Birds Archives - Retired in Costa Rica

December 4, 2019

¡Feliz Navidad!

Wishing you the best through the holidays and a Pura Vida New Year!

~Charlie

I will be slowing down the next two weeks, but still posting some on the blog, as I prepare for Christmas Week at the Tapirus Lodge, in Braulio Carrillo National Park, one of our largest and wildest parks in Costa Rica. New adventures, new photos all the time! 🙂 Retired in Costa Rica! THANK YOU for following my blog! ~Charlie

¡Pura Vida!

Red-legged Honeycreeper, Maquenque Eco-lodge, Boca Tapada, Costa Rica, January 2019.

And check out my Photo Gallery if you haven’t recently – Its “My Costa Rica!” 🙂

November 26, 2019November 26, 2019

Arenal Trip Photo Gallery

Wow! Another great trip to one of my top 5 or 6 favorite places in Costa Rica, Arenal Observatory Lodge, with photos of 49 bird species , including the two new lifers for me! Plus 7 other animal species, a new birding trail (Bogarín), the waterfall, wonderful hiking trails and gardens to walk through, and the tallest birding tower in Costa Rica where this year I got lots of Honeycreepers in place of all the monkeys photographed last year, plus a repeat of my favorite room 29 and really good food! I have been so busy after the trip that it has been difficult to process all the photos, but finally done! Check them out at (or click image):

https://charliedoggett.smugmug.com/TRIPS/2019-November-11-17-Arenal-Observatory

Leave the road, take the trails.

~Pythagoras

Arenal Observatory Lodge, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

November 15, 2019

Waterfall & Tower Hikes

Today I had a morning hike to the Danta Waterfall and afternoon hike to the Observatory Tower they call “The Nest.” Both were good, see photos below. And though still rainy today (I had to leave tower before most toucans arrived), there was almost a sunset tonight or the nearest we’ve had this rainy week and of course what little I got was mostly behind the clouds. 🙂

Waterfall Hike

Ameiva Festiva

Danta Waterfall

Trail to Waterfall

Curassow female

Clay-colored Thrush

Buff-rumped Warbler

Tower Shots

An Almost Sunset

Arenal Observatory

¡Pura Vida!

November 14, 2019

Bogarin Trail

It did rain this afternoon, just a light shower, but enough to keep me from climbing the tower in the rain – so I processed the Bogarin Birds! If you are ever in La Fortuna, Costa Rica, I recommend the place as a good for many, many birds! Saw 40 species! 21 here in photos.

It is a protected reserve right in town – a town I don’t care for but love their Bogarin Trail! La Fortuna is too touristy for me like Manual Antonio and Jaco, packed with competing hotels, restaurants and T-shirt shops! 🙂 Check out the trail website at: Bogarin Trail (or their Facebook Page).

My “lifer” or first time bird today is in the featured photo above, White-throated Crake. The name link is to the article on Cornell Neotropical Birds.

Bogarin Trail Birds

Click an Image to Enlarge.

Blue-gray Tanager

Scarlet-rumped Tanager Female

Buff-throated Saltator

Collared Aracari

Clay-colored Thrush

Orange-chinned Parakeet

Crested Guan

Yellow-throated Toucan

White-throated Crake

Red-legged Honeycreeper Male

Immature Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

Keel-billed Toucan

Boat-billed Heron

Black-cheeked Woodpecker

Green Kingfisher

Palm Tanager

Spotted Woodcreeper Immature

Chestnut-sided Warbler

Scarlet-rumped Tanager Male

Immature Red-legged Honeycreeper Male

Tropical Mockingbird

Gray-headed Chachalaca

Grayish Saltator

Arenal Observatory

¡Pura Vida!

November 14, 2019November 14, 2019

Unclouded Volcano

Today was the first time we’ve had enough sunshine for the Arenal Volcano to be totally visible or almost! A beautiful day and my guide Nestor, whom I also had a year and a half ago when here before, took me to Bogarin Trail (or their Facebook Page) where we saw about 40 species of birds and I got usable photos of about 21. If it doesn’t rain, I’m going back up on the tower this afternoon, meaning I won’t have time to post my Bogarin Bird Bonanza, including my second lifer this week, a White-throated Crake. Another good day! And the blog posts pile up! 🙂

Arenal Observatory

¡Pura Vida!

November 13, 2019November 13, 2019

More Volcano Birds

The morning was dry with my first view of an unclouded volcano (above) since I’ve been here! And from my room at that! 🙂 And no rain for a before-breakfast guided walk nor the after-breakfast solo trip to the tower for the honeycreepers! 🙂 Two birding hikes today and the one from yesterday together gives this colorful collection with one new “lifer” bird, the Rufous-winged Tanager! And I worked on the photos after the rain started about 1:15 pm.

More Arenal Birds

CLICK an image to enlarge or pass cursor over for name.

Click for manual slide show – best way to see the photos!

