Trip #17 – Costa Rica Herping Adventures

Costa Rica Herping Adventures

Trip #17

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Our Seventeenth Trip to Costa Rica

May 12st to 19th, 2012

Day One ~~~ Saturday 05/12/12

Anne and I arrived at the Hotel Aeropuerto about 11:30 to meet our group for the 17 th trip of Costa Rica Herping Adventures. I had made a list of everyone’s arrival times and I was keeping up the flight arrivals on the Internet. I knew that Sherri had already arrived a little after 5 am this morning. I had her room number but I didn’t want to wake her up if she was sleeping in after her night flight. Later I saw a girl at poolside.  I walked over and sure enough it was Sherri. I should have known she would be there after coming from cold Colorado to warm Costa Rica. We hugged and talk about things that had happened to us since last year. This was Sherri’s second trip with me; she was on trip 16 last year. Soon Shawn arrived at the hotel; he had been in CR for the past week, staying with his girlfriend at a lodge on the Osa Peninsula. This was Shawn’s third trip with me. He had been on Trip 9 in 2005 And Trip 12 in 2008. Next to show up were Bill and his fiancée Melissa. Bill had been with me once before for Trip 3 in 2002, took him 10 years to get back. Melissa had been on Trip 11 in 2007. She and Bill, both being Herpers, met  and starting dating and were surprised to find that both had a Costa Rica Herping Adventures trip in common. Next came Meg for her first trip with CRHA. From various email and her website, I had already learned the Meg was an accomplished breeder of a least 3 species of snakes found in CR and was hoping to find these snakes in the wild. Finally Jackie and Skip came in; both had been on Trip 16 last year. I was able to breathe a sigh of relief that everyone made on time with no problems. By now everyone was hungry so we made it to the hotel restaurant for a late lunch. As soon as it got dark, Bill, Melissa and Meg grabbed their lights and headed out to the hotel grounds to do a little herping.  Anne and I weren’t hungry after a big lunch and were thirsty so we headed for the bar for beer and wine. Soon Skip and Jackie joined us, followed by Shawn. Skip and Jackie had an interesting dive trip to the Philippines in the past year. On one dive Skip managed to find and photograph a Banded Krait Sea Snake.  This was great because on Trip 16 we all went out for Sea Snakes but due to the bad weather and bad luck, we got skunked. Shawn also described the herps he found in the Osa. Finally our 3 herpers came in and had found a tree frog and a snake. Meg had a partial picture of the snake; she had already looked it up and it looked like a Banded Coffee Snake. Time to hit the sack as we have a 4:30 am wake up call.

Day Two ~~~ Sunday 05/13/12

Our wakeup call was for 4:30 AM.  Anne turned on the light a few minutes before that; I looked at my watch and thought we should be getting the call in a couple of minutes.  When it didn’t happen within 5 minutes, I knew that the first problem of the day was in the process of beginning.    The thought occurred to me that there were 7 herpers that were sawing wood in their beds and I would have to go wake them up.  We were at the Hotel Aeropuerto and had a pickup at the Holiday Inn Express near the airport at 5:20.  We had a ride from the hotel to the Holiday Inn Express at 5:00.  It was really, really important that things work out time wise.  Anne walked to the front desk and asked the security guy why our calls had not been made.  I went down and got the room numbers of all the herpers so I could go and knocked on the doors.  The first room I knocked on was Meg and Sherri, and much to my surprise they were both fully dressed and standing there with their bags ready to go.  As it turned out, room after room was the same.  Come to find out – Anne and I were the only ones not ready to walk out at that moment.  Problem one – solved.  Problem 2 was to get my ass in gear.  Long story short, we made it, and the timing worked out without a hitch.

There was another van traveling to the same place, and we had to pick up some of their people and they had to pick up some of ours.  As a result we were flying all over San Jose.  Thankfully, it was Sunday morning and there was very little traffic.  Had it been a weekday, that part of the trip could have taken several hours. Finally we met, exchanged passengers, and started off on our long ride to Tortuguero.  Once we got out of San Jose, the ride was beautiful going through the Braulio Carrillo National Park.  Once we passed through there, we went through several small towns, and then stopped for breakfast.  Then it was back into the van and off again.  Our driver Tomas was a very informative and entertaining guy.  At one point he stopped in a banana plantation and explained the blue bags that were wrapped around the stalks of bananas hanging from the trees – it is so that all the bananas on the stalk ripen at the same time.  He also explained that they were not trees, but rhisomes that sprouted from the ground and that fruit is harvested every 3 to 4 months, and the plants are then cut down to sprout again. Finally we arrived, after 3.5 hour drive, at Parismina and began a 2 hour boat journey.  The boat driver stopped several times to point out such things as a Sloth, several Monkeys, and Basilisk Lizards.

