The slideshow photos are in no particular order, just shots from my walk around the campus this morning with no rain! And almost no birds! There were a lot more birds on the rainy days! And now at about 3 in the afternoon the rain is starting for the first time today, so maybe the birds will return. Ahhhh! I just saw two Euphonias but not where I could photograph. Tonight is my last night here and near the end of the most wonderful food that someone else prepares for me. Its been a great week!
Morning Walk Photo Slideshow
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“The forest is a peculiar organism of unlimited kindness and benevolence that makes no demands for its sustenance and extends generously the products of its life and activity; it affords protection to all beings.”
~Buddhist Sutra
And I am just now starting the “trip gallery” for this trip at 2018 Esquinas Rainforest Lodge — but soon that will be the place to see all my best photos from this week. I have gotten 10 new “lifers” or first-time seen birds this week! That is incredible! Possibly more than on any other trip at least recently.
All of these birds were photographed in front of my cabin or alongside the main building terrace. It is amazing the wide variety of birds living here!
Birds Seen in One Day at Esquinas Rainforest Lodge
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A Beautiful Rainforest Retreat for Birds & People!
Esquinas Rainforest Lodge, Piedras Blancas National Park, Costa Rica
It is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon men’s hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air that emanation from old trees, that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit.
Golfito literally means “little gulf.” It is both the name of a town near here and a little gulf off the humongous Gulf of Dulce (Golfo Dulce). Our plans were to take a boat out of the little gulf into the big gulf and over a ways to the mouth of a river where the mangrove trees grow and attract birds. Wellllll . . . it was like this: We thought we only had to deal with rain but the gulf is the ocean and the white caps were big and powerful plus it was high tide. As we bounced over the rough water we were all literally soaked and the ride was rough and it was foggy. As we got closer he could not see the mouth of the river and said the water was too high and too dangerous to go on, thus we turned around and went back into the little gulf and spent our time going around the islands and shores of it to find a lot of birds as you will see in the slideshow below. In spite of getting very wet, it was a good day of birding! Instead of eating our packed lunch (in an ice chest) on a beach or in the boat, we brought it back to the lodge and ate in the pool rancho while watching birds including euphonias!
Birds of Golfito Bay
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White-faced Capuchin Monkey was part of a large group on one island.
Accept this red berry gift from a Prothonotary Warbler and expect a lot of cool birds in tomorrow’s post about my wet boat trip today. I’m too tired to do a good report tonight but staying in tomorrow. Hasta mañana.
No rain today – so far at 3pm! I had a wonderful 6am birding hike with birding guide Kevin and returned for breakfast and the morning photographing wildlife from my cabin terrace – amazing!
Below is a slideshow of a few of today’s photos – mostly birds but some other animals. Tomorrow Kevin and I go on a boat trip through the mangroves which always yields a lot of birds rain or shine. Then over the weekend I plan to just enjoy walking the forests that surround me here and the really good food someone else is preparing! 🙂 And oh yeah, a night hike one of those nights which is always interesting!
And I’m hearing thunder now, so rain tonight which is always the best time and well, it just started at 3:42! 🙂
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Among the scenes which are deeply impressed on my mind, none exceed in sublimity the primeval [tropical] forests, … temples filled with the varied productions of the God of Nature. No one can stand in these solitudes unmoved, and not feel that there is more in man than the mere breath of his body.
I left early this morning, like at 4am from my house for a 5:30 flight arriving in Golfito at 6:35 after a brief stop in Puerto Jimenez – I just love flying in these small planes even when it is cloudy like this morning.
Here the bird photographed today in the rain:
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And here are some shots of the grounds of my lodge for the week:
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And other animals seen today:
AgoutiCommon Basilisk, adult maleCommon Basilisk, juvenile male
Tomorrow I leave early for a short flight to Golfito in the south of Costa Rica for a week at Esquinas Rainforest Lodge in the Piedras Blancas National Park,one of Costa Rica‘s birding hot-spots. And note that they only have Wifi in their main building, so my posts could be limited or certainly my correspondence will be. Part of being in the jungle! 🙂
I live to the left of San Jose. Nothing is terribly far within Costa Rica! It will be a 30 minute flight and a 25 minute drive from Golfito Airport. Costa Rica is the same square miles as West Virginia in size as a comparison for Americans.
