Plain Longtail with Orange Smudges?

I continue to find what appear to be “new” species for me, though this one is pretty much identical to the “Plain Longtail” with the exception of a slightly shorter tail (he could have broken off the tip as he did the 2nd tail) and the “orange smudges” on the wings, large on top and smaller on bottom or side view. I’ll label this the Plain Longtail, Urbanus simplicius and let one of the coordinators at butterfliesandmoths correct me if they believe otherwise. These little detailed differences continue to be an ID challenge for me! 🙂 Here’s 2 shots, one side view & one top view . . .

Plain Longtail, Atenas, Costa Rica
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Saltbush Sootywing

Saltbush Sootywing is the common name and the scientific name is Hesperopsis alpheus. This is a new species for me. And my ID is based on the Glassberg book where it is an exact match, but my photos don’t match the ones on butterfliesandmoths.org for this species, so I will probably be flagged and if so, I hope whomever can give a good identification for this butterfly, IF this ID is not correct. Note that the two photos are of the same insect on the same leaf within seconds apart, but the changing light or capture of the camera has them as two different colors. 🙂

Saltbush Sootywing, Atenas, Costa Rica
Saltbush Sootywing, Atenas, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

The Savegre Trip Gallery Finished!

It took longer after this trip to put the gallery together with a lengthy flurry of activities and first of year requirements, but my Christmas Trip of 2023 December 22-28 — San Gerardo de Dota, Hotel Savegre is ready to visit with all my birds, other wildlife, flowers and landscapes ready to view!

CLICK this Gallery Image to go visit it.
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Tuesday’s Birds

Well – the 6 that I didn’t erase from the camera disk! :-) I’m guessing that when I tried to erase one bad one from the disk, I hit something that selected all the remaining photos and erased them all. None of these are particularly good photos, but the 6 I managed to save, with the Inca Dove maybe my favorite photo after yesterday’s landscapes.

Tuesday’s hike was on Highway 707, southwest of Central Atenas. though not many here use highway numbers. 🙂 They say “the road going west of Cruz Roja to Pica Flora and Hacienda Atenas!” 🙂 Today we are going on Calle Balsilla, south of Atenas, or “a farming road near the Chucas Hydroelectric Dam and lake south of Ruta 27 on Rio Tarcoles.” And maybe I will get some more photos that I don’t erase! :-) Then tomorrow we go to a nature reserve north of here near Palmares. I’m staying behind on photos while still processing those from Hotel Savegre! But it is fun! :-)

Keel-billed Toucan, Atenas, Costa Rica. Many flew over and landed in distant trees. 🙂

Read on for the gallery of all 6 birds . . .

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The Other Side of Atenas Yesterday

My birding friend from British Columbia, Canada, is here this week and we went birding on a former rural road on the west side of Atenas with lots of houses going up of course! Here’s 3 shots of the area and most of my bird shots were not real good because of light and distance plus I lost about 1/3 of them when somehow my computer deleted a bunch from the camera disk. Aghhhh! (I know! It was me hitting a wrong key or something! Grrrr!) Technology will be the death of me yet! :-) But the cows are cute! And that bright yellow tree is a Cortez Amarillo (Tabebuia Ochracea) tree that is blooming all over Costa Rica this time of year and in the landscape shot you can see yellow spots of them blooming. Thursday morning we will try a real country road south of Atenas and then Friday morning we are visiting a nearby nature reserve that I hope will be birdful! 🙂

Vista from a road on the west side of Atenas with my house on the side of that mountain across the valley.

And read on for a photo of a cow & calf nursing and a close up of the Cortez Tree! :-)

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