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Slowing Down in Atenas + March Birding Trips

I’m beginning to take palms for granite!
These are by the church at central park.
Like steeples they point to God!
Uplifting!

I’m slowing down after a busy schedule during Reagan’s visit here though still having to learn how to truly rest!  🙂  I’m back to just one Spanish Class again since Zaray got a high school teaching position and can no longer teach our Tuesday night class at the church. And my conversational tutor Jason has moved to Liberia to live with his sister for awhile. So I’m on my own with Spanish and have a little more time to catch up on some work here at home.

But two great trips planned for March!  🙂

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Click to see the YouTube Video  from Cornell Lab of Ornithology showing the joys of birding.

Birding is an incredible hobby! Here Cornell says “Thank You” to all who helped with the 2015 Christmas Bird Count around the world. Watch the birds where you live! They will give you an incredible sense of joy and peace. And it is even more fun for me to capture many of them in photographs! My growing gallery of Costa Rica Birds now has photos of 161 species and growing monthly plus I’m getting some better images to replace or supplement older ones. Plus I’m about to add a pretty good collection from Nicaragua and already have one from Panama. Fun!

Lynn Thomson

“I think the most important quality in a birdwatcher is a willingness to stand quietly and see what comes. Our everyday lives obscure a truth about existence – that at the heart of everything there lies a stillness and a light.”
― Lynn Thomson, Birding with Yeats: A Memoir
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Glad I Didn’t Retire in The Gambia – Newest Islamic State!

Me dancing in the street with Gambians on a 2009 Mission Trip.

President Jammeh recently declared the majority Muslim country an Islamic State which is really not in his power to declare as the article explains. But he has progressively sought more powers and limited the freedoms of the people of The Gambia and his declaration will certainly have a chilling affect on this former British colony. For those who don’t know, The Gambia is where I served as a Baptist missionary for three years, 1999-2002, my last job before retirement in Nashville for 12 years before I moved to Costa Rica. One reason I liked Costa Rica was because of its similar location to the equator and even more species of birds and other wildlife. Both are nature paradises, but Costa Rica is a significantly better place to live for too many reasons to list. But still glad I got to experience The Gambia! I love it and the people, just not their government or medical care. (Two things I also don’t like about the USA, but a different story!)

Tiny country along the banks of the River Gambia,
surrounded by Senegal on the Atlantic Coast.

A few of my Gambia Stories on my website.

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Motown Fundraiser for Su Espacio

Tonight (Saturday) I helped Gail & Susan who planned a Motown Music Fundraiser Dinner at Etnia Pub here in Atenas with DJ playing Motown Music by a dance floor and we raised a good amount of money for the community center while having fun! Here’s a few pix:
Thanks to Gail & Susan for all the hard work to make it happen!
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Tortuguero Miscellaneous Photos

Okay. I’ll try to make this the last post from Tortuguero, then back to Atenas posts tomorrow!  🙂

Bus window view of Chiquita Banana Plantation, Costa Rica
Modern buses like this is how many tourists get around inside Costa Rica.
All the dozen or so lodges have boats making the 1.5 hours trip into park.

Our group on one of the Laguna Lodge boats enroute to lodge.
Robert Umaña, our guide, listening for a bird or other animal.

Robert using sand drawings to tell us about the life cycles of
the green sea turtles that lay their eggs on this beach and each
baby that makes it goes to ocean and returns years later to lay their own eggs.
One of the many river channels and canals we traveled looking for wildlife.

Another lodge’s guide pointing out a bird, monkey or other animal.

Unidentified butterflies/moths in our Laguna Lodge garden.
Tortuguero National Park, Costa Rica
Pura Vida!


This trip significantly improved some of my photo collections in the PBase Galleries:
Later I will be adding a trip gallery in the travel section of my galleries, but not enough time yet!
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Tortuguero Fruits & Flowers

Just a few of the hundreds of fruits and flowers found in this rainforest:

Large Heliconia growing wild along the river banks, same as in my garden.
Tortuguero National Park, Costa Rica

Small Heliconia also growing wild in forest and
here in the lodge garden, similar to my garden!
Cashew Nut is usually a surprise to people when first seen growing!
One nut per flower!

Hooker’s Lips or Hot Lips is another surprising plant.
I can’t find the name of this blue berried plant in the rainforest.
Achiote (bixa orellana) is used for food coloring red and sometimes lips
Robert holds an open pod of the above Achiote flower showing the seeds
It is those red seeds that have the red coloring for food or lips.
A couple of children let him put red dots on their skin to show how it works.

Papaya tree with a very popular fruit
This is same one with the Collared Aracari Toucans I photographed
Tortuguero Village, Costa Rica

Torch Ginger flower
Neat vine I just had to photograph!  🙂

Read more About Tropical Rain Forests on Wikipedia.

Pura Vida!
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Sloth

The hand indicates it is a Hoffman’s Two-toed Sloth
Though color could work as either 2 or 3-toed.
Tortuguero National Park, Costa Rica

There’s a pink-nosed juvenile above what is probably the mother sloth.
Tortuguero National Park, Costa Rica
The typical sloth sighting, a ball of fur in the tree. Sleeping sloth!
You are lucky to find one awake and moving!
Tortuguero National Park, Costa Rica

See more sloths and other mammal photos in my Costa Rica Mammals PHOTO GALLERY

To learn more about sloths, see Sloth Facts on the livescience website.

