The Bird and The Bee — Blue-vented Hummingbird

A rare hummingbird for my garden (seen there only one other time), the Blue-vented Hummingbird (eBird link) the other day facing off with a bee. 🙂 The hummingbird left. 🙂 This bird lives only in Costa Rica & Nicaragua.

Blue-vented Hummingbird, Atenas, Costa Rica
Continue reading “The Bird and The Bee — Blue-vented Hummingbird”

Brown-banded Skipper

The Brown-banded Skipper, Timochares ruptifasciata, is another new species for me as my collection continues to grow! It is found in the southern USA, Mexico and Jamaica and now I’m the first to report one from Costa Rica.

Brown-banded Skipper, Timochares ruptifasciata, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

Plain Longtail

The Plain Longtail – Urbanus simplicius (link to butterflies & moths) is one I’ve seen a lot of as you can see in my Plain Longtail GALLERY or in the top link to butterfliesandmoths that I’ve reported the most of this Central American butterfly. Here’s just two shots. See my gallery above for more . . .

Plain Longtail, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Continue reading “Plain Longtail”

The “Other Hummingbird”

Though the Rufous-tailed continues to dominate my garden and especially the feeders when I fill them, the other hummingbird that I still have in spite of the Rufous-tailed is the Canivet’s Emerald Hummingbird (linked to my gallery) and he is a less common hummingbird anywhere here in Costa Rica and is only found from Southern Mexico to Costa Rica. But it seems to occasionally show up and I appreciate her spunk in putting up with the rufous-tailed! Either a male or female has been in my garden from the beginning in 2015, one of the first species I photographed there. Here’s three different views of this female (back, side & front) or go to gallery for more . . .

BACK VIEW: Canivet’s Emerald, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Continue reading “The “Other Hummingbird””

Brown Longtail

The Brown Longtail – Urbanus procne (my gallery link) is one of 4 different but similar longtails that I see regularly and always have to study their details to identify. Not new, these shots were of the first seen this season back in April. Here’s 3 shots and you can see more in the above-linked gallery or browse through all my Skippers to see the subtle difference in the longtails or see more of these Browns on butterfliesandmoths dot org.

Brown Longtail, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Continue reading “Brown Longtail”

Tailed Cecropian

Another new butterfly species for me, seen in June in my Cecropia Tree, the Tailed Cecropian, Historis acheronta (my gallery with 3 shots). A less seen species found from South Texas to Brazil and you can see other photos submitted on butterfliesandmoths. The great variety of butterflies here just continues to keep me searching! 🙂

Tailed Cecropian, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

Atenas “Oxcart Parade” & Related Activities 2024

I’m posting this because many local people don’t seem to know about it or when what is happening. In short, what expats call the “Oxcart Parade” is at 11 am on Sunday 11 August. You can figure out the rest. 🙂

¡Pura Vida!

3 Common Yellows this Week

In addition to a lot of Whites this week, I continue to see a lot of Yellows in my garden with the following three the most common . . .

The simplest is this Pale Yellow, Pyrisitia venusta, Atenas, Costa Rica.

For more photos, see my Pale Yellow Gallery.

Continue reading “3 Common Yellows this Week”

Howarth’s White

The second most common White in my garden this year is this new species for me: Howarth’s White – Ganyra howarthi (link to my gallery). Here’s one shot with more in the above gallery. It is easily identified by the one big black dot beside two lesser gray dots, 🙂

Howarth’s White, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

And tomorrow I will share the two other “Whites” that I’m seeing in my garden this year. A busy year for butterflies! 🙂

White Angled-Sulphur

I’m back to sharing photos from my garden and this particular butterfly has been quite numerous the last few days. And more interesting than some of the many other Whites that I’m getting now. Here’s two shots from this week and you can see more in my White Angled-Sulphur Gallery. The scientific name is Anteos clorinde and they are residents from Argentina up to Mexico, putting Costa rica near the center. Here’s two shots . . .

White Angled-Sulphur, Atenas, Costa Rica
Continue reading “White Angled-Sulphur”