We were supposed to arrive at the Almond Tree dock at 1:00, but we were a few minutes early.  Luckily, as soon we had unloaded our baggage, Carlos, from Vista Al Mar, our hotel, pulled up at the dock.  A half hour later we were eating lunch at the hotel.

Everyone was anxious to get started, but in the extreme heat of the day, it was not time to consider any serious herping.  That would have to wait until dark.  Anne and I had to go over to the Research Center, and I suggested that they just find their way around and maybe get some pictures of dart frogs or lizards while we were gone.  We took care of our business promptly and were back in no time.  I had called the Center two days before and asked if the rainy season had started yet. They said they had not had any significant rain in weeks.  Yesterday I received an email saying that it had rained all day.  It looks like today would follow suit.  It started raining while we were getting ready for our first night’s excursion.  We all went to the dock and started putting the canoes into the water to paddle over to the research station. On the way over, we spotted the eye shine of two Caiman. It was a little muddy from the afternoon rain.  The first herp we saw was an Eyelash Viper that had been spotted in the rafters of the station’s boathouse.

It was about a foot and a half back from the end at the peak of the roof, and we were able to get photos of a nice green phase Eyelash Viper.  Soon we were on the trail that circles just inside the property boundaries.  One problem we encountered immediately was army ants on the trail and we had to watch every step; if you happened to step in a line of them, they would be on your boots, in your boots, and up your leg giving you a very painful bite.  Soon we were past the army ants and found a Strawberry Dart Frog,  which started the cameras rolling.   Next we came to the elevated boardwalk.  We hunted that without finding any herps except Dart Frogs.  We were hunting on the dry section of the trail and Shawn found a Cat Eye Snake crawling on a limb of a small tree.  We hadn’t seen anything for about an hour and a half of slogging through , sucking  mud  (I had already been pulled out of the mud once when my boots filled up with water) when our guide Manuel stopped and pointed to a Fer de Lance in a perfect coil on a rise.  It would have made a perfect picture, but he had other plans.  He flew off the rise and down the other side.  I managed to get a hook on him before he could get out of sight.  Typically, the snake would turn around, but this guy struggled to get away and then flew back in my direction.  One of the guys tried to get a hook on him from another direction, but he was having none of it.  I said we should just let that guy go as we were in a very dangerous situation.  We both lifted our hooks off the snake; he went over the rise, swam through a puddle, got to the other side and was going off trail when he decided he was coming back.  He turned around, swam back through the puddle and up the rise, heading straight toward us.  Meg was stuck in the mud and couldn’t move; others were trying to get off the path.  I stepped off the path and managed to get my hook on him again, stopping him in the exact spot we had pinned him before.  A second later two more hooks were on him.  Bill, Shawn and I made a plan to use our hooks in a coordinated way to move him in the direction we wanted him to go and off the path.  Our plan was successful and he was at least out of sight, although that might not have been too great as we had no idea where he had gone on the path ahead of us.  We stepped very carefully for the next five minutes. I was very glad this guy was only 2 and half feet long, not a five footer. It wasn’t long before we came to a bit of high ground.  There was a log running parallel to the path.  I looked into the leaf debris and saw a couple of bands and immediately pinned a coral snake.  The snake was partially under the log, and it was hard to tell which end was the head and which was the tail.. Coral Snakes coil their tail  and raise it, making it look like a head when they are disturbed. I had a pair of welders’ gloves in my backpack and asked that someone get them out for me.  Meg handed me the glove and helped me get it on while my other hand continued hold the snake down with the hook.  At that point I just picked him up with my gloved hand and dropped him in the bag.

Allan’s Coral Snake

We had just knotted the bag when Bill spotted another Coral Snake not 10 feet away.  He got his hook on it, but the ground under it was loose and unstable and he was able to get away. Finally the weather caught up with us – the rain came down mercilessly and anyone without a poncho would have been a drowned rat.  Such is the rainy season in Costa Rica, and we all now understand how it has earned that name.

