The Birds of Palo Verde Park

Groove-billed Ani

Tempisque River, Palo Verde National Park, Costa Rica

Crane Hawk

Tempisque River, Palo Verde National Park, Costa Rica

This is my first sighting of this bird.

Black-crowned Night Heron

Tempisque River, Palo Verde National Park, Costa Rica

Bare-throated Tiger Heron

Tempisque River, Palo Verde National Park, Costa Rica

Crested Caracara Juvenile (or young adult)

Tempisque River, Palo Verde National Park, Costa Rica

This was a “first sighting” of this guy. It’s usually Yellow-headed Caracara.

Spotted Sandpiper

Tempisque River, Palo Verde National Park, Costa Rica

Little Blue Heron

Tempisque River, Palo Verde National Park, Costa Rica

Boat-billed Heron

Tempisque River, Palo Verde National Park, Costa Rica

Mangrove Swallow

Tempisque River, Palo Verde National Park, Costa Rica

My computer is working properly again! And I haven’t even taken it to the shop yet! Maybe it is the weather here it likes better! 🙂 So I was able to upload these photos! Of course I have many more and we did not see as many birds as might have been possible because it was windy the whole time we were on the river. (Birds don’t fly much when it is windy! They hide in the bushes!) We also saw some other animals which I will show tomorrow. Below is a photo of the kind of boat we floated on, though only the two of us plus our guide and boat captain.

There are several tour boat companies here like at Rio Tarcoles & Rio Frio.
Tomorrow I will show the above boat passengers acting like tourists. 🙂

Had it not been windy, we would have seen more smaller birds including hummingbirds, but weather is just part of life! Pura Vida!

See my photo gallery of BIRDS OF COSTA RICA

Or all my BIRDS OF CENTRAL AMERICA for even more!

August 23, 2016

Tempisque River Today

Little Blue Heron
Tempisque River, The Palo Verde National Park, Costa Rica

I’m having trouble with my computer shutting off every few minutes, so only one photo for now and more later from our boat trip on Rio Tempisque and a drive through Playa Hermosa and Playa Coco. I of course made lots of photos! 🙂 It was windy and thus not as many birds as we would normally have and I only got maybe one new or first time bird. But a good trip and I learned about some more Guanacaste beaches. Hope to get photos up soon!

April 15, 2016

Nicaragua: The Book

Nicaragua Birding Trip 2016

By Charlie Doggett

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! 🙂

April 9, 2016

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! 🙂

Osprey

Lake Apanas, Jinotega, Nicaragua

Gray Hawk

El Jaguar Nature Reserve, Nicaragua

Swallowtail Kite
El Jaguar Nature Reserve, Nicaragua

Turkey Vulture

Lake Apanas, Jinotega, Nicaragua

Black Vulture

Lake Apanas, Jinotega, Nicaragua

White Chinese Goose
Selva Negra Mountain Resort

March 6, 2016

Rufous-naped Wren, God’s Creation!

Rufous-naped Wren in Yellow Bell Tree off my Terrace

Rufous-naped Wren

Rufous-naped Wren with his feathers ruffled – possibly a juvenile

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.

About the Rufous-napted Wren on Cornell’s NeotropicalBirds

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.

Emphasis is mine. ~C.D.

March 1, 2016

Slowing Down in Atenas + March Birding Trips

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

February 21, 2016

The Other Birds – Tortuguero

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.

Belted Kingfisher, Tortuguero, Costa Rica

Little Blue Heron, Tortuguero, Costa Rica

Montezuma Oropendola, Tortuguero, Costa Rica

Female Anhinga, Tortuguero, Costa Rica

Male Anhinga, Tortuguero, Costa Rica

Great Curassow Female, Tortuguero, Costa Rica

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!

Royal Tern Juvenile, Tortuguero, Costa Rica

Osprey, Tortuguero, Costa Rica

Long-tailed Grackle Female, Tortuguero, Costa Rica

Northern Jacana, Tortuguero, Costa Rica

Common Black Hawk, Tortuguero, Costa Rica

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!

Social Flycatcher (most likely) or Great Kiskadee or
White-ringed Flycatcher, Tortuguero, Costa Rica

Birds of Tortuguero Checklist

February 19, 2016

Red-lored Parrot

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

February 16, 2016

Exploring Tortuguero

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!

February 13, 2016September 28, 2020

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!