Las Cruces

Up and down the roads a bit. The start point is at the bottom.

It seems like every venue chosen for this tour is stellar, but Las Cruces is perhaps the best so far. It is the one that seems most balanced and "tropical" - not a drenched rainforest like La Selva or a hard to breathe in mountain top like Sevegre. The temperatures so far are similar to our summer - that is, something we can easily handle. And they couldn't have paid those Toucans to pose with more allure, just by the observation deck.

Alex must sense that this is too wonderful and easy, because he is planning a long forest trek for us, culminating in climbing some kind of giant observation tower. I am writing this in the 15 minute gap between breakfast and heading off again. We'll see!


A view of our surroundings.

Breakfast was ready, but no one was interested, so long as there were birds to be seen on the deck:


Incoming!


Old friends?


Palm Tanager

Scarlet rumped Tanager - female





Aracari in a tree

Yellow Throated Toucan



Blue-gray Tanager








Golden Hooded Tanager

Thick Billed Euphonia

Speckled Tanager

Blue Headed Parrot


Fiery billed Aracari




Tropical Kingbirds

Another Yellow Throated Toucan


Toucans in Trees



Scarlet rumped Tanager female


We noticed this nest in the distance, and it turned out to belong to the White Winged Wasp



You don't want this one to sting you!

Gray-headed Chachalaca

White crowned Parrot

After breakfast our first real activity was a walk down the paved road and onto an unpaved one, which Alex called the "magic road". It turned out that it was birds flying way overhead that caused the greatest sensation there. (I got some shots, but Bill Rideout in our group did much better. The credit for these are his)

King Vulture


Double Tooth Kite



Blach hawk-eagle
Blue Throated Goldentail ?

Double Tooth Kite





But first, Alex noted what looks like part of the phone lines, but what has a hummingbird nest on top. Alex claims to have video of a mother and two hatchings there last season.



One house was for sale, and also a lot, from which you could have this view.

The dirt road was all downhill as we went out. Several of the party doubted they had the oomph to walk back up it. So Alex called out a 4x4 truck from the research station. That was amazing sensitivity on his part, plus a willingness to call out expensive resources if needed.

Did you call for a ride?


Back along the road, it was natural to see roadside hawk!


The long(ish) march back. There was occasional fast moving traffic, and everyone was careful to stay to the side.  Take our bikes here? Naw!




A lot of the enjoyment for us came not from peering into trees to find small backlit flitty birds on jungle walks, but rather in looking at the "jungle" itself. In the photos below are lots of views of what this environment has to offer.



The Rainbow Eucalyptus




Coatimundi - one of the visitors we might get if our door is open!




Dodie really liked this s shaped snag in the distant view



Lesson's Motmot

Tropical Kingbird

Palm Tanager

The Palm Tanager face on

Blue-gray Tanager

Blue headed Parrot



Double Aracaris




Gray-headed Chachalaca













Crested Caracara


Along the road we found this (dead!) Coral Snake.




Two views of the trekkers


The dirt road march


Look guys, look!

Seedy character

















By that Eucalyptus


We see this orchid everywhere in this spot

A small lagoon at a farm we visited looking for owls in the bamboo. Surprisingly, no water fowl at all.









Dodie went to the deck for another look, while I started today's blog post. She came back with more Motmot poses, and some other deck denizens:

See the characteristic tail paddles!











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