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The boat was tied up next to these cheerful yellow flowers. I don't know what kind they are but appreciate their existence. ... read more
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I think this is one of the handsomest birds I saw in the Amazon. Not flashy but... read more
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Here are two Blue-and-yellow Macaws (Ara ararauna) and a scarlet Macaw (Ara macao) perched on top of their outdoor aviary on the hotel grounds. They were free to come and go as they pleased and a couple of them were high overhead in the trees.... read more
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This is the boat on which we toured the Amazon. The crew were wonderfully helpful and knowledgeable. It was our second GAP (Great Adventure People) tour and we weren't disappointed.... read more
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The name of the game is find the monkey. I didn't even know I had this shot until I was home a week later. It pays to look at those blurred photos before you... read more
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I had never seen a woodpecker in colors other than black and white and red. So it was quite a surprise to see this gorgeous "blonde"!... read more
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A bird in flight against an overcast sky framed by jungle trees. A memorable moment.
Angela Beske, Tuesday 5 January 2010
I just wanted you to know that I chose this most wonderful photo
as the background of my work desk top: I looked at a lot of
your photos in the past half hour.. it was not... read more
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This Trogon is a gorgeous bird and I'm pretty certain it's a White-tailed Trogon. Unfortunately the front of the bird has most of the identifying marks and I only saw it from the... read more
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I had never even heard of a Jacamar, let alone seen one, before my trip to the Amazon in... read more
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This photo is of a beautiful, lively woodpecker we saw from the skiff. A very Woody Woodpecker shaped... read more
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I found these two small blue butterflies in a screened outdoor butterfly exhibit. I can't identify them, but I believe these are called... read more
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I think the eye stripe gives this bird a very dashing appearance.... read more
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Little green parakeets, about 9 inches long, perched in a green jungle. This species is very wide spread in South... read more
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I took many photos of this flycatcher and this was the only one that turned out to be even close to being in focus. It didn't sit still very long and the boat I was in moved constantly and that was a tough combination. When I finally took this good picture I felt I had really managed to... read more
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The Oropendola nest in large colonies and their woven baskets provide a wonderful photo op. I have many good pictures of their nests but not one decent one of the bird... read more
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This is another photo of the vulture I posted... read more
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I saw many of these impressive birds during my week in the Amazon and this is the closest I got to one. I was in a skiff with a dozen other people and we motored slowly along the shoreline spotting wildlife.
We saw at least 20 different species of birds and animals in one outing and we went on... read more
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This is a very young green iguana hiding in a green tree. When I first looked I saw nothing but green leaves but after focusing I started spotting many of these little guys.
They start off cute but grow into some grotesque looking creatures.... read more
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This little squirrel monkey was scampering everywhere over our heads. He would jump down to the ground, then leap back up and run. Then he would start all over again. boundless energy with very entertaining... read more
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The monkeys were also on the hotel itself as well as in the trees. This isn't a spider monkey although I don't know what kind it is. If anyone knows please comment... read more
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The trees around the Hotel were at times filled with monkeys which were high overhead and never still. The bane of a nature photographers'... read more
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This photo was taken about a half an hour after we first saw this wet sloth. He was still climbing which was not surprising because he was a sloth after... read more
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We were in our skiff and someone spotted this soaking wet sloth climbing a tree. In the wet season the water goes much farther inland and the sloths must swim from tree to tree instead of... read more
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Another capybara from the same family group as yesterday's posting. The staff from the Camp put out piles of leaves near the shore of a lake on their property. This tempted the capybaras to come close enough to be seen from the little boats we were... read more
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Everyone's favorite rodent, the Capybara! I have wanted to see one in the wild since I was 10 years old and first read about them in a library book.
I saw a large family group of about 5 adults and many young ones. Looking like guinea pigs on steroids they still managed to be... read more
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This photo was taken less than one second after the one I posted the day before yesterday. Thank you... read more
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The first day of the river cruise and we were just south of Iquitos on the Amazon. Someone spotted dolphins ahead of us and we had a great time watching them leap in and out of the brown water. I was extremely lucky to catch this one in mid-air.
We were told they were River Dolphins but after... read more
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This photo shows the distinctive markings on the backs of all male 3-toed... read more
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I know this is a male 3-toed sloth because I also got some photos of his back which had the distinctive male marking. We were very lucky on this day and saw several sloths fairly close up and most were actually moving.