Day Three ~~~ Monday, 05/14/2012

After last night’s massive storm, we were glad to see blue skies at 5:30 AM.  Even before breakfast everyone was out and about the grounds with their cameras set for whatever they could find…..birds, insects, even tropical flowers.  We finally wandered over to the restaurant where we enjoyed a typical Costa Rican breakfast: fruit, juice, beans and rice, scrambled eggs, and coffee or tea.  The hotel is in a unique setting.  On the one side, the side where we came in, is the canal; on the other side is the Caribbean Sea, with its large, crashing waves.  The distance between one body of water and the other is about 300 meters (about the size of 3 plus football fields).  The grounds are meticulously kept with someone always sweeping sidewalks or raking leaves.  The pool is directly across from our rooms and the restaurant is beside the pool. .  The hotel has for our use canoes and kayaks that can be used in the canal.  After Breakfast I told everyone that there would be no group hunts during the day as it is too hot and that they were on their own. Also anyone was welcome to go with Bill, Melissa and I to the research Center to process the Snakes we caught last night. We will measure, sex, and weigh the snake and this will become part of the Center records. We had a good group including several of the volunteers from the Center. After that, most spent the afternoon at the beach, at the pool, and walking around the grounds photographing whatever they found of interest.  At dinner Skip left the table and came back a few minutes later with a big Rubbermaid container which of course Herpers keep snakes in; what did Skip have? Several months before the trip I was emailing about the trip and what might be expected along the way, I happened to mention that the hotel didn’t serve any desserts with their meals. Skip said he would bring desserts for everyone. That what was in the Rubbermaid, Dings Dongs enough for several meals. So after dessert we loaded up and paddled over to the center.  I asked one of the volunteers if he had seen anything that might be of interest to us and he took us over to the area by the bathroom and pointed out an Eyelash Viper in a tree just above our heads.

Bothriechis schlegelii ~~~ Eyelash Viper

Out came the cameras, and everybody got their fill of shots.  That put us in a good mood and we were off.  That was the only snake we saw for the first couple of hours, and then we came across another Coral Snake, which we bagged.  After that we found a Red Coffee Snake.  We continued on until we got to the area where the water started and decided that we would not go through that again tonight. We made a u-turn and as we passed the log where we had caught the Coral Snake an hour earlier, we saw another Coral Snake.  This one, however, eluded capture.  We got back on the boardwalk and started hunting that again and found another Eyelash Viper.

And just before we got to the other end of the boardwalk, we found a Sibon Annulatus (Red-ringed Snaileater) up in a tree.  We were really excited about this find because we were pretty sure it was a new species for us but one of the common ones in this genus.  And that was it – 6 Snakes for the evening.

Day Four ~~~ Tuesday, 05/15/2012

At breakfast I told the group that if things worked out the way it was set that tonight we wouold be hunting in Tortuguero National Park. Our permits were scheduled to be delivered by boat this afternoon by 2:00pm. If they came today, we would hunt there tonight. I was excited because when I was here in Feb. I hunted the Park with three other Herpers and we did well, 12 snakes.  I figured if we could find 12 snakes with 4 people with 9 people we should be able do that good or better. I was hoping for better. Well, anything can happen in CR, but today the permits came in as scheduled, a pleasant surprise! At dinner Jackie reported that she and Skip had gone over to the Research Center that afternoon and she had seen a good size cat that was black in color. I said to her that it was probably a Jaguarundi (Herpailurus uagouaroundi) or possibly a Tarya (Eria barbara) which is in the Weasel family. I had mistaken one for a cat on a prior trip; one big difference is that the Tayra has a bushy tail compared to a cat. Finally we finished dinner and headed for one of the hotel boats to take us to the Park. We got into the boat but it would not start; we moved to another boat and that one started but the running light would not stay on. They messed with it 15 minutes or so. And we were on our way; then the lights went out. I ended up using my high powered flashlight the rest of the way. We pulled up at the Park’s dock and got out with our gear. We had Manuel with us as our guide; he spoke to the Park representatives who used his cell phone to text a message to the jefe somewhere. We stood around waiting for a reply, and in less than ten minutes he said everything was in order and he wished us luck…. As we got on the trail in less than a minute, I had the night first herp in my flashlight beam. It was a Helmeted Lizard  (Corytophanes cristatus) Some photos were taken and we pushed on. Meg was taking pictures of all the neat spiders, insects and a frog or two. Shawn spotted a large Tarantula.

