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A Boat Safari in Tortuguero National Park

 

The jungles of Central and South America offer wonderful biodiversity.  For example, I've been told that the total mass of ants in the jungle exceeds that of all other animal life combined.  I'm not sure if that's true, but it's interesting to consider.

01 Turtle Bay Resort canal safari

22 Turtle Bay Resort canal safari

When we stayed at Turtle Bay Lodge near Tortuguero National Park, accessible only by boat, we spent time exploring the jungle on foot as well as by boat.  That latter are boat safaris,whose goal is to show you some of the diverse animal life of the region.

02 Turtle Bay Resort canal safari

03 Turtle Bay Resort canal safariOur safari left early -- at the crack of dawn -- a time when all was calm.  We spent a few hours exploring the rivers and canals of the area and enjoyed the cool morning air.  Besides our boat captain (who was an experienced naturalist), we were accompanied by a guide who helped us understand what we were seeing.

Below is some of what we spotted on our morning cruise:

The beautiful blooms on this tree, Pachira Aquatica.  It's one of the largest tree flowers in the world.  The tree grows up to 60 feet in nature but has been commercially adapted as a house plant in the western world.

04 Turtle Bay Resort canal safar. Pachira Aquatica

05 Turtle Bay Resort canal safari. Pachira Aquatica(The blossoms of Pachira Aquatica)

I'm not sure if this large nest belongs to termites, bees/wasps, or birds.  But it is an impressive construction.

06 Turtle Bay Resort canal safari

The photo below shows several bumps below a tree limb, which are long-nosed bats roosting for the day.  We got quite close to them before they finally took flight.

07 Turtle Bay Resort canal safari

08 Turtle Bay Resort canal safari(Long-nosed bats)

We didn't see many large animals, but there was a nice assortment of reptiles including a number of iguanas.....

09 Turtle Bay Resort canal safari

Emerald basilisk lizards are quite common in the area, the photo below being a female and the next photo of male (with his more prominent head and back crests)

11 Turtle Bay Resort canal safari

12 Turtle Bay Resort canal safari

Spotted caiman are commonly seen in the area....

13 Turtle Bay Resort canal safari

If you look closely at the photo of the palm frond below, you'll see a colorful dragon fly resting atop it.  It was a lucky shot.....

14 Turtle Bay Resort canal safari

The bird below is a night heron....

15 Turtle Bay Resort canal safari. Night heron

These are black ibis....

16 Turtle Bay Resort canal safari. Black Ibis

And a cute and flighty bird is the Amazon kingfisher...

17 Turtle Bay Resort canal safar. Amazon kingfisheri

Anhingas are heavy (solid) boned birds that often perch like this to dry their feathers.  This helps make it easier for them to take flight....

18 Turtle Bay Resort canal safari. Anhinga

The area contains a large variety of egrets, two examples shown below.

19 Turtle Bay Resort canal safari

20 Turtle Bay Resort canal safari

I end with this blog with photo of a lovely yellow-throated toucan.....my favorite tropical bird.

21 Turtle Bay Resort canal safari. Yellow throated ToucanWe saw a great variety of birds which I couldn't get good photos of.  But overall this boat safari was a wonderful experience!

Attachments

Images (22)
  • 00 Turtle Bay Resort canal safari
  • 01 Turtle Bay Resort canal safari
  • 02 Turtle Bay Resort canal safari
  • 03 Turtle Bay Resort canal safari
  • 04 Turtle Bay Resort canal safar.  Pachira Aquatica
  • 05 Turtle Bay Resort canal safari.  Pachira Aquatica
  • 06 Turtle Bay Resort canal safari
  • 07 Turtle Bay Resort canal safari
  • 08 Turtle Bay Resort canal safari
  • 09 Turtle Bay Resort canal safari
  • 11 Turtle Bay Resort canal safari
  • 12 Turtle Bay Resort canal safari
  • 13 Turtle Bay Resort canal safari
  • 14 Turtle Bay Resort canal safari
  • 15 Turtle Bay Resort canal safari.  Night heron
  • 16 Turtle Bay Resort canal safari.  Black Ibis
  • 17 Turtle Bay Resort canal safar.  Amazon kingfisheri
  • 18 Turtle Bay Resort canal safari.  Anhinga
  • 19 Turtle Bay Resort canal safari
  • 20 Turtle Bay Resort canal safari
  • 21 Turtle Bay Resort canal safari.   Yellow throated Toucan
  • 22 Turtle Bay Resort canal safari

Twitter: @DrFumblefinger

"We do not take a trip, a trip takes us".  John Steinbeck, from Travels with Charlie

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