Untamed Central America...parte dos

After finding a Bothrops asper outside the accommodation, I knew it was going to be an interesting day. After moving it away from the path, it was time for breakfast before starting a busy day's filming schedule.

Sadly after breakfast I found a casualty that had crashed into the lodge’s shop window, a gorgeous Green Hermit! At first I thought it was dead but as I picked it up I could see it was just stunned. After nursing it back to consciousness for a few minutes it actually recovered enough to fly off and perch up in nearby tree. Hopefully it made a full recovery.

Green Hermit, Tapirus Lodge

Green Hermit - not sure if it's just the light or the
angle but that bill does look a bit odd!

I was just about to start droning to get some shots of the lodge when one of the guides called me over in time to see a Green (aka Giant) Parrot Snake, Leptophis ahaetulla settled on vegetation outside the restaurant. These are very attractive colubrids and this large individual was no exception. There are a few similar species but the lack of loreal scale helps ID this rather lovely snake.

Green Parrot Snake, Leptophis ahaetulla

Green Parrot Snake, Leptophis ahaetulla

No sooner had we finished looking at the Parrot Snake than Marvin found this tiny Bothriechis schlegelii curled up on a branch where he'd last seen it a month before.

Eyelash Pitviper, Bothrechis schlegelii

The 'Hummingbird Garden', an area full of purple Verbena plants, was busy with Bronze-tailed Plumeleteers, Crowned Woodnymphs, Rufous-tailed Hummingbirds and several Snowcaps.

Bronze-tailed Plumeleteer

Crowned Woodnymph

Umbrella Bird - not an easy bird to see well!

As we headed off along one of the trails to film, we stopped to look at a Rainforest Hognose Pitviper, Porthidium nasutum, that had been found a week earlier and was still patiently waiting in the same spot. They often do this, sometimes moving just a few inches to better their chances of striking prey. These are not big snakes. This individual was probably 10-12 inches in length, spotting them sitting still on mud or among leaves is nearly impossible.

Tiny ambush predator, Porthidium nasutum

Blue Morpho

Helmeted Iguana, Corytophanes cristatus

Tiger ant

That evening Marvin and I set about another herping walk and we got lucky with a good selection of amphibians. We were leaving in the morning but would be back in a week's time for another short visit.

Smooth-skinned Toad, Rhaebo haematiticus

Red-eyed Treefrog, Agalychnis callidryas

Orange-sided Gliding Frog, Agalychnis spurrelli

Orange-sided Gliding Frog, Agalychnis spurrelli

Ghost Glass Frog, Sachatamia ilex

Ghost Glass Frog, Sachatamia ilex

A great way to end our short stay at Tapirus. In the morning we would leave to go back to Rancho Naturalista.