Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica
Day one in Costa Rica was a blast? The morning at Casa de Orquideas was a botanical and zoological treat. Run as a private botanical garden and wildlife preserve for the past 22 years, the Casa grounds presented a plethora of plants, both native and new, from elegant orchids in bloom, to strangler figs, bat-pollinated cannonball trees, pickle-fruit trees, and even peanuts and okra for the table.
Bright sun to deep shade provided a luxury of lizards, bats, and birds, plus rain frogs in the fallen leaves. The green tree anole (Norops biporcatus) shown here can be distinguished from almost all other anoles in Central America by its large size (about one foot total length) and its bright green color. When frightened, this lizard can change from bright green to dark brown and back in seconds. A solitary species, the green tree anole often basks in diffuse sunlight on branches or vertically on tree trunks with its head up. It feeds mostly on insects and spiders, but will also eat smaller lizards.
A brief but intense afternoon shower christened us into the rain-forest realm. Some of us sought temporary refuge in the cantina at Golfito, while those caught in the storm enjoyed the early bath and looked for other denizens of the dank.
In the hour following the heaviest downpour, we were rewarded by the emergence of a marvelous menagerie: tiny litter frogs less than an inch long, unseen tree frogs calling from over our heads, a tiny skink with a golden head sitting on its hollow-log home, an eyelash pit viper coiled on a leaf waiting for dinner, and a broad-headed rain frog appearing top heavy in the leaves with surprising black, white, and red flash colors on its thighs and elegant gray scrollwork on its belly.
Avian delights included: a beautiful spectacled owl (the largest owl in Central America), a chestnut-backed antbird, and a yellow-headed caracara.
Golfo Dulce – how sweet it is!
Day one in Costa Rica was a blast? The morning at Casa de Orquideas was a botanical and zoological treat. Run as a private botanical garden and wildlife preserve for the past 22 years, the Casa grounds presented a plethora of plants, both native and new, from elegant orchids in bloom, to strangler figs, bat-pollinated cannonball trees, pickle-fruit trees, and even peanuts and okra for the table.
Bright sun to deep shade provided a luxury of lizards, bats, and birds, plus rain frogs in the fallen leaves. The green tree anole (Norops biporcatus) shown here can be distinguished from almost all other anoles in Central America by its large size (about one foot total length) and its bright green color. When frightened, this lizard can change from bright green to dark brown and back in seconds. A solitary species, the green tree anole often basks in diffuse sunlight on branches or vertically on tree trunks with its head up. It feeds mostly on insects and spiders, but will also eat smaller lizards.
A brief but intense afternoon shower christened us into the rain-forest realm. Some of us sought temporary refuge in the cantina at Golfito, while those caught in the storm enjoyed the early bath and looked for other denizens of the dank.
In the hour following the heaviest downpour, we were rewarded by the emergence of a marvelous menagerie: tiny litter frogs less than an inch long, unseen tree frogs calling from over our heads, a tiny skink with a golden head sitting on its hollow-log home, an eyelash pit viper coiled on a leaf waiting for dinner, and a broad-headed rain frog appearing top heavy in the leaves with surprising black, white, and red flash colors on its thighs and elegant gray scrollwork on its belly.
Avian delights included: a beautiful spectacled owl (the largest owl in Central America), a chestnut-backed antbird, and a yellow-headed caracara.
Golfo Dulce – how sweet it is!
