Bosque de Paz - Part 2

Continuing from Part 1. I really enjoyed the trails around Bosque de Paz. I usually got out on them several times a day for an hour or two. I can't say I saw a lot since it's dense forest, but there was always something. And it was very peaceful - no one else seemed to get more than a few hundred yards from the lodge.

One day I glimpsed some movement in the treetops and was happy to see a White-faced Capuchin monkey.

Coincidentally, when I got back to the lodge, a group of them went by in the tree tops. They looked like they were feeding on the bromeliads.

The coatimundis were more frequent visitors. They came every morning to get the food that was put out for them. I don't totally agree with the idea of feeding wild animals, but I have to admit we'd be unlikely to see them otherwise. Coatis are related to raccoons and their range includes the southern US, although I've never seen them there. They were obviously accustomed to the food but were still quite skittish. Once a dog barked in the distance and they scattered instantly.

The agoutis also came for the food. They are related to guinea pigs, but larger.

And the last of the furry creatures were the Red-tailed squirrels.

Leaf mimicry is most common in insects, but can also be found in reptiles, amphibians, and even fish. I found this Leaf Katydid on the stairs to my room. Love the shiny red and turquoise eyes.

One of the staff found this stick insect - also well camouflaged. It was large, with a body about 6 inches long and antennae that were almost as long again. I should have moved it to a more natural setting, or at least a plainer background. They are almost impossible to spot in a bush or tree.

I only saw a few butterflies.

Most people won't be excited, but there were a few interesting flies

This beetle wasn't very big, but it was certainly shiny!

Not so flashy but nicely patterned:

And plain black, but still fascinating:

At one point I noticed the ground was swarming with ants. I found out later (via iNaturalist) that they are army ants, and the only species in Costa Rica where the raids are spread out carpet-like rather than in a column. They don't have permanent nests. Instead they have temporary "bivouacs" formed by workers bodies.

One of my favorite finds was this Emerald Glass Frog. ("glass" because they are almost transparent) I almost walked right by this flower with a green spot. I was afraid it would hop away and I'd lose it in the vegetation. I took photos from a distance and moved closer cautiously, but it didn't seem to care and never moved. I love the eyes.

Of course, there were lots of interesting plants. I liked the variety of fruits and seeds, with 3, 5, and 6 way symmetry.

I did most of my walks with my telephoto lens on one camera, and closeup macro lens on the other. If I wanted something in the "normal" range I ended up using my iPhone. Like for this morning with the sun shining through the fog.

Mostly I was busy taking photos of living things, but I did take a few abstracts.

And that's finally the end of my Costa Rica photos. I took over 8000 photos and was pretty happy to have the opportunity to photograph such amazing wildlife. I hope you enjoyed them even a fraction as much as I enjoyed taking them.

See all 178 photos from Bosque de Paz (there are two pages of them, once you hit the bottom of the first page you can go to the next)

Signs of Spring

It's great to see the first signs of life. The gophers also love these new shoots (to eat).

The buds on the trees are swelling. The magpies are collecting twigs for their unruly nests. The Canada geese have been arriving for a while in small numbers but now huge flocks are passing noisily overhead.

The pond was a sheet of ice in the morning, as this goose found, but by afternoon there were patches of open water and already the water boatmen were rowing around.

Prints of the Week

I like taking photos of the "unofficial" residents of zoos, in this case a sparrow at the El Paso Zoo. It helps that it was on an interesting plant. And although the background is almost blown out (white), there's a vague suggestion of trees.



A taste of spring in southern California in February. I didn't notice the background at the time, which can often ruin a photo, but in this case I like the pattern of crisscrossed sunlit branches.

El Paso Desert Botanical Gardens

Keystone Heritage Park and the El Paso Desert Botanical Gardens is an archeological site, wetlands, and botanical garden. The wetlands are home to many species of birds and are a migratory stop for even more. Over 206 species of birds have been spotted there. We visited here on a day when conditions weren't good for paragliding.



I barely got the above shot before the Northern Shoveler (I think) took off. I managed to track it and catch it in flight. Even got reflections in both shots :-) Too bad the power pole was also reflected!



Most of the birds were too far away for my regular telephoto. I would have brought the long lens, but I was expecting botanical gardens, not birds.



There were quite a few Killdeer around but it was hard to get close to them.



We were warned it was getting warm enough for the rattlesnakes to come out. We haven't spotted any, but I did notice this shed snake skin which I'm guessing is from a rattlesnake, given what looks like the rattles.



Winter is a slow time in the botanical gardens, even in a warm climate like this. I still enjoy things like the seed pods. (Especially since I recently finished a whole book on Seeing Seeds. The others in the series - Seeing Trees  and Seeing Flowers are also great)  Easy to see why the one below is called Screwbean Mesquite.





And of course, the usual contingent of prickly stuff.



Cactus skeletons always fascinate me. They look a bit like the internal structure of bones. (convergent evolution)



We went to the nearby Magic Bistro (recommended) for lunch. (We'd already been there for supper and really enjoyed it.) It was even warm enough to sit outside, a treat we don't get in the winter in Saskatchewan! The sparrows also enjoy the patio, mostly as a place to scrounge food, but I enjoyed watching them and had to go and get my camera to take a few photos. (nice sharp shot for a change)



See all 17 photos as a slideshow or overview

Montana Flowers & Plants

I enjoyed photographing the prairie plants around Canyon Ferry Lake. At first glance all you could see was brown grass with the occasional sagebrush and juniper. But looking closer, the sagebrush was flowering:



and wildflowers like these blazing stars were hidden in the grass:





I'm not sure what these next plants are, they were about four feet high with "furry" leaves and grew closer to water, not on the dry prairie.



You had to watch where you put your feet since there was a lot of cactus in some places. Mostly prickly pear like these



It was past flowering, but there were some fruits left.



These next cacti weren't as common and were often half buried making them harder to spot. I'm guessing some kind of Escobaria or pincushion cactus, maybe spiny star.



Lately I've been trying to find some blue gamma grass to photograph. These were the only ones I spotted.



The heads curl up attractively after the seeds are gone:



After camping we spent the night at the historic Sacajawea Hotel in Three Forks to get cleaned up. The next day we went for a short hike at the nearby Missouri Headwaters State park.



Anyone know what these next flowers are?





We also went for a hike (actually more of a bushwhack) in the Lewis and Clark National forest where the Indian Paintbrush and other wildflowers were blooming.





On our way home we spent a night in in Great Falls and went for a walk in Gibson Park where there were lots of flowers.



even some blue globe thistles:



For more of these photos, see all 32 as a slideshow or overview