Author: Charlie

Retired American nature-lover, living in Costa Rica, photographing birds and other jewels of nature. This site simply reports on my joys of being RETIRED IN COSTA RICA!
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Still the most-seen bird . . .

. . . in my garden, the Yigüirro or Clay-colored Thrush (eBird link) who is no longer singing his longing melody that tradition says is him calling in the rain for rainy season to begin. It began with June and we’ve had rain every afternoon since! So I think he is a happy bird! 🙂 But overall, this june I’m seeing fewer varieties of both birds and butterflies than usual. I’m hoping that won’t be true of the rainforest I visit next week! 🙂

Yigüirro or Clay-colored Thrush, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

See also my Yigüirro/Clay-colored Thrush Gallery.

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Late-blooming Nance Tree

Or was the other one an “early bloomer?” 🙂 Both the Nance Tree and the Maraca Flowers on the front slope of my house have finished blooming while the ones back of my house (up hill) are just now blooming. Maybe the difference is morning sun (back) and afternoon sun (front) or I’m just fortunate to have them blooming at different times of the year! 🙂

A Guatemala website tells Mayan stories of this tree that they question, while a produce website tells about the uses of the berries and the Wikipedia site has a great general summary about the tree and its fruits and uses. I tried to eat a raw berry once and did not care for it. All 3 of my trees are harvested by birds only and at two different times of the year!

Nance Tree Flower, Atenas, Costa Rica

You can see a few green berries in the upper right corner of the next photo which will turn yellow when ripe . . .

Continue reading “Late-blooming Nance Tree”
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Tanna Longtail

Tanna Longtail, Urbanus tanna, is easily confused with the Teleus Longtail, but the 5 white dots in the short white line on his wing separates him from the Teleus. Seen in my garden yesterday, though I am still seeing way fewer butterflies than usual in June.

Tanna Longtail, Atenas, Costa Rica

And though these look like two different butterflies with the dark brown and light brown contrast, they are the same individual in differing light. 🙂

Tanna Longtail, Atenas, Costa Rica

See more in my Tanna Longtail Gallery.

¡Pura Vida!

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Salome or Boisduval’s Yellow?

Maybe! Again, another yellow that is not an exact match to any in the book or online. Another one I got in my garden a few weeks ago. Nice, whatever he is! 🙂 NOTE: In 2024 I decided that this is a female Dina Yellow, Pyrisitia dina.

Salome or Boisduval’s Yellow – Maybe! Atenas, Costa Rica
Salome or Boisduval’s Yellow – Maybe! Atenas, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

And for those following it, my Saturday morning “Coffee & Art” photo sale did very well. Of course I didn’t sell everything, but I sold a lot! 🙂 THANKS to all who came! You are appreciated!

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See My Garden Tomorrow

Even if you aren’t into art or my nature photos, maybe you will enjoy a walk through my garden tomorrow morning to see my 50+ blooms on the Maraca or Shampoo Ginger plants plus the other flowers blooming right now and shown below these Maracas in a slide show. Enjoy!

Maraca or Shampoo Ginger
Maraca or Shampoo Ginger
Maraca or Shampoo Ginger
Continue reading “See My Garden Tomorrow”
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15% OFF All My Books

for the next two days, June 21-22, 2023 by using the Discount Code: BSTORE15 when checking out from the Blurb Bookstore. Check out all 79 of my photo books with the most recent on top and save 15%! Go directly to my bookstore at: https://www.blurb.com/user/cdoggett or click this image of the first page:

CLICK IMAGE to go to my bookstore where you can preview every page of every book!

And by the way, I will have 14 of my photo books available this Saturday, 24 June, at my Coffee & Art show at my house, 105 Roca Verde #2, 9-12am! See you there! 🙂

¡Pura Vida!