Category: Trees

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November Macaw Lodge GALLERY!

Finally, I have the photo gallery for my November trip to Macaw Lodge completed, just 6 days before I begin my Christmas Trip to San Gerardo de Dota! I have been very busy since that last trip! 🙂 I will now blog those 6 days before Christmas trip on my garden and some more from Macaw Lodge. :-)

This was just my second time to go to Macaw Lodge which is at the closest national park to where I live. And though I’ve visited 4 other lodges/hotels near that park, Macaw is my favorite and I’m likely to be returning! :-) You can read about the lodge on their website linked here: Macaw Lodge, and it is a lot more than a yoga retreat which the site seems to emphasize! :-) And now for my unique (and I think good) collection of photos from just 3 nights at Macaw Lodge last month, click the gallery image below or go to this web address: https://charliedoggett.smugmug.com/TRIPS/2023-November-21-24-Macaw-Lodge-Carara-NP

CLICK image to visit this gallery.

¡Pura Vida!

AND ABOUT MY OTHER BLOG POST TODAY: Back in January I read an article about fun or funny “Annual National Days” in the U.S. and quickly did a blog post on what I thought was the most interesting one for each of the 12 months and today is the last one on “Underdog Day!” I promise not to do anything like that again, though it was kind of fun when I put together all 12 posts! :-) Tomorrow I’m back to only one nature blog post each day! My real passion! :-) 

¡Hasta luego!

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Yellow Warbler

She was in the early morning shadows at breakfast on my terrace, thus poor photos, but I had to share since it’s the first Yellow Warbler I’ve gotten in a long time, maybe this year, though usually more common. There can be both local residents and migrants from the north, with this one being an adult female, meaning I can’t tell since both local and migrant females are the same, while males are different with the male in CR having a rusty-red head. There is also a CR Mangrove Warbler that is almost identical, but it only lives in the Mangroves along the coast, thus never here in Atenas in the Central Valley, while the Prothonotary Warbler can be in both locations but is a little more distinct or never confused with this one.

Yellow Warbler, Adult Female, Atenas, Costa Rica
Yellow Warbler, Adult Female, Atenas, Costa Rica

See more in my Yellow Warbler GALLERY.

¡Pura Vida!

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Southern Rough-winged Swallow

Michael, a resident naturalist at Macaw Lodge, told me that they did not see this bird much there. And I’ve only seen him in 3 other places in Costa Rica as shown in my Southern Rough-winged Swallow GALLERY. You can read more about him on eBird, the Southern Rough-winged Swallow, Stelgidopteryx ruficollis, a seasonal migrant here from South America who is slightly different from the Northern Rough-winged Swallow, who is both a migrant from North America and some a resident in Costa Rica. Several species have individuals who evidently like it here and just decide to stay along with the ones born here.

People living in the northern hemisphere often think that the only migrants are from the north flying south, but as the literal center of the Americas we get just as many migrants flying north from the southern hemisphere (like this bird). It also explains the two names of “Rough-winged Swallows,” the “Northern RWS” migrate here from the north and the “Southern RWS” migrate here from the south. That is why Costa Rica and other parts of Central America are meccas for bird-watching! You can see birds from both hemispheres! 🙂 Here’s 2 individual shots and 2 group shots of this southern migrant . . .

Southern Rough-winged Swallow, Macaw Lodge, Carara National Park, Costa Rica
Continue reading “Southern Rough-winged Swallow”
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The “Perfect” Motmot Portraits

🙂 This Lesson’s Motmot, Momotus lessonii (formerly Blue-crowned) was healthy, with good color, and best of all, the tail was not broken like in most of my photos of Motmots, plus both medallions at the end of his tail were in perfect condition! Then to top that off, he posed on all sides, front and back, facing both left and right! These are my best ever Motmot photos and to think that I almost missed them because my lens was fogging up from the morning rain! 😊 But removing the protective lens solved that problem! And though it rained all night, we had sun all morning and it was a very good morning with lots of both birds and butterflies to photograph! My Thanksgiving Blessing! 🙂 And check out my Lesson’s Motmot GALLERY for more photos of this beautiful bird! And here’s three of many shots from this morning . . .

Lesson’s Motmot, Macaw Lodge, Carara National Park, Costa Rica.
Continue reading “The “Perfect” Motmot Portraits”
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Arrived with the Rain

Soon after I arrived at about 2:30, the rain started and hasn’t stopped. I shot photos of leaves and many things in the rain from the porch of my cabin, but prefer this shot of my cabin vista just before the rain began and hoping for a sunrise from this same direction in the morning – depending on what the rain does!  😊  Instead of printing trail maps they ask guests to photograph this posted map (below) and use your cell phone when a map is needed. That’s becoming more common in many of the lodges here since literally everyone has a cellphone.

View from my cabin porch just before rain started.
Macaw Lodge Trail Map

Macaw Lodge website

¡Pura Vida!

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Palm Contemplation

This Palm Tanager seems to be contemplating the row of palms behind my Cecropia Tree and when he flies in them, I can no longer photograph him as he hides between the fronds. 🙂

Palm Tanager, Atenas, Costa Rica

See more in my Palm Tanager GALLERY.

¡Pura Vida!

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Orchard Oriole

Less common here than the Baltimore Oriole, this male is different from the Baltimore with his richer “chestnut” or dark orange (rust) color and a tiny curvature on his bill plus being a little smaller than the Baltimore Oriole. This was a difficult call for me because it is rarer here, though Merlin backs me up on calling it an Orchard, having run both of these photos through that A-I bird identification program on my cell phone. It is a lifer for me, Orchard Oriole, Icterus spurius, linked to the eBird description. And if you would like to compare with the Baltimore Oriole, see that link to my gallery on them where you will see that the male is a brighter yellow-orange and even part yellow. Both species summer in North America and winter in Central and northern South America starting in October. As you can see in the above gallery link, I’ve seen a lot more of the Baltimore here than the Orchard! My first today! Just these two shots from my Cecropia Tree this morning:

Orchard Oriole, Atenas, Costa Rica
Orchard Oriole, Atenas, Costa Rica

For more photos of this bird this morning, see my Orchard Oriole GALLERY, though my two favorite shots are here! 🙂

¡Pura Vida!

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Morning Coffee & Wildlife

Friends up the hill invited me for coffee on their terrace yesterday where they have both a hummingbird feeder and a fruit feeder to attract more birds. And though they too have had fewer birds this year of El Niño weather, they get more than me because of their feeders and maybe their location adjacent the Calle Nueva Forest. Here’s what I was able to photograph while drinking coffee and talking a lot, though the one hummingbird never slowed down enough for a shot. 🙂

Lesson’s Motmot

4 birds, 2 insects and one iguana . . .

Continue reading “Morning Coffee & Wildlife”
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Melodious Blackbird

This all black bird can be found on both slopes of Costa Rica and in some areas is quite common. He is the only totally black bird in Costa Rica with even his bill and eyes being black. Read about him on eBird or see more of my photos (better ones) in the Melodious Blackbird Gallery.

Melodious Blackbird, Atenas, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!