Category: Places

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Yellow-Green Vireo

This is one of several birds I saw at breakfast this morning including a Lineated Woodpecker, Blue-gray Tanager, Clay-colored Thrush, White-winged Dove and some unidentified flyers. But this is the only one I got a photo of and my second time to see this species here. One of my guide books says they come as breeding visitors Feb to Oct. It is a sparrow-sized bird very much like the Red-eyed Vireo which is less common here.

I saw the other one March 28 on Calle Nueva with not as good a photo, but you can see it in my Yellow-Green Vireo gallery. Or read about them on eBird with a map showing where they are found. Happy birding!

 

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Yellow-green Vireo, Atenas, Costa Rica

 

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Yellow-green Vireo, Atenas, Costa Rica

 

“Not humans, but birds often witness the most beautiful mornings in this world!”
― Mehmet Murat ildan

¡Pura Vida!

P.S.

And oh yes, if I haven’t said yet, “Rainy Season” or “winter” (my favorite time of year) is well under way here with rain or showers every afternoon. I love it! Cooler, fresher air and so much greener! My garden loves it too!    🙂

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Virtual Night Hike at Selva Verde

Come join one of the guides at Selva Verde Lodge on a typical night hike in their Sarapiqui Private Reserve. Since people have not been able to visit them live, they put this”virtual night hike” on their YouTube Channel. One of the guides shows you the kinds of things I get to see live when I go on such night hikes at this and other lodges in Costa Rica. It is real and typical except for the short time of only 3 minutes! In real life there is more walking between the animals seen!   🙂

Featured image is from my Red-eyed Tree Frog Gallery and another night hike somewhere else (Danta Corcovado).  

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And here’s the same guide on a DAYTIME TOUR of Selva Verde, Just be aware that in an hour or more tour you see a lot more wildlife than in these little 3 minute videos! But both are a taste of what I regularly see and photograph in my retirement in Costa Rica: 

¡Pura Vida!

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How to wash your hands?

Not only are we required to wash our hands before entering the supermarket, but they have a sign from the Ministry of Health showing us how!   🙂   But hey! We don’t have thousands dying from COVID19 in Costa Rica!

 “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”    ~Benjamin Franklin

¡Pura Vida!

 

Costa Rica has the lowest COVID19 death rate (0.86%) in Latin America! See the statistics in the “Live in Costa Rica” blog report:

The Best Country to Live In.

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Zoo Birds?

Sure! I photograph ALL BIRDS, anywhere I find them, and many zoos are great places for birds, with some you will never get to see in the wild!

One of my many “quarantine projects” is getting my old “pre-Costa Rica” photos in my online gallery where I can see, use or reference them. One of the biggest galleries I am now working on is the gazillion photos I made at Nashville Zoo, my favorite zoo in the whole world!

And my first sub-gallery for Nashville Zoo is of course BIRDS! Today (Monday) I just finished my Nashville Zoo BIRDS gallery with 65 different species and a few of my favorite photos from Nashville days. About 6 of those are “wild” birds that just flew in for the ponds, trees, etc. Just be aware that these are older photos made between 2004 & 2014 and some birds may not still be there and of course there are new animals there I’ve never seen!   🙂

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First page of Nashville Zoo Birds alphabetically. Each is a gallery with multiple photos of that bird.

That got me thinking about the birds I’ve seen and photographed at other zoos, so today (Monday) I created a new page for my big BIRDS gallery:  Links to BIRDS in ZOOS with literally hundreds of bird photos from around the world and 40 zoos! Only a few birds in each zoo, none comparing to my Nashville Zoo collection, but a lot of birds and fun to collect! Staying busy at home!   🙂

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What the links page look like in my BIRDS Gallery.

 

¡Pura Vida!

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Costa Rica’s Reopen Timeline

The Health Ministry on Monday presented Costa Rica’s plan for a gradual reopening.

Beginning May 16, Costa Rica will further ease coronavirus restrictions and allow limited visitation at beaches and national parks. If the epidemiological curve permits, more measures will be lifted in June and beyond.

Here is Costa Rica’s timeline for reopening, as presented Monday by the Health Ministry.

May 16 to May 31

  • The following national parks can open at 50% capacity: Irazú Volcano, Poás Volcano, Guayabo, Braulio Carrillo, Carara, Corcovado, Manuel Antonio, Cahuita, Arenal, Rincón de la Vieja, Los Quetzales and Tapantí. Monteverde, a private reserve, can also open. Tickets must be pre-purchased.
  • Non-contact and individual recreational sports / athletic training are permitted.
  • High-level contact sports are permitted, without spectators.
  • Small hotels (maximum 20 rooms) can reopen at 50% capacity.
  • During the week, beaches can open from 5 a.m. to 8 a.m.

June 1 to June 20*

  • Remaining national parks reopen at 50% capacity.
  • All restaurants at 50% capacity.
  • Public parks at 50% capacity.
  • Museums at 50% capacity. (Prior ticket purchase is required.)
  • All other hotels at 50% capacity.
  • The current border restrictions will expire on June 16; these may be extended.

June 21 to July 12*

  • All stores at 50% capacity.
  • All cinemas and theaters at 50% capacity.
  • Religious centers can hold gatherings (maximum 100 people with 1.8 meters of separation).
  • Bars at 25% capacity.

July 13 to August 2*

  • Schools under to-be-announced protocols.
  • Contact sports with spectators (20% capacity).
  • Beaches with social distancing.

* All plans beyond the measures announced for May 16-31 are tentative and may be changed if Costa Rica experiences a surge in cases. 

‘Golden rules’ for containing coronavirus spread

The Health Ministry announced a series of “golden rules” that should be observed by all residents of Costa Rica.

