CRApril2011

Our visit to Costa Rica began at the San Jose international airport (SJO) where we were met by Randall, a friendly and knowledgeable Costa Rican driver sporting a 4WD Mitsubishi. Randall was employed by Extreme Adventures of Costa Rica and contracted by Laguna Del Lagarto (LDL) for our transportation. Like many Costa Ricans, he was well-educated and fluent in English. Randall informed us that mid-April was near the end of the dry season; this region receives 2 - 5.5 meters (78 - 225 inches) of rainfall annually. The Antelope Valley, California, by contrast, averages about 10 inches of rain annually. Laguna Del Lagarto, our final destination in northeastern Costa Rica, receives an average of about 4 meters of rainfall annually, most of which falls between May and January. Even at the height of the dry season at LDL, prevailing winds from the northeast bring heavy rainfall nearly every evening. Our umbrellas would come in handy.

We proceeded on a zig-zag route northward 140 km to Laguna Del Lagarto (see map) on narrow mountain roads (reaching a maximum elevation of about 1600 m), passing through the scenic towns of Naranjo, Zarcero, and Quesada.The latter town I mistakenly referred to as "Quesadilla." Randall was mildly amused. We stopped at a cafe for lunch in Pital, the nearest large town to LDL (the driving time between Pital and LDL is about 1.25 hr.), located on the north side of the lower slopes of the Cordillera Central (the old route to LDL was partially destroyed on January 8, 2009 by a devastating earthquake (mag. 6.1) centered near Volcan Poas). From Pital, our journey was on an unpaved secondary road, passing through farm land and villages in a bucolic setting amongst rolling hills of the San Carlos River region. Then, easily missed altogether if one had momentarily dozed off, the last major town along the route (a cluster of small homes, an elementary school, a general store, a bar, a hand-made furniture factory, and a cell phone tower), Boca Tapada. Earlier, about 2 km south of Boca Tapada, we made a couple of roadside stops to observe birds such as, Ruddy Ground Dove (Columbina talpacoti), Common Ground Dove (Columbina passerina), Groove-billed Ani (Crotophaga sulcirostris), Tropical Kingbird (Tyrannus melanocholicus), Common Tody Flycatcher (Todirostrum cinereum), and Scarlet-rumped Tanager (Ramphocelus passerinii) in shrub-covered fence lines, adjacent cattle pastures and ploughed taro fields. Most unexpectedly, a pair of Yellow-crowned Parrots (Amazona ochrocephala) was seen quite clearly flying over pastureland. This bird is a South American and southern Panamanian species which is apparently unrecorded in Costa Rica (Stiles & Skutch, 1989).

A few minutes later, dodging numerous potholes, we reached the village of Santa Rita, within view of the impressive gallery forests of LDL. The journey by car from the SJO airport to LDL had taken us about 5 hours and went without incident (our largely non-stop, return trip from LDL to the SJO airport was completed in 3 hrs.and 17 minutes). We spent 10 days and 9 nights at the lodge in attractive, clean accomodations. The very reasonable rates included all meals (simple, tasty dishes with fresh fruit and veggies, beef, pork and chicken), canoeing, access to trails and photography hides, and expert guides.

This was Merissa's first trip to Costa Rica, my third (June, 1997 and January, 1999). My previous visits had included two extended stays at LDL, the most recent one with my Tropical Biology class from AVC. In addition to scouting the area for another AVC Tropical Biology class, I planned to make comparative surveys of birds to see if any significant changes had occurred over the past decade. Luckily, a young ornithologist working at LDL, Didier Castro, made himself available for bird surveys. With his help we identified about 103 species of bird in and around LDL, representing about one-third of the bird species documented to occur there.

During the past decade, LDL has been upgraded and expanded to comfortably accomodate around 40 lodge guests and features a new biology laboratory for visiting college and university classes. In addition, a young Hungarian wildlife photographer, Bence Máté, winner ot the 2010 British Museum of Natural History international competition for best wildlife photographer, had built three high-quality photography hides at LDL, providing excellent opportunities for visiting naturalists and wildlife photographers. We were delighted to learn upon arrival that Bence Máté's winning photo of nocturnal leaf-cutter ants was made only steps away from the room we would be staying in at LDL. His webpage may be found at: http://www.hidephotography.com or http://www.matebence.hu

. Together with a mapped and well-maintained trail system (including freshwater lagoons, grassland-savanna, primary and secondary rainforest), LDL , covering an area of about 500 hectares (1,235 acres), holds almost limitless potential for conducting biological field work (see Student Projects). LDL promotes sustainable resource use, eco-tourism and supports student-volunteer work at the lodge. Recently developed programs have aimed at assisting villagers in the fields of nursing, applied agriculture and language skills. Further information about LDL can be found at: http://www.lagarto-lodge-costa-rica.com/rainforest_lodge/index.htm

Our surveys included several brief visits to the local village and lagoon of Santa Rita, located about 2 Km south of LDL. Among other rarities, we were specifically looking for Boat-billed Heron (Cochlearius cochlearius) , which we found to be represented by three nests, two with chicks. Nearby, at the home of LDL manager Adolpho Gonzalez, we were treated to close-up views of many bird species, including, Blue Dacnis (Dacnis cayana) , Shining Honeycreeper(Cyanerpes lucidus) , Red-legged Honeycreeper (Cyanerpes cyaneus) and Buff-throated Saltator(Saltator maximus ) , all visiting garden feeders baited with fresh bananas. We also spent one morning surveying the swift-flowing San Carlos river by boat, between Boca Tapada and Boca San Carlos (see map). Several more bird species were added to our list, including Green Ibis (Mesembrinibis cayennensis), Green Kingfisher (Chloroceryle americana), Ringed Kingfisher (Ceryle torquata) and Mangrove Swallow (Tachyicineta albilinea). Along the muddy, snag-ridden river edges, our sightings included, American Crocodile (Crocodylus acutus), Tropical Slider (Chrysemys ornata) and two sleepy squadrons of Long-nosed Bat (Rhynconycteris naso) clinging to emergent branches.

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