charliedoggett.net
Butterflies photographed in Costa Rica and nearby
This is my first of this particular Cattleheart and I got them mating! In my CR Butterflies Gallery I have 4 other species of Cattlehearts but not this one until now. It is found from Mexico south to Costa Rica with supposedly fewer this far south, but they were in my garden and for this photo on the outside wall of my house. I’m up to 110 species of butterflies here now! 🙂
¡Pura Vida!
Another repeat butterfly for the blog, but a special one found almost only in Central America, the Giant White (Ganyra josephina) (Wikipedia), seen from South Texas through Mexico and Central America to northern Columbia, with rare strays into New Mexico & Kansas. They are plentiful here in Costa Rica though difficult to photograph because they are constantly on the move and I seldom get in sharp focus. These three shots from my garden yesterday morning. And all of my earlier shots of Giant White Photo Gallery were also from my garden. 🙂 CLICK image to enlarge.
My Costa Rica Butterflies Photo Gallery
¡Pura Vida!
Butterflies continue to demand my attention around the house as seen by this guy yesterday – the Giant Swallowtail (and I’ve shown several on the blog).
With only wrens and thrushes around the house now, I hope to check out Calle Nueva this morning or tomorrow morning for maybe some different birds. The days remain pleasant with partial sun and usually an afternoon shower, keeping everything green! Costa Rica’s “Winter” or “Rainy Season” is still my favorite time of year here. Pura vida! Pure life!
See my Costa Rica Butterflies Photo Gallery.
Well, I must endure the presence of a few caterpillars if I wish to become acquainted with the butterflies.
-Antoine de Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince
Entrance & Travel Protocols for My EU, UK, and Canada Friends who can visit beginning August 1. This list is thanks to our friends at “Two Weeks in Costa Rica” website & blog. It is really mostly common sense precautions since we still have cases of COVID19 here, like washing hands, wearing mask, and expecting some differences in the “yellow zones” and “orange zones” which are based on how many cases there, including fewer businesses opened. There is also a required health insurance you can get at the airport.
Sorry for the inconveniences but our Ministry of Health precautions are the reason Costa Rica has the lowest COVID rate in all of Latin America or maybe all of the Americas.
¡Pura Vida!
Yawn! Not much going on yesterday! So I walked out into the garden and snapped some butterfly photos. None new, but I like this shot of the Brown Longtail and equally the Cloudless Sulphur shot, which is found from Canada to South America by the way! 🙂 No usable shots of the many Giant Whites I saw but I included a shot of an injured or damaged Polydamas Swallowtail, since broken wings seem common among most butterflies. Life can be harsh, even for a butterfly! 🙂
See my Costa Rica Butterflies Photo Gallery – 109+ species!
Butterflies are nature’s angels. They remind us what a gift it is to be alive.
-Robyn Nola
¡Pura Vida!
Butterflies are God’s confetti, thrown upon the Earth in celebration of His love
~K. D’Angelo
Along with the freshness of the air during rainy season, there are always butterflies in my garden – bringing smiles and sparkles of God’s love! What a blessing!
I have completed two new photo galleries from my recent trip to Maquenque. Of course the Maquenque Gallery is the biggest with most photos, but we stopped for coffee in Cinchona on the way back home and in 15 to 20 minutes I photographed 6 birds with two of them “Lifers” (new to me)! And of course the San Fernando Waterfall! And since it is a totally different location than Maquenque and my travel galleries are about locations – two galleries! 🙂
You have been getting samples or teasers on the blog (with 4 more to go through the 22nd) while this is the real collection from my #1 birding lodge and photos of 61 species this trip! Plus photos of lots of other nature! Check it out! And similar to the blog, you click photos to enlarge or sometimes open a sub-gallery for that bird or topic.
Maquenque Eco-Lodge, July 2020 Gallery
And the separate gallery for our coffee break stop on the way home at Soda & Mirador Cinchona for a waterfall and 6 birds, 2 of which are “Lifers” for me!
And in the interest of Coronavirus Safety I have no more trips planned until the middle of September, my annual Caribe Beach trip to Hotel Banana Azul where I will again be a “loner” doing things “solo” for safety. This place is more about relaxation than serious birding but there will be birds! 🙂 And solo walks on the beach searching for nature gems! And always enjoying someone else’s cooking! And reading! 🙂
And FYI, because of some spikes in Coronavirus cases, Costa Rica has shut down again until maybe August with no bars and restaurants only for “take out” or para llevar! (Or delivery, called “express” here.)
And even the banks were closed this week! I hope not next week as I’m trying to renew my residency! And for two weeks at least, private cars are allowed on the road for only 1 day a week based on tag number. We take the virus seriously here! And most of us wear masks. The borders are still closed to everyone until announced otherwise. They had hoped for limited border openings in August but that is not looking likely now, especially for Americans, the most infected country in the world! (Love your money but not your virus!) 🙂
Stay safe everyone and wear your mask!
