Long-nosed bat

(279 views)
by Terry Costales

On a tour of the Canal of Palms, this was the first animal spotted by our guide. There were three of these tiny bats on the underside of a dead branch. How the guide even saw them was a mystery because they were perfectly camouflaged. The guide identified them as long-nosed bats.

Heermann's Gull

(276 views)
by Terry Costales

This juvenile Heermann's gull exhibits its main identifying marks clearly: black feet, red bill and dusky body. As an adult, its head will become pure white.

American White Pelican

(274 views)
by Terry Costales

There was this one lone white pelican at the nature center that day. It was probably an injured bird being nursed back to health, or it just knew a good hand-out when it saw one.

Black Crowned Night Heron

(273 views)
by Terry Costales

It's breeding season again for the Night Herons and Snowy Egrets. Here is a Heron settling a property dispute with his Egret neighbor.

Green Basilisk (Basiliscus plumifrons)

(272 views)
by Terry Costales

A female basilisk showed up at breakfast looking for a handout of food scraps. The kitchen staff were pleased to see it and urged us to give it food. Not a good thing for the lizard but very entertaining for guests.

Northern "Bullock's" Oriole (Icterus bullockii)

(272 views)
by Terry Costales

I observed this female oriole as it fed and then flew into its nearby nest. It would remain in its nest a few minutes, then fly out again. The nest would have been invisible if not for the white egret feathers the orioles had used in its construction.

Black Swan (cygnus atratus)

(272 views)
by Terry Costales

This photo shows the ruffled feathers on the back and white feathers edging the wings of the Black Swan.

Keel-billed Toucan (Ramphastos sulfuratus)

(272 views)
by Terry Costales

This was the first Toucan I saw in Costa Rica. A keel-billed or Fruit Loops Toucan.

Mangrove Swallow (Tachycineta albilinea)

(272 views)
by Terry Costales

This swallow is one of a pair we saw from the boat. They patiently remained perched for several minutes while everyone photographed them.

Green Iguana (Iguana iguana)

(272 views)
by Terry Costales

This prehistoric looking male Green Iguana appeared beautiful yet frightening.

Boat-billed Heron (Cochlearius cochlearius)

(272 views)
by Terry Costales

You only need to glimpse the bill of this bird to know exactly why it is called boat-billed.

Collared Aracari (Pteroglossus torquatus)

(272 views)
by Terry Costales

There were many of these toucans in the forest surrounding the volcano. They traveled in small flocks and were easily seen and heard.

Juvenile Yellow-Crowned Night Heron (Nyctanassa violacea)

(271 views)
by Terry Costales

This juvenile was perched directly across the canal from the adult bird I posted on this blog yesterday.

Siberian Tiger Tatiana

(271 views)
by Terry Costales

Here is Tatiana on Sept 29, 2007 looking alive and well. Due to incompetence at the Zoo and the malicious idiocy of a few young men, she and one of those young men are now deceased. A needless tragedy that ought never have happened. One should build wild animal enclosures with as much protection for the animals from the public as the public from the animals. We all know bridges and buildings in San Francisco must be built, or retrofitted, to withstand an earthquake the magnitude of which we m . . .

Mourning Dove

(271 views)
by Terry Costales

The shy Mourning Dove reveals some lovely colors.

Yellow-crowned Night Heron (Nyctanassa violacea)

(271 views)
by Terry Costales

I have seen many black-crowned night herons but this was the first yellow-crowned I'd ever seen. They reside in Costa Rica year round.

Black-Crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)

(271 views)
by Terry Costales

A large fledgling appears mesmerized by the camera.

Bar-headed Geese

(271 views)
by Terry Costales

There is a small flock of these beautiful geese living on the small lake inside the zoo. Bar-headed geese were featured in the nature documentary "Winged Migration" which I highly reccomend.

Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata)

(271 views)
by Terry Costales

Mandarin ducks are very striking in appearance. At least the male, he looks like he's wearing a costume.

Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula)

(271 views)
by Terry Costales

There were many male and female Goldeneyes out on the lake that day. This is a very handsome male. Goldeneyes are closely related to Buffleheads and are also found in Scotland and Great Britain.

Middle Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos medius)

(271 views)
by Terry Costales

My first day in the woods I heard woodpeckers but only glimpsed them from a distance. My second day was more successful and I saw several. Not close-up but close enough for a photo.

Northern Jacana (Jacana spinosa)

(271 views)
by Terry Costales

When the Jacanas fly they display bright yellow patches on their wings. Despite there being so many of them, we never got a shot of one flying They are known for "walking on water", because their very long toes allow them to walk on floating vegetation. Unfortunately, the ones we saw were in the mud the whole time and so we never witnessed this behavior.

Demoiselle Crane (Anthropoides virgo)

(271 views)
by Terry Costales

Although a large and very stately bird, this is actually the smallest variety of crane.

Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)

(271 views)
by Terry Costales

The male Bufflehead is a strikingly beautiful bird. There were several on the lake this summer-like day, having a good time diving to avoid the photographer.

Jabiru (Jabiru mycteria)

(271 views)
by Terry Costales

Our guide Jaime was very excited to see these migratory Jabiru because they were a very rare sight. Jabiru are storks which stand four and a half feet tall. The ones we saw were sedate and seemed to be resting in the shade.