Category: Nature

My profession is to always find God in nature.

– Henry David Thoreau

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Rufous-tailed in the Shadows

This most common hummingbird in Costa Rica and the only species I’ve seen in my yard for 2 or 3 years now and this one is infrequent or the only one. I’ve not seen two together this year. I’m not sure what is happening with the humming birds, but I’m not seeing as many now, even though the visited reserves seem to have more, it is less than in earlier years.

And this particular one in my garden is extremely shy, staying in the shadows which makes it difficult to photograph and flying away as soon as he/she seems to be aware of me. This one was alone in my Nance tree the other morning at breakfast and later the others or the same one in different locations. The only species of hummingbird in my garden now.

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, Atenas, Costa Rica
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Salome Yellow, Eurema salome

This butterfly in my garden is like many of the others, hard to identify, but the closest match in my book and online seems to be Salome Yellow (Eurema salome) (link to butterfliesandmoths.org). The book was more helpful for this butterfly than this online site though other sites verified the single spot on top. While the bottom side of the wings is very similar to both the Cloudless Sulphur and Tailed Sulphur, the heavier border and single dark dot on top seals it for this species, I think! 🙂

Salome Yellow (Eurema salome), Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
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Iguana in the Guarumo

The other morning just after breakfast I noticed this immature Black or Spiny-tailed Iguana climbing up my Guarumo or Cecropia Tree for the flowers which the toucans also like to eat. Notice no stripes, no spines on his tail (as on full-grow adults) and only barely starting spines on his back which is typical of the adolescent or young adult Black Iguanas. If he were still a baby, he would be green like the Green Iguanas! But at this age I’m sure of my ID! 🙂 We do have both of those iguanas here and this one is the largest of all our lizards.

Black Spiny-tailed Iguana, Atenas, Costa Rica

The Black or Spiny-tailed Iguana, Ctenosaura similis (Wikipedia article) are found throughout Central America & Mexico and in some Columbian islands in both the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean. They have been introduced in Florida, but not native there. They are the largest of the two types of iguanas we have here. See my Black Spiny-tailed Iguana GALLERY for more photos. Its been a while since I’ve had one in my yard though they are possible anywhere, even in downtown Atenas! 🙂

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Brilliant Blue Metalmark

Occasionally I realize how much I would miss if I had a car instead of walking to town. 🙂 More than just reducing my carbon footprint and helping my health by walking, I get the serendipity of seeing a new or rare butterfly or bird – like this one! Another lifer!

As with the Western Pygmy-blue seen at Chachagua, this one is tiny or thumbnail sized (a tiny bit larger than the Pygmy-blue) and my first time to see or photograph this Blue Metalmark – Lasaia sula Staudinger (butterfliesandmoths.org link).

One house that I always pass on the way to town has lots of flowers and by their corner they have an occasional bed of zinnias, not oft seen here. This metalmark was on the zinnias with a Polydamas Swallowtail and I got photos of both with my cell phone before continuing on toward town. 🙂 What a life! 🙂

Blue Metalmark, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
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Garden Upgrade Photos

Day before yesterday my gardeners came with several upgrades for my garden which, like lots of my projects, started with just one flower and then, well, I kind of kept expanding it! 🙂 It started with this flower I saw at Chachagua Rainforest Hotel and liked so much, I wanted one! I sent this photo below to my gardener. He told me he could get one and then when he was here and we talked in person I “remembered a few other things” I would like for them to do when they bring the new flower. 🙂

My extras ended up being the biggest job (and expense), but I’m so glad that I got all of this done! This is where I live and I’ve slowed down a little on traveling, meaning I want my home to be a tropical paradise – my continuous vacation place! 🙂

Pagoda Flower, Clerodendron paniculatum, Chachagua Rainforest Hotel, Costa Rica that I wanted in my garden.
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Misc. Wildlife

I’ve already done so many posts with photos from Chachagua Rainforest that I decided to lump these miscellaneous “other wildlife” together, especially since most are not great quality photos. Note that I saw Agoutis and Coatis but they were shyer of people there and thus no photos. Below is a gallery of 10 photos of 9 different animals with 2 shots of the fish with front-end and back-end in different shots! 🙂 So those receiving email notice will start with at least one photo, here’s an unusual spider you might like . . .

Unidentified Spider
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Two Basilisks

Everyone prefers the Emerald Basilisk, sometimes called Green Basilisk, but the Brown Basilisk is seen just about as much even with his better camouflage. 🙂 In these photos, the Emerald is an adult male with the head crest while the brown without a crest could be either a juvenile or a female. Both are found all over Costa Rica, especially near water. Note that both have a tail longer than the body. And both are sometimes called “Jesus Christ Lizards” because they walk on water (or run).

Emerald Basilisk, Chachagua Rainforest Hotel, Costa Rica.
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“Upside-down Yogi” (Sloth)

This Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth (Wikipedia link) was in this Guarumo or Cecropia Tree long enough for multiple efforts to photograph it, though in the shadows or no good light, at Chachagua Rainforest Hotel grounds. A peaceful creature! 🙂 In a peaceful place! 🙂

Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth, Chachagua Rainforest Hotel, Costa Rica

“The three-toed sloth lives a peaceful, vegetarian life in perfect harmony with its environment. A good-natured smile is forever on its lips…I have seen that smile with my own eyes. I am not one given to projecting human traits and emotions onto animals, but many a time during that month in Brazil, looking up at a sloth in repose, I felt I was in the presence of upside-down yogis deep in meditation or hermits deep in prayer, wise beings whose intense imaginative lives were beyond the reach of scientific probing.”

― Yann Martel, Life of Pi

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Social Flycatcher

This pretty little bird does not get a lot of attention and is often mistaken for an immature or small Kiskadee or Boat-billed Flycatcher. This particular Social Flycatcher (eBird link) landed on this rusty old ornamental fencing around a lake platform and made an interesting image to me. 🙂 And of course I have a Social Flycatcher Gallery with photos from all over Costa Rica.

Social Flycatcher, Chachagua Rainforest Hotel, Costa Rica.

¡Pura Vida!

TRIP GALLERY: May 2022, Chachagua Rainforest Hotel