Category: Plants

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Common Chlorospingus or . . .

Middle America Bush-Tanager, Chlorospingus flavopectus, which is sporting a new name found only in my new 2023 Princeton Field Guide, Birds of Costa Rica (and online). And that is why I try to always have the latest bird guide because there are always changes in the names. eBird is currently using both names and even “Middle America Chlorospingus” as another option. This particular one is found only in Central America with a slightly different one in South America which I suspect is why the name change. I photographed this one from my porch chair at my cabin in El Silencio Lodge & Reserve last month. I’ve already featured the Collared Trogon and now this one from El Silencio and may do just one more bird post on all the others I photographed to keep from stringing the El Silencio posts out too far. 🙂 Or maybe one on Hummingbirds and one on all the others! 🙂 Here’s 3 of my porch shots of this nice little bird by whatever name! 🙂

Middle America Bush-Tanager, El Silencio Lodge, Bajos del Toro, Costa Rica
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Mystical Footpath to Waterfalls

I had only one full day (along with two partial days) at El Silencio Lodge last month and on that full day it rained until after 2 pm, so it was nearly 3 pm before I headed out on what the lodge sometimes calls “Mystery Trail” for my 2 km hike mostly uphill to the three beautiful waterfalls that I shared photos of yesterday, then 2 km back to cabin before dinner.

But as is often the case, the journey is as beautiful or life-changing as the destination! And this was no exception! Every hiking trail is a “Mystical Footpath” to me and when I have more time than I did that day, I find exciting insects and lizards along every trail and in some places birds, monkeys, sloths and other wildlife! But this report is more on the trail and many streams along the way found in a photo gallery below this one pix. In the gallery you can click an image to see it larger and full-width or by clicking the first image you can go through all 12 as a manual slide show that you click through my story in pictures! Enjoy views from my Cloud Forest Hike of last month . . .

I take off on my hike!
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Tallest Agave I’ve Ever Seen!

For years this has been on the hill above my house in the yard of “the big house,” where my former landlord lived and is now rented to a wonderful young couple. And I’m pretty sure it is one of the several species of Agave and my gardener called it an Agave. But it could be something else. I first called it a “yucca” which the garden says it is not. 🙂

Over more than 8 years here the flower has never gotten that tall! Sorry I didn’t ask someone to stand by it for comparison. It is taller than two men or more that 12 feet (3.7 meters) I’m sure! And maybe even equal to tree men or 18 feet! Shooting from my yard down the hill it took 4 photos to make this vertical pano! 🙂 Another fun tropical anomaly! 🙂

An amazingly TALL Agave Flower
in my backyard reaching for the sun! 🙂

I tried to identify it online and the closest match (not exact) was to the Tequilana Agave, grown mostly in Mexico and used to make Tequila! 🙂

¡Pura Vida!

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Mystery Insect

Yes, I too think it is probably one of the thousands of brown Skippers, but all the books and websites making ID dependent on the wing patterns with top and side views, this “in your face” photo does not help me to identify him! But I still thought it an interesting photo worth sharing! 🙂

Unidentified Insect, possibly a Skipper Butterfly, Atenas, Costa Rica

Depending on what you think it is, check out what else is in my Costa Rica Galleries on:

  • Butterflies & Moths, 216+ species
  • Other Insects, 82+ species
  • In both groups you will find lots more “Mystery Insects” or unidentified species. And anytime you think you know the identification of one of these unidentified photos, please CONTACT me!

¡Pura Vida!

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Flying Insects – Bees?

These two different insects I managed to photograph in flight the other morning are probably two of the approximately 700 species of bees found here in Costa Rica, but I cannot specifically identify them. One has a black body and one a orange body. 🙂

Unidentified Bee, Atenas, Costa Rica
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New Photo Book in Spanish

And if you don’t read Spanish – no problem! It’s a photo book! With only the title and introduction in words! 🙂 Preview every page by clicking the cover image below or going to: https://www.blurb.com/b/11661183-el-encanto-de-las-hojas

¡Pura Vida!

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Matthew’s Groundstreak

Another new species of butterfly! And that is pretty good with this being a year of overall fewer butterflies seen! 🙂 This one is in the Gossamer Wings Family and sub-family of Hairstreaks, scientific name Rubroserrata mathewi and common name of Matthew’s Groundstreak. And this is another one of those tiny, fingernail sized butterflies which seem to be handling the wind and lack of rain better this year. Here’s four photos of this new species, all shot in my garden:

Matthew’s Groundstreak, Atenas, Costa Rica
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50+ Maracas!

The last time I tried to count my Maraca Flowers (Shampoo Ginger) I counted around 52 of them! These are the ones behind my house in a very full garden area compared to another Maraca plant out front more in the open which flowers earlier than these and they are more red while these are mostly yellow. Having tropical gardens is a fun past time! 🙂

Maracas or Shampoo Ginger Flowers, Atenas, Costa Rica
Maracas or Shampoo Ginger Flowers, Atenas, Costa Rica

See also My Garden GALLERY.

¡Pura Vida!

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Red-studded Skipper

This only my second time to see this species of butterfly, Red-studded Skipper, Noctuana stator (linked to my Gallery) with the other sighting being at Hotel Banana Azul, Puerto Viejo, Limón, Costa Rica – that’s on the Caribbean side where I will be in September. 🙂 This time I saw it here in Atenas on one of my walks to town in that Zinnia Garden at 8th & 3rd where I’ve seen a lot of butterflies.

Red-studded Skipper, Noctuana stator, Atenas, Costa Rica.
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Rainy Season Green!

A ground-level shot of the cow pasture across the street from my house where the grass stays taller and VERY GREEN during our rainy season, May to November.

Cow Pasture adjacent to Residencial Roca Verde, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica. In front of my house! 🙂

See my photo gallery Cow Pasture Across the Street.

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And read in yesterday’s Tico Times English Language Paper the cool article on: Eco-Friendly Lifeguard Stations Coming to Costa Rica’s Beaches. In brief they are picking up the millions of plastic bottles left by idiots on our beaches, converting them into a wood substitute and forming substitute lumber with which they will build these cool Lifeguard stations for beaches all over Costa Rica! This is a great solution for both increased pollution and decreased forests! 🙂

Tico Times photo of recycled plastic Lifeguard Station

Or check out this COSTA RICA CAMERA TRAP OCELOT:

¡Pura Vida!