Category: Trees

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Giant Butterfly Moth

I’ve seen this large daytime moth several times in my garden & house and the only other place was at Esquinas Rainforest Lodge near Golfito on the Pacific Coast. The other day I saw two, one on my Cecropia Tree and another injured one hiding among plants in my garden. When not wanting to be seen, they are this plain beigey brown color with off-white spots and bars. But when they fly or lift their forward wings, the hindwings are a bright orange and white. You can see this from earlier sightings in my GALLERY: Giant Butterfly Moth, Castniomera atymnius (linked to the gallery). Just two shots here from this November sighting.

Giant Butterfly Moth, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Giant Butterfly Moth on Cecropia Tree trunk, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

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Gray-headed Chachalaca

Regular noisy visitors all around my house that I haven’t been trying to photograph much recently. Interesting chicken-sized “chatterboxes.” 🙂 The Gray-headed Chachalaca, Ortalis cinereiceps (linked to my gallery). Here he is in my slowly dying Cecropia Tree that I will replace in another year or so.

Gray-headed Chachalaca, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

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White-winged Dove

One of my “regulars” here is the White-winged Dove, Zenaida asiatica (my gallery link). They are found from the southern half of the United States on south as far as Columbia in South America.

And by the way, the morning I wrote this post (Wed), I had a young Kee-billed Toucan in my Cecropia Tree, the first I’ve seen for awhile, but I did not have my camera with me and as I pulled out my cell phone, he flew away. But hopefully I will start getting toucan photos again! 🙂

White-winged Dove, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

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Lineated Woodpecker

I always like this one better than the more common here Hoffman’s or Black-cheeked Woodpeckers. And maybe that is because this one reminds me more of Woody Woodpecker. 🙂 And Woody is special in many ways, one being that he was born the same year as me, 1940. 🙂 But enough of that! The Lineated Woodpecker, Dryocopus lineatus (linked to my gallery), is a tropical forest bird found in both the lowlands and foothills (where I live) of Central & South America. In my gallery you can see that I’ve photographed him on both slopes of Costa Rica in many locations. Read about him on eBird.

Lineated Woodpecker, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

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Yigüirro or Clay-colored Thrush

The national bird of Costa Rica was thought by the indigenous people to sing in the rainy season at the end of the dry season, late April or May. It is the Clay-colored Thrush, Turdus grayi (my gallery link) and is found from South Texas throughout Central America and in Columbia. There are always Yigüirros in my garden. Read about on eBird.

Clay-colored Thrush, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

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Tropical Kingbird

I do still see birds in my garden even though the butterflies greatly outnumber them! 🙂 And of the four I am sharing these next four days, this is the least-seen of them: Tropical Kingbird, Tyrannus melancholicus (linked to my gallery) and as always, you can read more about them on eBird. They are seen throughout Central America and most of South America and are sometimes known as one of the “telephone wire birds: or “fence birds,” as they like open areas and catch flying insects, including my beloved butterflies. 🙂

Tropical Kingbird, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

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Lichens, Leaves & Things . . .

. . . are a part of the often unseen beauty in nature and have become a regular category of photos for me when I trek in the forest. Here’s 2 photos plus the feature at top, but you can see several more in my Lichens, Leaves & Nature Things GALLERY from the Caribe Sur this month.

Withered Cecropia Leaf
One of many lichens on rainforest trees.

¡Pura Vida!

And beyond this recent trip to Hotel Banana Azul, I have a bigger gallery of collected Leaves & Nature Things pulled from many trips and my garden that just might interest you and another of Just Fungi (lichens, mushrooms, etc.). Both are from all over Costa Rica. 🙂

Since I first wrote this I have completed the entire Trip Gallery for Hotel Banana Azul, Playa Negra, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Limón Province! 🙂

And though I could continue sharing photos from Banana Azul, I think I will stop for now and come back to photo shares from my garden in Atenas, Alajuela Province, starting tomorrow. But you can see more in the above-linked Trip Gallery. ¡Pura Vida!

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2nd Edition Hiking Guide!

Becoming world famous for hikers is the coast to coast (Atlantic to Pacific) hiking trail titled El Camino de Costa Rica (WEBSITE link), a 280 kilometer hike through forests, mountains, farms and small villages with many suggested overnight stays in homes, camping or even a few luxury hotels nearby. 🙂

Hiking Guide cover. CLICK image to see the book.
Continue reading “2nd Edition Hiking Guide!”
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Caribe Sur Photo Gallery Ready

I’m still planning on some more posts from this first week of October trip, but you can see all of my acceptable photos in the trip gallery by clicking this linked title or the image of first page below. 2024 October 1-6, Hotel Banana Azul, Caribe Sur

First page of my 2024 Caribe Sur Photo Gallery, CLICK image to go to the gallery.

¡Pura Vida!

And to learn more about Hotel Banana Azul, click that name link! Note that the header photo on their web page was made from “my room,” the one I get on each visit, called “The Howler Suite.” 🙂

There are no big chain hotels or resorts on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica (like the Pacific side). All are small, locally-owned, very friendly and helpful people (muy amable), with simplicity and tranquility. The Caribbean side is not for everyone, but I like it; both the laid back Jamaican atmosphere of the south or the Amazon Jungle atmosphere of the north Caribbean at Tortuguero National Park. The south has Cahuita National Park and Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge, making the south also a great place for nature photographers in a different way than Tortuguero where you are mostly on the water. I encourage my fellow expats living in Costa Rica to give this side a try as something different from the Pacific Coast or the mountains. I love every area of Costa Rica because each is different! That is just the way I am! 🙂