. . . is one thing I photographed at Esquinas Rainforest Lodge last week and they are all 7 together in a gallery below this email photo . . .
7 Species of Hummingbirds . . .
20 Bird Species from Savegre! A Gallery
I’ve completed one more chunk of my Christmas Trip Gallery, the BIRDS Gallery with 20 species and some of my better bird photos including 5 species of Hummingbirds! You can click the gallery first page image below this one bird photo or just go to this web address: https://charliedoggett.smugmug.com/TRIPS/2023-December-22-28-San-Gerardo-de-Dota/BIRDS
For locals in Atenas:
This is my last week (Jan. 8-13) in the Gallería Artenas! (At Plaza Calle 2 next to Linea Vital.) So if interested in any of my photos there or the Floral Accent Pillows, this week is your last opportunity to shop for them in person, in town, except the Photo Greeting Cards which starting next Sunday, January 14, will be available at Hotel Colinas del Sol, with everything else available only online through my Gallery, – – – Bookstore, or – – – CafePress Shop.
From now on I will consider my nature photography as my fun and for this daily blog post, with any online sales and the Colinas del Sol greeting cards as “incidentals” to my fun hobby! No more gallerías, arts & crafts shows or physical selling for me! (Which, by the way, has always been tiring and at a financial loss for me.) Now I photograph only for fun! :-)
¡Pura Vida!
A Birds and the Bees Problem
 |
| A swarm of bees building a nest on neighbor’s carport ceiling. Don’t know the name. |
 |
| Cropped in closer on hundreds of bees and corner of hive. |
These bees have taken over Anthony’s hummingbird feeders and he is looking for a solution to that problem. Let me know if you have one. Knocking down this nest did not do it.
 |
| His bees stay on his hummingbird feeders, thus no birds now! |
I have no such problem since my hummingbirds eat from my flowers and there are enough flowers for both the birds and the bees! 🙂 My favorite bee in my garden is the Green Orchid Bee I think I may have shown on the blog before.
 |
| Green Orchid Bee My Garden, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica The hummingbirds and bees don’t seem to fight over the flowers. |
Hummingbirds at Monteverde
 |
| Green-crowned Brilliant Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, Costa Rica |
 |
| Stripe-tailed Hummingbird Curi-Cancha Reserve, Monteverde, Costa Rica |
 |
| Stripe-tailed Hummingbird Curi-Cancha Reserve, Monteverde, Costa Rica |
 |
| Green Violetear Hummingbird Curi Cancha Reserve, Monteverde, Costa Rica |
 |
| Violet Sabrewing Hummingbird Selvatura Adventure Park, Monteverde, Costa Rica |
 |
| Purple-Throated Mountain-Gem Female Selvatura Adventure Park, Monteverde, Costa Rica |
 |
| Purple-Throated Mountain-Gem Male Selvatura Adventure Park, Monteverde, Costa Rica |
Hummingbirds are difficult to photograph and for me sometimes more difficult to identify (why they are the last birds I’m sharing), so I’m proud of these photos and three represent new species for my photo collection. Of course we saw many more species, especially on the trail in the wild, but too difficult to photograph.
For more bird photos see my Costa Rica Birds Photo Gallery, 169 species & 26 are hummingbirds!
“Time passes too fast. Like a hummingbird flying by, it’s just a blur to my eyes.”
~Amanda Leigh
~Amanda Leigh
Rainy Day in the Mountains
After a Tico breakfast at Casita del Cafe outside Atenas with a beautiful vista we drove up into the mountains with hopes of seeing Poas Volcano and the waterfalls of La Paz. Well, as we drove higher the rain increased and at the gate of Poas National Park we were told we could enter for $15 but we would not be able to see the volcano. So we turned around and headed for La Paz Waterfall Gardens where it was raining has hard but we could see most of the sights. Ponchos and a lot of dampness accompanied our tour of the gardens. But we did see quite a bit! And chose not to eat in the expensive La Paz tourist restaurants, instead driving to La Garita for lunch at Arroz Mango. Then home for sitting in sunny Atenas on my terrace until a little Mexican dinner at Donde Bocha Antojeria. An adventurous day!
