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The last time I was at Macaw Lodge the water bird I most enjoyed photographing was the Muscovy Duck who was not on their lake this week, maybe late migrating? But we had an almost as interesting small group or family of Bare-throated Tiger Herons (eBird link). Here’s three shots, all different, of this water bird I’ve seen most often on my Tarcoles River boat tours, but also on pretty much all river and mangrove tours. See my other photos in the Bare-throated Tiger Heron GALLERY.
Michael, a resident naturalist at Macaw Lodge, told me that they did not see this bird much there. And I’ve only seen him in 3 other places in Costa Rica as shown in my Southern Rough-winged Swallow GALLERY. You can read more about him on eBird, the Southern Rough-winged Swallow, Stelgidopteryx ruficollis, a seasonal migrant here from South America who is slightly different from the Northern Rough-winged Swallow, who is both a migrant from North America and some a resident in Costa Rica. Several species have individuals who evidently like it here and just decide to stay along with the ones born here.
People living in the northern hemisphere often think that the only migrants are from the north flying south, but as the literal center of the Americas we get just as many migrants flying north from the southern hemisphere (like this bird). It also explains the two names of “Rough-winged Swallows,” the “Northern RWS” migrate here from the north and the “Southern RWS” migrate here from the south. That is why Costa Rica and other parts of Central America are meccas for bird-watching! You can see birds from both hemispheres! 🙂 Here’s 2 individual shots and 2 group shots of this southern migrant . . .
The annual weekend art fair that I have been participating in for 3 years now is next weekend, December 8-10 at a new location, Calle 2 Plaza, in the same plaza as the new Galería Artenas which is now the sponsor of the art fair. That means you can find Charlie Doggett “Nature as Art Photography” next weekend in both places! Side by side! 🙂
I will continue to have 6 wall art photos, all of my greeting cards and floral accent pillows plus 5 photo books in the Galería Artenas through 13 January, my last day as a member of that cooperative, which I will explain later. But I WILL HAVE 7 DIFFERENT ITEMS IN THE ART FAIR! (1) A new CR Butterflies 2024 Calendar, (2) Atenas Tote Bags, (3) T-shirts, (4) Coffee Mugs, (5) Mouse Pads, (6)several different Wall Art Photos, and (7) a few different Photo Books including my brand new Pura Vida Butterflies, Second Edition with more than 240 species! (Linked to a free preview of it!)
¡Pura Vida!
Though some flew over and I heard a lot of toucans calling out in the forest, I only got photos of this one, a Yellow-throated Toucan, Ramphastos ambiguus, about 30 feet up in the trees of the forest between my cabin and the dining room. Definitely not my best toucan photos, but glad to at least get one while at Macaw Lodge! 🙂
And though again I heard the squawking of many Scarlet Macaws, the namesake of the lodge, I got no photos. They told me that a flock came to the trees by the dining room in the middle of one afternoon, but of course none of us guests were there at that time! 🙂
Here’s four shots that are okay, though I have some better photos in my Yellow-throated Toucan Gallery. 🙂
🙂 This Lesson’s Motmot, Momotus lessonii (formerly Blue-crowned) was healthy, with good color, and best of all, the tail was not broken like in most of my photos of Motmots, plus both medallions at the end of his tail were in perfect condition! Then to top that off, he posed on all sides, front and back, facing both left and right! These are my best ever Motmot photos and to think that I almost missed them because my lens was fogging up from the morning rain! 😊 But removing the protective lens solved that problem! And though it rained all night, we had sun all morning and it was a very good morning with lots of both birds and butterflies to photograph! My Thanksgiving Blessing! 🙂 And check out my Lesson’s Motmot GALLERY for more photos of this beautiful bird! And here’s three of many shots from this morning . . .
It is always fun to see and sometimes catch a bird preparing to take off in flight as with this White-winged Dove on the powerline in front of my house the other morning.
See more of this nice dove in my White-winged Dove GALLERY.
¡Pura Vida!
This female Summer Tanager is focused on her breakfast as an insect flies by. 🙂
See more in my Summer Tanager GALLERY.
¡Pura Vida!
This Palm Tanager seems to be contemplating the row of palms behind my Cecropia Tree and when he flies in them, I can no longer photograph him as he hides between the fronds. 🙂
See more in my Palm Tanager GALLERY.
¡Pura Vida!
Less common here than the Baltimore Oriole, this male is different from the Baltimore with his richer “chestnut” or dark orange (rust) color and a tiny curvature on his bill plus being a little smaller than the Baltimore Oriole. This was a difficult call for me because it is rarer here, though Merlin backs me up on calling it an Orchard, having run both of these photos through that A-I bird identification program on my cell phone. It is a lifer for me, Orchard Oriole, Icterus spurius, linked to the eBird description. And if you would like to compare with the Baltimore Oriole, see that link to my gallery on them where you will see that the male is a brighter yellow-orange and even part yellow. Both species summer in North America and winter in Central and northern South America starting in October. As you can see in the above gallery link, I’ve seen a lot more of the Baltimore here than the Orchard! My first today! Just these two shots from my Cecropia Tree this morning:
For more photos of this bird this morning, see my Orchard Oriole GALLERY, though my two favorite shots are here! 🙂
¡Pura Vida!
Friends up the hill invited me for coffee on their terrace yesterday where they have both a hummingbird feeder and a fruit feeder to attract more birds. And though they too have had fewer birds this year of El Niño weather, they get more than me because of their feeders and maybe their location adjacent the Calle Nueva Forest. Here’s what I was able to photograph while drinking coffee and talking a lot, though the one hummingbird never slowed down enough for a shot. 🙂
4 birds, 2 insects and one iguana . . .
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