Thank You for 2023!

I am immensely grateful for each and every one of you who read my blog regularly, occasionally or just look at the photos! My site host reports more that 2,000+ “hits” online at my website/blog every month! 🙂 And that doesn’t count many of the 500+ subscribers who only look at the email version nor most of the 650 Facebook Friends who look at the one feature photo without clicking the the link to the post! 

I also appreciate the hundreds of comments left on the posts monthly and many “contacts” or messages through my contact page or by email. Just yesterday I responded to a man in England with questions about photographing wildlife at Esquinas Rainforest Lodge and a friend in the States commented with a meaningful Bible verse about my post yesterday on hugging the 800 year old tree. Nature is fun! :-) And you who read or just look at the pictures are the ones who make it fun for me! :-) THANKS! Keep reading or looking at the pix! And click the gallery links for more pix!

As usual, I’m ending the year with 12 photos from this year, equaling one per month but not literally from each month, since some months have weaker or fewer photos. Nor are these necessarily my top 12 favorite photos from this year, but are representative 2023 photos from “Retired in Costa Rica” this year, with birds and butterflies obviously being two favorite subjects again! :-) One shot here for the email version and eleven more online with a quick click below of “Read More”!

Black-cheeked Woodpecker, Maquenque Eco Lodge, Boca Tapada, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Continue reading “Thank You for 2023!”

Mexican Silverspot

I’ve seen this cool butterfly in only two places, here and at Guayabo Lodge near Turrialba. It is found from Texas to Brazil. Since I’m limiting myself to one photo per post from this location, see the other shots in my Mexican Silverspot GALLERY plus my earlier shots.

Mexican Silverspot, Hotel Savegre, San Gerardo de Dota, Costa Rica.

See shots from other places on butterfliesandmoths.org. And oh yeah, I did not get a good Quetzal shot yesterday morning, so I’m trying again this morning. Wildlife does not usually pose for photographers! :-)

¡Pura Vida!

November Macaw Lodge GALLERY!

Finally, I have the photo gallery for my November trip to Macaw Lodge completed, just 6 days before I begin my Christmas Trip to San Gerardo de Dota! I have been very busy since that last trip! 🙂 I will now blog those 6 days before Christmas trip on my garden and some more from Macaw Lodge. :-)

This was just my second time to go to Macaw Lodge which is at the closest national park to where I live. And though I’ve visited 4 other lodges/hotels near that park, Macaw is my favorite and I’m likely to be returning! :-) You can read about the lodge on their website linked here: Macaw Lodge, and it is a lot more than a yoga retreat which the site seems to emphasize! :-) And now for my unique (and I think good) collection of photos from just 3 nights at Macaw Lodge last month, click the gallery image below or go to this web address: https://charliedoggett.smugmug.com/TRIPS/2023-November-21-24-Macaw-Lodge-Carara-NP

CLICK image to visit this gallery.

¡Pura Vida!

AND ABOUT MY OTHER BLOG POST TODAY: Back in January I read an article about fun or funny “Annual National Days” in the U.S. and quickly did a blog post on what I thought was the most interesting one for each of the 12 months and today is the last one on “Underdog Day!” I promise not to do anything like that again, though it was kind of fun when I put together all 12 posts! :-) Tomorrow I’m back to only one nature blog post each day! My real passion! :-) 

¡Hasta luego!

2nd Sighting of Rare Butterfly!

On butterfliesandmoths.org I have the only reports of this Yellow-haired Skipper, Typhedanus cajeta. My first sighting was earlier this year in my garden and this time it was at Macaw Lodge, Carara National Park. The above link is to the online butterfly site I volunteer for with only my sightings included there now. Plus here is a link to my Yellow-haired Skipper GALLERY. And below are 3 photos of this simple brown butterfly from my November visit to Macaw Lodge . . .

Yellow-haired Skipper, Macaw Lodge, Carara, Costa Rica
Continue reading “2nd Sighting of Rare Butterfly!”

Rooftop Iguanas

Though I haven’t noticed them as much recently, I think they are always around, maybe a family, as one of these looks younger than the other.

Black Spiny-tailed Iguana, Atenas, Costa Rica

The featured photo is of the older one on the roof, so email recipients have to go to the website by clicking the post title. 🙂 For more photos of this species, go to their gallery: Black Spiny-tailed Iguana.

¡Pura Vida!

Colorful Peacock Butterfly!

The Banded Peacock is one of those steady friends you can always expect to be here every year and in this strange weather year, he was again always here, even if in fewer numbers, continuing to add color to my gardens and other places I visited. These two photos were made just before I left for Macaw Lodge and I like how he contrasts with both the green and the yellow leaves as another butterfly with a rich brown color. There will be fewer butterflies now until next May, but fortunately a tropical country has some butterflies year around! And soon my copies of the Second Edition of Pura Vida Butterflies book will be here with 240+ species of butterflies, the most of any book available right now! Click that link to order your copy!

Banded Peacock Butterfly, Atenas, Costa Rica
Banded Peacock Butterfly, Atenas, Costa Rica

For more photos, see my Banded Peacock GALLERY.

¡Pura Vida!

And don’t miss this weekend’s BIG ART FAIR at Plaza Calle 2! JIT! Just in time for the Holidays with gift possibilities for everyone!

CLICK image for the JIT Facebook Page!

Art Fair One Week from Today!

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!)

Don’t Miss the “Just in Time for the Holidays” Art Fair next weekend, December 8-10 at Calle 2 Plaza next door to Linea Vital Medical Plaza! 3-7 Friday, 10-7 Saturday and 10-2 Sunday.

¡Pura Vida!

Another New Butterfly Species!

Sorry that I keep switching between more photos from the Macaw Lodge visit and photos in my own garden at home. But another new species is a big deal to me, even though this one did not make my new butterfly book which is already being printed! 🙂

It is another tiny Metalmark with the English name of Blue-based Theope and the scientific name of Theope virgilius. The top of his wings are a bright sky-blue, but because it was windy, he never perched with wings spread and thus no photos of top. I saw the blue when he was flying, but too fast to photograph! 🙂

Blue-based Theope, Atenas, Costa Rica
Blue-based Theope, Atenas, Costa Rica

And see more shots I made of him in my garden in my Blue-based Theope GALLERY.

There haven’t been many submitted on butterfliesandmoths.org, but you can see those four from Mexico and Costa Rica at that link plus a few more at butterfliesofamerica, also from Mexico and Costa Rica. Our regional guanacasteconservationarea includes photos of the caterpillars and iNaturalistPanama has some nice photos of the butterfly which they call “Tourmaline Butterfly” in Panama, but it is the same one. 🙂

Butterflies are amazing and beautiful and there are so many of them! The frequent new discoveries I’m having are a joy! 🙂

¡Pura Vida!

A New Tiny Butterfly

As I said in yesterday’s post, on the morning I published the second edition of my big butterfly book, I captured a photo of another new species that just barely made it into the book! 🙂 It is the Clench’s Greenstreak – Cyanophrys miserabilis and I adjusted the size of another Gossamer Wings butterfly in the book to make this last minute addition fit. Fun! And that is in addition to the other last minute addition of just 4 days before that when I got the Red-headed Firetip – Pyrrhopyge phidias at Macaw Lodge which I featured in an earlier blog post and also adjusted the size of another photo to make that Skipper butterfly fit in the book. 🙂 Here’s one shot of the Greenstreak for the email followed by a little gallery of 4 shots.

Clench’s Greenstreak, Atenas, Costa Rica
Continue reading “A New Tiny Butterfly”