I will try to label the animals the waterfall later. I guess it was as good of a way to spend an active day in the rain as we could find. I don’t expect any more rain until possibly a little at Tortuguero. It is the dry season, but the high cloud forests and the lowland tropical coastal rainforests can have some rain year around. Not a drop in Atenas! 🙂 Follow Reagan’s Blog for his view of the visit here!
Daylight & Nightlight Birds
The same two species of hummingbirds in night with flash & in daylight – interesting differences:
 |
| Daylight – White-necked Jacobin |
 |
| Night with flash – Crowned Woodnymph |
 |
| Daylight – Rufous-tailed Hummingbird |
 |
| Night with flash – Rufous-tailed Hummingbird |
A four hour drive with lunch break got me up the final dirt road into a semi-mountainous rainforest and the Rancho Naturalista lodge and private forest which I started exploring this afternoon and evening. Tomorrow morning is 5:30 birding on deck and a trip to a park after breakfast with our birding guide Harry who is from the U.K. and lived here 6 years. He is good! The other two clients are men from Canada. This is going to be good! 🙂
My Nature Garden Photo Book
Mi Pura Vida Naturaleza Jardín by Charlie Doggett | Make Your Own Book
You can thumb through it electronically for free! My very first book in Spanish! 🙂 Be sure to click the “Full Screen” button bottom right.
Hummingbirds & Butterflies!
This is one reason I made my garden. Glad they like it!
 |
| Male Cinnamon Hummingbird on a Plumbago plant Atenas, Costa Rica |
 |
| Yellow & Black Swallowtail Butterfly on a Plumbago plant. Atenas, Costa Rica |
 |
| Crescent Butterfly or maybe a Peck’s Skipper on Tutti Frutti Lantana Atenas, Costa Rica |
 |
| Peck’s Skipper on Tutti Frutti Lantana Atenas, Costa Rica |
 |
| Mustard White on Tutti Frutti Lantana Atenas, Costa Rica |
I’ve seen two other hummingbirds in the garden but without a camera. Also some other butterflies.
Today my boxes were delivered – mostly scrapbooks and artwork that I shipped from states before leaving in December. More about that tomorrow! And here is tonight’s sunset:
 |
| A different view tonight! I walked up driveway and shot over my roof looking west instead of usual north. Also it is a 5-shot panorama. |
Garden Almost Finished
 |
| Seen from driveway |
 |
| Seen from house door |
 |
| Looking from garden back to driveway and Don & Linda’s house |
 |
| The back sidewalk with red palm at end |
 |
| Pot plant in Living Room |
 |
| One pot on patio/balcony |
 |
| The other patio pot to help screen neighbors It will get much larger |
Sorry, I took most of these photos before sweeping and mopping the tile walkways because I was in a hurry to go shopping in Alajuela. And note that the vines are planted at top of walls but will take a few months to trail down, maybe looking good in August. Still to come next Saturday:
- I have been debating whether to use mulch or ground cover and think I have decided on ground cover. He said he would give me two choices, so we will see what happens with that.
- Plus the Maraca or Shampoo Ginger plant is still coming next week. A prize plant!
- I’m adding a Guarumo Tree in the front yard, a member of the Cecropia family that has a fruit toucans love, so you know why I am planting it. Sloths like to eat the leaves too, so who knows, it might even attract a sloth.
- Also we are adding another red palm to hide the balcony post and give more balcony foilage.
- In front of my bedroom window he will put some fish-tail palms to add to my privacy from the street and also . . .
- A banana plant for my breakfast fruit as well as a screen!
This is fun! And the landlord is paying for some of the above additions as I improve his property. I plan to stay here a long time! 🙂 I love the house and yard, my neighbors, and a great landlord who also a good neighbor! (And reads my blog some!) Pura Vida! This is more what I envisioned in Costa Rica than the apartments, though there were some good things about them and I enjoyed my time there as a good place to start.
I highly recommend J&C Gardens if you live anywhere near Atenas or La Garita. You can email Cristian (who speaks English) at jycgardens@gmail.com or call him at 8873-7483 cellular. Tell him Charlie sent you!