The Green Orchid Bee or Euglossa dilemma(Wikipedia) is a Central American Bee found only here naturally (and occasionally in my garden) though recently introduced into South Florida (an invasive species there). I like them for their iridiscente green color added to my garden from time to time. I do have a Bees Gallery for more photos of this and other bees here. Just one of the thousands of interesting insects in Costa Rica that I enjoy watching! 🙂 See also my Butterflies and More Insects Galleries for more bugs!
There is nothing like walking to get the feel of a country. A fine landscape is like a piece of music; it must be taken at the right tempo. Even a bicycle goes too fast.
Margaret, the lady birder from Canada who was in a nearby casita for one month, did most of her birding right here in Roca Verde, including uphill above my casita and on Calle Nueva, the country lane alongside Roca Verde. (She also walked to other neighborhoods in town and had a few trips away, including to Rancho Naturalista & the Tarcoles River.)
But her finding so many birds here got me back into more birding where I live and beyond my own garden where I have no feeders now which has reduced the numbers. Friday morning I spent an hour walking up and down the hill above my house with the result of the following photos of vistas and birds.
Not bad for less than a 200 meter walk from my house! And I know I have already shared similar views and birds on this blog before, but each new time in the viewfinder is a little bit different perspective, a different light, a different pose or action of the bird, and a new joy for me! No new bird species this time, though the immature Blue-black Grassquit was my first immature version of that species! Notice how different she looks from her mother or some other adult female Blue-black Grassquit in photos above. 🙂 I loved the walk and will keep doing it occasionally!
“In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.” – John Muir
Vistas
Central Atenas seen from the hill
Central Atenas seen from the hill
Cattle on the next hill
Thunbergia Grandiflora
Passion Flower
Farmland adjacent Roca Verde
Birds
Turquoise-browed Motmot
Immature Blue-black Grassquit female
Clay-colored Thrush (light version)
Inca Dove
Clay-colored Thrush (dark version)
White-winged Dove
Adult Blue-black Grassquit female
Red-billed Pigeon
Great Kiskadee
Rufous-naped Wren
Gray-headed Chachalaca
“I love walking because it clears your mind, enriches the soul, takes away stress and opens up your eyes to a whole new world .” – Claudette Dudley
At breakfast this morning I just zoomed out a little further for some additional trees that are blooming now. Sorry I didn’t do it earlier when there where some bright orange trees and yellow trees, but I think I’ve shown them before and they are somewhere in my gallery called Flora & Forest Costa Rica, if you want more! 🙂
“They blossomed, they did not talk about blossoming.”
― Dejan Stojanovic
One of the things Heredia is know for is The Toucan Rescue Ranch, which is actually in a suburb, San Isidro de Heredia, which like so many other such places in Costa Rica was started not too long ago by someone dedicated to wildlife, and all the animals that recuperate from injuries or whatever to a level of independence are released into the wild.
After class today I had a quick lunch of something other than the rice and beans I’ve been having here 3 times a day and took a taxi to the rescue ranch for a pre-scheduled “Educational Walk” at 1:30 that lasted until nearly 3:30 and my taxi was waiting on me when finished. Plus a funny thing about the tour, there were 14 people on it with 5 of us from Atenas! Two retiree couples from Atenas were there, plus me. I have met both couples in the past but don’t really know them – another one of those “small world” kind of things! 🙂
Our guide was a really nice & knowledgeable young man from Hungary (the country).
Birds at Toucan Ranch
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Other Animals
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Flowers
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San Rafael Church
On the way back through the suburb of San Rafael de Heredia my taxista stopped here for me to photograph this Gothic architecture church building, second tallest in Costa Rica.
And of course I have a “Trip Gallery” of photos from this week, titled:
My mornings are spent at Tico Lingo Language School where I am not up to speed with the classroom of students in their 20’s for 4 hours a day so they placed me with a private tutor for 3 hours a day which of course is better for me. The featured photo is of my Professora Ana. Below are more photos of the house converted into a school and where I spend my mornings this week. It is a trial week for me to see if this kind of immersion language study will work for me. If so I will continue more later.
At Tico Lingo
My Notebook
Nearby Flower
Outside looks like one of the houses.
Yoga & Dance Hall with Courtyard
Logo Sign
Nearby Flowers
A First Grade Text I may need to study! 🙂
Entrance Lobby-Patio
My Classroom & Teacher, Ana.
Coffee Break Room!
Art in the School
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They are all tourist souvenir art work, and yes, if it were me I would stretch those fabrics tight and mount them level, but that is not my job! And the high school and college kids who are most of their customers couldn’t care less! 🙂
Today after class I went to lunch at a different Soda for another Casado with one of the 20-somethings in the other class (to where he wanted to go) and he treated me! He acted amazed that an 80 year old was doing this. So? He ate fast and took an Uber to see his Costa Rican girlfriend called a “Novia” here. I walked around downtown again today and stopped for an ice cream cone, then walked back to my student boarding house where I make this post! 🙂 Tomorrow is a bigger treat as I go to Toucan Rescue Ranch in the afternoon.
