Roseatte spoonbills in the high branches of a tree

Trips down Costa Rican rivers reveal lots of birds who take advantage of the riparian habitats.  Rosaette spoonbills are easy to spot, even when perched near the top of a distant tree, because of the round shape of their bills and their pink coloration.

This week we have photos of Punahka, Bhutan, posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Egret

Birds are the most common wildlife sightings along the rivers of Costa Rica.  Costa Rica has more bird species than the USA and Canada combined.

But larger land animals can also be spotted, as I will show tomorrow.

This week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site we are showing photos of the people who have gathered for a festival in Punahka, Bhutan.

Yellow bird

I don't know what type of bird this is, but I was pleased to see him in the trees outside our condo at the Tamarindo Diria Resort.

This week we have photos of the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Tiger Heron

The striping on the neck is the source of the name for this tiger heron.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos posed on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.  This week we are posting photos of the people of Guatemala.

Tweet! How do you like my necklace? Chirp!

This bird seems to be asking whether we approve of her necklace.  I think she is well accessorized, as the necklace does match her feet and hat

This week we are showing some underwater photos from the Sea of Cortez on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site, including several photos of sea lions swimming underwater with us.

Bird perched on a walking root.

This bird seems to be enjoying the strong perch of the walking roots of this tropical tree.

This week we have photos of Majorica posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

A solitary pelican

Usually when we see pelicans flying along Langosta Beach, a group of them fly by in a line or a "V" pattern.

I don't know what happened, but this lone pelican flew by all by himself.  Maybe he is a teenager who overslept in the morning.

World Cup News:  Tiny Costa Rica qualified for the World Cup Soccer/Football match and was placed in a group with three former World Cup champions -- Italy, England and Uruguay.  Amazingly, Costa Rica won its first game, with a 3 - 1, come-from-behind victory over Uruguay.  It's second game is tomorrow, and we will see if another upset can be achieved.

This week we have photos from our cruise in Mexico's Sea of Cortez posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Another pod of pelicans

This pod of pelicans seems to have broken formation. Usually they fly in a line, or in a "V" pattern.  This pod seems to have popped up in a bit of a disorganized fashion.  And why not?  They are at the beach and everyone else seems to be relaxing or on vacation.

This week we have photos of the architecture of Budapest, Hungary, posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

A pod of pelicans

Surfing, fishing and swimming are not the only activities along Langosta Beach.  Pelicans regularly fly along the beach.  Sometimes they fly above the beach, and other times the skim along the top of the surf like the group in this photo.

According to some brief internet research, a group of pelicans is called a pod.

This week we have photos of the architecture of Budapest, Hungary, posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

The bird showed his profile 7 seconds later

The information recorded with my photos reflects that I took this photo exactly 7 seconds after taking the photo that I posted yesterday.  Fortunately, the bird turned his head to reveal his profile so I could get this photo.

I looked in my Birds of Costa Rica book, but could not find a bird that looks exactly like this.  This bird's head looks like a female hairy woodpecker with the black and white stripes, but the face should be black rather than brown, and the beak is not as pointed as it should be for a woodpecker.

This week we are showing photos of the Perito Moreno Glacier in Patagonia, Argentina, on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

A bird on our balcony rail in the morning

On the morning after my walk from the Marriott Hotel that I have shown during the pst couple of weeks, I opened the curtains of our hotel room and a few minutes later this bird landed on the railing outside the window.

Naturally, I reached for my camera hoping to get a close bird photo before he flew away.  I took this photo without waiting to see if he would turn his head to reveal his face.

This week we are showing photos of the Perito Moreno Glacier in Patagonia, Argentina, on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Julie taking toucan's photo

After I get the photos that I want to take, I will sometimes turn my camera on Julie while waiting for her to take photos.

Here you see that it was a rainy day while we were at La Paz Waterfall Gardens in the mountains above San Jose.  We bought a poncho in the gift shop, which Julie used to keep dry while following a toucan around in pursuit of more photos.

