Palo Verde! (Sat., 3/7/09) - Cows, Howler Monkeys and Poisonous Snakes

This day has been incredibly long, but so amazing.  A short summary of the day and numerous pics follow.

6 AM, wake up, walk out by the wetland, the wildlife sightings begin, cows, birds and iguanas...

Many birds live in the wetlands in Palo Verde. Cows are also used to keep down damaging cattail plants.

My first wildlife sighting in Palo Verde.

7 AM, breakfast, the a boat nature tour, full of crocodiles and howler monkeys.

We saw so many crocodiles (<em>Crocodylus acutus</em>)out on the river that I couldn't even count them all. Here is one of the larger ones we saw.

A howler monkey (<em>Alouatta palliata</em>) we saw while on the river. They make a low rumbling noise that is kind of scary, but they are not very big. : )

12 PM, lunch, nap, then some field work, sweltering hot, with a forgiving breeze every once in a while.  But on the walk back is where the action occurred, The stars of the show were white faced monkeys and a gorgeous Macaw.  

White-faced capuchin (<em>Cebus capucinus</em>) is feeding and cleaning its infant. What a life. The baby breast-feeding is a little hard to see.

A beautiful Macaw (<em>Ara macao</em>) eating mangos, and the moon. He sat up there for at least 30 minutes.

6 PM, Dinner, then a night walk where we saw a coral snake (beautiful but poisonous), some tiny scorpions and scary spiders. 

A lovely poisonous coral snake (<em>Micrurus sp.</em>). He was not excited about his photo debut.

Jeez it was a full day.  And now at 10:20 PM, am I playing games?  No, I am posting pics for your viewing pleasure...  Enjoy.  : )