Category: Costa Rica

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Chachalaca in My Garden & Cousin in Nicaragua

I was thrilled this morning at breakfast when this large bird walked across my lawn and into my garden!

Gray-headed Chachalaca, in my garden, Atenas Costa Rica
Possibly a juvenile since a little smaller than some I’ve seen

This turkey-sized bird is a cousin to the guans which we also have all over Central America. I saw a similar Plain Chachalaca at Montibelli in Nicaragua high in a tree behind a lot of limbs, so no good photo. But I did get several good photos of the Highland Guan while at El Jaguar and here are two of those photos. Guans and Chachalacas are in the same family with similar size and look.

Highland Guan, El Jaguar Nature Reserve, Nicaragua

Highland Guan, El Jaguar Nature Reserve, Nicaragua

In my Costa Rica Birds photo gallery see my photos of a Black Guan at Monteverde, Costa Rica; a Gray-headed Chachalaca at Turrialba, Costa Rica; Great Curassows (another cousin) from different places in Costa Rica; and in separate travel galleries a Crested Guan at Isla Barro Colorado, Panama; and a Gray-headed Chachalaca in the Gamboa Rainforest of Panama. I’ve also seen Chachalacas in Guatemala and Mexico, but I will stop with these as a fun set of birds!

About Chachalaca on Wikipedia
About Guans on Wikipedia
About Curassows on Wikipedia

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Night Hike Shots

Sorry, I meant to post this last night before I left for Nicaragua. The last post from Monteverde.

Sleeping Brown Jay
Monteverde, Costa Rica

Sleeping Orange-bellied Trogon
Monteverde, Costa Rica
Sleeping Keel-billed Toucan
Monteverde, Costa Rica

Sleeping Skipper Butterfly
Monteverde, Costa Rica
A Strange Cloud Forest Fruit Eaten Only by Bats
Monteverde, Costa Rica

It Was Dark! Night Hike!
Monteverde, Costa Rica

We saw many other creatures that I could not get usable photos of, like a Margay cat, two snakes, army ants, leaf-cutter ants, other insects, and some other birds including a spectacled owl.

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Other INSECTS at Monteverde

Golden Orb Spider

Monteverde Butterfly Garden, Costa Rica

 

Unknown Insect

Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, Costa Rica
At the entrance buildings

 

Walking-Leaf Katydid

Monteverde Butterfly Garden, Costa Rica

 

Walking-Stick Insect

Monteverde Butterfly Garden, Costa Rica

 

Unknown Insect

Monteverde Butterfly Garden, Costa Rica

 

Leaf Cutter Ants

Monteverde Butterfly Garden, Costa Rica

 

Butterfly Caterpillars in the Rainforest

Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, Monteverde, Costa Rica

There were of course many more insects seen and not photographed. Costa Rica has one of the largest selection of insect species in the world, more than all of the U.S. and Canada combined and yet it is the size of the state of West Virginia.

My Other Insects of Costa Rica  PHOTO GALLERY     OR   Costa Rica Butterflies

And I just finished the Monteverde Birding Club Trip 2016 TRIP PHOTO GALLERY

If we were to wipe out insects alone on this planet, the rest of life and humanity with it would mostly disappear from the land. Within a few months.    ~E. O. Wilson
Land of Great Species Diversity

 

 

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10 Things the USA Could Learn from Costa Rica

Here’s a neat little blog article by a younger writer, Joe Baur:

10 Things the USA Could Learn from Costa Rica  (click title to read)

Pura Vida!

And he didn’t even mention that we have no army and get along with all our neighbors and all other countries in the world. And no Republican Party! Though sorry to say there’s politics here, just not as evil as the states’.  🙂  But we will stick with a young writer’s ten reasons for now!

They are also just 10 of the many reasons I came to Costa Rica and expect to stay here the rest of my life! I have many other reasons like the natural world, etc. . . .

Anyway! Enjoy!

