Back to Panama/Costa Rica!

There were several points on our voyage where we saw a lot of Magnificent frigatebirds.  When I say 'lots', I'm talking about hundreds!  These birds are wonderful fliers and often steal fish from albatross.  They are also capable of flying right down to the water, stopping and retrieving things off the surface without landing.  However the birds are virtually incapable of walking were were told. 

This first photo is of a juvenile frigatebird as told by the white head...

This is a male frigatebird as told by the throat pouch that they inflate.  As you can see, the pouches are quite large and prominent...

This isn't a bird but I thought it was noteworthy.  We visited an island that had a large number of iguanas in residence but unlike the iguanas in the Galapagos these were rather shy.  Their habit was to crawl up in the bushes and sun, and if anyone got too close they would scamper (or drop) to the ground.  The first indication you usually had of an iguana was a crashing of the bushes along the trail. 

This is the Central American version of the Yellow warbler which is often referred to as the Mangrove warbler and is of the resident race.  The male is a spectacular bird and I spent a considerable length of time in very humid conditions attempting to get a good photo of one.  This was one of my first photos but not the best... you'll see a better one in a subsequent post.  This one was photographed near a 'sacrificial well' (a pit with water in it) as identified by my new friend Don.  We later found out that the sacrificial well was actually a bomb crater... the island had been used for bombing practice at some time in the past.  What a waste! 

It's difficult to tell from this photo, but as the photographer I think this is an adult male of the migratory Yellow warbler race.  I presume that it's of the same race that migrates to the US.