And that is my first impression of these male & female Hoffmann’s Woodpeckers, Melanerpes hoffmannii (my gallery link). But these days everybody looks young to me! 🙂
Young Adult Woodpeckers
Laverna Metalmark
What I (and others) have been calling “Rounded Metalmark,” I now believe are Calephelis laverna (scientific name), Laverna Metalmark, Calephelis laverna (my gallery link). A Google AI summary of searches on the differences in Rounded and Laverna Metalmarks show the wing patterns to be almost identical with possibly “minor differences in genitalia and primary difference being the geographic distribution.” With Rounded Metalmarks found in Texas and Mexico and Laverna Metalmark (some sites use just “Calephelis laverna”) residing in Central America and parts of South America, especially noted in Costa Rica by the AI. Thus I am moving all of my Rounded Metalmarks to Laverna. Here are two photos of the one seen in my Garden Wednesday (side view & top view) . . .
Malachite
This Malachite, Siproeta stelenes (my gallery link) was seen the other night inside my house on the window screen along with that Rusty-tipped Page shared in yesterday’s blog post. Both are in the Genus Siproeta or generally called “Pages.” Thus yesterday I called them “cousins” traveling together. 🙂 Here are two shots in different night lights, one on my camera and one my cellphone.
Rusty-tipped Page
One of two butterflies inside my house on a window screen 3 nights ago, this Rusty-tipped Page, Siproeta epaphus (my gallery link) was on the same window screen with a Malachite (cousins on the same page of the butterfly book) which I will share later. It has been almost a year since I’ve seen one of these and they are more impressive with wings open as you can see in my above-linked gallery. Just the one shot in the dark with a flash.
¡Pura Vida!
New Book: Wind Spirits!
Sometimes one of my photo books “just happens” and not as originally planned! 🙂 I now give a gift book to each of my favorite lodges each time I visit and no longer do custom books for the lodges, so I needed a new gift book (which other visitors to that lodge will enjoy). Plus I sometimes give one of my doctors or other persons serving me a gift book and was needing a newer and fresher book.
I started out with the idea of just 8-10 photos in each of 3 categories: birds, butterflies and landscapes and would call it “Birds, Butterflies & the Bucolic.” (I like aliterations!) But I started curating photos of birds first. After the Hummingbirds I started choosing from the many water birds (seashore and freshwater) and collected so many I liked that I suddenly changed my mind and said it would be a “water birds book.” And even that turned out to be more photos and pages than intended, but I am pleased with this latest creation! 🙂
As always, you can see it without buying. Simply click on the cover image below or the web address that follows. In the bookstore page (link) under the cover photo is a PREVIEW button. Click that and you can see the entire book electronically for free! Click a page to turn it. 🙂 And I hope you enjoy my latest effort to be creative! 🙂 And if you like electronic books, there’s a cheaper PDF version you can download immediately.
CLICK above book cover or go to this address for a free PREVIEW: https://www.blurb.com/b/12521048-wind-spirits
¡Pura Vida!
Giant White
There are many Whites and some are easily confused, but this one seems to be the most common in my garden and you can see other photos of it in my Gallery: Giant White, Ganyra josephina. Here’s 2 photos (when possible, I always try to get a side view & top view) of the one in my garden 3 days ago . . .
Long-billed Starthroat
The Long-billed Starthroat (my gallery link) is not new to me nor the garden, but the first time seen this year. I’ve seen him one other time in my garden and also at Maquenque Ecolodge. Here’s two shots from yesterday in my Higueron Tree.
Tropical Buckeye
Another favorite that is not seen every day in my garden is the Tropical buckeye, Junonia zonalis (my gallery link with better images). This first one seen since May this year and not as good photos as others in the gallery.
¡Pura Vida!
¡Feliz Día de la Madre a las madres de Costa Rica!
White-winged Dove
The most commonly seen dove or pigeon in my garden in Atenas is also one of those seen & liked on my first trip to Costa Rica in 2009. That photo is included below along with today’s photo. It was the first bird I ever photographed in Costa Rica, right after taking a taxi to Hotel Aeropuerto near SJO Airport in Alajuela. As the sun was setting in the hotel garden, I went out just before dinner and this was the first bird I found! 🙂 Our birding tour group had dinner together and the next morning we flew to Puerto Jimenez where I photographed that Tropical Kingbird I shared a couple of days ago. Good memories! 🙂 See more and better photos in my GALLERY: White-winged Dove, Zenaida asiatica.
¡Pura Vida!
This Julia reminds me of Juli
This brilliant orange butterfly, Julia Heliconian, Dryas julia (my gallery link) sometimes reminds me of my beaming special needs daughter, Juli, who died of kidney failure in 1997. She too was brilliant, hyper-active and unpredictable! 🙂 And only parents of other special needs children know what I mean. 🙂 She was the only true love in my life at that time and I will always miss her! Pura vida!
¡Pura Vida!
