Wet & Windy Monteverde

The rural area in Costa Rica called Monteverde was founded by Quakers, I believe during WW11. It consists of a series of small farms and dairies with lots of lodges strung along a very rough dirt road, ending at the entrance to Monteverde National Park.

It is easily one of the most beautiful parts of Costa Rica. My guidebooks talked about the place as if it was over-run with tourists so I avoided it on my first 2 visits to the country. That was a mistake. It is not terribly diminished by the many tourists that visit the area. The place is not far from Fortuna as the crow flies, but is reached by a long roundabout route. Monteverde is cool, windy, wet, and very green.

Blue-crowned Mot mots are very beautiful and very common in Monteverde. They have a raquet tipped tail which does'nt show in this photo.

Along with it's great birds, Monteverde has really great butterflies. This is a transparent winged butterfly.

The Morpho is well cammoflauged with it's wings closed. It opens them to reveal bright metallic blue wings.

This must be one of Dr. Doolittle's Push-me Pull-me Butterflies.

My favorite part of the whole area is the Hummingbird Gallery right outside the entrance to Monteverde NP. Besides the great artwork inside the gallery, there are many hummingbird feeders on the outside. They attract many species of hummingbirds and other birds. The hummingbird above is a female Green-crowned Brilliant.

The male Green-crowned Brilliant is distinguished by the small blue spot in the middle of his green throat.

The largest and most magnificent hummingbird that visits the feeders is the Violet Sabrewing. The bad photo does not do justice to this great bird.

The much smaller Stripe-tailed Hummingbird.

Another little guy, Green Violet-ear. One of the few endemic birds in Costa Rica is the even smaller Coppery-headed Emerald, which can also be seen at these feeders.

You would never guess from this bad photo, but the Purple-throated Mountain Gem is probably the most beautiful of Monteverde's Hummingbirds.

The attractive little, Common Bush Tanager.

The even smaller and more attractive Bananaquit.

Rufous-collared Sparrows are widespread in Latin America.

The main draw for birders to Monteverde is the Resplendant Quetzal/ This bad photo of one of nature's greatest birds was taken further south in Costa Rica.

The Coyote and the Tern

This is a very bad photo of a painting that looks much better in life. I'm tempted to dig my scanner out of the closet and scan the painting directly into the computer to see if it looks any better. The painting is a 9x12" study of a Coyote wading through the Sagebrush habitat of Northern Arizona.
The famous old western novelist Zane Grey titled his most famous novel, Riders of the Purple Sage. There was a country/ rock group in the 1970's called, New Riders of the Purple Sage. I have spent a lot of time observing Sagebrush and related bushes like Tumbleweed, Rabbit Bush, Snakeweed etc. It never looked purple at all to me. A lot of golds, yellows, greens, and blues to my eyes.

Anyway I am fascinated by it all. It reminds me of tundra in many ways. I have tried to paint it many times. Coyotes belong in this habitat. I really admire Coyotes for their adaptability. In the American West, unenlightened Ranchers have waged war on Coyotes since the West was first settled. They managed to wipe out the Wolf, but they have'nt put a dent into the Coyote population.

Coyote Study 9x12"

This is a slightly different photo of the painting although the actual painting is not so dark in the foreground.

Arctic Tern Study 7x5"

I seldom paint anything this small, but here it is.

Winter Wonderland, or Wasteland?

For the last several days we have awakened to foggy mornings that cleared off at some point during the day. The result is a sparkling coat of hoar frost on the trees. It's all so beautiful, but the sun has no warmth to it whatsover. Winter cold sure gets old by this time of year. Today I walked through Russian Jack Park with my camera.

My list of birds so far in 2011 totals Ravens, Mallards, and Magpies seen. Black-capped Chickadees, A Common Redpoll, and a Bohemian Waxwing heard. Above a Black-billed Magpie endures the long winter.

I always wonder how birds like magpies find enough food to sustain themselves through the long winter. I have seen them gleaning Mountain Ash Berries but those never last through the whole winter.

This would probably make a good setting for a future painting.

A dried Cow Parsnip flower head.

A footbridge over Chester Creek.

Eagle River is frozen so solidly that people ride snow mobiles along it. The local lakes are able to support cars and pickups, but for some reason little Chester Creek never freezes.

Occasionally I spot Dippers in the creek. Not today.

I like the reflections in the creek's water.

Birch Trees can appear so drab and even depressing without their leaves except when they are covered by snow or frost. Then they are ethereal.

So it's all so pretty to look at, yet so inhospitable to live in. My fingers were completely numb when I took these last few photos, even with thick gloves. I'm ready for winter to be over but there's about three more months to go. Boo Hoo.

Cano Negro

Going back to Costa Rica for another trip report. When you first set foot in the town of Fortuna you will probably be approached by a tout offering a tour of Cano Negro within 30 seconds of your arrival. By all means book the tour. I believe that the prices are fixed so there is no need to shop around for the best price.
Tourist get rounded up at their various hotels and driven by small buses north to Los Chiles on the Nicaraguan border. From there everyone piles into covered boats for a cruise along the Rio Frio to Cano Negro Wildlife Refuge. The tour includes snacks, drinks, and lunch.

The area is far from pristine but it is loaded with wildlife. You will get close up views of Spectacled Caimans like the above photo.

There are Mangrove Swallows which are similar to Violet-green Swallows. The river is also home to many Kingfishers, Ringed, Amazon, Green, and if you are lucky, American Pygmy Kingfisher.

There are incredible Proboscis Bats clinging to tree trunks that lean over the water.

Northern Jacanas flash their yellow primaries. Notice the sharp yellow spurs at the bend of their wings. These are used in combat with other jacanas. The male does all the work of raising the young birds, while the female goes looking for a new mate.

