Though I’ve never seen that cartoon, my first sight of this bird made me think “Angry Bird” for some reason, maybe the slant of his eye or something, but he is a Common Tody-Flycatcher (eBird link) and my several shots in my Common Tody-Flycatcher Gallery are all from different places, so maybe that makes him “common.” 🙂 Not my favorite bird, but certainly interesting and another found only in Central and South America.
Common Tody-Flycatcher, Guayabo Lodge & Gardens, Turrialba, Costa RicaCommon Tody-Flycatcher, Guayabo Lodge & Gardens, Turrialba, Costa Rica
I photographed only 20 species of birds at the combination of Guayabo Lodge and CATIE Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center in Turrialba. I will not post all 20 species because frankly some of the photos just aren’t worth sharing and after my two-day’s-ago post of the toucan in my garden, nothing from the Guayabo trip compares! 🙂 But all birds are important to me and be sure to see my Guayabo BIRDS Gallery.
And I do like these four shots of my most commonly seen sparrow all over Costa Rica, the Rufous-collared Sparrow (eBird link) found only in Central and South America. Locals call it “Come Maíz” in Spanish (it eats corn). I have a pretty good collection of this bird in my Rufous-collared Sparrow Gallery including one from my first trip to CR in 2009 of a mother bird feeding her child a worm! 🙂
This afternoon I got up from the computer where I was working on my Guayabo bird photos (boring compared to this!), and as I walked across the living room there was a Keel-billed Toucan in my Cecropia Tree! I quickly got my camera and shot through two panes of glass (sliding door open) which was still better than shooting through the screen! 🙂 And the photos aren’t nearly as blurry as I expected! After some rapid shots, I slowly approached the screen as he hopped up the tree, but by the time I was quietly out, he flew away! Oh well, even quick experiences like this in my own house and garden are just a few of the many reasons I enjoy living “Retired in Costa Rica!” ¡Pura vida!
Keel-billed Toucan, My Garden, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa RicaKeel-billed Toucan, My Garden, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa RicaMooning me? Keel-billed Toucan, My Garden, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica
Yep! I just went 6 days without blogging which is not my usual habit which is to write posts 3 or 4 days ahead then break from the routine while posts keep coming out. No health problems or catastrophes, “just tired of blogging.” But with another trip coming tomorrow, I’m in the mood and here’s a few nature photos made during this “down time.”
Two Bee or Not Two Bee
I’m still not getting many butterflies in my garden yet other than the fast-moving Yellows that never seem to land for a photo. But here’s two bees in my garden this morning:
I was impressed by the “Queenly” look of this female Summer Tanager in my garden the other day. She looks so stately and regal, holding her head up properly like Queen Elizabeth does. I keep seeing these females with no bright red males around. So I’m wondering if maybe she is a resident here and the migrants haven’t arrived yet? But then surely with resident females there would also be some resident males? 🙂
Summer Tanager female, Atenas, Costa Rica
And below she is looking straight at me, like she’s asking me, “Who are you and what do you think you’re doing?” 🙂 . . .
Between my casita and the driveway going to the top of our hill and the big house there is mainly a row of privacy palms, though right at the gate is a little spreading Nance Tree which is now flowering and those flowers will turn to Nance Berries. Different kinds of birds eat them in the different stages, some even now as flowers which are already turning into baby berries. The birds are coming! 🙂
Humans do eat the berries with a taste that’s only “so-so” for me and some people tell me that they make good marmalade or jelly, but doesn’t anything with enough sugar added? 🙂 Yet harvesting enough would be tricky with the competition of birds and some small animals like squirrels and iguanas! 🙂 The joy of living in a garden!
Nance Tree Flowers, Atenas, Costa Rica
And below are three more shots including one of the small tree . . .
This is another common bird that’s around here year-a-round. Though common, I still love him and still wishing for better light on the birds in my trees! Shot from my terrace at breakfast the other day.
This Yellow Warbler at breakfast the other day may be the same one who comes to that same tree in the afternoons. Problem is that the light is not good there morning or night! Oh well, I like this seasonal migrant from up north and will continue to try for better shots. 🙂 In the meantime, you can find more photos in my CR Yellow Warbler Gallery.
Although I’ve seen many “mixed flocks” of small birds feeding in the same tree before, I have only one other time seen a dove and pigeon together (2018 Post: Two Species Share Perching Space) though granted they are in the same family of birds, like, maybe cousins?
Anyway, this morning I snapped through my closed window this fuzzy shot of a White-winged Dove sitting beside a Red-billed Pigeon as if casually chatting. 🙂 And the second photo below (and feature photo online) is a Red-billed Pigeon I photographed yesterday in the dark shadows of my Cecropia tree. Neither photo is good (no good light), but maybe a good object lesson about getting along with others? 🙂
This Yellow Warbler(eBird link) was playing hide-and-seek with me in the afternoon shadows and tree limbs/leaves. For some reason I’m getting fewer birds in this tree than I got in the past which may have to do with it being much taller than the house now and birds go to the top above my line of vision. I know that is where toucans always go, but some of these smaller song birds do stay lower. For much better photos, see my CR Yellow Warbler Gallery. And here’s 4 shadowy shots of the hide-and-seek Yellow Warbler yesterday afternoon . . .