Category: Travel

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Correcting a Butterfly ID

Two years ago, in May 2022, I did a first time trip to a new lodge for me that a friend recommended, Chachagua Rainforest Hotel (link to my trip gallery) and I got a lot of bird photos and quite a few butterflies, two of which are still unidentified. BUT, one of those I identified then was misidentified, and for that I apologize! I first called it a Western Pygmy (blog post link). In retrospect, there is no excuse, but what caused it was that because it was a tiny little fingernail-sized butterfly, I assumed (a dangerous word!) that it was one of the many in the family Lycaenidae or Gossamer-Wings butterflies because all of them are very tiny like this one. Bad assumption as I have now learned that there are tiny ones in all of the families and this one is actually in the Riodinidae or Metalmarks family! It is a Simple Sarota (my species gallery link) or the scientific name Sarota acantus (butterfliesandmoths link where only two of us have submitted photos). 🙂 So I re-submit with the correct name!

Simple Sarota, Chachagua Rainforest Hotel, San Ramon Canton, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Simple Sarota, Chachagua Rainforest Hotel, San Ramon Canton, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Simple Sarota, Chachagua Rainforest Hotel, San Ramon Canton, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

And see all of my Costa Rica butterfly photos arranged by families and then species in my gallery: BUTTERFLIES & Moths of Costa Rica (270+ species)

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Introducing A New Bird Book!

CLICK this front cover image to see a free preview of all pages!

To celebrate what will be 10 years of living in Costa Rica come December, I decided to publish a coffee table book of my favorite bird photos that turned out to be a lot! 174 photos! Each includes both the English and Spanish common names of that bird plus the location where I photographed it. Whether a birder or a lover of “Nature As Art,” I think you will like this 86 page photo book printed on premium matte paper. It might even become a collector’s item some day! 🙂 It will definitely become the book that I gift to the birding lodges I visit over the next year or two! 🙂

You can see a free electronic preview of all 86 pages by clicking the above image of the book cover or go to this web address: https://www.blurb.com/b/11961281-costa-rica-birds

BACK COVER of the book.

¡Pura Vida!

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My Most Memorable Semana Santa

Semana Santa is Spanish for “Holy Week” or “Easter Week” if you prefer and my most memorable and colorful one since moving to Costa Rica was 8 years ago (2016, my 2nd year here) while on a birding tour of Nicaragua and during Semana Santa I was for 3 days in the historical colonial town of Grenada where from my old hotel across from the oldest church I could watch the nightly processionals that along with architecture and the later 87 species of birds photographed made it my most colorful and memorable Easter Week here! (Linked to my photo gallery of that week.)

Easter Week Pageantry, 2016, Granada, Nicaragua
Sunset over Granada, Nicaragua 2016.

He is Risen!

¡Pura Vida!

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The “Everywhere Iguanas”

Without a doubt, the most frequently seen wildlife at Hotel Villa Lapas in Tarcoles was the Black Spiny-tailed Iguana, Ctenosaura similis (Wikipedia link) that lives only on the Pacific Slopes of Costa Rica (for reasons I know not), while the Green Iguana can be seen on both slopes, but more so on the Caribbean slope. Just two photos here, but I already have the Iguana Gallery for Villa Lapas ready where you can see more or even more in my CR Black Spiny-tail Iguana Gallery.

Black Spiny-tailed Iguana, Hotel Villa Lapas, Tarcoles, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
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2 Bat Species in Carara Park

The Northern Ghost Bat, Diclidurus albus (Wikipedia Link) is an obvious identification because the only other white bat in Central America is the Honduran White Bat and it has obvious yellow ears & nose, leaving this as the only other white bat. I’ve seen it twice in my nearly 10 years in Costa Rica and both times in Carara National Park where I got this photo more than a week ago.

Northern Ghost Bat, Carara National Park, Tarcoles, Puntarenas, Costa Rica

Read on for the White-lined Bat . . .

Continue reading “2 Bat Species in Carara Park”
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The “Cute” Rodent – Agouti!

This Central American Agouti, Dasyprocta punctata (Wikipedia Link) is indigenous to Central America and found from Southern Mexico through all the countries to the northern borders of South America with another species in the rest of South America, plus Mexico has a Black Agouti. This one was photographed in Carara National Park, Tarcoles. I have photographed several in many places as seen in my C.A. Agouti Gallery.

Central American Agouti, Carara National Park, Tarcoles, Puntarenas, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

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Golden-hooded Tanager

The last bird I will post about from the Villa Lapas & Carara Park trip is not a good photo but a cool bird! The Golden-hooded Tanager, Stilpnia larvata (eBird link) was this time photographed inside Carara Park and is one I’ve seen all over Costa Rica as noted in my Golden-hooded Tanager GALLERY where there are some much better photos than this one in the shadows.

Golden-hooded Tanager, Carara National Park, Tarcoles, Puntarenas, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

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Piratic Flycatcher

A pirate because he steals nests made by other birds, the Piratic Flycatcher, Legatus leucophaiuss (eBird link) is not new to me, but these were difficult to identify at first, even confusing one with the Streaked Flycatcher, but he was not large enough. I had several sightings of this bird during my 2 hours in Carara Park and I’m now reasonably certain of these identifications, even with poor light and shadow problems. I’ve seen this species in three other locations (Arenal, Xandari & Monteverde) as shown in my Piratic Flycatcher Gallery. Here’s three totally different photos of the same species . . .

Piratic Flycatcher, Carara National Park, Tarcoles, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
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Kingbird Catches Insect

In Carara National Park on my last morning in Tarcoles, I barely got photos (in poor light) of this Tropical Kingbird, Tyrannus melancholicus (eBird link) before and after he caught an insect for his breakfast. 🙂

Tropical Kingbird, Carara National Park, Tarcoles, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
Tropical Kingbird, Carara National Park, Tarcoles, Puntarenas, Costa Rica

I have some much better photos in my Tropical Kingbird Gallery. 🙂

¡Pura Vida!