Of course with all those photos, I had to make a book! It is mostly birds but includes culture photos of Granada, people, Semana Santa, and interesting roadside shots across the country. You can click on the image above and electronically thumb through the book for free. No purchase required! 🙂
Some More BIG BIRDS in Nicaragua
I’ve already done posts on the Peregrine Falcon, Highland Guan, Egrets & Herons, a Limpkin, and Toucans which are all kind of big too! 🙂
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| Osprey Lake Apanas, Jinotega, Nicaragua |
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| Gray Hawk
El Jaguar Nature Reserve, Nicaragua |
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| Swallowtail Kite El Jaguar Nature Reserve, Nicaragua |
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| Turkey Vulture Lake Apanas, Jinotega, Nicaragua |
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| Black Vulture Lake Apanas, Jinotega, Nicaragua |
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| White Chinese Goose Selva Negra Mountain Resort |
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| White Chinese Goose Selva Negra Mountain Resort |
Rufous-naped Wren, God’s Creation!
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| Rufous-naped Wren in Yellow Bell Tree off my Terrace |
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| Rufous-naped Wren |
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| Rufous-naped Wren with his feathers ruffled – possibly a juvenile |
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| Rufous-naped Wren posing by one of the few lingering flowers |
You probably don’t remember that last July 2015 I reported here about one of these inside my house.
My Costa Rica Birds PHOTO GALLERY or All My Costa Rica Galleries
RAIN IN THE DRY SEASON?
A surprise light shower or sprinkle on this Sunday afternoon, March 6, 2016. It is dry season in the central valley with no rain since October, and this one lasted maybe 10 minutes, getting everything wet, but not soaking my flowers and trees – a reminder that it will start raining again for real in May. And tomorrow night I will continue my every two day watering routine.
If you follow all my adventures you may remember that we had rain stop us from seeing Poas Volcano two weeks ago, but it is at a high altitude, “The Cloud Forest,” that has rain year around as does the coastal lowland rainforest such as Tortuguero where we had a little bit of rain on each of our two nights/3 days there. But the rest of Costa Rica is in the Dry Season until May. Read about the WEATHER in Costa Rica.
Genesis 1:20-23The Message (MSG)
20-23 God spoke: “Swarm, Ocean, with fish and all sea life!
Birds, fly through the sky over Earth!”
God created the huge whales,
all the swarm of life in the waters,
And every kind and species of flying birds.
God saw that it was good.
God blessed them: “Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Ocean!
Birds, reproduce on Earth!”
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Five.
Birds, fly through the sky over Earth!”
God created the huge whales,
all the swarm of life in the waters,
And every kind and species of flying birds.
God saw that it was good.
God blessed them: “Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Ocean!
Birds, reproduce on Earth!”
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Five.
Emphasis is mine. ~C.D.
Slowing Down in Atenas + March Birding Trips
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| I’m beginning to take palms for granite! These are by the church at central park. Like steeples they point to God! Uplifting! |
I’m slowing down after a busy schedule during Reagan’s visit here though still having to learn how to truly rest! 🙂 I’m back to just one Spanish Class again since Zaray got a high school teaching position and can no longer teach our Tuesday night class at the church. And my conversational tutor Jason has moved to Liberia to live with his sister for awhile. So I’m on my own with Spanish and have a little more time to catch up on some work here at home.
But two great trips planned for March! 🙂
- 10-13 March I go to Monteverde with Birding Club + an extra day for Butterfly Garden. See one Bird Checklist for Monteverde
- 22-30 March I will be in Nicaragua (itinerary) for a 7-day birding tour + 2-days in Historic Granada. This is partly to renew my Visa with a little more excitement than just going to the border as in the past! Plus I suddenly realized that I will be there during Easter Week, so maybe some celebration color will be witnessed, though I’m mainly in the forests. 🙂 Birds Checklist for Montibelli Reserve and Birds Checklist for El Jaguar Reserve
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Click to see the YouTube Video from Cornell Lab of Ornithology showing the joys of birding.
Birding is an incredible hobby! Here Cornell says “Thank You” to all who helped with the 2015 Christmas Bird Count around the world. Watch the birds where you live! They will give you an incredible sense of joy and peace. And it is even more fun for me to capture many of them in photographs! My growing gallery of Costa Rica Birds now has photos of 161 species and growing monthly plus I’m getting some better images to replace or supplement older ones. Plus I’m about to add a pretty good collection from Nicaragua and already have one from Panama. Fun!
“I think the most important quality in a birdwatcher is a willingness to stand quietly and see what comes. Our everyday lives obscure a truth about existence – that at the heart of everything there lies a stillness and a light.”
― Lynn Thomson, Birding with Yeats: A Memoir
― Lynn Thomson, Birding with Yeats: A Memoir
The Other Birds – Tortuguero
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| Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Tortuguero, Costa Rica |
From our Tortuguero Trip last week I have already shown photos of 3 Species of Toucans, a Sungrebe, a Red-lored Parrot, and a Snowy Egret. And here are about 15 more species that I got photos of plus of course seeing others. You can see why I love Tortuguero! And a few of these were first-time sightings for me which will be added to my Birds of Costa Rica Photo Gallery.
