Arrived with the Rain

Soon after I arrived at about 2:30, the rain started and hasn’t stopped. I shot photos of leaves and many things in the rain from the porch of my cabin, but prefer this shot of my cabin vista just before the rain began and hoping for a sunrise from this same direction in the morning – depending on what the rain does!  😊  Instead of printing trail maps they ask guests to photograph this posted map (below) and use your cell phone when a map is needed. That’s becoming more common in many of the lodges here since literally everyone has a cellphone.

View from my cabin porch just before rain started.
Macaw Lodge Trail Map

Macaw Lodge website

¡Pura Vida!

Los Colinas del Sol Wildlife

On September 30 after my house was fumigated for ants, I spent the night at our little neighborhood Hotel Colinas del Sol and though cloudy and getting dark, I got some shadowy shots of 3 birds and two butterflies seen below. Nothing spectacular, but nature is almost everywhere waiting to be seen and photographed! And I love it, even in bad light! 🙂

Simple Big-eyed Satyr
Juvenile Baltimore Oriole
Great Kiskadee
Hoffmann’s Woodpecker

¡Pura Vida!

And this Banded Peacock Butterfly I posted on that night. 🙂

Caribbean Trip Gallery Finished!

And of course there are many more blog posts I intended to write on this almost annual trip to the Atlantic Coast of Costa Rica, but the opening of a new art gallery is demanding all of my time now! Maybe more later. In the meantime if you are interested in Costa Rica’s Caribe South, I hope you will check out this quite extensive “Trip Gallery” with all of my decent photos included in category folders by clicking the Page 1 Gallery Pix below or going to this address: https://charliedoggett.smugmug.com/TRIPS/2023-September-18-24-South-Caribbean-Costa-Rica

CLICK this 1st page image to OPEN GALLERY

BUTTERFLIES are the real stars this year! 🙂

¡Pura Vida!

34 Butterfly Species + Busy Schedule

I finally got through all my butterfly photos made on the property at Hotel Banana Azul in Costa Rica’s Caribe South and they total 34 species! Unfortunately I have 11 different Skippers labeled “Unidentified” and I really need some better sources to help with identification. I am including two photos here and one is an unidentified Yellow or Sulphur. You can see all of the 34 species in my Banana Azul 2023 Butterfly GALLERY. And this is in addition to all those already reported on from Gandoca-Manzanillo and Cahuita reserves making a total of 54 species! 🙂

Definitely one of the Spreadwing Skippers, but not specifically identified.
One of the Yellows or Sulphurs but again not specifically identified.

And oh yeah, the feature photo at the top of post has been identified as a Pompeius Skipper, Pompeius pompeius.

¡Pura Vida!

¡Muy ocupado! — Very Busy!

Read on for why I am behind on my blog posts now and what is happening in my personal life, from my new “free” doctors to helping open a new art gallery in Atenas . . .

Continue reading “34 Butterfly Species + Busy Schedule”

Leaves, Lichens & Nature Things

Sometimes it’s the little things that are usually ignored that become my biggest discoveries in nature and my Leaves & Nature Things! GALLERY has 20 of these discoveries that I found at Hotel Banana Azul and there were more such nature things I shared in the Cahuita and Gandoca-Manzanillo sub-galleries, but click the above link for Hotel Banana Azul. And here’s just one leaves shot and one mushroom! Plus email readers must click the title above to see my feature photo & favorite leaf shot! 🙂

Caribbean Rainforest, Costa Rica
Caribbean Rainforest Mushroom, Costa Rica

Leaves & Nature Things! at Hotel Banana Azul.

¡Pura Vida!

Fun Tropical Insects

I did a post on “Other Insects” at Banana Azul earlier but did not include these 6 bugs that are all unidentified for now (and maybe for a long time). 🙂 I never cease to be amazed at the variety, colors, patterns and just the appearance of so many different insects here in Costa Rica. I will not label or comment on these 6 but just share the photos below . . .

Continue reading “Fun Tropical Insects”

Half My Banana Azul Butterflies

I initially was able to identify only about 15 of the 30 or more species of butterflies photographed at Hotel Banana Azul. Most of the remainder of the butterflies are various types of Skippers and hopefully I will eventually identify most of them! 🙂 I’m getting behind again, so not sure when I will get them posted but maybe tomorrow. I’m working on posts only 4 days ahead now, so we will see. 🙂

Arawacus Togarna, Hotel Banana Azul, Puerto Viejo, Limón, Costa Rica
Continue reading “Half My Banana Azul Butterflies”

Four-lined Whiptail

The Four-lined Whiptail (Chisbala de Cuatro Rayas) – Holcosus quadrilineatus is a medium-sized lizard found in the lowlands of both coasts of Costa Rica. There are three other similar lizards in Costa Rica. Here’s a couple of my shots of one at Hotel Banana Azul on the Beach Road.

Four-lined Whiptail, Hotel Banana Azul, Puerto Viejo, Limón
Four-lined Whiptail, Hotel Banana Azul, Puerto Viejo, Limón

See all of my CR Lizards GALLERIES.

¡Pura Vida!