¡Pura Vida!
See You Tomorrow!
34 Butterfly Species + Busy Schedule
I finally got through all my butterfly photos made on the property at Hotel Banana Azul in Costa Rica’s Caribe South and they total 34 species! Unfortunately I have 11 different Skippers labeled “Unidentified” and I really need some better sources to help with identification. I am including two photos here and one is an unidentified Yellow or Sulphur. You can see all of the 34 species in my Banana Azul 2023 Butterfly GALLERY. And this is in addition to all those already reported on from Gandoca-Manzanillo and Cahuita reserves making a total of 54 species! 🙂
And oh yeah, the feature photo at the top of post has been identified as a Pompeius Skipper, Pompeius pompeius.
¡Pura Vida!
¡Muy ocupado! — Very Busy!
Read on for why I am behind on my blog posts now and what is happening in my personal life, from my new “free” doctors to helping open a new art gallery in Atenas . . .
Continue reading “34 Butterfly Species + Busy Schedule”Free Art Drawing this Sunday!
At the Grand Opening of Galería ARTenas this Sunday, 15 October, 10am to 7pm, there will be a drawing for free art items from the gallery participants. And from me you can win this beautiful Flora Accent Pillow with one of my photos of a Bird of Paradise Flower printed on both sides! 🙂
If you are anywhere near Atenas, Alajuela Province, Costa Rica, I hope to see you at the grand opening this Sunday of our new art gallery in Atenas, in Calle 2 Plaza adjacent Linea Vital & Pizzeria La Finca.
¡Pura Vida!
Caribe Flowers!
As I am aging I seem to love and appreciate the beauty of flower even more than in the past. Here’s just two flower photos, the feature photo at the top of the blog post and this one for the email version, then you can see more in the Flowers Sub-Gallery of this Trip Gallery. Enjoy the beauty of nature!
¡Pura Vida!
Fun Tropical Insects
I did a post on “Other Insects” at Banana Azul earlier but did not include these 6 bugs that are all unidentified for now (and maybe for a long time). 🙂 I never cease to be amazed at the variety, colors, patterns and just the appearance of so many different insects here in Costa Rica. I will not label or comment on these 6 but just share the photos below . . .
Half My Banana Azul Butterflies
I initially was able to identify only about 15 of the 30 or more species of butterflies photographed at Hotel Banana Azul. Most of the remainder of the butterflies are various types of Skippers and hopefully I will eventually identify most of them! 🙂 I’m getting behind again, so not sure when I will get them posted but maybe tomorrow. I’m working on posts only 4 days ahead now, so we will see. 🙂
Nite in Colinas del Sol
Yesterday I had my house fumigated for insects, mainly for an invasion of two different kinds of ants and believed the treatment would be more effective if I left my house closed up with the fogging and spray overnight and thus not healthy for me to sleep there. So I spent last night at our little neighborhood hotel, Colinas del Sol, which is a group of cabins along with a few larger, long-term rental houses. I was put in Villa 3 and snapped a few shots before the afternoon rain started. I can’t go anywhere without capturing photos of the nature there!
I’m writing this last night and my plans are to enjoy their breakfast included with the room this morning and mid-morning return home to open up and air out the house, with all the ceiling fans on for awhile! 🙂 Then enjoy my ant-free house! And tomorrow’s blog post will return to the continuing reports on Hotel Banana Azul in Caribe Sur! I’m still processing photos with a lot more to share! 🙂
Birds at Banana Azul
Here’s photos of 8 species of birds I photographed at Hotel Banana Azul which is fewer than usual like everywhere has been this year! And there are 10 photos because the male and female Scarlet-rumped Tanager look like 2 different species 🙂 and the juvenile Tropical Kingbird looks like a different species from the adult, so I included a photo of each. These 8 are all fairly common species all over Costa Rica except the Wood-Rail which is only in wetlands or coastal rainforests like the location of Banana Azul where there has always been a family of Wood-Rails living in their garden by their lily pond. Note that I saw 9 totally different species at Gandoca-Manzanillo (link to those bird photos) and a photo of only one bird at Cahuita but it was my Lifer this trip. 🙂 Thus in this trip gallery there will be a total of 18 species of birds this year, which is fewer than usual but not bad! 🙂 I always get a lot of photos in the Caribbean side of Costa Rica!
Hiking at “Backdoor” of Cahuita NP
Whether coming as a tourist or a local who visits national parks here, you might want to know that there are two entrances to Cahuita National Park. There is a “main entrance” in the little town of Cahuita where most people enter, including a lot of locals for the easily accessed beaches, coral reef for snorkeling, plus very good hiking trails both along the beach and through the interior rainforest. You can see my previous photos from 2 hikes at that main entrance in these galleries:
- 2022 September Birding Hike from main entrance
- 2017 September Nature Hike from main entrance
Now here’s just 4 shots of the “back door” hiking trail also called officially Sector Puerto Vargas, as basically a 2 km long boardwalk (or bridge) over land that is sometimes under water. It leads you through a beautiful second growth rainforest with lots of wildlife possibilities to a connection with the two trails from the main entrance, one along the beach and one through the forest for a one-way total of about 8 km (using 1 of the main entrance trails + boardwalk) if you go all the way! Me and my guide, Henis, settled for the 4 km round trip on the boardwalk 🙂 where I got my “lifer” bird photo of a Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher, photos of 14 Butterfly Species and some Other Wildlife! Plus these four general shots . . .
Calospila cilissa
Another new species for me and if approved will be a new species for the website I volunteer with, butterflies and moths dot org. I’m requesting the addition and I’m pretty certain of the ID based first on the Jeffrey Glassberg book and then iNaturalist website. Note that I have indicated male and female in my photos, since I managed to photograph both and there is a difference! 🙂 Here’s one shot for the email version and then all four shots below that in a little gallery . . .
