Apparently stuffed, a motionless American Crocodile holds his next bite – a large fish – in his toothy jaws.
Crocodilians, along with birds, are the closest living relatives of the dinosaurs. The American Crocodile can be found in large rivers and streams of Costa Rica, and often in the tidal, brackish water where rivers meet the sea. This crocodile was resting on a flat of mud one evening near the mouth of the Tortuguero River.
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A patient Golden Orb-weaver waits for flies, moths, butterflies, or beetles, to be caught in its large web.
At around two-and-a-half inches including legs, female Golden Orb-weavers (Nephila clavipes) like this one are among the largest spiders in Costa Rica. Males of the species are only about one-quarter inch, legs and all. Golden Orb-weavers build their strong webs fairly low to the ground in open forests where there is enough sunlight to foster plenty of insects to eat.
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A basilisk poses on a stump near Tortuguero.
Every time a guide has pointed out one of these reptiles, it has been described as a “Jesus Christ Lizard” for its ability to run on the surface of water using only its hind legs. I just learned from my new reference book on amphibians and reptiles in Costa Rica, however, that there is actually more than one basilisk species capable of “bipedal locomotion across water.” The particular species in this photo, Basiliscus vittatus, while it can run on water, tends to be more terrestrial, and is commonly spied near the ground and further away from water than other basilisk types that frequent trees.
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Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) are large, migratory raptors that frequent Costa Rica primarily from October to April. As they prey on fish, Ospreys can be found near bodies of water. This one was perched along the Tortuguero River.
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A Mangrove Swallow roosts on the ruins of an old dock in Tortuguero.
Mangrove Swallows are handsome little birds that fly fast. They flit and swoop over water, nabbing bugs that frequent rivers, marshes, and creeks, on both the Caribbean and Pacific sides of Costa Rica.
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A Great Kiskadee pauses in the morning sun along the Tortuguero River.
At around 23 cm, the Great Kiskadee is one the biggest members of the large Flycatcher, or Tyrannidae, family in Costa Rica. These strikingly handsome birds frequent the open, brushy areas of the Pacific forests and the Caribbean lowlands, where they eat insects and small vertebrates. I took both of these photographs during my first visit to Tortuguero in 2004.
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