Eco Holidays

posted by Catherine on Jun 23

If you understand the environment you are visiting - you can see so much more!

I know sometimes it is fun to just turn up somewhere and take in everything you see at face value - but it is so much more of a vacation if you actually know what you are looking at and why it is there.

Why Learning Is Fun.
On a recent trip to Costa Rica I had brought some wildlife guide books (as I have a keen interest in mammals anyway) and had a good look through them on the journey there.

They didn’t just teach me about the mammals themselves, it set up the whole scene for the different locations I was going to visit: The cloud forests of Monte Verde, the tropical shores of Samara and the wetland environments of Cano Negro.

The Wildlife:
By learning the most common mammals, birds and trees all around you will be a great help. You will know more about where to spot certain species and not book a tour to see the ones that are everywhere anyway!

And you won’t look like a fool in a group of travellers getting all excited about something that is really obvious - like a tourist squealing about a raccoon in the States!

Mammals:
In Costa Rica there is no need to book a day time mammal tour at all really - as most of the common mammals are everywhere you go. A walk through a small section of cloud forest will easily put you face to face with agouti, sloth and several species of monkey.

If you are quiet enough, they won’t wander off either, so you can flick open your guidebook and find out exactly what they are and what they are doing there.

More elusive mammals will hear you coming way before you even see them - so if you do catch a glimpse of one - it would be great to know what it was!

Most of the other mammals are mainly nocturnal - i.e. they are asleep in a hole all day - so a night tour is your only option. However, you will be aware to check out the site of your night tour during the day beforehand to make sure that it suits the need of the species you want to see.

Birds:
A bird tour without a guide is virtually pointless (unless you are very experienced and know your basic bird groups to start with.

Most of the frequently spotted birds are SPG’s as the guides say - small, brown and gone! You really need to know your stuff to tell all the warblers apart for example!

Experienced bird guides can also tell most birds by their call (which you probably can’t) so they are invaluable if you want to find something elusive or spectacular - like the resplendent quetzal! They will usually know what sex is calling and what the call means - for example one meaning ‘human approaching’ probably means it’s about to fly off!

Guides also carry great equipement that you may not have either - such as a digi-scope or powerful binoculars. They will share these with you to get the best close-up views and have more specific guidebooks to help you see what you are looking for!

Reptiles:
Reptiles can be just as elusive as mammals - and some have great camouflage - but as usual, the guides know where to look.

You may have your own basic guide book which may well have described the best environment to see them. So you know that you don’t need to pay for a tour into a rain-forest to see an iguana - as they are probably sunning themselves on the banks of a river! And you won’t see a poisen dart frog on a beach!

Also, many larger reptiles know there is no real danger from passing boats - so a river trip is great for seeing them - iguanas, baselisk lizards and even a feeding boa constrictor! Even the guide hadn’t seen that before!