Yep! I just went 6 days without blogging which is not my usual habit which is to write posts 3 or 4 days ahead then break from the routine while posts keep coming out. No health problems or catastrophes, “just tired of blogging.” But with another trip coming tomorrow, I’m in the mood and here’s a few nature photos made during this “down time.”
Two Bee or Not Two Bee
I’m still not getting many butterflies in my garden yet other than the fast-moving Yellows that never seem to land for a photo. But here’s two bees in my garden this morning:
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?” 🙂 . . .
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 . . .
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.
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.
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? 🙂
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 . . .
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
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 . . .
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. 🙂
