This is gonna be short, ’cause it’s late, and I am beat. Anne and Deb did graduate from their Spanish classes this morning, and then we did drive down the lake shore to catch a ferry to the island of Ometepe, but before that all happened, I got to visit the lake front and river in Granada one last time.
It turns out that that cute little green kingfisher I showed you Wednesday was the Mrs., as you may have noticed, and today the Mr. decided to show his gorgeous face. What a charmer, eh!
As I cross the river, I noticed a bustle in the trees across the street, and it turned out to be caused by this fascinating creature, my very first variegated squirrel (Sciurus variegatoides). If you’re saying to yourself right now, “that looks like no variegated squirrel I’ve ever seen,” well, that could be because “the several subspecies differ in appearance and there is often a considerable variation between the appearances of individuals in the same population.” Furthermore, “in Nicaragua and Costa Rica, some individuals have pale underparts and tails,” which appears to be the case here.”
Finally, the last new bird I saw in Granada just happens to be this stunner, my very first turquoise-browed motmot (Eumomota superciliosa), the national bird of Nicaragua. I realize that this picture is not quite the portrait that the Lesson’s motmot let me have, but I can just hear this cheerful-looking little bird opining, “I’m the dang national bird! Be thankful you even got a picture at all!” To which I would reply, “oh, I am! I most definitely am!”
Now, I’m gonna hit the sack so I can get up and look for wildlife tomorrow.
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 