. . . in my Higueron or Strangler Fig Tree (Big Ficus). The tree just lost its leaves again which makes it a little easier to see birds or other wildlife like this, though with so many tight limbs it is like “he is behind bars!” 🙂 And this tree has few open spaces where I could have gotten a clear view of his whole body, plus he continued higher up where I could not see him at all. This variety of iguana is the only kind I’ve seen in my yard or anywhere else in Atenas, while many of the lodges I visit also have the Green Iguana which is more colorful but with the same behavior high in trees and sometimes on the ground. See my separate photo galleries:
CLICK the cover image above to see book on Amazon.com.
Denise Gilien will be at this weekend’s ART SHOW with her children’s book (above) Where the Wild Sloths Roam and other work. Don’t miss this opportunity to see 21 local artists together in one room and possibly find a creative Christmas gift! At Hotel Colinas del Sol in Atenas on Avenida 8.
Friday 9 December – 3-8 pm — Jack, Piet & Syl, Fire Music at 5 pm!
Saturday, 10 December – 10 am to 8 pm — Poison Dart Frogs Band at 5 pm!
I’m suddenly getting a lot of spider webs all around my yard and we still have rain almost every afternoon. Not sure what it means. This particular web did have its spider in the center, a little white spider.
White Spider in center of its web, Atenas, Costa Rica.
In addition to the Satyrs, several of these Banded Peacock butterflies are staying around while the bulk of butterflies seem to have gone from my gardens.
This one is more “normal” or typical of spider webs than the strange one taking over a plant the other day. If you look close, there is one insect trapped in the web but I do not see the spider.
Spider Web in my garden, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica.
A female in one of my trees and the “snowbirds” are coming – both literally and figuratively! 🙂
TODAY is Thanksgiving Day in the States and though not a holiday here, I’m having a traditional Thanksgiving Day Dinner with friends from New Hampshire up the street from my house.
Baltimore Oriole Female, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Or at least it seems like they are the last two to be active this season, though I know I will have more soon or by January. The most active time for butterflies in my garden has been May to November, roughly the time of our “winter” or Rainy Season, though I do have some year around and see even more at the lodges I visit during our “summer” or Dry Season, December to April. But these two Satyrs, Carolina and White Satyrs, are the only two I’ve been able to photograph on my little hill recently, while thankfully more birds are returning! 🙂 And the rain is slowing down with less of it less often, like we are getting ready for dry season early? I hope not too early! The rain with the sun is what makes it so green and beautiful here!
White Satyr, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa RicaCarolina Satyr, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
And, oh yeah, there’s a lot more of these thumbnail-sized Carolina Satyrs than the Whites! 🙂 I have no explanation for why.
He’s the most common squirrel in Costa Rica, a Variegated Squirrel, and I managed to get these two shots of him looking for green figs on my Strangler Fig tree Sunday morning and he did eat that one he’s approaching in the second photo. The first photo would be my favorite if the leaf behind him wasn’t “sticking out of his head” like a Unicorn, but to remove it in Photoshop would mean removing some of his whiskers and I didn’t think that would look right either, so “this is the way it really was!” 🙂
Variegated Squirrel, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
In next photo he approaches the tiny green fig that he ultimately eats.