The houses are up, the birdbaths have been cleaned and filled, the birds are here and nesting and your yard is filled with birds performing their daily tasks to keep the little ones safe and fed. You can sit back now and relax, right? Not quite. It's true that all of the heavy lifting has been done and you can be proud of what a great job you've done but, just like raising a family, your job is never really done.

The Tayra is an omnivorous animal which means it eats plants and meat. It belongs to a weasel family called mustelidae. It is also known by the name of Perico ligero. Indigenous people also often refer to the tayra as "cabeza del viejo", or old man's head, due to their wrinkled facial skin, have kept them as household pets.

Costa Rica has beautiful scenery, sights and spots that can be viewed and toured via the ATV (all terrain vehicle). This is the best way o know to get to know the real Costa Rica. There are numerous ATV tours available that can take you to a heart-stopping, adrenaline-pumping adventure!

I've been working many years as a travel agent specializing in Costa Rica and Central America. As a result, now I pretty much know everything there is to know about this small yet unique country.

Ok, so who hasn't heard of the speedy and fierce Jaguar. And I'm not talking about the famous car brand! Considered as one of the fastest animals on earth, Jaguar is actually a one of a kind of cat. Corcovado National Park of Costa Rica has the honor to publish the fact that they, along with parts of Guatemala and Belize, are the only places for these types of Jaguars.

You can find the deadliest snakes in the world living a solitary life in the southern most part of Costa Rica in Corcovado National Park. The Fer De Lance, is considered one of the most fierce and most violent snakes in the world.

Howler Monkeys are amongst the largest of the new world monkeys. They are native to Central and South American forests and one of the best National Parks to see them in Costa Rica is Corcovado National Park.

Many people who love birds simply love animals. Almost all animals. This includes cats. My daughter loves all animals. She had to have inherited her love of animals and nature from her mother and me. She's an adult and has joined a Sea Turtle rescue organization. She also rescues feral cats and 5 of them have ended up in my backyard (I live in the country) . Of course they have been spayed and neutered and they get regular vet care and Pet Smart loves my weekly visits to purchase food for them. The issue here is how can I have birds in my backyard and also have outdoor cats?

Costa Rica is a country with tons of beautiful touristic places that you can visit when you are on a family vacation, a honeymoon or a trip with friends. But I know that it is imposible to try to see them all in just one trip. That is why I made a list of the 3 areas that you can't miss to help you decide, specially if you are in Costa Rica for the first time:

Costa Rica can be a dream vacation for you because of its natural beauty and appealing wildlife.

OK, so you're in Costa Rica. Now what? Well, I'm sure you've got your tours and hotels all figured out, which is great! However before you get back on that plane and tell all your friends and family about your tropical experience, you've gotta do this!

If you are looking for an all day adventure, Auto-Safari Chapin is the solution it.

There are many animal species in Costa Rica, 200 are mammals and out of the 200 species, 100 of them are bats and only FOUR are monkeys!

Although Palmares is a small little town, it becomes really big when its people get active!

You will never forget about two things if you ever visit Panaca.

Here are some things you must keep in mind when you travel specially to Central America to keep in mind to make the trip as enjoyable as possible.

I was traveling along Costa Rica with my family and we decided to visit the Tortuguero Village. We stayed and Mawamba Lodge where after a yummy breakfast and quick dip in the pool we took a short boat trip.

We've all heard about Disney or Universal theme parks. I'll give you a place that is a nature, Adventure Park where the theme is all part of Mother Nature's own design with a few embellishments and adventure zones thrown in to ignite all of our senses. This amazing place covers up almost over 90 Sq hectares of the whole tropical forest.

I know you must be wondering why I dedicated a whole article to a lodge. You must be thinking that it must be a great place good. Yes my friends, it's THAT great! I could've stayed in Mawamba Lodge for a week just to chill out myself! Yes the Tortuguero village was very warm and beautiful, and was able to take a place on my heart on its own. But this is why I thought it was so great:

Lanquin National Park was one of the first protected areas declared in Guatemala. It is located 1 km away from the town of Lanquin, off the highway that runs between Lanquin and Coban. It is an enormous and beautiful complex with limestone formations of extraordinary beauty. Lanquin caves is also a sacred site used by the many of the Mayas from all over Guatemala, who believe the cave is the "heart of heaven", and that in the depths of the cave "the secret of centuries is hidden".