And only one or two more posts to finish sharing my nature photos from Tortuguero. Hopefully you can see why I love that park (among others I also love!).

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Tortuguero Reptiles

Ebony Keelback snake, on banks of Tortuguero River, Costa Rica
It is similar to a Mussurana, which is more common in South America than here.

Many people think that they will see more snakes than anything in the rainforest, but that is not usually the case as they fear humans more than we fear them and many are well camouflaged. I’m including a second photo of the only snake we saw in Tortuguero to show the full length:

Ebony Keelback snake, Tortuguero, Costa rica
Green Iguana was the most often seen reptile. This male is orange because he is mating.
Tortuguero National Park, Costa Rica
Green Basilisk or “Jesus Christ Lizard” because he walks on water.
Tortuguero National Park, Costa Rica
Spectacled Caiman, Tortuguero National Park, Costa Rica

Spectacled Caiman, Tortuguero National Park, Costa Rica
Note that this is a lighter color than the first photo. Color varies and light makes photos different.
Black River Turtle, Tortuguero National Park, Costa Rica

Be not in haste, said the tortoise.There is nothing here but time.

If you live long enough, you will see.Of course, though, you will see them from your cage.

Live long enough? I asked. Are there mortal dangers here?
The tortoise chuckled. 

The boy doesn’t always take very good care of his prisoners, Rex the lizard chimed in.
What do you mean? He doesn’t feed us enough?

Sometimes he doesn’t understand what we need to survive, Rex answered. Sometimes he plays too rough.

How can a creature able to bend the laws of nature be so cruel? I asked.” 

― Patrick Jennings, We Can’t All Be Rattlesnakes

Pura Vida!

Check out my  Costa Rica Reptiles  Photo Gallery

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Tortuguero Monkeys

Mantled Howler Monkey, Laguna Lodge, Tortuguero, Costa Rica
Photo made on cell phone through the guide’s spotting scope.

Central American Spider Monkey (Juvenile)
Tortuguero National Park, Costa Rica
Geoffroy’s Spider Monkey,  Tortuguero, Costa Rica
It is lumped in with the other spider monkey as just one species of the 4 here
This is a mature adult while the Central American above is a juvenile
They are like first cousins with mainly a color difference.

White-faced Capuchin Monkey, Tortuguero, Costa Rica

Of the four monkeys that live in Costa Rica, three can be found in Tortuguero National Park and I managed to get photos of all three on this trip. The one not here is the Squirrel Monkey found only in and around Manuel Antonio National Park. See one of my photos of Squirrel Monkey at Manuel Antonio.

BACK  HOME
“A pie” – That is Spanish for “On foot” which is what I now am again! And I love it! Reagan left today and I turned in the expensive rent car at the airport, road a bus back to Atenas and walked from the bus station to my house. Wow! I didn’t realize how much detail in the world you miss from a car. Walking puts you close to people, animals, flowers, other nature and interesting buildings, sounds, odors, things to stump your toe on and the weather! Warning to future visitors: You might be “A pie” which is not said like my favorite dessert because all i’s in Spanish are pronounced like ee, thus it is said something like: “Ah Pee Eh.”
That’s all the Spanish for now but not all of Tortuguero yet!  🙂  I still have more photos to share over the next few days. And must say thanks to Reagan for being a great guest and tourist in my Costa Rica! And for the delicious going away lunch! (American food of course!)   🙂

Follow Reagan’s Blog for his view of his visit here!       Pura Vida!
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The Other Birds – Tortuguero

Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Tortuguero, Costa Rica

From our Tortuguero Trip last week I have already shown photos of 3 Species of Toucans, a Sungrebe, a Red-lored Parrot, and a Snowy Egret. And here are about 15 more species that I got photos of plus of course seeing others. You can see why I love Tortuguero! And a few of these were first-time sightings for me which will be added to my Birds of Costa Rica Photo Gallery.

Belted Kingfisher, Tortuguero, Costa Rica

Little Blue Heron, Tortuguero, Costa Rica
Montezuma Oropendola, Tortuguero, Costa Rica

Female Anhinga, Tortuguero, Costa Rica

Male Anhinga, Tortuguero, Costa Rica

Great Curassow Female, Tortuguero, Costa Rica

Bare-throated Tiger Heron, Tortuguero, Costa Rica
Interesting note: This nest was above the outdoor bar at Laguna Lodge.
I watched the male bring twigs and female arrange them. Fun!

Royal Tern Juvenile, Tortuguero, Costa Rica

Osprey, Tortuguero, Costa Rica

Long-tailed Grackle Female, Tortuguero, Costa Rica

Northern Jacana, Tortuguero, Costa Rica
Common Black Hawk, Tortuguero, Costa Rica

Orange-breasted Falcon or Bat Falcon or Black-collared Hawk ???Tortuguero, Costa Rica
If you can narrow the identification down, please contact me!
Wings only is tough to ID!

Social Flycatcher (most likely) or Great Kiskadee or
White-ringed Flycatcher, Tortuguero, Costa Rica

Birds of Tortuguero Checklist