And of course I have a “Trip Gallery” of photos from this week, titled:
In an earlier post I introduced you to the little 5 km country lane behind our Roca Verde development and along the stream by that cow pasture in front of my house. It is called Calle Nueva which would be simply “New Street” in English and the 2018 blog post was titled Finishing the country road walk today . . . Then later I added a photo gallery: Walking Calle Nueva Atenas 2018. Same photos!
Yesterday I walked part of the road more slowly than I did with young man Jason Quesada back then. It was with another older person who is a birder from Canada! Totally different! We saw more than 15 species of birds just behind where I live and here are a few photos of some of them! Even got one lifer on this walk of about 2 hours, the Black-crowned Tityra, both male & female! CLICK A PHOTO TO ENLARGE.
And apologies for several washed out pictures with white sky. That was because I was not paying attention to details and accidentally turned the dial to “Manual” without setting the manual settings and wasn’t looking at the images on screen! Ugh! Sloppy old man!
Birds on Calle Nueva
Hoffman’s Woodpecker
Olive Sparrow (almost like Stripe-headed)
Melodious Blackbird
Buff-throated Saltator
Rose-breasted Becard Male
Yellow Warbler
Black-crowned Tityra Male
Streaked Flycatcher
Rose-breasted Becard Female
Groove-billed Ani
Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher
Black-crowned Tityra Female
Yellow-throated Vireo
Great Kiskadee
Blue-tailed Hummingbird
Interesting Flowers on Walk
Mountain Farm Vista on Calle Nueva.
Country roads, take me home, to the place I belong.
Glad to get back to nature posts after all the other stuff I’ve been posting the last week! And the featured photo above is a Passion Flower growing on a neighbor’s wall along the street uphill above my house.
In my Roca Verde neighborhood, and most neighborhoods across Costa Rica, we have “Snow Birds” or “winter residents” who come to visit or live here during the very cold months up north (Dec-Apr). One of those couples I met for the first time last year always stay in Roca Verde, just a few doors up the hill from me – she is a birder and he a relaxer. 🙂 They are from British Columbia, Canada.
Yesterday she showed me all birds she had photographed in Atenas in just one week, most right here in our neighborhood! Thus I was shamed into birding more in my own neighborhood and later some other places in Atenas – but it means getting up at 5:30 in the morning which I have not been doing much here. Mixed emotions!
I live adjacent to these farming hills seen from street above my house.
This morning I spent just one hour, mostly between 6 & 7 and saw about 20 species of birds, photographing about 15 of them! ALL WITHIN 300 METERS OF MY HOUSE! For you Americans, that’s just 3 blocks, and all along the street in front of my house, up the hill. Of course I ran into Margaret who get out every morning early for birds and we birded together much of the time. I will not do it every day like her, but hopefully more often now!
By 7 there are not a lot of birds to see. It is the magical hour after sunrise and the last hour before sunset that give the most birds! (Same thing on my trips!) And some of these birds from today have not come to my house or I haven’t seen them in my garden yet. CLICK AN IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT . . .
This Morning’s Birds
Barred Antshrike
Variable Seedeater Juvenile
Clay-colored Thrush
Blue-gray Tanager
Inca Dove
Summer Tanager Male
Gray-capped Flycatcher
Summer Tanager Female
Squirrel Cuckoo Flying
Red-billed Pigeon
Orange-chinned Parakeet
Rufous-naped Wren
Squirrel Cuckoo
Turquoise-browed Motmot
Grayish Saltator
Catholic Church in Central Atenas is also seen from the street above my house, though not as close as this seems through my 60 mm lens! 🙂
“Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you.”
And as he created his magnificent houses always integrated with nature – I have tried to create views through all my windows & doors that bring nature in and take me out! I love traveling in the nature places of Costa Rica, but living in nature day to day keeps me going! The luckiest guy in the world!
Look through My Pura Vida Windows on life!
Terrace – My Biggest Window
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Garden Door View
This garden greets me upon every departure and arrival! 🙂
Living Room Window
A Strangler Fig Tree – shades from afternoon sun.
Kitchen Window
Kitchen view garden.
Laundry Room Window
Slope with interesting tree!
Office-Guest Room Window
I planted a row of palms for privacy from street
Bedroom Window
Pot plant in front of the outside palms.
“Dormer windows” above my bed in the jungle!
Bathroom Windows
Above sink & toilet – my beautiful hill!
I shower in the jungle!
I am Rich in Nature!
He is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature. ~Socrates
One of the things Heredia is know for is 
In an earlier post I introduced you to the little 5 km country lane behind our Roca Verde development and along the stream by that cow pasture in front of my house. It is called 
