You don’t think I’d be back at Ft. Sherman without taking a few jungle walks, do you?! In fact, sometimes I don’t even need to leave the docks to see cool critters in the water with mast reflections... or actually on the mast spreaders!
Venturing out for a walk on an overcast day I came across some old favorites, the trogons. There were bugs galore and lots of feeding going on by male and female black-tailed trogons. It doesn’t hurt that they like to make “uuuk-uuuk” noises and pose for the camera.
On another post-rainstorm day I had this real inkling that it was a sloth day & couldn’t believe that I was right. Every time I’ve seen a sloth in this area it’s been a wet, quiet day where these guys may be on the move, coming down out of the high canopy… to relieve themselves, give birth, or other reasons.
This guy was itching himself on the arms and belly all along the way.
Their fur often gets moldy due to their environment and sloth-like disposition.
A common color kept popping up on this pre-summer photo session - orange. Not only are the howlers orange-chestnut backs looking shiny and healthy…
...but I finally got a picture of this adorable little chattering squirrel that has a bright orange belly and tail.
I’ve seen this squirrel in orange flashes at a certain location over the years, but was never able to capture in a photo.
I believe he might be a Bang’s mountain squirrel even though we’re not necessarily in the mountains.
Speaking of hard to identify orange things, this fantastic butterfly was obviously fitting the color scheme of the day, yet I still have not found a match in my searches.
These leaf cutter ants also fit the orange bill as we watched them cut their quarry and cooperate with each other in lifting the heavy burden. Nope, never possible to be bored where there is nature to be observed!
A small frog with a HUGE sound also signaled me over to see his orange highlights…
Last but not least, this delicate and beautiful pair of birds were hiding in the brush. Blue colors were dominant on their beaks and feet, even though the female boasts pale orange hues. They were also proving hard to identify, but something with the way their beak was shaped recalled an antshrike to my subconscious… so with a search for "blue antshrike" I was able to identify these as spot-winged antshrike.
