Vincent Losasso

A few days ago, around six o’clock in the evening I was doing regular dad stuff, yelling at kids to turn down the volume on their iPads and chatting with my wife, when my phone declared I had a new message on WhatsApp with a loud ping. The phone revealed a new message in the Jaguar Group. The Jaguar Group consists of a few jaguar researchers who share information amongst themselves, and I must confess I’m extremely proud to have been included in it a few months ago.

Today’s featured avian creature is the White Hawk, a widespread, beautiful bird of prey whose life is still a bit of a mystery. The white hawk (Pseudastur albicollis) is called the gavilán blanco in Spanish. The English and Spanish names hit the nail on the head because the white hawk is indeed predominantly white.

The captivating shift from Costa Rica's wet to dry season in Guanacaste. See how this transformation leads to incredible wildlife events.

Find out about Costa Rica’s six wild cat species through fascinating insights from years of camera trapping. Learn about ocelots, pumas, jaguars, and more in their natural habitats.

Part of the fun of moving from a temperate climate to the tropics is the discovery of new fruits. During my first year in Costa Rica, I was treated to a variety of new tropical delights including guava, passion fruit, mamón chino, mangosteen, and water apple. Even the fruits that I recognized from the grocery store like papaya and mango were almost like new discoveries because the taste of locally grown fruit blows away the flavors of items shipped for hundreds of miles.

My work with camera traps is a combination of science and art. Ecology is the study of the relationship between living organisms and their physical environment. An understanding of the species that I’m seeking out and how those species use their environment certainly has an effect on the success of a project. As for the art side of things, I go to a lot of trouble to try set my camera traps in a manner that will produce the most visually appealing wildlife video possible. So my goals are clear. I want to record as many as species as I can, and I want those videos to be spectacular.

Today we meet the anhinga, a long-necked bird who’s adept at swimming and spearing fish and is sometimes confused with being a snake. The anhinga’s scientific name, (Anhinga anhinga), gets right to the point. Twice. It’s Spanish name, pato aguja, which translates to needle duck, comments on the physical appearance of this waterbird.

Experience the joys and trials of living in a small town. Join us as we share our story of moving to a coastal town and finding a rental on a little dirt road.

Recently crocodiles have been in the news in Costa Rica. There has been an increase in crocodile sightings and within the last year or so folks are starting to wonder if there’s a problem with the country’s crocodile population. I’ll be forthright with my feelings on the American crocodile ( Crocodylus acutus ). For me, they are the perfect blend of awesome and slightly terrifying. Personally, an increase in crocodile sightings would directly increase the happiness level of my life.

This was around ten years ago, so the details of the beginning of the day are a little fuzzy. My wife and I, in all of our kidless glory, were on a no-reason vacation to a goat farm on top of a mountain. We had a few days to explore the area and, as it has been since we started dating, it was up to my wife to layout the plan for the day. She wanted to explore Irazu Volcano, and my response to that proposal was a pure stink face. I don’t know why. I think I was being fussy for fussy’s sake.