Immature Red-legged Honeycreeper Male

Melodious Blackbird

Purple-crowned Fairy

Green Honeycreeper

Gray-capped Flycatcher

Shining Honeycreeper Male

Black-cheeked Woodpecker at Home

Rufous-winged Tanager

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird

Immature Green Honeycreeper Male

Golden-olive Woodpecker

Bay-headed Tanager

Green Honeycreeper Female

Red-billed Pigeon

Red-legged Honeycreeper Male

Non-breeding Red-legged Honeycreeper Male

Immature Shining Honeycreeper Female

Great Kiskadee

Tennessee Warbler

Arenal Observatory

¡Pura Vida!

November 12, 2019

First Morning’s Birds

Even with lots of rain all day today, I got these birds before and after breakfast and it doesn’t count some different birds on an afternoon bird walk that was nearly rained out. Rain or shine, there are always a lot of birds at Arenal Observatory! Click image to enlarge and pass cursor over image for name of bird.

Birds First Morning

Green Honeycreeper Male

Great Curassow Female

Great Curassow Male

Montezuma Oropendola

Golden-olive Woodpecker

Brown Jay

White-tipped Dove

Blue-gray Tanager

Pale-billed Woodpecker

Black-striped Sparrow

Green Honeycreeper Female

Crested Guan

Collared Aracari

Arenal Observatory

¡Pura Vida!

November 11, 2019November 11, 2019

Rain in Paradise

I think I forgot that they are on the Caribbean Slope – east of continental divide (their rivers flow into the Atlantic) meaning November is maybe the rainiest month! 🙂 As soon as the plane got out of Central Valley over the mountains it was raining and hasn’t stopped since. But I love the rainy season in general and have had some great experiences in the rain, like at Esquinas Rainforest Lodge, so I scheduled all my birding hikes and will do the best I can even if under an umbrella! 🙂 Funny thing is I tried to book this trip for Christmas week and they were already full nearly a year ago. I’m thinking about booking for Christmas 2121. 🙂

The best photos in this post (I think) are the “Plane Shots.” Enjoy and expect some wet reports this week!

Plane Shots

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Corner Room

Click image to enlarge.

Two Birds

Click image to enlarge.

Brown Jay

Montezuma Oropendola

¡Pura Vida!

November 10, 2019

Bienvenidos!

Welcome! is the translation for you English-only-speakers and one of the new Tico residents of Roca Verde decided that since he lives in the first house inside Roca Verde main gate he would contribute to the neighborhood with this nice welcome sign at 101 Roca Verde just across a little valley from my house at 105 (and he too overlooks the cow pasture). I can’t remember, but don’t think I have shown his welcome sign on the blog yet.

Also inside the main gate (before his sign and at edge of the cow pasture) is the above lovely shaped tree that just lost its leaves and is renewing them now in our sort of a Spring. Walking to town this morning I walked by the tree that I have always liked the shape of and decided on a cell phone photo – above. Then I saw a Lineated Woodpecker in it that soon flew to two of the other trees as I tried to make a photo (below), but I need my big camera for birds! No good photo, but you can see what else is welcoming you inside the Roca Verde gate. 🙂 Bienvenidos!

20191110_101753-A-WEB — Lineated Woodpecker, Roca Verde Entrance

20191110_101656-A-WEB — Lineated Woodpecker, Roca Verde Entrance

“Trees are poems that the earth writes upon the sky.”
— Kahlil Gibran

Better photos tomorrow from Arenal Observatory!

🙂

¡Pura Vida!

November 9, 2019November 7, 2019

Oh, the Places I’ll Go!

Monday I’m off to Arenal Observatory Lodge in Arenal Volcano National Park with my choice room reserved again – #27 – where my deck looks up at the volcano and out past the bird feeders to Lake Arenal over which the suns sets each evening in brilliant colors!

I was there a year and a half ago and you can see why I like it in my trip photo gallery: 2018-May 4-9 – Arenal Observatory Lodge. It is truly one of my favorite places and I’m beginning to return to such more often now, where there are more birds than I will every photograph! (An “official” birding hot spot.) Plus waterfalls, trails, horses, a farm, beautiful scenery, good food, and a comfortable room with more places nearby to visit. And I will probably relax more this time without the rush of trying to see and do everything the first time! ¡Tranquilo!

“You’re off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting,
So… get on your way!”
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

¡Pura Vida!

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Travel Agencies I’ve Used & Recommend:

MY COSTA RICA --- https://costarica.org/#travel-guide --- Go to this website for a Free Travel Guide - They customize all trips. --- --- --- --- --- --- --- COSTA RICA EXPEDITIONS --- https://www.costaricaexpeditions.com/wl3/index.php --- On their site you tell them what you are interested in (like birds for me) and they will email you some suggestions. --- --- --- --- --- --- --- CARIBE FUN --- They specialize in the Caribbean side and take care of all my needs there plus they provide transportation all over CR and to Panama's Boca del Toro. Their website: https://www.caribefuntours.com/

My Favorite Places to Eat in Atenas

CREMA Y NATA --- Bakery and Sandwich Coffee Shop with one of the best breakfast and lunch + breads, cakes and pastries. --- --- --- --- --- --- POCO LOCO --- Fantastic lunch or dinner place for super soup & salad or sandwiches plus a great little bar & rich deserts! --- --- --- --- --- PARILLADA ANDROVETTO --- The best meat in Atenas by far! My Friday night steak place but they also have ribs, pork, chicken, shrimp and fish.