charliedoggett.net
 |
| What I see when standing at the kitchen sink looking out the window. My home, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica |
 |
| Rufous-tailed Hummingbird Inside on my kitchen window screen, Roca Verde Atenas, Costa Rica |
I had Anthony over for dinner (with “to go” dinners from Chef Dan I’ll tell you about later). As we were about to sit down for dinner and TV News this little guy flew in and landed on the kitchen window. I partially opened the screen expecting him to fly out but that kind of trapped him between glass and screen. So after dinner I helped him get loose and he flew out the sliding class doors that are always open and where he flew in.
 |
| Green Thorntail Hummingbird Female (pretty sure) My garden, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica |
 |
| Great Crested Flycatcher (most likely?) My garden, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica |
And my online photo gallery for more BIRDS
 |
| Rain Makes the Garden Grow! Thicker & More Lush! Note that I replaced my Lantanas flowering border with red caladiums which will get fuller soon. The other taller plants shaded the Lantanas and they require sun to thrive and bloom. New color in the shade! |
 |
| The Maraca or Shampoo Ginger plant has multiplied and grown very tall with several blooms. |
 |
| Heliconia Across from the door I added a row of 20 of the small Heliconias with little bright red & orange flowers that will bloom constantly year-around when they mature. They help the “tropical look.” |
 |
| One of the little Helconia up close, like adding little jewels to my garden! |
I’m always trying to improve my garden and during the rainy season is the time for new plants as the rain helps them to take root and thrive. Life in the tropics just keeps getting better! 🙂
 |
| Masked Tityra My Home Garden, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica |
 |
| Masked Tityra My Home Garden, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica |
Maybe he is wearing a mask early for Halloween. No? This is the first I’ve seen in my garden, but I did see one at the Rio Chirripó Retreat near Chirripó National Park.
And my BIRDS PHOTO GALLERY include many more!
 |
| Split-banded or Heliconia/Linnean Owlet Butterfly In My House, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica |
 |
| Split-banded or Heliconia/Linnean Owlet Butterfly In My House, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica Sorry for out-of-focus image, but needed for identification, top side |
Yes, the bottom side (wings folded) is similar to Owl Butterfly but the top side is different! The bottom is a fair match for “Split-banded Owlet” but the top seems to be closer to the “Heliconian or Linnean Owlet” meaning that I am not sure! Sorry top is not in focus but seldom opened and only for brief second rapidly. In both shots he is on my kitchen window screen.
See also MY BUTTERFLY PHOTO GALLERY for many more species of butterflies, 54 now!
For identification I am now primarily using the book A Swift Guide to the Butterflies of Mexico and Central America. It has more photos and species included than any book I have found yet for this region and I double check on the internet. The National Audubon Society’s Field Guide to Butterflies is the best for North American butterflies but does not always include all in Central America such as this one which is close on the bottom side to one of the “Pearly Eyes” but not a match. The only Costa Rica book on butterflies is woefully lacking in species.
 |
| Orange-chinned Parakeet zoomed in on him in my Strangler Fig Tree My garden, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica |
 |
| Orange-chinned Parakeet zoomed in even more My garden, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica |
Most are very timid and it is difficult to get close enough for a good photo. See my collection of birds in my BIRDS PHOTO GALLERY with nearly 200 shot in Costa Rica, a hundred in Nicaragua, plus more in Panama, Guatemala and Mexico. Central America is full of colorful birds!
 |
| How the Heliconia looks today! |
 |
| The same one posted on July 27 – Just a bud! |
 |
| And one of the first flowers I see when I walk out my garden door. |
 |
| In the back corner of my garden beyond the big Heliconias and behind these Red Gingers are some tall green, leafy plants, not flower-like. |
 |
| If you get close, you see they kind of look like tall, leafy stalks, similar to corn, but that is not a corn cob in the back! It is the flower! |
 |
| If I stand on the hill above my garden and look down 1 of 4 is peaking out. |
 |
| This is one full-grown Maraca or Shampoo Ginger Flower |
 |
| Another Maraca or Shampoo Ginger |
 |
| And a Baby Maraca or Shampoo Ginger |
In my pre-move travels all over Central America I saw these unique tropical flower and always thought they were the most unique. Thanks to my gardeners and especially Alfredo, I now have a plant that has grown well and spread in my garden. I can now walk out my back door and see them, well, with a little searching! 🙂 They are somewhat rare and not available in all the Veveros (plant nurseries), but my good gardener Alfredo found one in his uncle’s yard for me! Be nice to your gardener and he will be nice to you! 🙂
I’m just starting my garden photo gallery but it has quite a few photos already!
 |
| A team of 6 young men come every two weeks to cut grass, edge beds, weed, and trim shrubs, flowers or trees as needed. That’s Cristian above. 6 guys swooping over my yard in an hour. Neat! And at just $50! |
 |
| They save my back and other potential aches and pains as well as time, and they do it fast and very well. I am fortunate! And they are my friends! This is Alfredo above. |
 |
| My back garden is still the centerpiece, but the whole yard is a garden! I love living here among the tropical plants with doors/windows always open! |
I’m just starting my garden photo gallery but it has quite a few photos already!