An incredible reptile, the Green Basilisk is famous for it's ability to rise up on it's hind legs, and dash across the surface of the river. What an stunning sight it is.

Local fishermen, and women, travel between Costa Rica and Nicaragua to fish the Rio Frio, This woman has just caught a Garfish.

One of nature's fishermen, Anhinga.

A bird that is very difficult to get in most of it's range, but not in Cano Negro, Sungrebe.

Huge, Common Iguanas certainly are common in CN.

Three species of monkey are easy to see in CN, the smallest is the White-faced Capuchin.

Mantled Howler Monkeys are the most abundant species. They curl up to sleep in trees overhanging the river during the heat of the day. CN is also a good place to spot one of nature's oddest creatures, Three-toed Sloth.

A nocturnal heron, Boat-billed Heron. Besides acuatic birds, Cano Negro has many great land birds like,

Slaty-tailed Trogon

Black-headed Trogon

White-ringed Flycatcher

Gray-headed Chachalaca

Great Potoo

White-winged Becard

Montezuma's Oropendela

Keel-billed Toucan

parrots

etc.

 Go there.

Fortuna

Since nothing of interest is happening around home these days I'll do some more armchair travelling. This time I'll take you along to revisit my favorite place in Costa Rica. Fortuna is a small town at the base of the Arenal Volcano. I have been there on all three of my Costa Rica trips. It's very green, and very wet. The place is absolutely loaded with exotic birdlife, even in the middle of town.

Besides the massive, (and very active) Arenal Volcano, there is a beautiful waterfall a few miles above the town. Since my first visit there in the mid 1990's, the place has been discovered by the tourist hordes. Prices have risen substantially, development has dimminsished the experience, but it's still a worthwhile destination.

A bad photo of a lovely bird, White-faced Nunbird.

We set a banana on top of a rock wall next to our hotel, and watched the myriad of birds that joined the feast. These are male and female Red-legged Honeycreepers. What a thrilling sight.

Another common resident in Fortuna, and much of Costa Rica, Grayish Saltator.

Near the waterfall we saw a large Amazon-type parrot, Red-lored Parrot. They are a common sight in much of Costa Rica, as are many species of parrot.

Blue-gray Tanagers are common in Fortuna, and much of Latin America.

One of my best memories of Fortuna is the day we saw four species of toucan near the waterfall. This is a Collared Aracari. We also saw Emerald Toucanet, Keel-billed, and Chestnut-mandibled Toucans.

A better view of the Aracari.

A male Barred Antshrike near the town's center. Fortuna is the only place I have seen Barred Antshrikes. The females look completely different than the males, but are also strikingly beautiful.

The photo reminds me of a Lesser Goldfinch, but in life the Yellow-throated Euphonia is very exotic by comparision.

Another very common bird, Bananaquit. Naturally the common birds are the easiest to photograph, but I have seen some really good new birds in Fortuna and vicinity. Some of my favorites are,

Rufous-winged Woodpecker

Smoky-brown Woodpecker

Black-cheeked Woodpecker

Green-breasted Mango

Black-crested Coquette

White-necked Jacobin

White-throated Crake

Snowy Cotinga

Scarlet-thighed Dacnis

Green Honeycreeper

Violaceous Trogon

Common Tody Flycatcher

Banded-backed Wren

Golden-hooded Tanager

Crimson-collared Tanager

Mealy Parrot

White-crowned Parrot

Streak-headed Woodcreeper

Rufous Mourner

etc. etc.

Gorilla My Dreams

Old Man of the Mountain, 8x10".
While other people might be relaxing or sleeping in on New Year's Day, I got up and went to work. Not entirely true, I slept in til 11:30 am. This painting was already complete except for some leaves at the bottom of the painting. I just finished it up after brunch. So it's the first painting of 2011, dated on the back, 01/01/11.
It's a silver-backed Mountain Gorilla in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda. That's where I'll be going, (hopefully) in a month and a half. I'll be going there for the spectacular birds, not the gorillas. I would love to see a Mountain Gorilla, and I can always hope for a sighting. The problem is that a gorilla permit costs $500.oo, and requires a very strenuous uphill climb in high elevation.
Because of my leaky heart valve, I cannot do strenuous. I really cannot afford $500.oo on top of the entry fee and lodging etc. This looks like it is going to be my most ambitious trip yet. I will be travelling with Gary Lyon, who owns the Sea Lion Gallery in Homer. He is an excellent Wildlife Artist and birder. We will be visiting the protected areas in western Uganda for a month. I feel that I must do these things while I am able, the future has a way of overtaking you if you are not up on your toes.
We also hope to see Chimpanzees, and some of the other dozen or more primates that occur in Uganda. There are many endemic birds that live in the border areas between Uganda and the DRC. Uganda has a wonderful mix of East African, and West African species. Big African mammals as well.

Fireworks in the Snow

If your reading this on New Year's Day, I hope you are not suffering too much from a hangover. Since I'm not a drinking man, that's one misery I am spared. Tonight I just stayed home and watched my neighbor's celebrate New Year's Eve.

Earlier this winter, some of the tenants of my apt complex built a snow shelter for campfires and barbeques. Tonight they used it for fireworks.

For the larger fireworks they set up a table outside the shelter for safety's sake. By the way, it is legal to light off fireworks on New Year's Eve in Alaska.

It was difficult for me to photograph the larger, more spectacular fireworks because my camera could'nt find the focus fast enough to capture the explosion.

I did get some photos of the smoke.

Sparklers were easier to photograph.

By the way, all of these photos were shot about 200 ft from where I photographed the moose just before Christmas. Now the holidays are over. I wish you all a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year.