Author: Charlie

Retired American nature-lover, living in Costa Rica, photographing birds and other jewels of nature. This site simply reports on my joys of being RETIRED IN COSTA RICA!
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Nature Unfolding

In October or November every year my Strangler Fig Tree or Ficus Tree locally looses all of its leaves in a week or two and immediately, before the last leaf falls, starts the replacement with new leaves, making beautiful picture of rebirth. The last time I blogged about it was in November 2015, called FALL? The Interesting Strangler Fig.

This year I decided to just focus on the growth of new leaves, the literal “Unfolding of Nature!” In Spanish the word for growth is crecimiento, which just sounds like what this tree is doing. 🙂

¡Pura Vida!

Check out my GALLERY Flora & Forest

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My Bird Count Today

The “Big Day” of Global Bird Counting was not extremely big for me. I chose the dirt country road alongside our development thinking it would have more birds as usual than around our houses, but . . . it was a little windy from 6 to 8 this morning and one of the bicycle clubs was out whizzing down our little country road which did not encourage the presence of birds. But I’m counting 12 species and a total of 50 birds, with three species not in photos below. Here’s my list for today with non-photo’d first and others alphabetically:

  • Gray-headed Chachalaca (3) not photographed.
  • Orange-chinned parakeets (12) not photographed
  • Melodious Blackbird (1) not a good photo to show here
  • A Finch or Grassquit unidentified (1)
  • Great Kiskadee (5)
  • House Wren maybe or Other wren (1)
  • Inca Dove (7)
  • Keel-billed Toucan (3)
  • Rufous-naped Wren (4)
  • Tropical Kingbird (1) – Featured Photo
  • White-lined Tanager (4)
  • White-winged Dove (8)
  • White-winged Dove
  • Great Kiskadee
  • Grassquit or a Finch?
  • Inca Dove
  • Rufous-naped Wren
  • Keel-billed Toucan
  • House Wren or Other Wren?
  • White-lined Tanager
  • Tropical Kingbird
My little contribution to Global Big Day. 🙂

¡Pura Vida!

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Bird Count Today!

Support nature which helps save the earth from the destruction of global warming — COUNT BIRDS TODAY and report them to eBird!  An account is free and you can also get a free app for your phone for easier reporting. Even if you see only one bird and report it – it counts and is important!

I will try to report later today which birds I see and report to eBird.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

¡Pura Vida!

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A Flower of Many Colors

The Hibiscus can be found all over Costa Rica except maybe in the higher mountains and it comes in many colors! This collection of photos does not include all the possible colors or combinations, like the one here with red and yellow swirled together. The feature photo of bright yellow with a red star center was photographed Tuesday on my walk to town in a yard 3 or 4 blocks from my house and it is the one that sparked the idea of this post. I will be looking for more colors on future walks & trips. 🙂

And then my GALLERY Flora & Forest

¡Pura Vida!

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Central Park Work Resuming?

I had been trying to keep readers up-to-date on the renovation of Atenas Central Park but they mostly stopped work after February when the park was closed to the public because of COVID19, which would seem to me a good time to get the renovation finished without the bother of people. But no, they stopped work or maybe ran out of money? No one seems to know. Then in June they completed this one radial sidewalk, almost.

Well, the other day there was one man working on that one section of radial sidewalk they had finished and I then discovered that he was planting flowers! Great! Maybe we will have beautiful flowers like a few of Costa Rica towns central parks have. Well . . . it was just marigolds! Made me think of that great movie The Hotel Marigold! 🙂

Anyway, remaining faithful to my duty to report on the “Progress” in the renovation of Central Park Atenas, here is the latest! Marigolds! And the mass of color IS nice! 🙂

And don’t forget that I have a gallery of the step by step progress on the park, at first it was week by week, then month by month and I hope it is not now year by year! 🙂

Remodeling Central Park Atenas Gallery

¡Pura Vida!

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Black-cowled Oriole

An afternoon visitor the other day and the third time I’ve seen him at my house in more than 5 years so not a regular here. I’ve also seen him in I think 3 different lodges, so seemingly all over Costa Rica. And a neighbor saw a Gartered Trogon the other day which I’ve seen here at my house only once, though they are normal for the Central Valley.

It was nice to see something other than my three regulars, the wren, thrush and dove. I do have a Black-cowled Oriole Gallery if interested as a part of my bigger Costa Rica Birds Gallery. And if you would like more info, here’s a link the the eBird Black-cowled Oriole.

Black-cowled Oriole

¡Pura Vida!

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COVID19 Precautions at Bus Station

Going to Alajuela the other day I snapped a cellphone photo of the mask-requirement sign and the markers on the sidewalk to make sure we stand in line 1.8 meters apart (the same as 6 feet), but failed to snap the hand-washing station you must use before going in bus or in the little coffee shop.



Mask-wearing is required in public by national law now and almost everyone wears a mask. I only occasionally see a man or young person cheating but they usually have a mask in their hand or in their pocket.

¡Pura Vida!

https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=1135006880247553&ref=notif&notif_id=1602615272924463&notif_t=live_video
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Another “Sort of a Bridge”

When a concrete culvert goes under a street I don’t think you call it a bridge, but if you add a sidewalk and railing overlooking the stream it kind of looks like a bridge! 🙂

We have a lot of these in Atenas and they just recently widened this one on Calle 3 near that new building I showed the other day. Another rainy season storm drain looks like a scenic mountain stream, almost. 🙂

My Atenas Galleries

¡Pura Vida!

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Every Walk Colorful

I generally walk to town three or four days a week, 3-4 km+, and love every step of the way. On the same walk I photographed that new building in yesterday’s post, I also phone-snapped these two flowers in the yards of houses that have not yet been torn down for a new modern building! 🙂

My Flora & Forest Gallery

¡Pura Vida!