This in turn has resulted in the arrival and building of amphibian populations that require still water to reproduce. Initially it only had one plant of any size growing behind it but over the years, with the exclusion of the over enthusiastic gardening team, a lot of vegetation has proliferated forming a green wall around the back and to the two sides of the pond. The pond is manmade and was originally put in as a decorative feature. The Bosque pond for many years has been the breeding area for many amphibians. In that case I always suggest going out with me at night because as much of a guarantee as I can offer I do generally find snakes in a certain location once the sun has gone down. A few nights later it was encountered after dinner crossing the lawn in front of the bar and finally it settled into one of the bushes at the side of a path between the bar and the cabins.Īs I have already stated, finding snakes is never an easy task but there are occasionally those who throughout their travels in Costa Rica haven’t come across one but would like to see one. It first turned up in the bar, then it was found at the base of a tree behind the bar. That is what happened this week, this particular individual was seen at different locations at different times around the garden. Occasionally they can be found in the lawns or the bushes and trees in the garden at the front of the restaurant. They sometimes insert themselves in the thatched roofing for a period of several days. Most the boas that turn up in the restaurant area are smallish, about 3 feet or so in length. Wherever there are rodents there are snakes. Wherever there is food there are rodents. The boas generally are found in very close proximity to the kitchen/restaurant area. Two of the commonly encountered snakes around the lodge are the boas, ( Boa constrictor), and Cat-eyed Snakes, ( Leptodeira septentrionalis). Truth to tell there are snakes during the day, there are snakes at night, there are snakes in the trees, there are snakes on the ground, in fact there are snakes everywhere all the time, it is finding them that can be such a thankless task. Hopes renewed, vigor restored off they go again but arrive back some hours later with the same loss of optimism. Maybe after sunset when the forests are dark the snakes will come out. Off they go into the forest grinning from ear to ear in eager anticipation of a day crammed with new discovery only to return with the setting sun deflated and disenchanted. They come brandishing grab sticks and snake hooks ready to participate in a luxury of dream fulfillment. There are stories of huge man-eating constrictors, of deadly venomous snakes, the bite of any one species spelling instant death for the unfortunate victim. They have read the guide books that are lavishly illustrated with photographs of many exotic serpentine forms. That may come as good news to many people but there are those who come to the tropics with the sole purpose of seeing snakes. Snakes are never the easiest things to find. The occasional Paca, ( Agouti paca), Nine-banded Armadillo, ( Dasypus novencinctus), and Common Opossum, ( Didelphis marsupialis), wandered by but that was about all. In fact it appears to have been a relatively quiet week on the Titi Trail, with only the Collared Peccaries, ( Tayassu tajacu), and Agoutis, ( Dasyprocta punctata), making their daily appearances. Once again the cats have refused to bless us with their presence this week. The end of the week was particularly good for visitors with clear blue skies and bright sun which warmed things up and made for good hiking conditions. Up to, and including this week, we have had a continuation of that same pattern of nice bright sunny days and a small amount of rain falling at night. Normally by mid September the rains starts to fall continuously. As yet the really torrential rain has not arrived. Felipe del Bosque Blog September 9 nd 2013
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