Heermann's Gull

(217 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.

Juvenile Yellow-Crowned Night Heron (Nyctanassa violacea)

(213 views)
by Terry Costales

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

American White Pelican

(213 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

(213 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.

Neotropic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax brasilianus)

(212 views)
by Terry Costales

The light color of this bird indicates that it is a juvenile. The adult of this bird is all black. Neotropic is the only species of cormorant that resides in Costa Rica.

Yellow-crowned Night Heron (Nyctanassa violacea)

(212 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)

(212 views)
by Terry Costales

A large fledgling appears mesmerized by the camera.

Greater Scaup

(211 views)
by Terry Costales

This is the female scaup. Much more muted in coloration than yesterdays male.

White Stork (Ciconia ciconia)

(211 views)
by Terry Costales

These storks were nesting in a very tall tree inside of the Karlsruhe Zoo. I took this photo from partway up the hill in the center of the park.

Roseate Spoonbill

(211 views)
by Terry Costales

I was focusing my attention on the spoonbill but good lord! Look at the length of the neck on that egret!

White-bellied Bustard (Eupodotis senegalensis)

(211 views)
by Terry Costales

I was quite taken with this two foot tall, chicken-turkey-like bird. It's a ground dwelling native of eastern Africa.

Bullock's Oriole Nest

(211 views)
by Terry Costales

This is the nest I referred to in my last blog.

Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja, sometimes Ajaia ajaja)

(211 views)
by Terry Costales

On our boat trip to Turtle Beach Lodge we saw many Roseate Spoonbills feeding near the banks. When they feed, they move their heads rapidly back and forth in the shallow water, making them look very industrious and a bit silly.

White-bellied Bustard (Eupodotis senegalensis)

(211 views)
by Terry Costales

Here is a close up of yesterdays' subject.

Northern "Bullock's" Oriole (Icterus bullockii)

(211 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.

Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea)

(210 views)
by Terry Costales

While canoeing to a nearby lagoon, we happened upon a flock of little blue herons taking flight. I originally thought the white one was another species but later discovered it did belong in the flock because it was a juvenile little blue heron.

Boat-billed Heron (Cochlearius cochlearius)

(210 views)
by Terry Costales

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

Spectacled Caiman (Caiman crocodilus)

(210 views)
by Terry Costales

A caiman lived in the lodge marina and could almost always be seen hanging out in its far corner. We found out the marina staff were feeding it chicken scraps from the kitchen. I supppose feeding a caiman is much more exciting than feeding a stray dog or feral cat.

Chinese Crested

(210 views)
by Terry Costales

It's an odd looking animal, but it's like any other dog, really.

Grizzly (Ursus arctos)

(210 views)
by Terry Costales

This is a swimming bear in the new Grizzly Gulch exhibit at the zoo. The zoo acquired two female Montana bears that were about to be euthanized. They had become too used to humans and couldn't be released back into the wild. Their new home is a well designed habitat and hopefully all the exhibits there can be brought up to this standard.

Mangrove Swallow (Tachycineta albilinea)

(210 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.

Gray-necked Wood-Rail (aramides cajanea)

(210 views)
by Terry Costales

We saw many wood rails and like the clapper rails, they are quite shy and quickly melt into the background as soon as they realize they are being noticed.

Green Heron

(210 views)
by Terry Costales

Green herons are abundant in Costa Rica. We saw them on both coasts and in a preserve near the center of Costa Rica. It took me a while to remember their name however, because they are hardly green at all.

Collared Aracari (Pteroglossus torquatus)

(210 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.

Jabiru (Jabiru mycteria)

(210 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.