Where are the snakes? I’m thinking! An hour later we are at the end of the trails and still no snakes. We have to find something on the way back or else I’m going to be very, very disappointed. Twelve snakes the first time I’m here, skunked the second time. Well, you can’t see them if they’re not there. Herping is like fishing, you get them when you get them and you don’t when you don’t.

Day Five ~~~ Wednesday, 05/16/2012

After breakfast Skip and Jackie said they were going to paddle a canoe up the canal and try to get some bird pictures. They told us at lunch what they had found on the canal. Jackie, an avid birder and herper, found several new birds to add to her life list. They also saw several Green Basilisk,

Green Basilisk

Green Iguanas, Monkeys, Butterflies and a River Otter.

This, of course, piqued everyone’s interest at our table. Sherri and Meg said they’re going to take a canoe after lunch. Earlier in the day the Research Center sent word over that most of their volunteers had left and they needed help with their Sea Turtle work tonight. Bill and Melissa said they wanted to help; they were experienced from their Sea Turtle work in Florida. They had to go to an orientation at 2 pm at the station. At dinner that night we got a report from Sherri and Meg on their afternoon venture on the canal. They too found all the animals that Skip and Jackie found in the morning including the River Otter (Lontra longicaudis).  They happened to be in the narrow place in the river where the monkeys were crossing the canal, swinging from limb to limb and making a wonderful photo op and they got some great shots. At dinner Bill reported that after their orientation  he and Melissa went back to the tree next to the boat house where we all had been tracking an Eyelash Viper since our first day. Bill spotted him on a low limb; about that time a Toucan flew in and grabbed the Eyelash Viper with his large bill and started flying; Bill screamed and waved his hands and ran toward the Toucan. That did the job; the bird dropped the snake and kept flying. Bill was the hero for saving the Eyelash Viper. As it turned out, that night only Shawn, Meg and I were up for the Research Station Trails again tonight. We got there as hopeful as ever; we hunted high and low, this way and that way with no luck. We did spot the same eyelash viper that I had found a couple on nights ago sitting on the same palm leaf as the first night he was spotted. The interesting thing is that he is never there during the day time, but at night he’s there like he’s never moved. This is the thing I love about not moving the animals we find and observing them day after day in the wild when they can come or go as they please. It’s not like looking at them in a cage when you know they will always be there. So, it seems like we are going to get skunked again. Well, we got back to the boat house and piled into the canoe. I said it was early so why don’t we have some fun. Let’s take our cameras back to our rooms and come back and try to catch some Caimans. This way if the canoe turned over we would just get wet, not losing valuable equipment. With three people in a canoe trying to grab Caimans, tuning over is a real possibility. We started up river and saw eye shine right away, but it was pretty far up stream. I was at the bow, Meg was in the middle seat, and Shawn was aft steering the canoe. We finally got to the first eye shine and he went under, and then came up way back under a bunch of limbs. This happened with the next 5 or 6 Caimans we approached. When we would get 10 to 15 feet from them, they would go under. I was beginning to think this was not going to be fun at all. We decided to try them again on the way back. About that time I saw some eye shine but it was in the trees. It was 40 to 50 feet above the water out on the limb. It was an adult Kinkajou; he was looking us over and we were watching him. I guess he’d seen enough of us he turned around and went back to the trunk of the tree and climbed higher and was soon out of sight. It was a delight seeing him! With the Caimans we had the same problem on the way back, even more so. But, before we got back we did find one that let us get a little closer. It’s been a while since I caught a Caiman but my aim was still pretty accurate, I made the catch.

Shawn had a small camera in a zip lock and took it out and snapped a picture so everybody would believe we caught one. We had the picture and made the release in less than 2 minutes. But this, of course, got our adrenalin going, and we caught the next four out of five. We were definitely having fun, fun, and fun!! Finally we decided to call it a night. We turned around and headed back. As we were getting close the Station, Shawn said he had eye shine in a tree up ahead. As we got closer we could see a four foot plus Annulated Tree Boa

Corallus annallus ~~~ Annulated Tree Boa

on a limb hanging out over the water, how convenient! As we eased up on him, I stood up and grabbed the limb he was on; when suddenly a bird flew from the limb had just grabbed. I hadn’t even seen him I was so intent on the Boa. At that point I knew why the Boa was on that limb. I reached up and took him in my hand. Meg helped me untangle him from the limb and put him into the bag. The time we were in the right place, it was and Shawn’s sharp eyes that put us in the right place at the right time to make the prize catch of the trip.

