This has always been one of my favorite butterflies, even in the states with a slightly different version, seen a lot when in Florida. Here’s two shots of one in my garden the other day . . .
Tropical Buckeye, Atenas, Costa RicaTropical Buckeye, Atenas, Costa Rica
See my Tropical Buckeye Gallery for more photos of this colorful guy! And note that in earlier years here I called it the “West Indian Buckeye” and I was wrong then. All I have seen here are the “Tropical” and theoretically we may have some “Mangrove Buckeye” here, though I’ve not seen one yet. Probably down along the coasts in the mangroves! 🙂
My 4th time at Maquenque Ecolodge, but first time to go on this particular float trip (their web description link) though I’ve canoed their lake and been on the bigger river, San Carlos, in a larger boat. The only reason I’ve missed this one is that they require a minimum of 2 paying customers and I travel solo! 🙂 This was the first time there were other guests interested in this same float trip to make up the minimum with me. They were a lovely couple from Europe, he Italian and she Swiss! We had a great time together and I got a lot of photos which is right now the only part of my Maquenque Trip Gallery that is completed. So you can see more photos at Rio Tres Amigos Safari GALLERY. 🙂
And note that the only wildlife (The cow doesn’t count!) that I show in this post is one bird, but it’s a rare photo of a female Sunbittern sitting on her nest! In earlier blog posts I’ve shown you 3 animals from this safari: Crested Caracara, Green Iguana and Mantled Howler Monkey, yet there are still many more in the above gallery including 12 species of birds! 🙂 And here are 6 shots to give you an idea of what just one morning at Maquenque can be like! 🙂 Still my favorite lodge!
A fresh fruit & water break along the Rio Tres Amigos, Costa Rica.
A view of our tranquil little farm town from a hill in my neighborhood.Plants up the driveway from my house that said “resurrection” to me.One of the most joyful flowers in my garden, to me, the Flame Vine or Triquitraque here,
PERSONAL NOTE: Tonight I will be at one of my favorite nature lodges, Maquenque Ecolodge in Boca Tapada on the Nicaragua border from which you can expect weeks of nature photos and maybe one tonight! 🙂
This common resident bird is found literally all over Costa Rica at most levels and this is my 4th time to see one in my Atenas neighborhood, with all other photos here in trees, bushes or on a fence, though their feeding is in the grasses! I have seen one across the street in the cow pasture grasses but without a photo! 🙂 I did get photos of him in the grasses of a meadow in Curi-Cancha Reserve, Monteverde and I’ve also seen one at Celeste Mountain Lodge at Tenorio Volcano NP. See my other photos in the Yellow-faced Grassquit GALLERY. And you can read about them on eBird. He’s a resident, tropical, non-migrating bird found throughout Central America, the Caribbean Islands and the northern fringes of South America. Here’s 3 shots of this male in one of my Nance Trees . . .
Yellow-faced Grassquit, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Three butterflies I got the other morning at the same time that are not new to me but I think handsome butterflies, The Tanna Longtail(normal sized) and the Rawson’s Metalmark(tiny fingernail sized), the same species I featured 6 days ago on March 22, and a Plain Longtail not much different from the first one above.
Tanna Longtail, Atenas, Costa Rica
Note that this Tanna Longtail is very similar to the Teleus Longtail (darker side spots, thinner median band) and the Brown Longtail (also with darker side spots) and thus my ID is not guaranteed but I’m pretty sure! 🙂
Rawson’s Metalmark, Atenas, Costa RicaPlain Longtail Skipper, Atenas, Costa Rica
This tiny butterfly in my garden the other day that I am identifying as a Rawson’s Metalmark. These very tiny little brown butterflies are difficult to identify! 🙂 Here’s 4 shots of this one from different angles . . .
Walking through the garden on two mornings (March 11 & 12) and I chose these shots to share in a little slide show. Rainy Season usually sorta starts the middle of April and really starts in May, but by March 12 we have already had 3 little but nice rains! So I’m glad as is my garden! 🙂
Each and every bloom is unique and beautiful to me. Enjoy walking through my garden with the slide show below and here is the only one I can’t identify, from across the driveway in neighbor’s yard . . .
These fit with the larger ones already shared and though there are more that I saw and even tried to photograph, these are all I will try to share of the birds. Some other wildlife next! 🙂
Turkey Vulture, Tortuguero NP, Limón, Costa RicaGreat Green Macaw, Tortuguero NP, Limón, Costa RicaMontezuma Oropendola, Tortuguero NP, Limón, Costa RicaGreat Kiskadee, Tortuguero NP, Limón, Costa Rica