AND ZOOMING IN ON THE AREA:
Notice it is across the big Gulf of Dulce from my favorite Corcovado NP. And my last visit there was to Danta Corcovado Lodge about where the capital P is located in the park name, Corcovado NP. I flew to Puerto Jimenez for that.
The Bronzed Cowbird above fooled me at first because his eyes or irises are not red, but then I read that the juvenile has a dark or black iris. ID is always a challenge but also part of the fun. Both of these birds joined me for breakfast this morning around 6:30 or later, along with a Kiskadee and a Yigüirro.
Below is the Blue-crowned Motmot, one of my favorite birds here. But I have had better shots than this. Here he is in the shadows and a good way off with his magnificent tail partly hidden and it appears broken. Still, this is part of the joy of living in the tropics! And my terrace!Plus this morning is practice for tomorrow’s trip! 🙂 Another post to follow this, introducing my next trip.
Blue-crowned Motmot
Blue-crowned Motmot with one tail feather missing
And since the header format cropped off his tail, here is another shot of the Bronzed Cowbird:
Everyone likes birds. What wild creature is more accessible to our eyes and ears, as close to us and everyone in the world, as universal as a bird?
Here’s the LINK to the photo book of my trip two weeks ago: Caribe Tuanis Click title to REVIEW the book electronically in my bookstore, all pages for free! Best seen at Full Screen!
Jumping at Bribri Watsi Waterfall
The title is my fusion of two Costa Rica slang words and is not grammatically correct Spanish! One Tico tried to get me to add “El” like “The” in English. No. “Caribe” is CR slang or short for Caribbean which I think is used in English some also and the slang word “Tuanis” is like the American slang of earlier years “Cool.” So my English translation of the title would be “Caribbean Cool.”
Three-toed Sloth this year – Rare face shot
Since my last year’s book on the Caribbean was all birds and nature, I wanted to do something different this year, featuring teens jumping off a waterfall and surfers riding the waves plus Bribri Indigenous People, and of course the Rastas of all Caribbean Culture. Enjoy!
My Costa Rica Birds Gallery is still big with almost 270 species of birds included but is a little cleaner and easier to use now, especially for birders. Instead of one gallery with a jumble of 400 to 500 photos arranged alphabetically, it is now a folder with a SEPARATE GALLERY FOR EACH SPECIES so there is no longer the confusion of having multiple images of some species, but when you browse you will only look at one image of each species and then click it if you want to see that image larger or see multiple images of that bird. A separate gallery for each species. That will make it even more efficient as my collection of bird photos grows and gets better!
Plus birders will especially like that I have them ARRANGED BY FAMILIES or in the order found in the book The Birds of Costa Rica, A Field Guide.
Emerald Toucanet — One of the 269 species in my new CR Birds gallery.
And you might want to know that I am uploading the full-size image here so you can DOWNLOAD ONE FOR FREE and use as you wish or PURCHASE A PHOTO (like the above Toucanet) as a “Card,” “Paper Print,” “Wall Art” print (I’m favoring high-gloss metal now) “Keepsake,” or “Phone Case.” It is a service of Smugmug.com with multiple vendors at their prices with me getting only $1 per order which is okay with me because I’m retired now! 🙂 And not in business! At the bottom of each enlarged photo is a green button BUY for you to go to the purchase options. Check it out for all the neat options for some of my birds or other Costa Rica photos!
Flash Postscript! 2 of my photos made the final 10 cut for header of the Facebook Group Atenas Costa Rica InfoMine are the Spanish Dancers & the Pink & Blue Sunset Mountains. For a header I prefer the sunset photo as better for type face going over it, but I do not expect to win, believing that either the orange tree or green landscape will win and of those two I prefer the landscape also because it is better for titles printing over it. Members of the facebook group vote for the new group header photo.
“Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.”
― Henri Cartier-Bresson
Hopefully I am beyond 10,000 by now! 🙂 ¡Pura Vida!
