Category: Birds

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Great Tinamou Nest

This morning I hiked up on the Titi Trail to try and find the Great Tinamou eggs another guest had photographed yesterday. FYI, the male Tinamou sits on the eggs, and when I got close he fluttered his wings loudly and flew towards me then up into a nearby tree, scaring me to death. 🙂 I suspect he was trying to scare me away from the nest, but rather he just showed me where it was. 🙂

They are about turkey-sized birds (fewer feathers) and semi-flightless. The nest was only about 6 feet off the trail at the base of a Traveling Palm. The sad thing was that there were only 3 eggs for me to photograph today and yesterday my fellow-traveler had photographed 5 in the same spot. Some animal probably had 2 Tinamou eggs for breakfast this morning. I did not get a photo of the adult that scared me, but I have some poor photos of one I made in the near-dark at Maquenque Lodge earlier in my Great Tinamou Gallery. To which I will add these two photos.

Tinamou Nest at base of a Traveling Palm, Titi Trail, Bosque del Cabo Rainforest Lodge.
A little more than twice the size of a chicken egg – Tinamou Nest

¡Pura Vida!

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Scarlet Macaw

This is sort of “the signature bird” of this area and there’s lots of them here! In the past I’ve photographed them from here on the Osa all the way up the Pacific Coast to Tambor Bay. See my past photos in my Scarlet Macaw Gallery. And I’ll get a flying photo before I leave here, just not made it yet.

Scarlet Macaw munching on Almonds at Playa Matapalo.
Scarlet Macaw at Playa Matapolo (Matapolo Beach).

Only sharing 2 photos today because the day suddenly got crammed-packed full and I haven’t processed all the photos yet! 🙂 I started before breakfast with a birding tour with Juan Carlos and then after breakfast he offered to take me to the highest waterfall around here instead of an all day hike for me and it almost turned out treacherous, but I’ll tell about that in another post. Then Phillip, who leads the sunset-night hike told me he had only 2 going tonight if I wanted to go tonight instead on my scheduled Monday, and I said yes for a full day. But the rest of the week will now be more peaceful! 🙂 And I’ll catch you up on the rest of this day later!

¡Pura Vida!

from the

Bosque del Cabo Rainforest Lodge

Matapolo, Costa Rica

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I’M HERE! — In the Rainforest!

I got here in time to dump my stuff in my cabin before a delicious lunch that I was able to eat all of! Yay! 🙂 It’s overcast with some scattered showers but I explored the trails a little and scheduled 4 activities this week with the rest of time exploring on my own! And the 4? Well, boring old-man activities compared to some available here: Morning & Afternoon Birding hikes in 2 totally different locations, a sunset/night hike looking for night creatures, and a morning Primary Rainforest 3-hour conservation hike. The rest of the week is photographing a lot, resting, and finally eating real food for a week! My radiation taste is not totally gone, but greatly improved and I’m eating just about everything now! 🙂

My thatched-roof open-air hut with a cool breeze off the Pacific now! 🙂
The Pacific Ocean View from my room porch on an overcast day.

I’ve seen a Crested Caracara (on the road here), and here: lots of Scarlet Macaws, lots of little birds not identified and a family of Spider Monkeys, all by my thatched roof cabin. And I’m looking forward to happy hour snacks before a great dinner. There are about 25 tourists in this lodge (from all over the world including children), which is not bad with Covid still raging around the globe! And it is a 45 minute drive (fording streams) from the primitive landing strip in Puerto Jiménez to the lodge or if you must, an 8-hour+ drive from the San Jose Airport. 

On the Road to Bosque Del Cabo.

Bosque del Cabo Website

And finally . . .

My Rainforest “Internet Cafe” for the Week!

The “Boa Bar” at Bosque Del Cabo Rainforest Lodge . . .

Your nightly report from the rainforest will be uploaded each afternoon from the above poolside location! And oh yes, the internet connection is great (at least today!).

🙂

¡Pura Vida!

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New Ranking of Birding Lodges

On January 5, 2020 I did a Blog Post 2020 Ranking of My Birding Lodges, which is now out of date and it even included Nicaragua and Panama lodges, where today’s is only Costa Rica and I have included the multiple trips to places I repeat with each bird count, but only those with 10 or more birds photographed by me. Even on eBird I count only the ones I get a photo of. These are from my birding visits since 2015, my first year living in Costa Rica.

Montezuma Oropendola at Arenal Observatory

The Feature Photo at top is my Treehouse Room at Maquenque Lodge, Boca Tapada.

