Because the photo gallery linked above will go away when I die, I have donated my bird, butterfly and many other nature photos to the following three sources where they can be seen now and for posterity as well as contributing to the science of each species as all three are major sources of nature research for many research organizations and universities around the world, including their professors and students:
Another Anole that I am not certain about the species, but fairly confident on this ID! We will see later if the “lizard experts” on iNaturalist agree with my identification. 🙂 And note that this one is an immature or maybe juvenile. Though similar to a House Gecko, I think it is different and one of the anoles.
Copper Anole immature, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
See my other photos in the GALLERY: Copper Anole, Anolis cupreus. Or you might be interested in all my many Lizard Galleries (21+ Species) with photos from all over Costa Rica. Being in the center of the isthmus of Central America, Costa Rica has species from both the North & South American continents, giving us one of the highest concentrations of species of everything (plant & animal) of any country our size in the world! 🙂
This is one of those butterfly species, that for some reason, likes to come inside the house to die. And with the heavier than usual winds this year, inside seems to be the only place I can photograph butterflies. So here are 3 postmortem photos of a Dirce Beauty, Colobura dirce (my gallery link) on my living room floor. 🙂 And notice the big difference of the top and bottom of the wings.
The most common species of squirrel in Central America is this Variegated Squirrel, Sciurus variegatoides(my gallery link). Here’s 3 shots of a very active one in my garden who, in one photo, is gathering material for a nest. And I’m back to doing posts in real time with just a few more photos from March when I was staying 10 days ahead on posts. Hoping the winds will die down and more birds and butterflies will be visible.
Or Yigüirro in Costa Rica Spanish, as the national bird that sings in the rains every May. See more of this simple but iconic bird in my GALLERY: Clay-colored Thrush, Turdus grayi (gallery link).
It was still windy when I captured this very determined butterfly feeding on the flowers. Maybe the worse part of the January to March constant winds blowing here is no butterflies! And somewhat also my allergies to the constant dust blowing in! 🙂 But the Polydamas Swallowtail (my gallery link) seems to be one of those few tough (or strong) butterflies who can fly in the winds and is maybe the most seen butterfly during this time period. I do also see some Banded Peacocks and tiny brown Skippers in my garden, but only occasionally, plus way up in the trees are some Yellows that seem to stay high, with almost no other butterflies. But that will start changing in April & May as the winds stop and my peak of butterflies in my garden is May to September! And yes, that is the rainy season. Just one shot of this Polydamas.
Polydamas Swallowtail, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Yeah, I’m that far ahead on scheduling blog posts right now, but it won’t last. 🙂 That is one of my drivers, Alex, who picked me up at 4:30 am and decided to snap the full moon on his cell phone in front of my house, so I captured the scene on mine! 🙂 There was the possibility of a “Blood Moon” at about 2 am that date, but I was not motivated to get up any earlier than I already had to for this trip to the public geriatric hospital in San Jose for a fasting blood laboratory workup to prepare for my geriatric doctor visit on the 17th. Costa Rica’s free public healthcare system takes good care of me now!
Alex photographing the full moon at 4:30 am in front of my house in Atenas, Costa Rica, March 3, 2026.
I could have gotten a better photo of the moon with my Canon Camera and Tamron Zoom Lens, but was just not motivated that morning. And it was just a regular full moon that I’ve photographed before, not a “blood moon” at that time.
During this very windy time of the year (Jan-Mar) there simply are not many birds on my little hill, but in February I got photos of this pair of White-winged Doves (my gallery link) in the overlapping Nance Tree & Palms adjacent my terrace that I could photograph from my outdoor rocking chair. 🙂 This species is a little larger than some and seems to handle the wind okay, but others have simply disappeared to who knows where? And of course virtually no butterflies.
Unidentified, bare-branched TREE on high banks of the stream adjacent the cow pasture in Roca Verde, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica, seen here from my terrace through a telephoto lens.
“No matter how beautiful architecture men can make, they will never create such a wonderful thing as a tree.” ~Pier Luigi Nervi
