Category: Wildlife

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Augochlorine Sweat Bees, Tribe Augochlorini

This tiny little bee on the Spadix of an Anthurium (not a large pistil) was, I first thought, a Green Orchid Bee, but the AI of iNaturalist says no, it is one of many different species of sweat bees and once I post it on iNaturalist, it may or may not be given a species name, just the Tribe Augochlorini. He will go in my general Bees Gallery with only this tribal name for now. 🙂 He is less than half the size of yesterday’s orchid bee.

Augochlorine Sweat Bees, Tribe Augochlorini, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

My First 2026 Photography Day Trip Today

Early this morning Walter will take me and a group of 4 Canadian friends to breakfast at El Jardin on our way to a birding boat trip on Rio Tarcoles to its mouth on the coast followed by a birding hike in nearby Carara National Park, then lunch somewhere on our way back to Atenas. This is the second time I’ve arranged this always productive birding trip for this group.

Then on Thursday we go, at their request, to a mountain Cloud Forest Reserve north of San Ramon. There will not be as many birds there but all will be different from what was seen on the coast. Plus that 6:30am guided hike will be followed by a great “farm to table” breakfast at the Villa Blanca Cloud Forest Resort. I spent a couple of nights there during my earlier years in Costa Rica (2017) and it is nice, but I photographed only 9 species of birds that one time there. 🙂

¡Pura Vida!

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Belted Orchid Bee

The unusual “Cigar Plant,” Pampano or Gadetea in Spanish (Calathea lutea, scientific name) doesn’t attract many birds (an occasional hummingbird) but this large bee seems to like its nectar. The Belted Orchid Bee, Eulaema cingulata, is one of 8+ species in my Bees Gallery for Costa Rica. I may soon break that gallery up into species galleries. And with the mostly windy days now, bees are sometimes all I can find to photograph! But tomorrow I go birding with some visiting Canadian friends to Rio Tarcoles & Carara National Park, so that will boost my lagging daily photos! 🙂

Belted Orchid Bee, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
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Rufous-tailed Hummingbird

The most often seen bird in my garden with a lot of photos in the gallery: Rufous-tailed Hummingbird. 🙂

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

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Inca Dove

I got several shots roadside along the cow pasture in Roca Verde. Here is just one shot with more in my GALLERY Inca Dove, Columbina inca.

Inca Dove, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

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Western Cattle-Egret

A small flock of these egrets flying up and away from the Cow Pasture across the street on January 31. They are regulars at the pasture but I seldom try to photograph. A small group of houses are at the south end of the pasture and the birds are flying up from the pasture and over those houses. I’m able to get closer and better photos on some of my river trips as you can see in my Cattle-Egrets Gallery. Just the one photo here.

Western Cattle-Egret, Cow Pasture, Roca Verde, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

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2 Lizards, 1 Genus

Two days in a row I photographed lizards on my terrace that I cannot identify as species, though on iNaturalist both are accepted as the same Genus, Anolis, but obviously different species, though none of the “experts” have yet to identify the species of either one. Hopefully they will both eventually get identified! 🙂

Genus Anolis, Anole Lizards, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica — This one has a red-orange dewlap.
Genus Anolis, Anole Lizards, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica —
If this one has a dewlap, he did not display it for me. I think the eye markings will be the identifier.

I have 21 species identified in my LIZARDS GALLERY and another 15+ unidentified. The genus identifications of the above two are not confirmed yet and hopefully I will get even the species name later from identifiers on iNaturalist. Books sometimes give me identities, but not always.

¡Pura Vida!

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Giant White

This was in my garden and not the cow pasture, but with the strong winds this time of year I’m seeing a lot fewer of any species in the garden, though this one has been pretty common in the past as you can see in my Gallery: Giant White, Ganyra josephina. Note that all of them have been seen in Atenas! 🙂 Two shots from the other day . . .

Giant White, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
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Yellow Warbler

I love finding these Yellow Warblers in my garden and know that it is most likely they came here from North America.

Yellow Warbler, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

See my Yellow Warbler Gallery.

¡Pura Vida!

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Tropical Kingbird

A favorite of mine among the many birds found only in Central & South America, the Tropical Kingbird, Tyrannus melancholicus (my gallery link). One of the many wild birds that seem to like power lines for perching. And that can make it easy to photograph, depending on the sunlight of course! 🙂

Tropical Kingbird, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Tropical Kingbird, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

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Hesperini Tribe

This tribe level identification means it will be difficult even for the experts to identify, as that is as far down the ID latter the iNaturalist AI would go and I’m certainly unqualified to go farther. It may end up being a common species with two anomalies, that dark “plate” or whatever on his back or shoulders and the whitish tip of his tail. Neither characteristic matches any of the similar species photos I could find, so I’m leaving it at the tribe level. 🙂 Found in the cow pasture and it is the last one from that visual adventure. 🙂 This tribe is also called “branded grass skippers” which is appropriate for one found in the grasses of a cow pasture! 🙂

Hesperini Tribe or branded grass skipper butterfly, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

An added side-note on that walk along the cow pasture in my shorts is that, when I got back to the house, both legs were itching all over, possibly from some insect in the grasses or allergic reaction to some plant. A generous lathering of Allergel took care of that itching pretty quickly! 🙂 This is all from the cow pasture for now. Back to my garden! 🙂

¡Pura Vida!

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