  1. No one with a cold or flu, or with respiratory symptoms, should leave the house.
  2. People with coronavirus risk factors should avoid going to public places.
  3. While in public, maintain a distance of 1.8 meters (6 feet) between anyone not in your “social bubble.”
  4. Do not touch your face in public without first washing your hands.
  5. Do not sing, shout or speak loudly in public.
  6. Wear face masks, especially on public transportation or if remaining in a public place for more than 15 minutes.
  7. If possible, take the temperature of patrons before allowing them into an establishment.

Vehicular restrictions to continue

Starting on May 18, the following daytime vehicular restrictions will be enforced between the hours of 5 a.m. and 10 p.m.:

  • Mondays: Vehicles with license plates ending in 1 and 2 cannot drive. Vehicles with license plates ending in all other numbers can transit freely between 5 a.m. and 10 p.m.
  • Tuesdays: Vehicles with license plates ending in 3 and 4 cannot drive. Vehicles with license plates ending in all other numbers can transit freely between 5 a.m. and 10 p.m. .
  • Wednesdays: Vehicles with license plates ending in 5 and 6 cannot drive. Vehicles with license plates ending in all other numbers can transit freely between 5 a.m. and 10 p.m. .
  • Thursdays: Vehicles with license plates ending in 7 and 8 cannot drive. Vehicles with license plates ending in all other numbers can transit freely between 5 a.m. and 10 p.m. .
  • Fridays: Vehicles with license plates ending in 9 and 0 cannot drive. Vehicles with license plates ending in all other numbers can transit freely between 5 a.m. and 10 p.m. .

A total vehicular restriction — with a few exceptions — will be enforced nationwide every weeknight from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. the following morning.

The weekend driving restrictions will continue between the hours of 5 a.m. and 7 p.m.:

  • Saturdays: Vehicles with license plates ending in even numbers cannot drive.
  • Sundays: Vehicles with license plates ending in odd numbers cannot drive.

A total vehicular restriction — with a few exceptions — will be enforced nationwide every Saturday and Sunday night from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. the following morning.

Cronograma

 

Thankful to live in Costa Rica with common sense national leadership!  ~CD

¡Pura Vida!

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Unknown Insect

More than a week ago I cellphone-snapped a shot of this funny-looking flying bug in a drop of water on my bathroom counter. He was gone the next morning, either flown away or eaten by one of my many geckos.

Retirement in Costa Rica does include living with bugs and this year’s “pre-rainy season” seems to have included more than usual for me, especially flying  insects around the lights at night. I sometimes just never turn on the light in my bedroom at night to avoid being bothered by flying insects when in bed.   🙂

We hope that, when the insects take over the world, they will remember with gratitude how we took them along on all our picnics.     ~Bill Vaughan

 

🙂

¡Pura Vida!

 

See my photo galleries:  More Insects   –  OR   –   the separate Butterflies gallery. Insects are truly amazing!

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My Bird Count Today

Today is “Global Big Day” of counting birds where you live to help science better see what is happening to the health of our planet. I was out from 5:30 AM to 7:15 AM along the border between our housing project, Roca Verde, and the adjacent farms on the border-line gravel road called Calle Nueva (literally “New Street”) that serves as one emergency evacuation road from Atenas along with being a great nature walk and road for bicycles.

I’ve had better days and worse days of birding on that road, so maybe “average” is what the scientists want!   🙂   I observed at least 60 birds of more than 12 species, which is the number of species I photographed. I only report on eBird what I get photos of, which is not the typical eBird user, but I feel more confident with my reports because of that and eBird has volunteer “checkers” to make sure I labeled a bird correctly. Of my 60 seen, 30 were one flock of parakeets!   🙂

It was overcast or cloudy almost the whole time I was out, meaning poor light and white skies as terrible backgrounds most of the time! Only one photo has even a semblance of a blue sky. That’s life! There were no “lifers” or first-time birds for me, though my first time in Roca Verde to see and photograph the Rufous-capped Warbler, and the photo included here is of him “warbling!”   🙂   The name link is to my gallery with shots of this bird from 4 other locations in Costa Rica and some are better shots. And then maybe a first for me at Roca Verde is the juvenile or “immature” Yellow-faced Grassquit which at that age does not have the bright yellow on his face.

Here’s my mostly weak photos against drab skies, but they show you what I saw today:

9 May 2020 Birds

On March 29 I got 19 species of birds on this same walk on Calle Nueva.

See all of my BIRDS galleries or go for just Costa Rica Birds.

¡Pura Vida!

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Today is The Day!

The day for all of us to count birds where we are to help science better determine the stability of our fragile planet. Today, 9 May 2020 is GLOBAL BIG DAY of counting birds.

Find out how at:

https://ebird.org/news/global-big-day-9-may-2020

¡Pura Vida!

 

And after you have counted bird, check out my collection of BIRDS photographed from around the world!

And here’s an interesting NPR article shared by Larry, especially for those who are noticing their birds more – read or listen to at:

Do Those Birds Sound Louder To You? An Ornithologist Says You’re Just Hearing Things

 

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Global Big Day on 9 May 2020

Help create a better picture of the total health of our globe by counting bird species in your yard or neighborhood THIS SATURDAY, 9 MAY 2020. Simply count the birds you see any time that day and report them to eBird. To learn more or get a free eBird account, go to:

https://ebird.org/news/global-big-day-9-may-2020

And to help motivate you, check out my collection of BIRDS photographed from around the world!    🙂

¡Pura Vida!

 

Health Ministry forecasts long path for return to international tourism   (Tico Times)