Press Story
Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists
Friday, March 30, 2012
Local field naturalists return from international nature trip they won’t soon forget
by Mary Vandenhoff and Joel Byrne
One of the many Costa Rican species seen: Â jacana on a water plant. Photo courtesy Jack Donaldson (Perth) who also travelled to Costa Rica in February.
A glorious trip to Costa Rica in mid-February brought together sixteen nature lovers from Arnprior, Perth, McDonalds Corners, Almonte, and Carleton Place. Most had met on local nature outings and share a love of nature closer to home as members of the Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists (MVFN) club, the trip organizer. A few members of the Friends of Bon Echo and the Ottawa Field Naturalists also joined them. They trekked to Costa Rica to learn about the flora and fauna of that lush and beautiful region on the isthmus of Central America. This was the third international nature outing organized by MVFN with the first being to Mexico to view the wintering grounds of the monarch butterfly and the second to Cuba. The tour was co-ordinated by MVFN member and Mississippi Mills resident Cliff Bennett.
Photo 1: The MVFN group in Costa Rica. Front (seated): Nancy Madregal-Castro (Costa Rican guide); Kneeling (l-r): Dave Milsom (Canadian guide), Mary Vandenhoff , Olga Janoska , Rysha Colp (Ottawa Field Naturalists); Standing (l-r), Tim Pullen, Betty Pearce (Friends of Bon Echo), Joan Lindey (Friends of Bon Echo), Gary Hanes, Howard Clifford, Jean Clifford, Terry MacIver, Dorice Hanes , Al Potvin, Joel Byrne, and Wally (Costa Rican driver). Photo courtesy Cliff Bennett
The tour began February 9 from the capital San Jose where the excitement built as the group divided into four small aircraft and flew over the mountain range and the Pacific to a lodge in the southern lowlands near the Panamanian border. For three days, hikes through rain forest and along the Pacific were undertaken during which dozens of bird species and three species of monkeys were seen. Trip participant Mary Vandenhoff: “Our introduction to Costa Rica was a bird’s eye view of the country from a single prop Cessna flying from the capital nestled in the mountains (yes, under a volcano) over the mountains and along miles and miles of sandy coastline south to a jungle lodge. Where oh where is the runway? All I could see was forest rising from the beaches, but circling round, suddenly between the trees, lies a grassy strip. . . . We had arrived at Tiskita Jungle Lodge for three days of blissful immersion in exotic plants and flowers, spectacular birds (a daily treat was a flypast of Scarlet Macaws glittering in the rays of the setting sun) – even whales, sloths, and a white Ghost Bat sharing the cabin…”
One of the many Costa Rican species seen: a blue morpho. Photo courtesy Jack Donaldson (Perth) who also travelled to Costa Rica in February.
After flying back over the mountains, the group was met by a bus, transportation for the rest of the tour which first headed north into the Braulio Carrillo National Park on the Sarapiqui River and the trails of the Selve Verde Organization of Tropical Studies Research Station. Here they were able to see three-toed sloths, poison-arrow frogs, green iguanas, caymans in the river and agoutis. One group walked by a well-camouflaged poisonous eye-lash viper, not two feet off the trail! Next stop was up the mountains and into a valley and the famous Arenal Volcano. This perfectly conical volcano exploded in 1968, leaving many casualties. Scars from a more recent eruption were evident but the cone was silent and mostly cloud covered when MVFN was there. Local hikes were undertaken including a boat ride through the Cano Negro Reserve on the Rio Frio and a visit to Danaus Ecocentre with its dozens of orchid species. The next few days were spent in the cloud forests of Bosque de Paz Biological Reserve. There, the group were keen to glimpse one of the most beautiful neo-tropical birds, the quetzal. Though this species remained elusive many others were seen as the group hiked several mountain trails and at the lodge, where the dozen hummingbird feeders attracted at least fifteen species, including Eastern Canada’s only hummingbird, the ruby-throated.
Trip participant Joel Byrne: “Great memories, all . . . How about the incredibly iridescent Blue Morpho butterfly that nobody could get to sit still long enough to get a photo of? On a side trip our Costa Rican guide very gently captured a Morpho on the fallen leaves, and we had our picture taken with it in full splendour, and immediately released it unharmed. Or . . . the beds in our jungle cabins that shook mildly at 5 am, no, not room service, but Mother Earth grinding her plates out in the Pacific. How about the rogue wave that wiped my glasses off my face, and the outgoing tide sucking sand, pebbles and my feet and legs out to sea. . . and the words of caution about rip tides and undertows surfaced in my brain as my body sank into the froth. Scramble for the blessed beach! . . . Capuchin monkeys looking like little men cowled and intrepid, defying death in the treetops, devouring fruit as if sitting at table while we clung to long, narrow bridges swinging above gorges with no visible bottoms. Secretive forest beasts, pacas, and agoutis, like giant rabbits (without the long ears) that nibbled at laid-out fruit, ready to bolt from some big cat. And of course the ubiquitous, laid-back lizards enjoying life in paradise.”
On the way back to San Jose, the group visited Poas Volcano Park and toured a coffee plantation. At a dinner prior to departure the group celebrated their experiences and toasted tour group leaders, Quest member David Milsom of Bolton, Ontario and Nancy Madregal-Castro, guide from San Jose’s Sun Tours. In all, they had trekked through four distinct climate zones and a variety of microclimates. Mary Vandenhoff: “We visited jungle, rain forest, cloud forest, river and ocean shorelines. Travelled by plane, bus, boat and walked, and sometimes just sat and the birds would come to us. Full days filled with awe and laughter – look, fig tree, 11:00 o’clock, 3rd big branch above the red bromeliad, a Trogon, a Honeycreeper, a Toucan . . . and 16 pairs of binoculars whip up to gawk in wonder at the brilliant colours of the magnificent birds. We never lost the sense of wonder at the incredible diversity of Costa Rica with its brilliant colours. Thank you Cliff for this incredible experience.”Â