Julie usually takes longer to taker photos than me because she always uses a DSLR, and virtually never on automatic.  I will sometimes use a DSLR, but often I will use a semi-automatic camera with a lens that has a range from macro to 42x zoom.

This week we are showing photos of the people of Ethiopia on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Theme Day: Looking Out -- Toucan's Eye

The December 1 worldwide City Daily Photo theme is "Looking Out."    I am therefore posting this photo of a toucan's eyeball.

The toucan aviary at La Paz Waterfall Gardens allowed an opportunity to get close enough to toucans to get photos such as this, if you have a good telephoto.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.  This week we are showing some photos from our recent trip to Ethiopia, featuring the people.

To see how other City Daily Photo bloggers have interpreted the theme of "Looking Out," please check this link.

Colorful Toucan Beak

This shows the more colorful style of toucan beaks in contrast to the beak that I showed yesterday.

This week we are showing photos of the monumental Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, Morocco, on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Toucan beak

The beaks of toucan are their most prominent feature.  Toucans have different styles and colors of their beaks.  Maybe that is due to different sub-species or maybe it is a male-female differentiation.

The beak of toucans have a purpose, other than to be pleasant for humans to admire.  They act like a radiator and help the birds dissipate the heat of the jungle.

Update to Identify the Large Bird I Showed a Week Ago:  A week ago I posted I posted several photos of a large bird that appeared to be part of the vulture family, but I did not know what species it is.  One of my former high school debate partners, who lives in Australia, sent me a Facebook message suggesting that it is a crested guan.  After checking the Wikipedia article, I think she is right.  I am impressed.  For someone who lives in Australia, she demonstrated impressive knowledge and research skills on Central American birds.  Thank you, Margo.

Ironically, another of my high school debate partners from high school in St. Louis County now owns a ginger farm and guest lodge near Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica.

This week we are showing photos of the monumental Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, Morocco, on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Curious toucan

This toucan seemed as curious about us as we were of him.

The government of Costa Rica is attempting to discourage zoos and discourage people from keeping wild animals as pets.  I agree that animals belong in the wild, but I also think that there should be opportunities for people to admire animals up close in humane conditions

This week we are showing photos of the monumental Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, Morocco, on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Toucan in the Aviary

One of the aviaries at the La Paz Waterfall Gardens is a toucan aviary.  I have seen toucans in the wild in Costa Rica several times, but never long or close enough to get a good photo of them.  My toucan sightings in the wild are usually in a dense forest, with dark or heavily dappled light, which makes focusing and setting the correct exposure difficult, and they fly away before I can get a good photo.

The toucan aviary at La Paz Waterfall Gardens offers a delightful opportunity to observe the toucans up close.  Their long, colorful beaks look like something that an artist would draw in a cartoon, not something that would be useful and evolve in nature.

This week we are showing photos of the monumental Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, Morocco, on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Close up of talons

This is a close view of the  talons of the bird that I have shown during the last few days.  The bird's beak appears to be the shape of a scavenger bird, and his talons look like they could be used by either a scavenger bird or predator bird.  His body looks too heavy for a predator bird, however.

This week we are showing photos of the monumental Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, Morocco on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Large bird close up

This is a close view of the head of the bird that I showed yesterday.  Maybe this will help someone identify the type of bird that it is.  I am not a "birder," although I am getting better about identifying specific species of birds.  Tiny Costa Rica, the size of West Virginia, has more bird species that all of the USA and Canada combined.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.  This week we are showing photos of the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, Morocco.  It is huge in scale and intricate in detail.

Large Bird

We took a short drive up from San Jose to the La Paz Waterfall Gardens, about an hour's drive up from the hotel where we stayed near the San Jose's Juan Santamaria International Airport.  La Paz Waterfall Gardens has walking trails past waterfalls, and also exhibits of tropical plants and animals.

This photo shows one of the birds in one of the aviaries. Sorry, but I checked in my book of Costa Rica birds and could not find the exact species that this is.  It looks to be from the vulture family.

This week photos of the architecture of Ronda, Spain, posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.