| The mosquitoes are getting out of control. Walking through parts of the wetland, I litterally have difficulty seeing my feet, not because they are underwater, but because there are thousands of freshly emerged mosquitoes dodging my boots.
It seems that this is the second generation of mosquitoes, with the first potentially being left-overs from the dry season. It’ll be interesting, to say the least, to experience the exponential growth. |
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Category Archives: Animals
More Black-Necked Stilts
The Black-Necked Stilts have come to the wetland by the OET Palo Verde station.
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Hatchlings have come
The hatchlings are pouring out from the mountains towards the wetland. I’ve seen several more than these three, but these were the only ones I took photographs of, and, unfortunately, my camera lens was a bit foggy. Although it’s absolutely awesome to see these turtles, it makes me miss mine quite a bit.
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Tringa sp.
Is this a Solitary Sandpiper, Tringa solitaria?
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Gymnophthalmus speciosus
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A new family of lizard for me, gymnophthalmids are known as specticled lizards because of the presence of a transparent eyelid. They are small lizards, and, according to Wikipedia, are also known as Microteiids because they are related to the Teiidae. There are also lots of Teiidae (whiptail) here in Palo Verde, mostly Amieva undulata and A. quadrilineata. This individual had a missing forelimb, which you can see in the picture on the right.
Tiger Ratsnake
I’ve seen a lot of new snakes lately. This one was one of the most tame and coolest snakes. 
Adult dragonflies
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These dragonflies are everywhere, and their eyes are very reflective, like a mirror. How does one tell dragonfly families apart as adults, as in Libellulidae and Aeshnidae? I can do so with the larva, and have seen exhuvia of both families, but I’ve never had any practice with adults.
Hoffmann’s Woodpecker
I’ve seen a lot of these, but haven’t taken many photographs yet. There is a pair that hang out around the station and make a lot of noise when I or another animal approaches them.
Rainbow or Sunbeam Boa
Loxocemus bicolor is a new species and family for me, although the family, Loxocemidae, is monotypic. It’s a beautiful snake that reflects a rainbow of colors in the sunlight. Additionally, it’s large, strong, and semi-fosorial.
Neotropical rattlesnake
After capturing this rattlesnake, Boa fed it a mouse, which it recently released as a brown, moist mush that appears to have permanently stained the bucket it was in with a horrible stench. The snake is a juvenile, and didn’t even have any rattle segments. It is the only one we’ve seen so far.