There are many places you can't possibly miss in Costa Rica and one of them is definitely Tortuguero. The trip was so much fun and exciting that I couldn't help myself but write about it!

Where can you find an airline that is safe and environmentally friendly at the same time? The answer is Nature Air in Costa Rica. The one and only airline that gives a lot of environmentalists a long needed relief!

Jet skis are fast, huge, and fun (not to mention the cool factor)and another great way to explore the beautiful coasts of Costa Rica.

Do you have any idea of how many miles of coastline Costa Rica has? I bet the answer will amaze you. Over 800 miles! I know, it's crazy!!!

The best way to end your journey to Guatemala is to visit the Lanqun Caves (Grutas de Lanquin) where you will have two options: The first one is to walk down a path along the banks of the Lanqun River. The second one is to take float down the river on tube into the caves. Regardless of the way of transport, if you arrive at the caves around dusk and you'll witness an extraordinary event!

There are only seven species of sea turtles all over the world and only four of them have made Costa Rica their nesting place year after year.

A great place to start off is La Sabana Park, on the Eastern side of San Jose. Here you'll get the opportunity to see one of the best city parks of Central America. It has a wide area of open spaces, plenty of activities, playgrounds and family areas.

The Baird's Tapir is named for the American naturalist Spencer Fullerton Baird who traveled to Mexico in 1843 and observed the animals. Along with lots of other animals, Corcovado National Park is the host to these Latin American Species of Tapir.

I received an e-mail yesterday that asked, what some people would consider, a rather simple question. I was asked, "Where should I place my birdhouse?" On the surface it does seem like a simple question but, in fact, it's an excellent question and not one simple to answer. If you don't care what kind of birds you want to attract and don't care if the aggressive House Sparrow nests in the box then the answer is that you can put your birdhouse anywhere you want to. The House Sparrow is such an aggressive little bird it will pretty much nest anywhere it can, it will drive other birds out of an existing nest and it will even build its nest over the top of another nest already being utilized by another bird after breaking any existing eggs or killing young chicks and tossing them out of the birdhouse!

Collared Peccary is the only wild, native, pig-like animal that you will smell before you see it! The Collared Peccary is also known as the Javalina, Tayaussa or the Musk Hog. They are called Javalina because of their razor-sharp tusks, Spanish for javelin or spear.

Costa Rica boasts of a diverse collection of wildlife, rainforests and jungles. That is why I want you to imagine yourself taking a silent safari boat ride along the countrie's major rivers in the midde of the jungle being surrounded by the most beautiful and exotic birds, monkeys, plants and even crocodiles. Actually all this is possible!

Learning how to make Sympathy Flower Arrangements like a florist would make it takes time, patience and practice. A person may be artistic, but the techniques are what keep arrangements from falling apart, especially sympathy sprays. You do not want to get half way through a funeral and have flowers fall out of the spray you made.

Stress and strain, being the gifts we get from the living style in today's world, cannot help us in any way and it does not allow the other healthier gifts to stay close to us. People who long for more peaceful moments prefer certain special places in the world like the church, the seashore and the mountains of the locality. But mostly, people prefer an even more useful and calmer place, the parks in the region. Since we have many areas of relaxing facilities in the parks, it is quite easy to relive ourselves of the stress and strain that makes us suffer in our daily lives.

Florists know many things about flowers, more than a person might guess at first. While there is no official science to floral arranging, it's still quite a technical art. Which flowers go where and what looks best with what is important to note. One of the things that they might know but aren't expected to know is what is the male part of the flower they have on hand.

Nature has been showing us her love and affection from time unknown and she has taken pleasure in giving us the best in almost everything. But do we respect her and her gifts? This is one of the most important questions which we should ask ourselves; to be honest, we do not give her respect and we certainly do not give kindness back to her. How cruel of us to deal with her in such a way? She does not see the size of the being or the time, for presenting her gifts. Most importantly, she gives them to us, without even waiting for a request from us.

I found some disturbing accounts in Wikipedia of fatal bear attacks on humans involving brown and black bears of North America. Grizzlies were included under brown bears. It's frightening to think of being attacked by a bear. I can't even imagine the terror. This list was only the fatal attacks and may not be complete because records were not well kept in previous decades, especially in remote areas. I'm sure there have been some survivors of attacks who will live with the emotional and physical scars the rest of their lives.