Day Six ~~~ Thursday, 05/17/2012

By the time everybody was up this morning, the monkeys had invaded the treetops on the grounds of the hotel.  There were Howler Monkeys, one with a baby, Spider Monkeys, and

White-faced Monkeys, and everyone was chasing from tree to tree to try for the best photos.  There were a few Toucans and Amazon Parrots in the trees as well.  There was a lot of activity that lasted for a couple of hours. This morning we were going to hunt the property of Oscar about 2 kilometers down the beach road. Charlotte the Research Station Manager had talked to Oscar about our group. He was quite happy to have us hunt his property and remove all the snakes we could. There were tons on snakes there; of course,he remembered all the Snakes he has ever seen on the property since he has owned it or maybe since he was a child – it’s been in the family for a while. When we got there and called his name, no came out of the house. Finally we decided to move on; after five minutes he came to the road and called us back. We made the introductions with our limited Spanish and he walked us around point out all the good spots. This was everywhere we walked. We set off across a field with thick grass and weeds to an area of thick palms; I figured we would have a chance for an eyelash viper. Shawn was turning over palm fronds and saw a small unidentified snake, but he got down a hole before Shawn could get to him. The rest of us looked high and low, but found no snakes. We returned to the hotel for lunch. After that people kept themselves busy in a variety of pursuits, depending on their individual interests. We never knew what would show up on someone’s camera at the end of the day.  It might be an unusual insect, butterfly, bird, spider, lizard, or mammal.  One rather spectacular picture was of a mother Humming Bird feeding a baby, captured by Meg. Jackie went body surfing, some of us just went to the hammocks and laid around until most of us fell asleep. Finally, it was time to go to dinner.  After a quick meal, we got our canoes and went over to the Center to use their trails once again. This being our last night in the field, we wanted to make it count; we had a plan. We wanted to hunt the Tortuguero Cerro which is a hill a little over 400 feet a few hundred meters inward from the beach. We knew the path to it but did not know where to enter, but of course we would find it! As we walked to the area where the Cerro is, we were hunting. Finally we spotted a Two Toed Sloth

Choloepus hoffmanni ~~~ Two Toed Sloth

in a tree. We were able to take some pictures and we continued on. Once we got on site, that was Shawn, Meg, Jackie, Skip and myself; Melissa and Bill were working with the turtles again tonight. Sherri stayed in her room to pack as she had a boat to catch at 5:30 am and the rest of us were leaving at 1:00 pm tomorrow. We went into any little open area we could see from the path; some would go back 40 or 50 feet, then dead end. Finally we came to a wide one and could see in a  good ways . This must be it we all agreed. In we went and it even began going up after maybe 300 feet,  then another dead end.  Back we came and decided to try again tomorrow morning. Skip and Jackie went to their room. Shawn, Meg and I headed for the dock, we would try our luck again on the river. Maybe another Annulated Tree Boa would be in the cards for us? We paddled around and Shawn caught a small Caiman and  took a picture before releasing him. Sounds like we got skunked again? But, Shawn saved the day again, earlier in the afternoon by catching a Brown Vine Snake on the lawn of the Hotel. Thanks Shawn! We needed that….. We did find a couple of Mammals of interest before getting back to the hotel. The first was an Agouti (Dasyprocta punctata) he is a small rodent. He was on the ground between the path and the water. The other was a Vesper Rat (Nyctomys sumichrasti) he was in a tree.

(Left to Right) Skip, Jackie, Meg, Jim, Shawn, Bill, Melissa & Sherri

Day Seven ~~~ Saturday, 05/19/2012

We still had a half a day left before leaving the Hotel Vista al Mar. So we ate our breakfast and made plans to climb the Cerro Tortuguero. By nine o’clock we were off and still didn’t know where the entry was. It took us a half hour to get there. We started asking people where the entry to the mountain was, they would smile and point and we would go in that direction until we met the next person. We finally got to the place where there was no mountain left, we knew we were too far, so we started back. A guy on a bike came by and we asked him; he smiled and pointed in the direction then rode away. Then he stopped and pointed toward the mountain. We caught up with him and there was a hard-to-see opening. We thanked him and headed in. We got to the base and followed the path up; the first 50 feet or so was not bad, but things changed quickly. Now it was getting tough and hard to get a foot hold; we were getting near the top when a couple in our group said they had enough and started heading to the base. They were only 50 or 60 feet from the top, but that short distance was really tough. The top was worth the climb as I knew it would be; we made it to the top of Cerro Tortuguero.

