Tortuguero


Purple orchid MM		Pachystachys lutea MM
The Cayman enjoyed chicken wings once a week. There were turtles in the water too, but apparently they were not harmed.	Iguana
Anhinga - the snake bird	Black-bellied Whistling-ducks	Lisa and Chris PC
Orchids MM	Squirrel PC	Black River Turtles PC
Beetle PC	The Gang DH	DH

The aerial tramway that was set at different levels to give a varied view of the forest PC	Bullet ants PC	From the tramway above the forest
Lush vegetation from the aerial car	Monkey ladder	Walking palm develops roots to pull the plant towards the sun
Climbing plants have curling stems - aerial roots are straight	Light through leaf	More aerial roots

Banana packing station MM

Male and female Hercules Beetles from web

The largest beetles in the world are a species of rhinoceros beetles that live in the lush tropical rainforests near the Equator. The massive Hercules beetle, Dynastes hercules, can grow up to 8 inches in length! The males and females are very different in appearance. In fact, for a long time, people thought that the two sexes were a different species. The males are smooth and shiny with wing cases that are a beautiful olive-green colour with large black spots. They have huge, sword shaped horns that can be 2.5 to 4 inches long, growing from their thorax and extending forward in a large curve over their heads. The front of their heads also has a horn pointing forward and curving upward. This horn has several sturdy notches on it. These horns are curved to meet each other and look like pincers. They can make up more than half the body length of the beetles. The females don't have these horns and have beaded wing cases covered in a thick layer of reddish hairs.

http://www.ivyhall.district96.k12.il.us/4th/kkhp/1insects/hercbeetle.html

The 'Goth' and a Hercules beetle PC

Cowboy PC

Cowboy MM

Waiting for the boat PC

Laguna Lodge	Dining Room MM	From the dining room MM
Reception		The cabins had individual mosaics on the risers to the veranda
	The insects seem to be stealing the nectar from the outside
On the beach	Church with no pathway to the entrance	Tortuguero house
Bamboo Orchid	Hammock area - very relaxing	Heliconia
Golden Orb Spider The male is about the size of our money spider which is about the size of the head on this resplendent female. The strands of silk are so strong that they are being experimented with to make bullet-proof vests.
Trip by boat on the canals
More mosaics, this time on the quay	The sea beyond the end of the river	A termite trail - the insects are moving house
Chris Tarzan	Poisoned arrow frog	Great Egret MM
Canal boat		Northern Jacana
Capuchin monkey PC	Spider Monkey PC	American crocodile GA
Little Blue Heron	Boat-billed Heron	Reflections in the canals
Waterway MM	Jorge our leader	Camouflaged bats hanging in a line on tree in Tortuguero MM
Howler PC	Jorge PC	Howler monkeys MM
Emerald basilisk	The leaf gets nibbled when it is furled so when it opens up there is a succession of holes!	Green Kingfisher
Chris and Gwen braved the zip line	Gwen	Chris

Madagascan periwinkle used against cancer

Single-engine plane that took the Jenny and Rob to San Jose; the rest of us followed in a Twin Otter

Hector picked us up from the plane and looked after us until Jorge caught up by road

Birds seen by Jane Moyes

Tortuguero and environs

Yellow-crowned night heron ( seen in reeds by hotel pontoons)

Boat-billed heron (seen asleep in a clump of bamboo)

Bare-throated tiger heron

Green-backed heron (purply green back)

Little Blue heron (easy to spot. Several seen)

Rufescent tiger heron (this could be the same as “bare-throated”. It was not in my bird book but this is what Jorge said it was called.)

White-collared heron

Cattle egret (an egret is another type of heron.) Seen on fields on way to boat for Tortuguero. Perches on backs of cattle and eats invertebrates it sees moving at their feet.

Great egret. The largest egret. Seen on banks at Tortuguero.

Snowy egret. Very small. Black legs. Yellow feet. Easily confused with the juvenile Little blue heron, but this has yellow legs.

Anhinga (in profusion) – otherwise “snake bird”. Related to cormorant. Roosts on dead trees and displays wings in the sun to dry.

White Hawk (on way to Cano Blanco to catch boat to Tortuguero)

Sun Grebe (on way to Tortuguero from boat)

Black vulture (in profusion especially in Caribbean lowlands on way to Tortuguero)

Turkey vulture (in profusion as above) Distinguished from black by grey/beige undersides on wings.

Northern Jacana. Rather like a moorhen. Yellow spur on each wing. Extra long toes to walk over lily pads. Very pretty when lifts wings to show yellow undersides.

Spotted sandpiper. Very shy. Seen dipping into water from a stone on bank. Elegant yellow legs and delicate stooping way of walking.

Ruddy ground dove. Caribbean lowlands. On way to Tortuguero boat.

White-fronted parrot. Flew in a flock.

Hummingbirds (not identified) in Laguna Lodge gardens

Slaty-tailed Trogon ( rain forest walk, Tortuguero)- a magnificent red, grey, green bird)

Amazon Kingfisher

Ringed Kingfisher

Green Kingfisher

Collared Aracari (huge bill, yellow breast)

Keel-billed toucan (bill like half a banana)

Buff-throated woodcreeper (climbing up trunk, in Laguna Lodge gardens)

? Dusky Antbird (small slaty grey bird seen low down in bush on rain forest walk. Also seen by Mary)

Great Kiskadee (large noisy yellow/brown flycatcher. Seen in Caribbean lowlands on way to Tortuguero)

Blue and white Swallow (in profusion flitting over the water)

Montezuma Oropendula (Caribbean lowlands on way to Tortuguero). Handsome bird with red beak and yellow end feathers to tail. Make pendulous nests which hang from trees.

Great-tailed Grackle. Noisy crow-like bird which perched with its mouth open

Red-breasted blackbird . Seen on way to Tortuguero in fields.