Category: Birds

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The “Perfect” Motmot Portraits

🙂 This Lesson’s Motmot, Momotus lessonii (formerly Blue-crowned) was healthy, with good color, and best of all, the tail was not broken like in most of my photos of Motmots, plus both medallions at the end of his tail were in perfect condition! Then to top that off, he posed on all sides, front and back, facing both left and right! These are my best ever Motmot photos and to think that I almost missed them because my lens was fogging up from the morning rain! ? But removing the protective lens solved that problem! And though it rained all night, we had sun all morning and it was a very good morning with lots of both birds and butterflies to photograph! My Thanksgiving Blessing! 🙂 And check out my Lesson’s Motmot GALLERY for more photos of this beautiful bird! And here’s three of many shots from this morning . . .

Lesson’s Motmot, Macaw Lodge, Carara National Park, Costa Rica.
Continue reading “The “Perfect” Motmot Portraits”
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Flight Preparation

It is always fun to see and sometimes catch a bird preparing to take off in flight as with this White-winged Dove on the powerline in front of my house the other morning.

White-winged Dove, Atenas, Costa Rica

See more of this nice dove in my White-winged Dove GALLERY.

¡Pura Vida!

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Palm Contemplation

This Palm Tanager seems to be contemplating the row of palms behind my Cecropia Tree and when he flies in them, I can no longer photograph him as he hides between the fronds. 🙂

Palm Tanager, Atenas, Costa Rica

See more in my Palm Tanager GALLERY.

¡Pura Vida!

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Orchard Oriole

Less common here than the Baltimore Oriole, this male is different from the Baltimore with his richer “chestnut” or dark orange (rust) color and a tiny curvature on his bill plus being a little smaller than the Baltimore Oriole. This was a difficult call for me because it is rarer here, though Merlin backs me up on calling it an Orchard, having run both of these photos through that A-I bird identification program on my cell phone. It is a lifer for me, Orchard Oriole, Icterus spurius, linked to the eBird description. And if you would like to compare with the Baltimore Oriole, see that link to my gallery on them where you will see that the male is a brighter yellow-orange and even part yellow. Both species summer in North America and winter in Central and northern South America starting in October. As you can see in the above gallery link, I’ve seen a lot more of the Baltimore here than the Orchard! My first today! Just these two shots from my Cecropia Tree this morning:

Orchard Oriole, Atenas, Costa Rica
Orchard Oriole, Atenas, Costa Rica

For more photos of this bird this morning, see my Orchard Oriole GALLERY, though my two favorite shots are here! 🙂

¡Pura Vida!

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Morning Coffee & Wildlife

Friends up the hill invited me for coffee on their terrace yesterday where they have both a hummingbird feeder and a fruit feeder to attract more birds. And though they too have had fewer birds this year of El Niño weather, they get more than me because of their feeders and maybe their location adjacent the Calle Nueva Forest. Here’s what I was able to photograph while drinking coffee and talking a lot, though the one hummingbird never slowed down enough for a shot. 🙂

Lesson’s Motmot

4 birds, 2 insects and one iguana . . .

Continue reading “Morning Coffee & Wildlife”
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White-winged Dove . . .

. . . in my Cecropia (Guarumo) Tree.

White-winged Dove, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

See also my White-winged Dove GALLERY.

And for those considering a move to Costa Rica or wondering why I live where I do in the Central Valley, see this short article on a realtor’s website: 7 Reasons to Relocate to Atenas, Costa Rica 🙂

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Melodious Blackbird

This all black bird can be found on both slopes of Costa Rica and in some areas is quite common. He is the only totally black bird in Costa Rica with even his bill and eyes being black. Read about him on eBird or see more of my photos (better ones) in the Melodious Blackbird Gallery.

Melodious Blackbird, Atenas, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

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Hoffmann’s Woodpecker

Though Black-cheeked Woodpecker seems to be more common around Atenas for me, this species may be the second most common woodpecker, at least in my garden. 🙂

Hoffmann’s Woodpecker, Atenas, Costa Rica
Hoffmann’s Woodpecker, Atenas, Costa Rica

See my Hoffmann’s Woodpecker Gallery

or read about on eBird.

¡Pura Vida!

And for Halloween see this Tico Times article with video of Spooky Creatures Inhabit Costa Rica’s Jungles.

Camera Trap Photo by Vincent Losasso for Tico Times.
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Hummingbird in the Fog

The light fog around this Rufous-tailed Hummingbird is maybe what provided a light purple background as a contrast to his bright green top – a nice compliment of colors! Nature as Art! 🙂

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, Atenas, Costa Rica
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