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Hummingbirds at Monteverde

Green-crowned Brilliant
Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, Costa Rica

Stripe-tailed Hummingbird
Curi-Cancha Reserve, Monteverde, Costa Rica

Stripe-tailed Hummingbird
Curi-Cancha Reserve, Monteverde, Costa Rica

Green Violetear Hummingbird
Curi Cancha Reserve, Monteverde, Costa Rica

Violet Sabrewing Hummingbird
Selvatura Adventure Park, Monteverde, Costa Rica

Purple-Throated Mountain-Gem Female
Selvatura Adventure Park, Monteverde, Costa Rica
Purple-Throated Mountain-Gem Male
Selvatura Adventure Park, Monteverde, Costa Rica

Hummingbirds are difficult to photograph and for me sometimes more difficult to identify (why they are the last birds I’m sharing), so I’m proud of these photos and three represent new species for my photo collection. Of course we saw many more species, especially on the trail in the wild, but too difficult to photograph.

For more bird photos see my Costa Rica Birds Photo Gallery, 169 species & 26 are hummingbirds!


 “Time passes too fast. Like a hummingbird flying by, it’s just a blur to my eyes.”
~Amanda Leigh

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A few of the BUTTERFLIES at Monteverde

Isabella Tiger

Monteverde Butterfly Garden, Monteverde, Costa Rica
Owl Butterfly

Monteverde Butterfly Garden, Monteverde, Costa Rica
Malachite Butterfly

Monteverde Butterfly Garden, Monteverde, Costa Rica

Bluewing or Blue-Banded Purplewing

Monteverde Butterfly Garden, Monteverde, Costa Rica

Colubura Dirce

Monteverde Butterfly Garden, Monteverde, Costa Rica
Thoas Swallowtail

Monteverde Butterfly Garden, Monteverde, Costa Rica

Postman

Monteverde Butterfly Garden, Monteverde, Costa Rica

Heliconius Sara

Monteverde Butterfly Garden, Monteverde, Costa Rica
Blue Morpho Butterfly on Charlie Doggett

Selvatura Park, Monteverde, Costa Rica

Heliconius Hecale Zuleika

Selvatura Park, Monteverde, Costa Rica

The Selvatura Adventure Park Butterfly House was bigger and fancier and maybe landscaped better or prettier but did not have as many species as the smaller, family-run Monteverde Butterfly Garden which also had a more lively insect exhibit, again not as big, but with more live insects shown up close by one of the owners. If you can go to only one of the butterfly gardens, I would recommend Monteverde. Plus if you go hiking in the Cloud Forest Reserve or Curi-Cancha you will see lots of butterflies in the wild.

Happiness is like a butterfly: the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder.
-Henry David Thoreau
My Costa Rica Butterflies PHOTO GALLERY

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Some Small Birds from Monteverde Trip

Slaty-Backed Nightingale-Thrush Juvenile 
Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, Costa Rica
Cute?

Slaty-Backed Nightingale-Thrush Adult 
Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, Costa Rica
Both under a picnic table at park entrance. Could be Mom of above.

Yellowish Flycatcher

Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, Costa Rica
Sooty Thrush

Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, Costa Rica

Rufous-collared Sparrow

Curi-Cancha Reserve, Monteverde, Costa Rica
Slate-throated Redstart

Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, Costa Rica
My earlier posts had the more exciting birds like the  3-wattled Bellbird,  Emerald Toucanet,  Brown Jay with two Elegant Euphonias,  and Black Guan. And after the insects, I may do a post on the Night Hike which included several sleeping birds, just not real good photos, so we will see. And eventually I’ll post the new Hummingbirds gotten on this trip which are always slower for me to label.
And don’t forget that I have a large Costa Rica Birds PHOTO GALLERY with 165 species now. Making photos of the birds here is my main hobby and passion. 
You think birds watch people?

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Rare Pygmy Squirrel found in Only 4 Countries

Alfaro’s or Central American Pygmy Squirrel
Curi-Cancha Reserva, Monteverde, Costa Rica

Microsciurus alfari, Alfaro’s Pygmy Squirrel or Central American Pygmy Squirrel is rare and lives only in mountain pine forests of Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama. In Costa Rica they are at Monteverde where these photos were made and they are in the Talamanca Mountains. I did not see one on my earlier trips to the Talamanca mountains. 


Alfaro’s or Central American Pygmy Squirrel
Curi-Cancha Reserva, Monteverde, Costa Rica


A squirrel is just a rat with a cuter outfit!   ~Sarah Jessica Parker