is what I do by living in Costa Rica, “Living in a Garden,” 🙂 but in traveling to visit the many wonderful lodges and hotels around the country I literally eat & sleep in a garden, and some of my hiking is in a garden with even the “wild” rainforest having flowers blooming year around! Chachagua Rainforest Hotel (their website link) in San Ramon Canton of Alajuela Province, Costa Rica had one of the largest and better gardens I have visited with all of their plants growing in a rainforest on the Caribbean slopes of the mountains (the rivers flow to the Atlantic Ocean or on the eastern side of Continental Divide).

I’ll place one photo here for the emailed version of post then a gallery of 20 flowers will be only in the online post. Just click the “see more” link! 🙂

Flower at Chachagua Rainforest Hotel, Costa Rica – across the sidewalk from my cabin.
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Rainforest Dragonflies & Damselflies

Here’s 9 photos of 7 or 8 different species of Dragonflies and Damselflies. After I got home I used my new dragonfly book to try and identify these guys, but the book has too many that are similar and yet not exact matches to these, so I still have a big ID job! 🙂

All were photographed on two of the many lakes at Chachagua Rainforest Hotel and one stream on the one day that was sunny during my week there. Be sure to see my photo gallery of Dragonflies and Damselflies (58 photos of 30+ species) and if you are in Costa Rica and interested in Dragonflies, the new book is titled: Dragonflies & Damselflies of Costa Rica. (Link is to Cornell Press, the publisher, but it’s also available on amazon.com and some bookstores here.)

One photo here for the emailed version of post, then 8 more photos in the gallery that follows online.

MAYBE Thorn-tipped or Big Blue Dancer Damselfly, Chachagua Rainforest, Costa Rica.
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Living on Water!

Yes, the above water plants are floating on a lake in Chachagua and living on the nutrients they gain from the water as do the plants below call “air plants” that live on the nutrients from both the tree (or vine in this case) and the water in the very humid air of a rainforest. A gentle reminder for us to drink our 8 glasses of water a day! 🙂

Air plants living on nutrients from the tree and the water in the air.
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Two Egrets

The Great Egret and the Cattle Egret (both links to eBird) are very common all over Costa Rica around water and these two were seen at CATIE, the Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center in Turrialba with both egrets nesting on an island in CATIE’s lake. And of course I have lots of photos of both in my CR Birds galleries:

Great Egret at CATIE, Turrialba, Cartago, Costa Rica.
Cattle Egret at CATIE, Turrialba, Cartago, Costa Rica.

¡Pura Vida!

More of this adventure in my “Trip Gallery” 2022 Guayabo Lodge.