Category: Nature

My profession is to always find God in nature.

– Henry David Thoreau

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Maquenque Rainforest Flowers Part 1

Yes – these all grow wild in the rainforest even if they have moved some up near the lodge. And I really tried to get a name for each flower which I did for the 13 today and for all but 3 of the 14 for tomorrow. I make a big deal out of all the birds here and could just as easily for all the unique flowers. Enjoy and remember to CLICK an image to enlarge.

  • White Ginger or Butterfly Lily
  • Red Ginger
  • Phytolacca rivinoides
  • Pastora de la Montana
  • Pastora de la Montana
  • Panama Hat or Carludovica rotundifolia
  • Heliconia
  • Heliconia
  • Golden Trumpet
  • Fire Bush
  • Fern
  • Crepe Ginger
  • Bamboo Orchid

14 more rainforest flowers tomorrow in Part 2!

See also my Flora & Forest Gallery.

¡Pura Vida!

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Maquenque Mammals

There were others of course that I don’t have photos of, like Howler Monkey I heard but did not see, squirrels, and the farm animals I did not photo like cows, horse, pigs, etc. So this is just a few with the Coati being the one seen the most! They are in the same family as the raccoon and can be bigger pests, especially for food! 🙂 CLICK an image to enlarge it.

  • White-nosed Coati
  • Baby Spider Monkey
  • Mother Spider Monkey eating
  • Agouti

See my CR Mammals Gallery.

Maquenque Eco–Lodge Website

¡Pura Vida!

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Maquenque Damsel & Dragonflies

I walked over two wetlands bridges every time I approached or left my room (3 or 4 times a day) and thus saw a lot of dragonflies, but sorry to say no really great photos, but they are always interesting! 🙂 And there is no easy way to identify this beautiful creatures. Online websites are conflicting and no dragonfly book for Costa Rica.

  • Dragonfly
  • Red-faced Dragonfly
  • Scarlet Skimmer Dragonfly
  • Scarlet Skimmer Dragonfly
  • Damselfly
  • Red-tailed Dragonfly
Dragonflies photographed at Maquenque Eco-lodge Costa Rica, July 2020.

My CR Dragonfly Gallery has more!

By discovering nature, you discover yourself. ~Maxime Lagacé

¡Pura Vida!

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Coffee Break = 6 Birds!

In the post “On the Road” I mentioned that on our way back from Maquenque we stopped for coffee at Cinchona, and even though in the middle of the day, I photographed 6 species of birds while drinking one cup of coffee (10-15 minutes) AND 2 of them were lifers! That’s new birds for me! The new ones were the Bronze-tailed Plumeleteer and the Prong-billed Barbet. Every time I stop there I hope to get a shot of the Red-headed Barbet and after 3 stops, nada! But this time I got his uglier cousin. 🙂 CLICK to enlarge an image.

  • Prong-billed Barbet
  • Siver-throated Tanager
  • Blue-gray Tanager
  • Black-headed Saltator
  • Emerald Toucanet
  • Bronze-tailed Plumeleteer

See my Costa Rica BIRDS Gallery for many more birds!

And this view of San Fernando Waterfall is a bonus when stopping at Soda Cinchona! 🙂 And you can see all my Costa Rica Waterfalls in my CR Waterfalls Gallery.

¡Pura Vida!

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Maquenque Butterflies

As common after trips, I’ve been overwhelmed with things to do since I returned from Maquenque Eco-Lodge and with so many bird photos to process (60+ species) it may be awhile before I share those, so here is a small collection of 7 species of butterflies. Every living thing loves Maquenque! 🙂 CLICK an image to enlarge.

  • Forest Giant Owl
  • White Peacock
  • Sara Heliconian
  • Sara Heliconian
  • Erato Heliconian or Postman
  • Blue-patched Eyemark
  • Common Green-eyed White
  • Smooth-banded Sister

It’s very tough for me to focus. I’m like: ‘Look, something shiny! No, focus. Oh, there goes a butterfly!’ ~Gabby Douglas

🙂

My Costa Rica Butterfly Gallery has more than 106 species now!

¡Pura Vida!

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On the Road Again

Walter usually drives me in one of his two vans but today was Monday and both personal cars and tourist vans with tags ending in 1 or 2 are not allowed on the road. Yes, it’s a coronavirus prevention tool, keeping more people off the roads and out of the towns. Well, he has 2 vans and both were disqualified, so he had to use his taxi today (no limit on taxis), meaning his driver Cristian had the day off, like it or not. Only 40 km of the road from south of Boca Tapada to the lodge is gravel, but you notice it more! 🙂

  • Downtown Boca Tapada
  • All Farm Land
  • Man with Machete & Dog
    Typical Roadside Sights
  • Pineapples the biggest cash crop in the area.
  • Fernando Waterfall at Cinchona
  • Sharing road with cows.
  • Our Taxi parked in front of “Jalapeno Central” Alajuela for Lunch.

¡Pura Vida!

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And a Birthday Dinner!

I got lots of attention all day yesterday but the biggie was dinner with a birthday cake and singing of Feliz Cumpleaños. Plus they decorated chair with flowers and gave me a bouquet of flowers to take back to my room in the tree tops! And I will eat more birthday cake today!

Bouquet taken back to my room.
Head Chef or Kitchen Manager posing with me.

¡Pura Vida!

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Kingfishers

There are 4 kinds of Kingfishers here at Maquenque and so far I’ve photographed 3 of those species. I’ve seen Green Kingfisher here before but not this week so far. Here’s the three species I’ve got with two shots of the Amazon because he looks different in each shot. CLICK image to enlarge.

  • Amazon Kingfisher
  • American Pygmy Kingfisher
  • Ringed Kingfisher
  • Amazon Kingfisher

See my Costa Rica Birds Gallery.

¡Pura Vida!

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Honeycreepers

There are 4 species of Honeycreepers in Costa Rica and these three are easily seen all over the Maquenque Lodge & Reserve. Note the big difference in male and female of all three! CLICK image to enlarge.

  • Red-legged Honeycreeper Immature Male
  • Red-legged Honeycreeper Male & Female
  • Red-legged Honeycreeper Female
  • Shining Honeycreeper Male
  • Red-legged Honeycreeper Male
  • Green Honeycreeper Male
  • Green Honeycreeper Female

See my Costa Rica Birds Gallery.

¡Pura Vida!

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Rainforest Fireworks

Instead of traditional 4th of July fireworks I am enjoying the colors of parrots and toucans this weekend. I’ve photographed over 65 species of birds so far, so still way behind on presenting them all and decided to show just the two categories most foreigners consider the most colorful here! Enjoy my tropical fireworks show as a slideshow of 10 photos.

Maquenque Parrots & Toucans

  • Scarlet Macaw
  • Keel-billed Toucan
  • Brown-hooded Parrot
  • Scarlet Macaw
  • Orange-chinned Parakeet
  • Yellow-throated Toucan
  • Mealy Parrot
  • Scarlet Macaw
  • Collared Aracari
  • Orange-chinned Parakeet

Happy 4th of July!

¡PuraVida!