The next
day we had breakfast by the sea, then up into the mountains for a mid-morning
hike in the steep-sided jungle that rises from the beach. Down a trail that crossed a stream, where
we paused to cool off and pose for a portrait.
(l to r) Ron, Monica, Eitan, Quetzal We
searched the banks for a frog Ron and I had never seen before, and were
rewarded when Quetzal noticed a tiny red speck, its movement betraying the
presence of a Granular Poison Dart Frog (sometimes called the Green Jeans
Dart Frog). Farther from the stream we
came upon another Dendrobates
hiding and hopping among rotting logs and moist leaf litter, this time the
larger Green and Black Poison Dart Frog.
Didn’t
see too much else that morning except for a few lizards. One was a tiny species that kept teasing us
as it darted and disappeared under the leaves of the forest floor, but
eventually we got one in hand. Also saw
a pretty Yellow-headed Gecko peering out from a crevice.
I was also pleased to find Spiny-tailed
Iguanas, looking just as prehistoric as in the old science fiction movies
that cast them as dinosaurs. It was
exciting to see them for the first time in the wild!
Well,
not exactly in the wild. Along the
Pacific coast these lizards live in town, about as exotic as squirrels in
Late
in the afternoon we drove a few hours south to the
Arrived
at our destination after dark and decided to go road cruising instead of
night hiking. Encountered a couple of recent
roadkills, a DOR Mussarana and DOR Boa Constrictor, two species we’ve never
seen in the field and were really eager to find alive. From its overhead perch on a powerline we
were watched silently by a Striped Owl, no doubt also disappointed at not finding
live snakes (but for a different, more culinary motive).
We
settled for a few common species.
Tungara Frogs, a type of Eleutherodactylid,
were chorusing in a swampy spot by the side of the road. Note how the vocal sacs of this male
inflate the underside of his entire body, not just beneath the throat. This helps explain the incredibly loud call
from such a little guy. Also came
across a live Northern Cat-eyed Snake, the most frequently found snake of our
trip (not surprising, since it’s one of the most wide-spread species
throughout all of
We were
surprised, however, by another species of Cat-eyed Snake, which turned out to
be the find of the night: the
relatively rare Mangrove Cat-Eyed Snake.
Whereas L. septentrionalis is
common because its prey --- frogs, frog eggs, toads, and lizards --- can be
found virtually anywhere in the rainforest,
L. rubricata is a specialist
feeding primarily on crabs, and therefore found only in a limited range along
the coast where it lives among the mangroves.
This
was also the start of a distinctive theme, the first of several black-and-red
snakes we were to find on this trip.
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