Santa Ynez Valley

Santa Ynez Valley
Our Backyard

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Costa Rica - Part 8

One of the mornings in Monteverde, we scheduled a hike with a local birding guide.  One of the birds we most wanted to see was the Resplendent Quetzal.  Our guide was able to find a tree with at least 5 Quetzals!


Female Resplendent Quetzals







Male Resplendent Quetzals










Crested Guans (related to turkeys)




Slate-throated Redstart




Collared Trogons

 





Golden-browed Chlorophonia





Blue-crowned Motmots







Costa Rica - Part 7

After several days at Bosque del Cabo on the Osa Peninsula, we traveled to Santa Elena in the Monteverde area.  The Monteverde area is famous for the "cloud forests" that grow along the continental divide in the middle of the country.  As moisture travels west from the Caribbean towards the Pacific, the mountains cause a nearly perpetual blanket of clouds and mist.

Our hotel seemed to be very near the edge of the cloud layer the entire time we we there.  Being at the boundary between clear skies and clouds, we were treated with rainbows every morning and evening.




Because of the constant dampness of the cloud forest, epiphytes (plants that grow non-parasitically on other plants) are extremely common.





And of course, there were lots of different kinds of flowers.










A very colorful moth



Violet Sabrewing hummingbirds




Other hummingbirds







Returning to our hotel after dinner one night, the taxi driver spotted this very wet sloth slowly working its way across the road on the telephone line.


Thursday, March 28, 2013

Costa Rica - Part 6

Here are a few remaining images
from our stay at Bosque del Cabo.


Blue-grey Tanager



Female Summer Tanager



Chestnut-sided Warbler



Lineated Woodpecker



Scarlet Macaws




Interesting bug



Leaf with legs!



Tree Sloth



Black Palm with very nasty spines



We weren't expecting squirrels!
 
 
 
Leaf-cutter Ants at work