Long-eared Owls are widespread over the North American continent. They eat small mammals and roost in dense trees. This one was seen in a vast open area in the Panoche Valley of California in a rare stand of trees in an oasis area.
Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus)
First heard calling and drumming then eventually seen. For such a large, colorful woodpecker they sure camouflage well. This is a male which is determined by the red cheek. This is a large woodpecker and it is the size of a small crow. As with all of my sightings of this species, it was not far from the ground, this one was probably about 2 m from the ground on a barely surviving English walnut tree.
Red-eyed Tree Frog
Red-eyed Tree Frog
Costa Rica was not all birds, we did see some frogs. This one in particular is stunningly beautiful. I had a 100-400 mm zoom telephoto lens which was not ideal for this shot. I had to back up against a mud bank while Floy held the leaves back so I could get a clear shot.