Category: Birds

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A Queenly Female Summer Tanager

I was impressed by the “Queenly” look of this female Summer Tanager in my garden the other day. She looks so stately and regal, holding her head up properly like Queen Elizabeth does. I keep seeing these females with no bright red males around. So I’m wondering if maybe she is a resident here and the migrants haven’t arrived yet? But then surely with resident females there would also be some resident males? 🙂

Summer Tanager female, Atenas, Costa Rica

And below she is looking straight at me, like she’s asking me, “Who are you and what do you think you’re doing?” 🙂 . . .

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Nance for the Birds!

Between my casita and the driveway going to the top of our hill and the big house there is mainly a row of privacy palms, though right at the gate is a little spreading Nance Tree which is now flowering and those flowers will turn to Nance Berries. Different kinds of birds eat them in the different stages, some even now as flowers which are already turning into baby berries. The birds are coming! 🙂

Humans do eat the berries with a taste that’s only “so-so” for me and some people tell me that they make good marmalade or jelly, but doesn’t anything with enough sugar added? 🙂 Yet harvesting enough would be tricky with the competition of birds and some small animals like squirrels and iguanas! 🙂 The joy of living in a garden!

Nance Tree Flowers, Atenas, Costa Rica

And below are three more shots including one of the small tree . . .

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Tropical Kingbird

This is another common bird that’s around here year-a-round. Though common, I still love him and still wishing for better light on the birds in my trees! Shot from my terrace at breakfast the other day.

Tropical Kingbird, Atenas, Costa Rica

And there is another shot . . .

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Breakfast Warbler

This Yellow Warbler at breakfast the other day may be the same one who comes to that same tree in the afternoons. Problem is that the light is not good there morning or night! Oh well, I like this seasonal migrant from up north and will continue to try for better shots. 🙂 In the meantime, you can find more photos in my CR Yellow Warbler Gallery.

Yellow Warbler in Nance Tree, Atenas, Costa Rica.

And two more shots . . .

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Dove-Pigeon Friendship?

Although I’ve seen many “mixed flocks” of small birds feeding in the same tree before, I have only one other time seen a dove and pigeon together (2018 Post: Two Species Share Perching Space) though granted they are in the same family of birds, like, maybe cousins?

Anyway, this morning I snapped through my closed window this fuzzy shot of a White-winged Dove sitting beside a Red-billed Pigeon as if casually chatting. 🙂 And the second photo below (and feature photo online) is a Red-billed Pigeon I photographed yesterday in the dark shadows of my Cecropia tree. Neither photo is good (no good light), but maybe a good object lesson about getting along with others? 🙂

White-winged Dove and Red-billed Pigeon, Atenas, Costa Rica
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Hide-and-seek Warbler

This Yellow Warbler (eBird link) was playing hide-and-seek with me in the afternoon shadows and tree limbs/leaves. For some reason I’m getting fewer birds in this tree than I got in the past which may have to do with it being much taller than the house now and birds go to the top above my line of vision. I know that is where toucans always go, but some of these smaller song birds do stay lower. For much better photos, see my CR Yellow Warbler Gallery. And here’s 4 shadowy shots of the hide-and-seek Yellow Warbler yesterday afternoon . . .

Yellow Warbler, Atenas, Costa Rica
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Maquenque Trip Gallery

In case you did not see the links in the last few posts, I have my trip gallery up and ready to visit in my big photo gallery. In some ways my “Trip Galleries” are my main photo galleries with them feeding specific theme galleries like Birds, etc. Plus if you are considering a visit to one of the places included, the photos will give you a good idea of what to expect. Click the print screen image of the gallery below or use this address: https://charliedoggett.smugmug.com/TRIPS/2022-February-14-19-Maquenque-Ecolodge-Reserve-Boca-Tapada

 “We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone”

– Katie Thurmes

¡Pura Vida!

SALE ON MY PHOTO BOOKS – 25% OFF March 4-6 only with discount code: BOOKFAN in Bookstore

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Technology Meltdown & More Maquenque

Groove-billed Ani Family – I think Mom at right with 7 noisy kids! 🙂 Unless the one on left is also a parent.

A New Computer is Like . . . “Back to Square One!”

WHY I HAVEN’T BEEN BLOGGING: I had to get a new laptop computer which comes with the new Microsoft Windows 11 they claim is better (Not!) but for an old man, just figuring out how to use it is a big challenge, plus no software and the tech guy is not allowed to transfer software, only files! And the keyboard is partly different! Augh!

Just getting the software was a multiple days chore and Microsoft forced me to buy a new version of Office. Not worth it! I’m nearly back online and functioning on my new Dell Inspiron Laptop. I like the laptop (very lightweight), but technology will be the death of me yet! And there are things I still haven’t figured out how to do!

Plus I’m behind on processing my photos from Maquenque Ecolodge, but I did finish the biggest bulk which is of birds and have an online gallery of bird photos from this trip, so read on for some amazing bird photos . . .

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Bird Portraits 3

I had some tough choices to show only 5 more birds, but that is best for now and I will maybe skip a day while I go through other photos for some future posts from Maquenque. Then I will get back to blogs about our tranquil little farm town of Atenas. 🙂

Here’s my last 5 bird portraits . . .

Orange-chinned Parakeet, Maquenque Ecolodge & Reserve, Boca Tapada, Costa Rica.
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Bird Portraits 2

Maquenque Ecolodge is such a great place to get close to birds that the portraits approach seemed logical to me! 🙂 Here’s 5 more and I will try to hold it down to just one more “Portraits Post.” 🙂

I can’t say enough good things about Maquenque Ecolodge & Reserve (link to their website). in many ways it is my favorite in Costa Rica and they made several improvements over my last visit – using their “Covid down time” to make many physical improvements plus they hired a new super chef with a menu that now competes with any lodge in Costa Rica! AND I still get to stay in a treehouse! 🙂

Here’s 5 more bird portraits that I liked . . .

Female Great-tailed Grackle at Maquenque Ecolodge & Reserve, Boca Tapada, Costa Rica.
And oh yes, she’s fluffing her feathers to dry them after a rain shower! 🙂
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