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| Belted Kingfisher, Tortuguero, Costa Rica |
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| Little Blue Heron, Tortuguero, Costa Rica |
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| Montezuma Oropendola, Tortuguero, Costa Rica |
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| Female Anhinga, Tortuguero, Costa Rica |
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| Male Anhinga, Tortuguero, Costa Rica |
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| Great Curassow Female, Tortuguero, Costa Rica |
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| Bare-throated Tiger Heron, Tortuguero, Costa Rica Interesting note: This nest was above the outdoor bar at Laguna Lodge. I watched the male bring twigs and female arrange them. Fun! |
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| Royal Tern Juvenile, Tortuguero, Costa Rica |
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| Osprey, Tortuguero, Costa Rica |
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| Long-tailed Grackle Female, Tortuguero, Costa Rica |
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| Northern Jacana, Tortuguero, Costa Rica |
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| Common Black Hawk, Tortuguero, Costa Rica |
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| Orange-breasted Falcon or Bat Falcon or Black-collared Hawk ???Tortuguero, Costa Rica If you can narrow the identification down, please contact me! Wings only is tough to ID! |
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| Social Flycatcher (most likely) or Great Kiskadee or White-ringed Flycatcher, Tortuguero, Costa Rica |
Red-lored Parrot
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| Red-lored Parrot, Tortuguero, Costa Rica |
It looks like it will be next week before I get all my shots from Tortuguero processed, so here is one more! He is the only parrot we saw and I am pleased with this shot. But there are still several more shots of birds to share! (And 3 species of monkeys, several lizards, and one snake.) And I assume you know that all of these were shot in the wild! Tortuguero is a terrific place for nature lovers!
“We need the tonic of wildness… We can never have enough of nature.”
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden: Or, Life in the Woods
Exploring Tortuguero
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| Green Basilisk or “Jesus Christ Lizard” (because he walks on water) It is also called emerald, plumed, or double-crested basilisk (Nat’l Geographic) From a boat on Tortuguero River – CLICK TO ENLARGE |
We are busy & upload is slow, so I’m saving the bird photos for when we are home tomorrow or later this week. Lots of birds! Good tours today! I recommend Laguna Lodge at Tortuguero!
And if you are going to the west coast or especially Manuel Antonio, I recommend our guide for these 3 days who usually works over in Manuel Antonio National Park. His name is Robert Umaña, robert.uma8@gmail.com or call (506) 8881-2240. He is very personable and well organized and good at finding birds. Though I have had guides more knowledgeable of birds, he is going to continue getting better as a young man. And he is real good about taking a picture for you with your cell phone through his spotting scope, which I find very impressive for most people from the U.S. And he is very patient with people which is important for a professional guide. Guides here are trained by the government and certified which means most are good and that is a big plus for Costa Rica tourism! I’ve never had a bad guide, just some are better than others. Robert’s one of the best!
Follow Reagan’s Blog for his view of his visit here! He is not into birds like me or the wildness, but he likes the adventure and the opportunities to make photos and share them just like me! So we are both having a good experience in “The Amazon of Costa Rica.” Pura Vida!
ZooAVE and Zoo of a Dinner
We visited Zoo Ave in La Garita today with Abe and Nancy Docktar and then joined Jean and Carolyn for dinner tonight at a local gringo restaurant with a Nashville Band (of retired gringos here) called “FlashBack” playing oldies. An Interesting day!
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| Flash Back plays for dancing at Augostos Restaurant tonight |
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| Scarlet Macaw at Zoo Ave |
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| Keel-billed Toucan at Zoo Ave |
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| An Injured Toucan rescued and nursed to health |
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| Green Iguana, one of many around the park |
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| Wild Spectacled Owl visiting Zoo Ave |
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| Striped Owl at Zoo Ave |
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| Crested Owl at Zoo Ave |
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| Emu at Zoo Ave |
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| Great Curassow Male at Zoo Ave |
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| Great Curassow Female at Zoo Ave |
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| Squirrel Monkey at Zoo Ave |
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| Spider Monkey at Zoo Ave |
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| Helicopter Damselfly at Zoo Ave |
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| Baird’s Tapir or Central American Tapir at Zoo Ave |
Zoo animals are ambassadors for their cousins in the wild.~Jack Hanna
IMPORTANT NOTE: In 2020 this facility has been “rebranded” to eliminate the zoo concept and is now called Rescate Wildlife Rescue Center.
Follow Reagan’s Blog for his view of his visit here!
¡Pura Vida!
Palm Tanager
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| Palm Tanager In my cecropia or yagrumo Tree These first two shots were made at lunch today on my terrace while the weaker 3rd photo made at breakfast yesterday was almost my only shot! When you keep trying there will be a better shot eventually! Hopefully! |
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| Palm Tanager In my terrace cecropia or yagrumo tree. Different shots show different aspects of a bird. |
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| Palm Tanager Makes a Good Landing! I love to catch a bird landing or taking off! These are on my terrace rail at breakfast. Not best light for photo. I make my identification with app and 2 books, my best call, not 100%! Made the day before the top two shots. Click for larger image. |
This is in the family of the more common Blue-gray Tanager that I’ve photographed many times and the book says has a similar song. This is my first time to photograph these guys.
My Costa Rica Birds Photo Gallery OR All My Costa Rica Photo Galleries
Those little nimble musicians of the air, that warble forth their curious ditties, with which nature hath furnished them to the shame of art. ~Izaak Walton
Black-cowled Oriole
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| Black-cowled Oriole Inside my house on a screen |
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| Black-cowled Oriole Inside my house as seen from outside before I opened the screen. He flew away, probably fearful of houses now. |
During the day when at home I leave the garden door without a screen open and the sliding glass doors and screens to the terrace open, thus easy for wildlife to sometimes explore inside. 🙂
When this happens I open all the other screens and then try to open the one he is on. As is often the case, when I started sliding this one (from the outside) he flew the other way out another window and up into a tree! I leave nothing fully open at night. Had a bat once and trying to avoid that if I can.
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| From Charlie! Retired in Costa Rica! |
See my Costa Rica Birds Photo Gallery with 156 species I’ve photographed in Costa Rica so far! And with about 900 species of birds here, I have a ways to go! 🙂