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| Polydamas Swallowtail My Home Garden, Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| Polydamas Swallowtail My Home Garden, Atenas, Costa Rica |
¡Pura Vida!
West Indian Buckeye
It is June and the butterflies are filling my gardens! I like that. I have one other photo of this particular species, but not as good as this, so pleased to get it today. Plus I am still experimenting with my new website and want to see if adding the category of WILDLIFE to the tags on this post will place it on my WILDLIFE page like I think it is supposed to do. So here goes.
West Indian Buckeye
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| West Indian Buckeye Butterfly My Garden, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica |
I am glad that we are getting a lot more butterflies now! I had forgotten that it was mainly in June & July that the butterflies were numerous. I have a bad photo of one of these West Indian Buckeys, but this is my first good photo that shows the beauty of its coloration and design.
PREPARING NEW WEBSITE/BLOG AT WORDPRESS
I will be working on my new website at charliedoggett.net for a long time it seems, though my phone appointment with a specialist Tuesday may move me forward a little quicker. That may be when I move this blogger.com blog into WordPress. We will see. I have started a practice blog in WordPress, but it will not be the main one until they are merged there. The merging is suppose to include moving my subscriptions, but I never totally trust computers or programmers, so be prepared to sign up again if necessary!
Then I will consider moving my photo gallery into the same website so everything is together. ¡Poco a poco! Little by little!
¡Pura Vida!
Experimenting with New Book Binding
This is a “heavy paper” special binding so all pages “lay flat” with none of a two-page photo lost in the gutter. I am experimenting and will decide if it is worth the much higher cost when I do a book like this with all 2-page spreads or panoramas. You can review every page electronically online in the bookstore by clicking the link or click the cover image above. Best seen “Full Page” as always.
¡Pura Vida!
A Sphinx Moth?
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| One of the Sphinx Moths maybe – specific variety not found La Coope Supermercado Auto Repair Shop Atenas, Costa Rica |
During my first year or so here I was finding new butterflies or moths nearly every week but have not in months if not a year or longer recently. On the last two trips I saw several Banded Peacocks which are kind of common butterflies to me now and nothing else that would land. Both Arenal and Corcovado had several fast-flying butterflies that never landed or slowed down for a photo. That included several Blue Morphos at Corcovado. But this is my first photo in a good while and I cannot positively identify it. If you know, please leave a comment! Or email me. Cell phone shot.
And see my similar photos in gallery Butterflies & Moths.
¡Pura Vida!
Seeing Between the Leaves
Back in November 2016 I did a similar post on seldom seen spots of a garden and wrote:
“In the forest or my garden, one must look through tiny windows to see behind the leaves.” Again I share what I see in my garden, plain & simple yet full of fantasy!
“In the forest or my garden, one must look through tiny windows to see behind the leaves.” Again I share what I see in my garden, plain & simple yet full of fantasy!
I’m always astonished by a forest.
It makes me realise that the fantasy of nature
is much larger than my own fantasy.
I still have things to learn.
~Gunter Grass
The flowers have to be sisters of the birds..!!
My favorite birding group here now is a Tico Facebook group called: Asociacion Ornitologica de Costa Rica
The one photo I posted there from my Arenal trip was this Keel-billed Toucan that I also used on the cover of the book about Arenal Observatory.
Several comments were made but the most interesting was from Diego who said,
Las flores han de ser hermanas de las aves..!!
ENGLISH TRANSLATION:
The flowers have to be sisters of the birds..!!
It is possibly and old saying or even a quote from some writer (though my Google search did not find an author), but I thought it so interesting and true especially with some of the many colorful birds here in Costa Rica and I appreciate Diego’s comment!
Toucans are difficult to photograph even with the tower at Arenal putting me up on their level! But they certainly are a lot like flying flowers! 🙂
If I had to choose, I would rather have birds than airplanes.
~Charles Lindbergh
Arenal Tropical Flowers & Plants
This is just a small sampling of many more photos in Arenal Observatory trip gallery:
Flowers & Tropical Plants. Arenal Observatory Lodge grounds are a Botanical Gardens!
Flowers & Tropical Plants. Arenal Observatory Lodge grounds are a Botanical Gardens!
-o-
And if you like tropical plants but live “up north,” check out how you can go tropical in your house, year-around, 16 Tropical Plants to Grow Indoors. A reader wrote and suggested this.
Top 10 Most Welcoming Countries for Expats
An online article by Expat Organization InterNations
They put Costa Rica at #6.
Last Day in this Paradise – Arenal Observatory
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| A sign in the lodge property that is my motto for travels all over Costa Rica. Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal Volcano National Park, Costa Rica |
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| Variable Seedeater male Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal Volcano National Park, Costa Rica |
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| Rufous-tailed Hummingbird Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal Volcano National Park, Costa Rica |
I tried again this morning and will again this afternoon and tomorrow morning, but have not found
my two target bird, Bare-necked Umbrella Bird and Yellow-eared Toucanet which I have a lousy dark photo of from Tenorio National Park, but I really want a good photo of one! Both birds are supposed to be here but you can never guarantee a find! As of Tuesday afternoon I do have photos of 27 different species of birds and 5 of those are new photo-finds for me! So not bad! They are:
2. House Wren
4. Gray-capped Flycatcher (with a fly in his mouth)
5. Piratic Flycatcher
Links are to my photo of that bird on this trip.
And the big treat for today was monkeys! I went back to “The Nest” or observation tower at 4:00 PM and it was surrounded by both Howler Monkeys and a few Spider Monkeys, but I have 300 photos to go through and pick just a few for you in tomorrow’s post. So Expect monkeys tomorrow! 🙂
And now for tonight’s last sunset at Arenal for me:
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| Sunset over Lake Arenal at Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal Volcano National Park, Costa Rica |
There you can see all the birds together, etc. plus photos not on the blog.
Tomorrow morning at 11 AM I reluctantly leave Arenal for my return to Atenas.
This is definitely one of my favorite getaway places, but then I have so many!
A Towering Experience Today!
The following 4 birds were photographed in treetops at eye level from “The Nest”
or the 92 ft tall metal tower on the lodge property. Amazing treetop experience!
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| Yellow-throated Toucan Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal National Park, Costa Rica |
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| Collared Aracari (A type of Toucan) Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal National Park, Costa Rica |
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| Keel-billed Toucan Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal National Park, Costa Rica |
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| Red Lored Parrot Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal National Park, Costa Rica |
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| “The Nest” or Birding Tower 92 ft tall — A Little Scary! Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal National Park, Costa Rica |
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| Freddy is there 8 hours a day with locked gate to the tower. 8 max people at a time including one staff member. Lots of warnings in English & Spanish. Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal National Park, Costa Rica |
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| Top of the English Warning Sign With long list of conditions below from pregnancy to vertigo! There are 146 steps going up and down and the tower does sway with wind & people movement. Today was my 2nd time up. Yesterday morning my birding guide took me up and we saw 0 birds! Nada! This afternoon Freddy used recordings of toucan sounds to attract them to the surrounding treetops! Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal National Park, Costa Rica |
There you can see all the birds together, etc. plus photos not on the blog.
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Sunset Behind the Clouds Tonight
Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal National Park, Costa Rica
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And Scary Clouds at that! But No Rain!
Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal National Park, Costa Rica
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