And the 2021 Rankings by number of species are . . .

Continue reading “New Ranking of Birding Lodges”
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The Blessing of “Heart Treasures”

This beautiful Sunday morning I allow nature to wake me with the sunrise and sounds of a variety of birds in the trees around my casita. I eventually walk out on the terrace to witness the golden glow of distant hills around Atenas as the sun rises and I feel the refreshing cool morning air enter my lungs. I scan the trees and flowers for any creature stirring and then I prepare my breakfast to eat on the terrace, absorbing more of God’s natural beauty.

Morning on my terrace.

“The true blessings of life are the treasures hidden in the reservoirs of the human heart.”

~T. D. Jakes

Let me tell you about more heart treasures including a big new one coming this week . . .

Continue reading “The Blessing of “Heart Treasures””
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Experiencing Nature

My newest photo book is my cheapest ($8.83), smallest ( 6×9 in, 15×23 cm) and shortest (30 pages) as an introduction to why I retired in Costa Rica with 47 photos demonstrating my nature photography here. It’s not exactly a portfolio because of the cheaper paper, but . . . it actually is a cheaper version of a portfolio 🙂 and it also describes the 5 ways I experience nature and share it. As with all my books there is a FREE PREVIEW electronically of all pages in the bookstore at:

https://www.blurb.com/b/10782574-experiencing-nature-retired-in-costa-rica

Or click the front cover image below:

My Newest Book

This will become my “give-away” book to guides, lodges and others here in Costa Rica, since some of my other books are too expensive to keep giving them away as I have been. But I’m still not in the photo-selling or book-selling business. I’m retired! 🙂 I make my photos to share with others online and the books become ways to do that physically on occasions. Prints and wall art are available in my gallery with no profit for me, just a good service of (and profit for) my gallery host. 🙂

And while you’re in my bookstore, check out some of my other photo books! They have free previews too!

🙂

¡Pura Vida!

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Yellow-bellied Elaenia

Not a new bird for me but the first seen in a long time and not in my yard. Saturday morning I walked up the steep hill above my house where usually near the top there are a lot of birds. Not! I don’t know if it is the time of year, the weather or something else – but I’m just not seeing as many birds this year as in the past, either in my yard or other places like this walk. But I was glad to capture this Elaenia, even if against an overcast white sky! 🙂

Read about the Yellow-bellied Elaenia on eBird, or see my other photos in my personal Yellow-bellied Elaenia Gallery and/or peruse all my CR Birds Gallery.

Here’s my featured shot, then read on for two more different shots . . .

Yellow-bellied Elaenia, Roca Verde, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Continue reading “Yellow-bellied Elaenia”
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My CANCER Adventure Book

Mostly my real time journal and blog posts plus photos and other information that is meant to be inspirational for someone else going through cancer, especially my specific Parotid Tumor Cancer with 68 pages and 87 photos, including a few of my nature posts during that time. 🙂

I also emphasize the value of nature in healing for me. And the title “True Grit” is explained in the book and on back cover, kind of funny! 🙂

You can see a free electronic preview at https://www.blurb.com/b/10778284-true-grit Or click the cover image below:

Me in front of Radiation Machine on book cover.

You can also browse through all my nature photo books while in the bookstore or click on Bookstore on the menu bar above.

¡Pura Vida!

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San Jose Finale

Final for this trip or purpose here, but I will be back! Everyone who lives in the country has to go to the big city sometimes. 🙂

And because nature walks have helped me get through this cancer treatment more than maybe anything else, I chose nature shots from my last couple of days here. And for those who don’t know, today was my last radiation treatment and that is why I can return to Atenas and enjoy the nature there while taking possibly months to recover from the side effects of radiation. I will report on that progress along with the joys of nature in my little coffee farming town of Atenas. Pura vida! And now, MY LAST NATURE SHOTS FROM THIS SAN JOSE TRIP . . .

Continue reading “San Jose Finale”
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El Camino de Costa Rica – New Info

A Hiker Guide

One of my blog readers, Patrick, who is thinking about beginning his retirement in Costa Rica (like I should have!) shared with me the just-released new hiking guide available on hiking coast to coast across Costa Rica. It’s first on his agenda here! Are you interested in such a hike?

Available on Amazon as paperback or Kindle edition: El Camino de Costa Rica Hiker Guide

There’s also a newer video of the trail than the one I showed earlier plus more new info on the website and I found a good “Make the Leap” story I’m also linking! 🙂 . . .

Continue reading “El Camino de Costa Rica – New Info”