Cerro Tortuguero

We could see all the way to Tortuguero and the rivers leading to it. Looking off to the left, we could see the waves breaking on the beach from the Caribbean Sea. A short while later we were in our rooms packing. We had our last meal at the hotel and had to be on the dock with our bags at 1 pm. Travel days  are always packed with tension because things have to happen in a timely manner and you don’t have control over it. The best thing you can do is keep a positive attitude and hope for the best. We left the hotel a little after 1pm and got off at the Almond Tree dock a half hour later, our pick up was at 2pm. We boarded the boat around 2:30 for our trip to Parismina which would take 2 hours. On our way we were lucky enough to see three Green Macaws, which are only found in a small area the Northeast Costa Rica. We also saw a nice Crocodile.

Crocodile

From Parismina it was a 3.5 hour ride to San Jose. We got dropped off  at the Hotel Aeropuerto around 8:30. Hugs all around, and Trip 17 was in the old Snake Bag !!


Species List

The following is a list of snakes our herpers encountered on our trip to Costa Rica; May 12th to 19th 2012.

Species
Common Name
Live DOR
Bothriechis schlegelli  Eyelash Viper 4 0
Bothrops asper Fer-de-Lance 1 0
Corallus annulatus Annulated Tree Boa 1 0
Leptodeira septentrionalis Northern Cateye Snake 1 0
Micrurus alleni Allen’s Coral Snake 5 0
Ninia maculata Banded Coffee Snake 1 0
Ninia sebae Red Coffee Snake 2 0
Oxybelis aeneus Brown Vine Snake 1 0
Sibon annulatus Red-ringed Snail-eater 1 0
Leptodeira septentrionlis Northern Cat-Eye Snake 1 0
Un-identified 1 0
Total 19 0

 

My Herping Adventure in Costa Rica

This was our second trip with Jim and again we had an outstanding time. It was great to reunite with friends from our previous trip and to make new friends!!  Herpers are an interesting, eclectic and eccentric lot, interesting and all very fun!!  I’m sure others have written up all the exciting snake findings (I just love those eyelash vipers) so I will share the unexpected surprises involving other critters.  The birding was, as expected, phenomenal!  Many new lifers for me, including the iconic Green Macaws, Toucans, and many more.  We also saw Howler and Capuchin monkeys and Skip and I followed a lively River Otter for a long time while canoeing in the canal one day.  Through Jim’s connections with the nearby research station, we had opportunities not available to most visitors at the resort. Skip and I got to observe bird-banding activities including a tiny Red-capped Manikin.  We also had open access to the research station trails.  One afternoon, Skip and I were taking a quiet walk on one of the trails. It was just the 2 of us on the trail, when suddenly we were stopped in our tracks by simultaneous loud alarm calls of Howler Monkeys and a pair of very agitated Manikins who were also alarm calling and flying around in a triangle of trees. One of the trees was within 2 feet of us on the trail. I was focusing on the birds, trying to identify them and understand their behavior since we did not seem to be the center of their attention. One step forward and I then saw the small black cat spring off a nearby tree trunk and disappear into the forest like a lightening bolt.  I then again observed that the Howler monkeys, still screaming alarm, were also looking down in the direction of the cat, and not at us.  After looking at photos, discussing possibilities, and a little research about behaviors, size, features, I have decided that I was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a Jaguarundi!!  This sighting tied for first place for me as a trip highlight.  I was honored to receive an invitation to join the research station scientists on a post turtle nest hatch dig. They monitor the nesting sites closely and three days after hatchlings emerge, the empty nest is dug up for basic data collection, depth of nest, number of hatched and un-hatched eggs, condition of un-hatched eggs (embryo, infertile, dead hatchlings that don’t make it out of the nest etc). On occasion, a hatchling is uncovered that did not make it out with his siblings and this was one of those occasions.  The researcher gently dug out the flailing hatchling, checked it over, saw no apparent defect and placed it on the beach to make its way out to sea!! Tiny Leatherback, with slim chance of survival to maturity, but if tenacity and will to live are a factor, this little guy might stand a chance. I had worked with sea turtles at a previous job I had in Florida in the late 1970s and it was such a thrill for me to again experience a nest dig and see a hatchling take its first steps on its remarkable journey out to sea!! Thanks to Jim for making these experiences possible!