¡Pura Vida!
As common after trips, I’ve been overwhelmed with things to do since I returned from Maquenque Eco-Lodge and with so many bird photos to process (60+ species) it may be awhile before I share those, so here is a small collection of 7 species of butterflies. Every living thing loves Maquenque! 🙂 CLICK an image to enlarge.
It’s very tough for me to focus. I’m like: ‘Look, something shiny! No, focus. Oh, there goes a butterfly!’ ~Gabby Douglas
🙂
My Costa Rica Butterfly Gallery has more than 106 species now!
¡Pura Vida!
Can you believe that the tree house they assigned me to this year is named “Tarzan?” And I love it! Like they knew the little boy Charlie wanted to be Tarzan! Why it even comes with grape vines (see outside views) though I will not be swinging on them! And I was welcomed to my room by a visiting Keel-billed Toucan! See photo below.
And I doubt that Tarzan had a King sized bed or screens and ceiling fans, but I’m sure glad I do! It is hot and humid here like where I grew up in south Arkansas near the Louisiana line – hotter and more humid than Atenas which is in the hills.
CLICK a photo to enlarge it.
Our 3 hour drive took 4 hours with a lot of trucks on the roads today and the gravel road portion of the drive was in pretty rough condition – what it costs to get to real wilderness! 🙂 And yes, we are all wearing masks here, Costa Rica is smart enough to require it and everyone working here is in the same family – cool! And so nice! I’m the only guest until Friday when there will be 8 to 10 other guests for the weekend.
“Every man can transform the world from one of monotony and drabness to one of excitement and adventure.” – Irving Wallace
¡Pura Vida!
This morning I leave at 8 AM with Walter, my local transportation for out-of-Atenas trips, on a 3 hour drive north of here but still in our Alajuela Province. It’s on the San Carlos River near the Nicaragua border as a private nature reserve and eco-lodge that is one of my favorites in Costa Rica, where I’ve photographed more species of birds than any other one place and where I can sleep in a tree house room, watching howler monkeys and spider monkeys from my room. See my 2019 experience there and this short video of the virgen rainforest reserve says it all:
I will be here through next Monday – 6 nights in the tree house to celebrate my 80th birthday on Saturday the 4th of July! And, as long as the WiFi in their main building works, I will be posting blog reports every day! Maybe one tonight.
Because of world-wide increasing Coronavirus, the borders of Costa Rica remain closed to non-residents where we have the lowest infection rate in Latin America! But hotels, lodges like this one, and restaurants can open at 50% capacity to local residents only with required social distancing and masks, making places like this more pleasant (no “Ugly Americans” or “aggressive Japanese”) and less crowded. Two weeks ago they told me that in addition to me they had two couples coming for part of the week with me alone the other days, though that could change with late registrations! 🙂 Many Ticos are just now discovering the great tourism in their own country.
I will wear a mask when not eating and around other people, including my birding guide just to be extra cautious. I will not take their delightful boat trip to a little jungle village with great people that I enjoyed but will avoid this time due to COVID19 possibilities. I will mostly traipse through the jungle solo and stay safe from the virus. There have been NO CASES among the lodge employees (mainly one family) nor in the nearby town of Boca Tapada. But I will still be cautious because it is close to Nicaragua where the virus is more rampant and we are still getting new cases in Costa Rica.
“When you see someone putting on his Big Boots, you can be pretty sure that an Adventure is going to happen.” – A.A. Milne
My BIG BOOTS Adventure . . .
Yep! I’m taking my big boots this trip because I’m going in a car and can! 🙂 Plus they fit me and the lodge loaners don’t always fit . . . and I’ll be in a rainforest during the rainy season so they are needed! And my poncho!
I know . . . the boots are dusty, but why clean when they will get muddy this week! Plus I had to empty out the spiders and spray with that bug spray before I consider putting my hand or foot inside! 🙂
“Adventure is worthwhile.” – Aesop
¡Pura Vida!
This is a totally new butterfly or moth for me that I photographed yesterday in my garden. It has some characteristics of a Skipper, though not the shrimp-like face, the double plumes on the tail nor the wide white belt around his waist. It is not in my books nor can I find it online. If any reader knows, please contact me with CONTACT button on the main menu.
POSTSCRIPT 29 JUNE: I originally titled this “Flying Shrimp?” and posted it on FaceBook where two people gave me the correct name of Hummingbird Moth – Thanks to Don Walzel and Ron Box who shared this link:
See my Costa Rica Butterfly Gallery.
¡Pura Vida!