Crested Owl Jungle Challenge

One of the Maquenque Managers took me out into the thick rainforest today where one of the new Treehouses is being built, while the workers were on their lunch break.  🙂  They discovered the roosting place for a couple of Crested Owls at eye level from one new treehouse in the forest, but hidden from the normal human eyes behind the limbs and leaves of the large tree they’re in. It was impossible to get a good photo, but here are three shots that show three different things: first the top 2/3 of one with the second shot showing the bottom 2/3 of one and the third shot showing a portion of both owls, just to show that there are two there!  🙂  They weren’t poising on an open limb for me!  🙂

Shooting through the foliage is a common challenge when birding in a forest anywhere and could be a part of your challenge if you come stay in a treehouse at Maquenque, but in my past stays in treehouses here I’ve also had some very clear shots of toucans, spider monkeys and howler monkeys; so don’t let a little jungle challenge stop you from a great experience here at Maquenque Eco Lodge & Reserve! (Link to lodge website.)

Top 2/3 of a Crested Owl, Maquenque Eco Lodge, Costa Rica

You can sort of see the “crests” which seemed to be relaxed while resting.

Bottom 2/3 of a Crested Owl, Maquenque Eco Lodge, Costa Rica
And the most I could capture of the two birds together! You can barely see that there are 2! 🙂

¡Pura Vida!

And you may want to see my Crested Owl Gallery, though I have only one other photo.

And you can read about them on eBird. Found in Central America and the northern half of South America.

Xandari Butterflies

I said yesterday I had 15 species and I just realized the plain brown top is the top of the Carolina Satyr, meaning I moved those photos in with the Carolina Satyr dropping it to 14 and one unidentified Yellow could possibly be one of the other yellows, so I got either 13 or 14 species of butterflies with I think three new species. Xandari has always been a good place for butterflies for me, both in their forest and in their gardens, my third best place after my own garden and Hotel Banana Azul in the Caribbean! 🙂 Here is one pix for the emailed version of post, followed online by a gallery of all 15 photos . . .

Simple Satyr, Xandari Resort, Alajuela, Alajuela, Costa Rica
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Rainy Season Contrasts

The rain makes everything green and when it is not raining or cloudy, it is beautiful wherever you look. But when overcast or raining you can sometime see only a few meters away as these two shots from my room at Xandari show, looking out over the city of Alajuela and the Central Valley . . .

Vista from my room at Xandari Resort in Alajuela, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Vista from my room at Xandari Resort in Alajuela, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

5 of 10 Xandari Birds

Yeah, ten were all the birds I photographed there this time, but it was only a little more than one day there and during rainy season, so okay for near a big city. But by comparison, I got photos of 15 butterfly species! I will eventually share more of them. And on my first day’s post there were two more birds, a Kiskadee and a Rufous-tailed Wren. Here’s 5 more . . .

Red-billed Pigeon, Xandari Resort, Alajuela, Alajuela, Costa Rica
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Cecropia Leaves

I just can’t stop photographing this unique tree! But every photo is different! 🙂 This species lives up to 25 or 30 years, which is a short life for trees, but they perform many functions in the rainforest & cloud forest. Here are two blog posts on it’s longevity from the University of Georgia in Costa Rica Blog. (Lots of universities from around the world have campuses in Costa Rica! One reason is that we have more species of plants and animals than any other country its size in the world!) 🙂

Guarumo or Cecropia Leaves & Flower, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

My Cecropia Gallery.

¡Pura vida!

Postscript: Thanks to my Tennessee friend Larry Yarbrough for this link to an article titled Birding for the Soul, about how birding and other nature activities, like looking for butterflies, 🙂 not only lifts your spirits but is mentally and spiritually strengthening and it helps world research on saving nature. I hope you will get involved with nature in whatever way pleases you and enjoy the benefits! 🙂 ~Charlie

28 Bird Species at Arenal

Both birds and butterflies are the two groups of photos from a forest trip that take me a long time to process the literal thousands of photos and this time I did the butterflies earlier and finally I have finished the birds with 28 species photographed and only 1 is unidentified. Click the first page of the bird gallery below to see it or you can go to this web address: https://charliedoggett.smugmug.com/TRIPS/2024-May-6-11-Arenal-Observatory-Lodge-Trails/BIRDS

CLICK this image of the first page of the gallery to go there.

Plus I have added the better photos from this trip gallery to my Costa Rica Birds by Species galleries, so they are found in both places. 🙂 And now I will more quickly finish the entire “Trip Gallery!” 🙂

¡Pura Vida!

Guans on the Trails

One of the largest and most seen birds on my morning walks on the trails of Arenal Observatory Lodge was the Crested Guan, Penelope purpurascens (eBird link) for more info on this large turkey-sized Central American bird found from parts of Mexico to parts of northern South America and all over every Central American country. For more of my photos, see my Crested Guan Gallery. The male & female look alike and are difficult to differentiate with both being either all black or sometimes brownish. 🙂

Yes, you can see some of these at the Observatory feeder by the restaurant deck, but I prefer to find them in the wild and did on almost every one of the Arenal Observatory trails where all of these photos were made. Unlike the other large bird at Arenal, the Great Curassow, they fly a lot and spend as much time in trees as on the ground, foraging for food of fruit, berries, seeds, insects and small invertebrates. While the Curassow spends most of his time on the ground and doesn’t seem to be able to fly as well. I’ll try to do a post on the Curassow tomorrow since I’m a long way from finishing my Arenal ’24 Birds Gallery! 🙂 And I’m no longer doing blog posts a week ahead, but day by day! 🙂 Below this introductory photo is a gallery of 6 more Crested Guans I photographed in the rainforest on Arenal Observatory Trails.

Crested Guan, Arenal Observatory Lodge & Trails, Costa Rica
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From Mini-Jungle to Rainforest!

This morning my usual transportation of Walter Ramirez Tours and Taxis is taking me away from my home “garden” or “mini-jungle,” featured above, to one of my favorite forest getaways for 5 nights . . .

Arenal Observatory Lodge, the only hotel inside the Arenal Volcano National Park, where I will spend 5 days hiking the trails of a forest with a great variety of plants and animals! Tree Ferns to Toucans and more!

Below are four shots of my little mini-rainforest garden in Atenas that I am proud of and in which I photograph much for this blog! Then following that, another 4-shot gallery from my last trip to the Observatory in 2022. I chose to go in May this year because that is the month I got good sunset photos over Lake Arenal in 2018 and my most monkey shots that year, though anytime is a good time to visit Arenal Observatory Lodge! (lodge website link) 🙂 Looking forward to just being there!

Continue reading “From Mini-Jungle to Rainforest!”