Jackie


My Herping Adventure in Costa Rica

Wow, what can I say!? This was my first trip to Costa Rica and the herping tour met every expectation.  Jim and his wife were a delight and ran circles around all of us! Ah to have that much energy!  Our first night out in the jungle was long, wet, miserable and….fruitful!!  Just when you thought your neck would fall off from looking in trees and bushes, a “snake!” call would come and you’d forget everything to go find out what was found.  The Fer-de-Lance was the highlight of the evening and the most nerve-wracking portion of the hike.  He was completely unwilling to be photographed and certainly made that perfectly clear!  Lets just say that we gave up without any real photos of the ill tempered beast!  We found many coral snakes and it was almost ho-hum by the time we caught number 3….wow is all I can say! If I were able to find even one here in South Carolina I’d be pulling back flips…..seems that they are far more numerous there in Costa Rica.
There were a few days that we were without new snake findings other than our classic standbys…the eyelash vipers.  Three were found each night on a regular basis and two were visible in their resting places each day. Strawberry dart frogs were plentiful and beautiful.  I enjoyed several days of canoeing with my new friend Sherri and we spotted many interesting critters including otters, basilisks and monkeys.  Birds were everywhere and plants, trees and insects kept me captivated in between the snakes.  There is no shortage of photographic material if you’re into more than just the reptiles. The spiders alone are varied and fantastic!
This trip was worth every moment and I’ll cherish the new friends I made and the lifetime shots I was able to take.

Thank you Jim and Anne for a grand time!

Meg


My Herping Adventure in Costa Rica

My second trip to Costa Rica with Jim Kavney & Costa Rica Herping Adventures was a blast! Having been on trip #11 back in 2007 I anxiously awaited the chance to head over to Costa Rica with Jim once again.  My fiancé Bill Murray (who was on trip #3) and I flew into San Jose together and met up with the group.  We spent the week hiking around, doing volunteer sea turtle work, canoeing, and of course catching snakes.  We saw a very feisty fer-de-lance, coral snakes, eyelash vipers, a stunning annulated boa, and many other herps.  Bill and I travel extensively in search of herps – all of our vacations are centered around snake hunting.  Trip #17, however, will leave us talking and reminiscing for a long time… at least until the next time we find ourselves on a Costa Rica Herping Adventure!  I’ll tell you what Jim told me the first time I ever spoke to him:  I called him and expressed interest in attending one of his trips.  He said, “if you don’t do it now you may never do it”.  Jim was right!  If you are considering joining in on the next Costa Rica Herping Adventure do yourself a favor and sign up now.  Not only did I add to my herp “life list” but I added many new friends and fantastic experiences.  Thank you Jim – I can’t wait to do it again!

Melissa


My Herping Adventure in Costa Rica

I’m more of an adventurer than a serious herper. Jim’s trips offer both herping and adventure, and this is why I love them so much! One day I’m sitting at a desk behind a computer working on excel spreadsheets. The next day I’m traipsing in the jungle in the rain with a flashlight dodging giant spiders and confronting venomous snakes in the jungle. You just cannot get any more adventure than that! I’ve done two of Jim’s trips now. Though each was unique, they had a few things in common. Jim takes care of every detail so all you need to do is show up. After traveling solo so many times, I really appreciate the luxury of having transportation, accommodations, and food taken care of. Also, Jim’s lifelong passion and enthusiasm for herping is really contagious. His trips offer the right balance of challenge and flexibility. I was happy to have the security and expertise of the group, as well as the unexpected joy of making new friends and sharing many laughs.

