Tenorio Volcano NP - Rio Celeste

Volcano Tenorio National Park is located in the north of Costa Rica. The 11,900 ha of the park include rain forest and primary cloud forest. Many different species of animals live in this park, for example the rarely seen Tapir. The main reason for a visit is the beautiful river Rio Celeste and its waterfall. What makes Rio Celeste so unique is the name-giving color: Bright turquoise-blue!

Typical "I was here" pic, next to the NP sign.

The trails can be muddy, slippery and steep... so I would recommend hiking shoes or boots (at the entrance they have boots for rent). Meanwhile, the Tenorio National Park is quite popular, so if you don't want to hang around with many tourists, you should arrive early in the morning. Especially at the waterfall, it gets quite crowded later in the day and there might be "selfie-jams". Swimming is forbidden, which protects nature and is beneficial for landscape photography.

Stairway to the waterfall

Rio Celeste - Waterfall

Surrounded by this amazing landscape, it can be hard to focus on the search for reptiles. It was funny to see almost all the other visitors walking past this small venomous snake, without seeing it. I showed the snake to people who politely asked me what I was photographing.  Also I gave them some quick information about this interesting animal.

Eyelash Viper (Bothriechis schlegelii)

It was way easier to spot the curious White-nosed Coati. Feeding wild animals is prohibited in the national park. Some people still do it anyway, so the Coatis often come close to humans, begging for food.

White-nosed Coati (Nasua narica)

Rio Celeste

Do you see this gorgeous creature?

My favorite observation of the day was this -at least 2 meter long- Tiger Rat Snake (Spilotes pullatus). It was climbing elegantly in the trees at a height of about 4 meters. This snake is non venomous and diurnal.

Tiger Rat Snake (Spilotes pullatus)

Rio Celeste

The landscape with its fantastic river is a very good reason to visit the park. There is also the possibility to observe some animals. I was very happy about the sightings of the snakes! But I can reassure those who want to enjoy the landscape without seeing any snakes: if you don't look for them, it is very unlikely to see any. Of course they are around - that's the jungle.

Paraguay - Chaco

In April, I had the opportunity to go with my parents on a trip to Paraguay. It was not really a herping trip but of course we took some time to check out the paraguayan nature. The west of Paraguay (región occidental) is part of the Gran Chaco, a region characterized by dry forests and thorny bushes. The whole area is sparsely populated. Large areas of untouched wilderness are habitat for numerous animal species. Deforestation is a big problem though. Hopefully the people of Paraguay will be able to preserve this natural treasure!

The waters of the chaco are the kingdom of the Yacare Caiman (Caiman yacare). As a small and medium-sized crocodilian, most adult males grow to roughly 2 or 2.5 m (6.6 or 8.2 ft) in length. Females are much smaller, at an average of 1.4 m (4.6 ft).

The Jabiru (Jabiru mycteria) is a large stork found from Mexico to Argentina, except west of the Andes. It is the tallest flying bird found in South America and Central America.

Disappointingly, I could not photograph a living snake in the Chaco. Two snakes crossed the road: A large Indigo Snake (Drymarchon corais) and some kind of racer... no chance to catch or take a picture - good that they could cross the road safely. Two dead snakes we found had less luck, another indigo snake and a Tropical Rattlesnake (Crotalus durissus)... very sad, but unfortunately the fate of many animals in the Chaco.

So without success with snakes, frogs had to save the day! And they did - we found some cool species. My favorite frog was the Orange-legged Monkey Frog, also called Earless Leaf Frog (Phyllomedusa azurea).

The Warty Snouted Treefrog (Scinax acuminatus) is very well camouflaged. It looks like a piece of wood.

The smallest frog we found was this little Menwig Frog (Physalaemus albonotatus). Very cute little guy!

The Shovel-nosed Chamber Frog (Leptodactylus bufonius) has evolved an incredible adaptation for overcoming the challenges of living in mostly dry conditions. With their shovel-like noses, they dig a chamber in the mud and then top it with a mud cone. Because no water can penetrate these chambers, the frogs produce a foam nest from the female's albumin secretions to keep the tadpoles moist.

There is an interesting fact about the Paradoxical Frog (Pseudis paradoxa): Its name refers to the very large tadpoles, which are up to 25 cm (10 inch) long, and in turn becomes an ordinary-sized frog, only about a quarter of its former length.

In conclusion I want to show you another specimen of my favorite frog.

Indication of source:
www.faunaparaguay.com
www.frogsaregreen.org

Paraguay - Ybycui

The Ybycui National Park is located 150 kilometers from Paraguay's capital Asunción. It is a small (approx. 5,000 hectares) but beautiful park and protects a sample of the westernmost extent of the Upper Parana Atlantic Forest. 

There are many waterfalls in the park. The summer in Paraguay begins at the end of December and ends at the end of March. Very high temperatures (48°C / 118°F) and little rain have caused a low water level. 

Countless butterflies were seen on the rocks along the river. Very striking was the Glittering Sapphire (Lasaia agesilas), also called Black-patch Bluemark. I have never seen an animal with such an intense blue color before.

I was not the only one who was interested in the butterflies. This huge Rococo Toad (Rhinella schneideri) was hunting them. A rather rare observation for me to see a toad this active in bright sunshine. With this opportunity I tried to get the habitat into the picture.

Can you spot the dreaded beauty, hidden in this picture?

Here it is up close, patiently and curled up: the venomous Jararaca (Bothrops jararaca). In Paraguay this snake is called Yarará. It is a very well camouflaged ambush predator.

The Godart's Numberwing (Callicore pygas) was probably my favorite butterfly of the trip to Paraguay. It was actually hard to take this picture and I had to crawl on the rocks for quite a long time.

The Brown Leaf Lizard (Stenocercus caducus) is very well camouflaged. This little reptile was sitting motionless in the vegetation. So I was able to get a nice macro shot.

Not as shiny blue as the Glittering Sapphire, but still a very nice looking Weevil. I don't know the exact ID  of this cool insect, so maybe you can help me...

Lichtenstein's Green Racer (Philodryas olfersii) was a great sighting at the end of the day. This snake is venomous and there have been reports of serious bites causing local and systemic effects requiring medical treatment. 

In the garden

You don't always need to drive a long distance for nature shots. Many models are waiting right in front of your door. Here I like to show you some pictures I took in my garden. 

Ground Wolf Spider - Trochosa terricola

White Wagtail - Motacilla alba

Large Gold Grasshopper - Chrysochraon dispar

Southern Hawker - Aeshna cyanea

Slow Worm - Anguis fragilis

Slow Worm - Anguis fragilis

Nut Weevil - Curculio nucum

Roesel's Bush-Cricket - Metrioptera roeselii

Mating season of the Common Toad

Every spring the Common Toads (Bufo bufo) emerge from hibernation. Then they migrate to the waters in which they once hatched as a tiny tadpole. Many toads gather together for a short period of time. Since they are only interested in breeding, they don't really pay attention to anything else. This is the perfect opportunity to observe their behavior and take some decent pictures. 

Already from a distance it became clear that I went to the pond at the right time. I saw something splashing in the water and I heard this:

I was happy to spend my evening with the toads. It was sunny and my amphibious friends hang out between the vegetation, so I got some nice and colorful shots.