The Common Spurwing, Antigonus erosus (my gallery link) is like several species with the top and bottom sides of the wings being totally different which you can see in this set of just 3 photos . . .
Common Spurwing
Yigüirro or Clay-colored Thrush
This Clay-colored Thrush, Turdus grayi (my gallery link) is the National Bird of Costa Rica and widely believed since pre-Columbian days to be the bird who sings in the rains in April & May. One neighbor says they are already singing in his yard, though I haven’t heard them in mine yet. Yesterday morning it was the White-winged Dove out-singing all of the other birds in my garden. 🙂 And I have no idea what that means! 🙂
And interestingly, at night I’ve had both the Common Pauraque and the Tropical Screech Owl singing me to sleep! (Merlin sound ID) 🙂 But no photos of either in my trees at night. The linked photo of a Pauraque was at Maquenque Ecolodge where I’ve seen more species than any other place, and it was a daytime shot! 🙂 Here’s four shots of the Yigüirro in my garden the other day . . .
Polydamas Swallowtail’s back!
I’m beginning to see some of the old “regulars” back in my garden when the wind is not too strong, but overall, butterflies are still scarce and I don’t expect a lot before May. But I’ve had at least two of these Polydamas Swallowtail, Battus polydamas (my gallery link). Here’s 3 shots of one individual in my garden recently . . .
Soaring above the winds . . .
The high winds this time of year seem to keep away both birds and butterflies from my efforts to photograph, except for one bird! And in my neighborhood he seems to never stop soaring, The Turkey Vulture! Cathartes aura (linked to my gallery). I don’t get to regularly see an Eagle or Hawk soaring, but this vulture I can see almost every day as he makes riding the wind drafts look easy and motivates me to want to soar! 🙂
“One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar.” ~Helen Keller
And may you soar today in whatever you do! Windy or not! 🙂
¡Pura Vida!
Dark Calephelis Butterfly
This Dark Calephelis, Calephelis velutina (linked to my gallery) seems to be fairly rare, with this being my third sighting and not very many have been submitted to iNaturalist CR or butterfliesandmoths.org. This one was in my garden while the last one was in the neighborhood on Calle Nueva. And my first sighting was in Cartago Province at Guayabo National Monument. Here’s two different views of this Metalmark Family butterfly species from Monday in my garden . . .
¡Pura Vida!
Beautiful Buds!
And these 6 little buds on the end of one stem of my Desert Rose plant will make 6 beautiful flowers, all clustered together. This plant just keeps blooming, year around. It looks like it probably needs a bigger pot, but I’m afraid to mess with it! 🙂
See my garden gallery.
¡Pura Vida!
Baby Elephant Ears
The tall plants I had that were blocking the sun, not only stopped some other plants from flowering but seemed to kill my Elephant Ear plant (for a lack of sun) and I loved those! Well when the gardeners were removing the tall plants, one started to remove and dispose of the tubulars (dead trunk of Elephant Ear plant) left from the only Elephant Ear plant I had and another gardener told him “No, new plants will grow from those dead tubular remains.” Well, he was right! And quickly they have started growing from the remains of my old plant. Here’s two shots of the new Elephant Ears growing out of the remains of the old one. 🙂 Nature is amazing!
¡Pura Vida!
You might enjoy looking at My Garden GALLERY!
Blomfild’s Beauty
Trying to eat from a hummingbird feeder in my garden. And pretty badly damaged on one wing. The Blomfild’s Beauty, Smyrna blomfildia (my gallery link) is a fairly common butterfly that I usually see a couple of times a year. Just one shot . . .
¡Pura Vida!
Cigar Plant Shredded by Wind
A couple of years ago my gardeners planted this Cigar Calathea, Calathea lutea (linked to Wikipedia). It has many other cigar names which I guess is because of the cigar-shaped flower, but the leaves are not used for cigars! Rather, they are used for the presentation of food in some restaurants or to wrap food to go. It was surrounded by other tall plants like the Ti Plant, but I had those removed because they blocked the sun and flowers below would not bloom without sun! Here’s a series of photos made this week, with a couple earlier showing un-shredded leaves.
Buckeye & the Water Hose
When watering the other day this Tropical Buckeye, Junonia zonalis (linked to my gallery) was hanging out on and around the water hose. So I had to go get the camera! 🙂 The Buckeye has always been one of my tropical favorites since the first one I saw in the Florida Everglades many years ago. There are 3 or 4 varieties of the Buckeye, but all are similar and this is the one we have here in Costa Rica. Here’s 3 totally different views of this “Hose Buckeye” . . .