2011: This herping trip was close to the Pacific Coast. The Villa Lapas was very resort-like, with incredible food in all-you-can-eat buffets, an open bar, and a beautiful nearby trail with several suspension bridges. Of course, the most talked-about adventure of this trip was the night we ventured onto this trail in the dark and found kinkajous, a sloth, and two fer de lances (“terciopelos” in Spanish). The first one just posed while we photographed it. I came to believe that night that perhaps the legends of the terrifying terciopelo who will chase you and try to kill you were slightly “embellished”

2012: The Vista al Mar near Tortuguero on the Caribbean Coast felt more like camping out – the accommodations and food were more basic, but the rustic ambience replete with enough hammocks for everyone was a refreshing change. The resort is bordered by the river on one side—where we took daily canoe trips—and the ocean on the other. It was often tough deciding whether to go to the pool, the beach, or out canoeing. These tough choices are the things that build character.

HIGHLIGHTS OF 2012:

I would have to say the first night when we hunted at the biological station was the most challenging and rewarding adventure of the trip for me. First, we saw an eyelash viper hanging out around the boathouse. This tiny and adorable snake had eluded us on the 2011 trip, so it was on my list of must-sees for this one. Next, I faced my biggest fear (spiders) when we all crawled underneath the huge spider web stretched across the trail with a huge orb weaver in the corner of it. This was both terrifying and exhilarating for me. After that we walked probably for an hour in our rubber boots through a wet marshy area where the trail seemed to disappear. Trying to keep from sinking into the mud and avoid spiders, I didn’t realize that just ahead was one of our terciopelo friends coiled up near the path. As we tried to pin the angry snake with our hooks, he swam away at great speed. What I witnessed after that utterly amazed me, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t also a little scared. He turned around and swam back! He appeared to be coming right for me! My memory is a bit blurry after that but I believe Jim pinned him again and then he swam off in a different direction, this time not returning. So maybe the legend is true? Not long afterward, we found two coral snakes, another fantastic find. What a night!

My other favorite part of this trip was my very first morning canoe ride with Meg. We paddled leisurely down the river (well, Meg paddled) and found monkeys leaping from tree to tree crossing the river, a green basilisk, an otter, a toucan, and a large surreal ultraviolet blue butterfly that would never light long enough for a picture. I had never been in a canoe before this trip and felt like Katharine Hepburn in The African Queen. The jungle in Tortuguero is very magical, especially when experienced on a quiet canoe ride down the river.

One night, Shawn, Jim, and Meg went out on a canoe ride. I asked them to please bring me back a boa (something we had not seen yet). To my surprise, they returned with a gorgeous annulated tree boa that Jim had extracted from the tree for our viewing pleasure. From this I learned that you have to be careful what you ask for!

I have now returned to my excel spreadsheets, predictable routines, and modern conveniences. But I brought back with me the memories of a lifetime. Thanks again, Jim.

Sherri


My Herping Adventure in Costa Rica

In May 2012 I joined Jim for my third Costa Rica Herping Adventures trip to Costa Rica.  I’ve been herping throughout Central America for about ten years, but always look forward to Jim’s trips the most.  The camaraderie and adventures I’ve experienced simply can’t be beat.  His trips are informal but still well structured, the group size small, and the focus on herps unmatched.  Jim is very familiar with the areas we explore and brings a wealth of knowledge and connections that always make the trips fruitful and educational.

From the moment I heard about the recent trip to Tortuguero I was hooked.  Although the typical destination of Villa Lapas is always filled with great herp finds, lots of fun, and even A/C, I found the prospect of exploring an area I have never been to too good to pass up.  I felt it an honor to help Jim scout out a new area.  And I have to say, this trip gave a whole new meaning to the word “adventure”!  From the trip to the hotel, to the high number of venomous snakes we found, to the monkeys swinging over our rooms every day, this trip did not let me down.  I think we were all a little disappointed with the number of snakes we found, but that is simply the nature of the activity.  One week you may find lots, the next very little.  But what we lacked in numbers we made up for in sightings of other animals (mammals such as sloths and otters, sea turtles, lots of coral snakes, an annulated tree boa, etc.).  And no trip of Jims is complete without a “death march”, which we thankfully got out of the way early in the week!  At the time, slogging through ankle-deep mud in the dark and pouring rain, coming across fer-de-lances, eyelash vipers and coral snakes maybe didn’t seem like the typical idea of paradise.  But looking back, that night is one of the more memorable herping hikes I can remember.  Beach time, canoe trips, and even a mountain-scaling hike with incredible and unexpected views weren’t so bad either!

If you are interested in a true “herping” trip, and are willing to give up a Four Seasons-like atmosphere, then join Jim on one of his next trips.  You’ll probably find me there too!

Shawn

 


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Last Updated August 2012

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