7th February - La Reserva Bosque Nuboso, Santa Elena, Costa Rica

We were picked up from the hotel after breakfast and after other pick ups around the Monteverde area we headed up to La Reserva Bosque Nuboso in Sant Elena.  Elevation wise we moved up to 1700 metres, and getting out of the bus it was overcast, but never cold, we did though notice the strong winds that are a feature of the area.

We checked in and our guide then called us outside to see some Common Chlorospingus feeding in the car park.

At the other end of the car park was a Yellowish Flycatcher, showing the distinctive eye ring

We walked through the cafe area and there was a Three-striped Warbler, or Costa Rica Warbler as our guide called it.

We then headed out into the reserve.  The community of Santa Elena borders the Monteverde Conservation Area. Within this region, 310 hectares (765 acres) have been permanently leased by the Santa Elena community high school. The original vision was to use this land for agricultural research and education in Monteverde. However, the farming proved to be unsuccessful, and in 1989, the land was converted into a cloud forest reserve. Together with Youth Challenge International, a Canadian based non-profit organization, the community established an ecotourism reserve, which officially opened on March 1, 1992.

The reserve was created out of the community’s desire to both preserve the cloud forest and use tourism as a means to benefit community development. Entrance fees go to protecting and managing the reserve, as well as providing higher quality education for the schools of Monteverde.

Warm winds from the Atlantic Ocean sweep over the Continental Divide, cooling and condensing to form clouds as they rise. By the time they reach Santa Elena, the clouds are thick and filled with moisture. The forest is thus bathed in a constant supply of mist, which, over the course of a year, amounts to nearly twelve feet of rain.

A cloud forest is a high-elevation forest characterized by a persistent, canopy-level cloud cover. These clouds provide the forest with a continual supply of moisture, which supports the fantastic array of plants that live here.

A walk through the Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve reveals a lush garden of mosses, ferns, flowers and epiphytes growing thickly on every tree. Clouds drift in and settle among the slopes, providing the plants with the continuous moisture that they require. Dangling roots and vines sweep across the trails, while the sounds of birds and other creatures echo throughout the forest.

The Santa Elena cloud forest is abundant with vegetation. The competition for growing space is so intense that the trunks, branches and even roots of trees are almost entirely covered with other plants – epiphytes, lichens, liverworts, bryophytes, mosses and more. Strong winds and water-laden limbs often cause branches to break and fall to the ground. This not only creates light gaps in the canopy, but also provides the forest floor with added nutrients.

There were birds but they were very hard to get on and identify, or they were hidden on the forest floor, we did manage to see Slaty-backed Nightingale Thrush and Black-headed Nightingale Thrush in the undergrowth.  This was the easiest animal to photograph, the Dung Beetle.

But the walk was more about appreciating the unique environment of the Cloud Forest.  Here a large palm tree.

Trees filled with spanish moss, moss byorites and much, much more.

The trail winds upwards and eventually reaches an Observation Tower that provides wonderful views across the treetops.  Unfortunately the continued cloud on the Caribbean side obscured the volcano, but the views were immense despite having to hold on as the wind was quite strong up there.  

Looking towards the Pacific.

Volcano Arenal.

This little spider, is known locally as the Slingshot Spider.  It forms a cone shaped web and then sits in the middle holding on to silk and when something comes into the web it fires the silk at it and then winds it in to eat!

One tunnel was empty, but in another the guide was able to show us this Orange-kneed Tarantula, one of the commoner tarantulas in Costa Rica.  It is poisonous and it can also emit hairs that can cause irritation to the skin.

We then were able to walk down through the thicker forest and then down on to a road which was a lot more open and there were birds that could be seen.  This is a Collared Redstart and it showed very well.

The path then led its way back to the reserve visitor centre.

We were dropped off at the hotel and a Tropical Kingbird was hawking insects in the hotel kitchen garden.

A visit to the cloud forest is a must.  It is an unique environment and well worth seeing, unfortunately it is not a tour for clear wildlife watching, but I was glad we had managed to see it, and we were able to get some new birds for the trip.