Wildwestbirds

Costa Rica revisited

The nervous birdwatcher

Nocturnal animals

Jaguar

Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl

Tarantula

When I began hiking in the Costa Rican rainforest (alone with absolute fear and caution), each footstep in the jungle was followed by being completely overwhelmed by the sheer number of colourful bird species and the beauty of it all.

With time, familiarisation resulted in the realisation that at this latitude 12 hours of day and an equal night time dark period shapes life in the tropics. And consequently, nature has evolved producing two distinct realms of life. The daylight warmth and sunlight with rainfall providing continuing sustenance for plant life. Plants and flowers in turn feed exotic birds like hummingbirds and also provide food for animals like monkeys, reptiles etc., with abundant fruit in every variety.

But night is for their nocturnal predators who use a different set of attributes for locating prey, such as snakes equipped with heat sensors to find mammalian food. To aid their efficiency, many snakes possess venom to paralyze and digest, but these can be fatal to humans too so a respectful distance is advised. Felines with acute vision are on the prowl. One with powerful jaws, is a 200 lb cat, the Jaguar (above), complete the perfect tropics. Therefore, many of the creatures most dangerous to me, are animals of the night.

I became accustomed to this phenomena after spending one year in the northwestern

Rattlesnake

courtesy Coleman Goin

Daytime breathtaking Beauty

Scorpion in my hat

Coyote

Malinche tree

province of Costa Rica known as Guanacaste. Here I enjoyed an array of colourful species during the day leaving night time to the nocturnal predators. When dawn breaks it is announced by the call of Howler Monkeys. After avoiding the early morning Black Scorpions, sometimes still out from their night time soiree, or a Rattlesnake (left) on its way back to its hiding place, I could explore the magnificent natural world around me. I gained orientation with exposure, followed by profound appreciation and a lingering apprehension when faced with the possibility of venomous snakes and insects, or the possibility of running into a big cat. This tension and fear developed into a deep and permanent respect.

Howler monkey

Top Right: Ruby-throated

Bottom Right: Green Mango

Hummingbirds

Tiny little creatures weighing only a few grams each.
These birds are native to the Americas and constituting the biological family Trochilidae. They are the smallest of birds. And a absolutely captivating group.

Summer Tanager

The huge choice of exotic and colourful birds inevitably led to a selection process, as I simply could not view and photograph everything there, having a predisposition to, my focus became raptors. Starting with the most prolific: Black Vultures and Turkey Vultures.

Raptors of Guanacaste Costa Rica

Turkey Vulture

Common and widely distributed in the Americas, never-the-less compelling, this unique raptor has the ability to smell its food, and is in fact, the only bird capable of doing so. A method of locating its prey, it flies quite low over the forest canopy light and buoyant on the wing. Locating carrion by smell makes it the perfectly evolved vulture. The Black Vulture uses thermals to reach great heights. Because they have no sense of smell, they visually follow their cousins, the Turkey Vultures, to locate food.

Turkey Vulture (above)

Black Vulture (below) soar very high and observe the movement of Turkey Vultures (above) beneath them. Following the movements of their cousins and diving down to join them to feed on a carcass. Two vultures that are effective scavengers, the ever present street cleaner duo

Black Vultures

A committee of vultures have been known to reduce a horse down to its bare skeleton within 5 hours.

Additional Central American raptors of Costa Rica

Common Blackhawk

The raptor of the beach and shoreline on the Ocotal Beach in Guanacaste is often seen perched on the cliffs or periodically searching the shoreline.

Gray Hawk

The agile hawk of the agricultural areas and canopy, is the Gray Hawk, a raptor capable of changing its soaring flight into a accipiter-like dive and rapid chase through the trees.

Immature Gray Hawk (above)
Adult Gray Hawk (below and left)

Bat Falcon Courtesy Jory Freimann

Above the canopy flies the Crepusular Bat Falcon (above). An enigmatic bird, I personally only got a glimpse once very early on a misty morning near Sardinal. For European Birders, this little raptor represents a step further on the evolutionary ladder near the European Hobby. Clearly, there is a relationship with many obvious similarities. Natural selection has added the dark colouration, increasing chances of success when hunting Bats. As the name suggests - it really does prey on this mammal.

Laughing Falcon

A most rewarding encounter after hours of listening to its distinct call in the rainforest. On occasion, a distant competitor would eco the serenade of laughter. Thick foliage often made the search impossible. One day a break in the topography of a ravine revealed a view across to the trees on the opposite side making this illusive snake hunter visible - then gone!