Category: Wildlife

Posted on

Tropical Checkered Skipper

The Tropical Checkered Skipper, Burnsius oileus, (my gallery link) is another fairly common butterfly in the past that has returned to my garden for this year. Here’s just one shot and you can see more in the above linked gallery. They are found along the U.S. Gulf Coast south to Argentina. See photos from other places on butterfliesandmoths.

Tropical Checkered Skipper, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

June 6-8, 2024 15% OFF flash sale on my photo books with the Discount Code JUNEFLASH15. Go to my bookstore at https://www.blurb.com/user/cdoggett.

Posted on

Cassius Blue

Another one of those tiny little butterflies and the second time for me to see the Cassius Blue, Leptotes cassius (my gallery link), both times this year! I keep being surprised with new species and during a year with an extra hot and windy pre-rainy season! But fortunately, the rainy season has started and my garden is happy! Along with the birds and butterflies! 🙂 And here’s 3 shots of the Cassius Blue with different light, shading and details . . .

Cassius Blue, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Continue reading “Cassius Blue”
Posted on

Juvenile House Gecko

Well, sometimes I think they are all “juvenile” in their behavior, chirping at night sometimes and leaving their distinctive gecko poop around the house, but then, on the other hand, they are heroes! They are my best “pest control” and maybe why Costa Rica does not have a mosquito problem or mosquito-borne diseases like dengue fever plaguing other parts of Central America right now. This is a younger one with full grown nearly twice this size, though I’ve seen much smaller or literally baby geckos less than half this size. 🙂

House Gecko, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

My House Gecko GALLERY with only 3 so far. Not one of my priorities! 🙂

¡Pura Vida!

June 6-8, 2024 15% OFF flash sale on my photo books with the Discount Code JUNEFLASH15. Go to my bookstore at https://www.blurb.com/user/cdoggett.

Posted on

2 Days of Butterflies

These 6 photos of 6 species were made on April 18 & 20, processed a week later and being ahead on my blog posts, they just now make it to you! 🙂 I was really photographing a lot during the weeks before my Arenal trip and now my photos and thus blog posts are sort of backed up. But I will catch up and maybe slow down a little or be more selective in which photos I share. Sorry, but I want to share all of them! 🙂 I will put these 6 butterflies in a little gallery below this one introductory shot.

Dina Yellow, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Continue reading “2 Days of Butterflies”
Posted on

Blue-gray Tanager

One of the more common birds that has been back in my garden for a while now is the Blue-gray Tanager, Thraupis episcopus (linked to my gallery), that is found from southern Mexico through all of Central America and the northern half of South America. Read more on eBird. Here’s a couple of shots made in April . . .

Blue-gray Tanager, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Continue reading “Blue-gray Tanager”
Posted on

Athis inca moth – A Rare Find!

One of my unidentified photos from Arenal just got identified by an authority with butterfliesandmoths.org and it is another one of those rare finds and mine is the first one ever submitted to butterfliesandmoths. 🙂 Wikipedia says “Athis inca is a moth of the Castniidae family. It is found from Mexico to Costa Rica.” You can see this photo of mine posted on butterfliesandmoths or in my gallery. And to learn more, the website that seemed to have the most information was GBIF (linked). And Project Noah (linked) has several nice photos, including different subspecies. I’m proud of my find and so glad that J. Wiley Rains of BAMONA identified it for me! Costa Rica is just full of “rare finds!” 🙂 And it is wonderful to be “Retired in Costa Rica,” the name of my blog! 🙂

Athis inca Moth, Arenal Observatory Lodge & Trails, Costa Rica

On this same trip I also found another semi-rare moth which you can see in my gallery, the Feigeria herilia, an equally interesting and different moth! 🙂

¡Pura Vida!

Posted on

2 Less Often Seen Birds

Both in the shadows of my Cecropia Tree, thus not great photos, but part of my purpose is to document what seen, when and where, which with eBird helps scientific research like also with my butterflies on butterfliesandmoths. Great photos or works of art come occasionally as an extra treat! 🙂

You can see more in my galleries linked below for these two bird species photographed all over Costa Rica:

Hoffman’s Woodpecker, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Swainson’s Thrush, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

And all my Costa Rica Birds GALLERIES.

Posted on

Matthew’s Groundstreak

This is my second sighting of Matthew’s Groundstreak, Rubroseratta mathewi (linked to butterflies and moths where only one other person has confirmed a sighting). It is another one of those tiny, fingernail-sized butterflies here. I continue to be amazed by the variety of butterflies right here in my own garden that are expanded more when I travel! For the photos of my other sighting and one more from this, see MY GALLERY: Matthew’s Groundstreak. Here’s one shot from this April sighting . . .

Matthew’s Groundstreak, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

Well, I must endure the presence of a few caterpillars if I wish to become acquainted with the butterflies.
-Antoine de Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince

¡Pura Vida!

And my Costa Rica Butterflies GALLERIES.

Posted on

Megarus Scrub-Hairstreak

This is my second time to see this rare butterfly, with the other time being in the south of the country near Golfito at Playa Cativo Lodge on Golfo Dulce at Piedras Blancas National Park AND I am the only person to have submitted any photos of it to butterfliesandmoths.org (Link to their page for this butterfly.) Or you can see the same photos in my gallery for the Megarus Scrub-Hairstreak, Strymon megarus. 🙂 Here’s four shots from a recent sighting in my garden . . .

Male Megarus Scrub-Hairstreak, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Continue reading “Megarus Scrub-Hairstreak”