OK, let's face it, most of us have yards that are quite spartan. Maybe we have a fence around the yard. If we do it's either wire of some type of wood privacy fence or split rail. The lawn is kept mowed relatively short and if you're lucky some kind of flowers are planted that actually grow. From a birds point of view, ho-hum. Today I'm going to give you some tips that will help you attract birds to your yard and add a little beauty at the same time. You don't have to spend a lot to get birds to come to your yard no matter how small it is.

If you're reading this article you're probably looking online for your first birdhouse, are replacing one that's been used for years and now needs replacing, or are looking for an additional birdhouse or two. You see so many one the web to choose from. Some are quite cute, some plain, some fancy. You're probably looking in a specific price range and will pick one to meet your decorating tastes or your landscaping. Before you buy please do your feathered friends a favor and look a little deeper into how the birdhouse was constructed. It may just be that the home you're buying for your birds may just be the last thing they ever live in.

Children in Illinois these days are spending little time outdoors. Parents need to step up and git their kids outdoors. This outdoor experience may have a long lasting impact on your child. For many this may be your child's first experience to Illinois natural world. By planning ahead you may tie your outdoor trip to their latest class teachings or just go for a fun play date outside. For all you know you might awaken a passion for the outdoors that will stay with your kid throughout their lifetime. An outdoor field trip is a great educational experience for all involved so go outside and have fun.

It's early spring and you have decided you want to attract a specific bird to your backyard. You've selected the right home and considered the floor space, entry hole size, distance above the floor and you know how you're going to protect it from predators. This column will help the beginning birder do a few other things that will help bring the birds you want to attract to your backyard.

If you wish to attract birds into your backyard garden, create an inviting bird habitat for them to visit.

People love songbirds. They love the flash of color and the calls made in the early morning or at the end of a trying day at work. Many people don't have trees in their backyard and in order to attract their feathered friends they set up birdhouses. This is a great way to attract birds but what do birds look for in a home? In this article I'm going to cover some very important areas that you should consider when purchasing a birdhouse. If you don't make an informed decision you may end up greatly disappointed with the birds that occupy the house you purchased. So, just what kind of qualities does a bird look for in a birdhouse?

Exotic, rare and incredible, these are just a few words to describe the rainforest animals in our world. Guarded from the eye by thick foliage and supported by an incredible ecosystem like the rainforest, animals have colorful bodies and unique characteristics that a very few other animals show. Unfortunately, dwindling rainforest means these animals are also becoming rarer and rarer.

France is the number one choice of the skiing enthusiast who goes on a skiing holiday. This is because there are more than 40 fully equipped ski resorts in France and the good news is that some of them are kept open all year.

Parents of teenagers can find a summer camp that suits the needs of their child. Wisconsin Camps like Swift Nature Camp Kids Summer Camp offer coed teen summer camp programs that are just for teenaged campers up to 15 years of age. A Counselor in Training Program offers a transition for teens aged 16 and 17. As a parallel to its summer camp programs for pre-teens, Swift Nature Camp offers a full range of camp activities of interest to teens. Hiking, climbing, ceramics, horseback riding, tennis, kayaking, and whitewater rafting are perennially popular programs among teen campers.

Children in Illinois these days are spending little time outdoors. Parents need to step up and git their kids outdoors. This outdoor experience may have a long lasting impact on your child. For many this may be your child's first experience to Illinois natural world. By planning ahead you may tie your outdoor trip to their latest class teachings or just go for a fun play date outside. For all you know you might awaken a passion for the outdoors that will stay with your kid throughout their lifetime. An outdoor field trip is a great educational experience for all involved so go outside and have fun.

Animal Summer Camp ? Let your kids play with animals this summer as a part of the fun they can have at summer camp. Find a science camp, or a more broadly defined summer camp that includes animals as a part of their program offerings.

Summer camp is the place for kids and animals to meet, whether the camp includes animals as a part of traditional camp programs or makes a more formal approach . Either way Animal Camps have alot to offer.

Slate and Artstone - Natural flooring materials such as slate, granite, limestone, and even marble, are becoming very popular in architectural installations. This is part of an overall design trend in which we are bringing the real world of nature back into our modern lives, by using materials which are taken from the earth.

Wildlife art is art about wild animals and birds. It is currently a popular area of art, and some of the first ever artworks were about wildlife.