animals of costa rica

Mammals

River otters as we came into Tortuguero National Park.
This otter was along the side of the canal as we were traveling to our lodge in Tortuguero National Park in Costa Rica.
We got these shots as we drifted by.

On our way to Arenal volcano the guide spotted a Two Toed Sloth resting in a tree along the road.
Without the aid of binoculars or a telephoto lens what you could see was the clump of brown-gray stuff at the center of the first picture.
Even with aid I couldn't count the toes but the guide said he could identify it.

On our trip to the east coast we saw this three toed sloth.

Here is a movie of it climbing down from its perch.
They will make this trip every two weeks or so just to relieve themselves.
Once the get down they will dig a hole, make their deposit and then climb back up.
They are at great risk when they are on the ground from predators so they limit their time there.
Please forgive the abrupt end to the video, the driver pulled out without notice.

Howler monkeys. The first picture was taken during our Zipline tour of the rain forest canopy.

Click the play button below and you will hear Howler monkeys at Tortuguero park in Costa Rica one rainy morning about 5:20 AM.
The picture is black because it was still very dark.
Imagine what you would think if this was the first time you had heard this noise, and you were in your tent miles from civilization.

Birds

We saw a lot of different birds some of which I haven't identified, I will start with some that I have.

Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) in a non typical pose.
This one was looking down on us during our exploration by kayak of some of the waterways in Tortuguero National Park.

Little Blue Herons (egretta caerulea) along the river.

We saw a lot of Toucans in flight but we weren't quick enough to get any pictures of them.
This one was a long way off but at least he was sitting still.
We saw him from the boat as we were leaving Tortuguero.

We saw this majestic Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) along the Caribbean coast.

Several (about 7) immature Boat-billed Herons(Cochlearius cochlearius) that we saw on a walk through the rain forest.
They were probably within days of fledging.

A Bare-throated Tiger Heron (Tigrisoma mexicanum) sounding off.
We saw it along one of the canals through Tortuguero National Park in Costa Rica. Some call it a frog-bird because of its call.
Near the end of the clip you can hear someone trying to imitate it in the background.

These were common at the seashore,
I think it is a juvenile Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus)

A Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) posed nicely by this driftwood.

A Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens) was cruising overhead during our kayak wildlife exploration tour.

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) also called a fish eagle, enjoying its lunch.

A nesting Rufescent Tiger Heron (Tigrisoma lineatum).
You will have to take our guide's word on this since there isn't much showing in the way of identifying markings.
He said that although they had been spotted in Costa Rica it had only been two years since the first nest was discovered here.

Great Egret (Ardea alba)

A Lineated Woodpecker (Dryocopus lineatus) doing what woodpeckers do.

Ringed Kingfisher (Megaceryle torquata)

Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)

This Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga) is quite a bit different from ones we saw in Florida.

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax violaceus)
That we saw near Turtle Lodge.

A Roadside Hawk (Buteo magnirostris) we saw along the road to the east coast.

Not much to go on for confirmation in this picture but this is a Green Heron (Butorides virescens) we identified on one of our boat excursions.

Not a great pictures but this is probably a Cherrie's Tanagers (Ramphocelus costaricensis)

Again a poor picture this time of a Passerini's Tanager (Ramphocelus passerinii)

Black-fronted Tody-Flycatcher (Todirostrum cinereum)

Now some that we can't fully identify.

A couple of Parrots

With more than 50 kinds of hummingbirds in Costa Rica we didn't try to make specific identifications of these.
It was early in the day, in the rain, in the forest so there wasn't a lot of light for these shots.
Their wings would have been blurred even in full sun.

A visitor to the site identified these as Crowned Woodnymphs.
With that information and the web I confirmed that they are indeed Thalurania colombica.
Thank you Donna.

We saw this Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solitaria) when we got to the flatlands east of the mountains.
I wasn't able to identify it but Donna was.
Thanks again.

This Prothonotary Warbler ( protonotaria citrea) was another that Donna was able to identify.

A Tropical Kingbird (Tyrannus melancholicus) poised nicely for me.
It is yet another that Donna helped me identify.
I sincerely appreciate it when a visitor to my site takes the time to identify a bird or flower that I have seen.

I am sure there are some orioles somewhere in this picture.
Their nests are unmistakable.
The dark body and yellow tail we saw limits the possibilities to one of the Oropendola Orioles.

Insects

Leaf cutter ant.

A termite nest.

A Cicada at the Turtle Lodge in Tortuguero.

There were mosquitoes too but they seemed to be restricted to the trail through the rain forest.
I wonder how they train them to stay there ???
We didn't have any trouble with them at the lodge or when we were in the boats.

Reptiles and Amphibians

The first picture is a Spectacled caiman (Caiman crocodilus) with her young we saw along the river.
The second is one we saw on our walk through the rain forest.