By contrast, in Costa Rica we saw a few sloths but each one looked like a... read more
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The bustard was the friendliest bird in the aviary. He would walk up to anyone at all and pose... read more
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If only our north american cities were populated with flocks of these beautiful Nicobar pigeons. I wouldn't object to them at... read more
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Unlike the show stopping color of the Scarlet Ibis, the Sacred Ibis shuns the glamour for the sophisticated black and white look.... read more
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I was told by the tour guide that this was a cattle egret in breeding plumage. However, the colored plumes on a cattle egret are buff whereas this individual had smoky grey plumes. So either it is not a cattle egret or perhaps a... read more
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The angle of this photo reveals the unusually shaped bill in detail. Unlike the pink Roseate Spoonbills we saw in Costa Rica, these African Spoonbills are white.... read more
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Scimitar Oryx are reportedly extinct in the wild. Unfortunately, their beautiful horns have been more valuable than the animal itself, especially to greedy and idiotic wild game... read more
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Cape Buffalo have a reputation for violent aggression so many game preserves won't stock them. According to our guide, buffalo are only aggressive during breeding season or when they have small calves. During those times Safari West keeps their touring cars a respectful distance away which... read more
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This is a young male Waterbuck. Its youth is evident because his horns haven't grown to full size yet.... read more
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The only Zebra we saw was this one, who hadn't been raised with other zebras so instead hung out with a group of Roan antelope. The rest of the Safari West zebras had found a "private" place on the property that was not visible from tour cars. As a consequence those other Zebra were rarely... read more
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According to our guide, as soon as Safari West got their first few ibex they disappeared from the barn where they were being kept. The ibex couldn't be found anywhere. Then someone remembered how high ibex could jump and went back to the barn to look again. Sure enough, there they were high up in... read more
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A pair of white rhinos eating together.... read more
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I forgot to ask why the Red River Hog was not on display. It was in a pen in the staff-only area. Fortunately, we passed that pen as we came back from our morning hike and I grabbed this shot over a rather high... read more
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This handsome bird is a ruddy shelduck. I didn't observe any unusual behavior, they just looked... read more
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You aren't allowed to touch the animals, but I sure wanted to put this little fellow on my lap.... read more
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In the wild, the ibis gets its color from eating red crabs and algae. In captivity, its diet has to contain similar ingredients or it will lose the red... read more
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The whistling duck does just that. He emits a series of short whistling sounds instead of the expected... read more
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This photo was taken in late afternoon light. The colors and blurred effect more than make up for perfect focus of a stop-motion... read more
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The lemur has a very, very long tail and is officially one of the cutest animals in the world.... read more
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The swan may look graceful and elegant, but his raised wings actually tell onlookers that this is his territory and don't even think about coming any closer.... read more
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The male swan, or cobb, in this photo was swimming endlessly in the moat surrounding the ring-tailed lemurs. His mate was nesting on the island in her own little house.
Black-necked swans are not from Africa, but South America. Sadly, Africa does not have any indigenous species of swans at... read more
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Oh the unlikely and improbable flamingo. I see one and think "Curioser and curioser," and of course, "Let's play croquet."... read more
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This tortoise was only about a foot long but may grow to be three feet long and a couple of hundred pounds.
He seemed alert and happy and was savagely attacking his... read more
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You can't tell by this photo if this is a cow or steer. In Watusi cattle, both sexes have the large horns. Also, the leader of the herd is always female. (Isn't that how it should... read more
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Most of the birds and animals at Safari West were from Africa, but black swans come from Australia.
This photo was taken just before sunset and the light was... read more
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The Giraffes at Safari West were accustomed to people ogling them. This giraffe ogled right back. What a goofy ogle!
Safari West held two kinds of giraffes, the reticulated and the masai. Reticulated giraffes have almost-white lines between large blocks of color. Masai giraffes have more leafy... read more
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Little white-faced monkeys came down to the canal bank where they searched for crabs to eat. Our guide let the boat drift close. The monkeys proved to be as curious about us as we were about them.... read more
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Here is a nice close-up of a large Costa Rican spider. I kept my distance while taking the shot and I care not what kind it... read more
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The woodpecker shown here was very high up on a tree. But despite the distance, I did manage to get a few usable photos. The pale-billed woodpecker is closely related to the possibly extinct ivory-billed woodpecker.... read more
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We saw a few of these little bats in Tortuguero at the beginning of our trip. After that we journeyed to the Arenal region and signed up for another boat tour in Cáno Negro during which we saw many more of them.
The guide on the second trip told us these little bats lined up to resemble a ... read more
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Dozens of hummingbirds zoomed in and out of the viewing area to visit the the feeders that hung there.... read more
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This little bird was one of the first I photographed when in Costa Rica. We had just stopped at the Del Monte banana plantation where I found the bird perched on a nearby... read more
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This was one of the two resident dogs who lived on the grounds of the Arco Iris Lodge in Monteverde. He was very large and of course friendly. What else would one expect from a place whose name meant... read more
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To look down upon a dozen or more basking crocodiles in the wild can be surreal. This one rested with mouth open to prevent overheating, because crocodiles cannot... read more
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The most challenging photos to take are of the little garden birds. They are not as spectacular looking as Toucans or Motmots but capturing a shot of one is just as satisfying.... read more
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I took a photo of this very large but attractive toad. I can't identify it, but if you can please let me... read more
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Our guide in Costa Rica called these Rainbow Crabs, but back home online I found they were called Halloween crabs. Quite numerous and their colors are amazing! They were up to 3 inches across and not at all intimidated by us... read more
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While traveling from the Arenal region to the Pacific coast, our guide spotted a large group of coati foraging on a grass berm next to the road. The bus pulled over so we could observe them, but this caused them to retreat into the nearby jungle. Fortunately, I got a photo of the last one just... read more
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As the boat approached the little cove where we going to snorkle, a brown pelican in juvenile plumage greeted us with wary... read more
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Throughout the trip, the brown boobies were too distant to be photographed, even from a boat. I felt lucky to photograph this one while the boat sped past it in the... read more
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The many Brahman cattle in Costa Rica are worshipped, but only for their superb... read more
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The duck in this photo swam into some gorgeously colored reflections. I believe it's a female Goldeneye. The point of this photo however, has more to do with its the overall look than it has with identifying the... read more
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I only saw this Motmot once and briefly. It flew away right after this photo was taken. I originally thought it was the same type of Motmot I had seen in Arenal but in later research found it was... read more
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Here is another shot of a Collared Aracari which I thought was merely another Toucan until I later researched... read more
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Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I don't really know why. I suppose planning a trip to the Amazon has me re-energized!
These hummingbirds were the most numerous of all the hummingbirds I saw in Costa Rica. They were present at Turtle Beach Lodge on the East coast and in the central highlands on... read more
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Even the doves on the grounds of the hotel seemed... read more
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