This Black-cheeked Woodpecker, Melanerpes pucherani (my gallery link) is possibly the woodpecker I’ve seen the most of in my 10 years in Costa Rica, out of 13 species found here, and in the above-linked gallery I have photos of this one from 9 different locations (all on the Caribbean Slope). And none from my garden, where the Hoffmann’s Woodpecker is the most common. That may be because they are more common on the Caribbean Slope and I live on the Pacific Slope. 🙂 But they are found on both slopes from Southern Mexico to Ecuador.
In my CR Birds big gallery you will find galleries for 9 of those 13 species (I’m missing 4!) and one Olivaceous Piculet, which is really a tiny woodpecker without the name! 🙂
Black-cheeked Woodpecker, Hotel Banana Azul, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Limón, Costa Rica
The Africanized Honeybee, Apis mellifera (Wikipedia article link), was introduced from East Africa into Brazil and it migrated north throughout Central American and into Texas. I’m pretty sure of this ID and that is what Google Lens called it. Photographed on a wildflower along the beach road, Hotel Banana Azul, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Limón, Costa Rica.
Africanized Honey Bee, Apis mellifera, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Limón, Costa Rica
All of the bees I’ve photographed in Costa Rica are in a general Bees Gallery, with several species and most unidentified so far. 🙂 They were photographed before Google Lens! 🙂
Julia Heliconian, Dryas julia, Hotel Banana Azul, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Limón, Costa RicaJulia Heliconian, Dryas julia, Hotel Banana Azul, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Limón, Costa Rica
This is one of my favorite butterfly species and I keep finding them almost everywhere I go in Costa Rica. See more of my photos of this beauty in my gallery: Julia Heliconian, Dryas julia.
All natural beaches around the world have driftwood, which usually changes during every tropical storm or other reason for big surf! 🙂 The exception is a rare few beaches near big rich corporate hotels that have driftwood removed to maintain their “pristine” beaches. 🙂
This particular piece of driftwood was on Playa Negra (“Black Beach,” named for the dark volcanic sand there) directly behind Hotel Banana Azul in Puerto Viejo and is more like a simple log, partially buried, but it had a nice glow in the early morning sunrise last Saturday along with the color and texture. Of course there are more interesting shapes of driftwood, usually older and often sun-bleached to a light gray, nearly white.
In some coastal towns people display large, unusually shaped pieces of driftwood as works of art in their homes, restaurants and other businesses, both here and in every other coastal area I’ve visited around the world. See the driftwood links below these 2 photos . . .
Driftwood at Sunrise, Playa Negra, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Limón, Costa RicaDriftwood at Sunrise, Playa Negra, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Limón, Costa Rica
Here’s some driftwood-related websites I found online:
. . . for reasons unknown to me. Normally I see a lot of these Brown Pelicans, Pelecanus occidentalis (my gallery link) on both coasts and usually every day there, but these were the only ones I saw this time and I was a good distance from them, walking on the beach road, so not great photos or close-up like you can see in my gallery linked above. Here’s two shots and I cropped in on the second one just to make them seem bigger, but certainly not my best images. 🙂
Brown Pelicans, Playa Negra, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Limón, Costa RicaBrown Pelicans, Playa Negra, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Limón, Costa Rica
One of those many colorful and beautiful butterflies in Costa Rica is the Crimson Patch, Chlosyne janais (linked to my gallery). It is found from Colombia north through Central America and Mexico to South Texas. Here’s two views of one on the beach road near Hotel Banana Azul last week . . .
Crimson Patch, Chlosyne janais, Hotel Banana Azul, Puerto Viejo, Limón, Costa RicaCrimson Patch, Chlosyne janais, Hotel Banana Azul, Puerto Viejo, Limón, Costa Rica
Yesterday morning, just before leaving the Caribe, I was excited to have photographed two different hawks, one, I knew for sure, was a Common Black Hawk, Buteogallus anthracinus (my gallery link), but I had to wait until later to identify the brown one. Well, I should have known! But just haven’t been photographing many birds for a long time and didn’t remember that the juvenile Black Hawk is brown & speckled like this.
They were about 50+ meters apart, but both along the beach road, and I’m guessing that the adult was his Mom or Dad (probably Mom) and she seems to be holding something in her claw, like some food in case Junior doesn’t catch his breakfast in the marshy woods. 🙂 That is just like some of these Costa Rican moms who spoil their sons! 🙂 Here’s pix of Mom (or Dad) first and then the son (or daughter) . . .
Common Black Hawk Adult, Hotel Banana Azul, Puerto Viejo, Limón, Costa RicaCommon Black Hawk Juvenile, Hotel Banana Azul, Puerto Viejo, Limón, Costa Rica
¡Pura Vida!
Breakfast with a TN Friend Today
Back in 2014 when I took the “Live in costa Rica Tour,” one of the other participants, John, was the only other one of us from Tennessee and on top of that, from Williamson County, a suburb of Nashville where I had lived more than 30 years, but we never knew each other back then (different circles of friends). He earns his income from rental property in Tennessee and the Dominican Republic and wanted some here too, before retiring and moving here. The time has come!
He later came here and stayed at my house while looking at income-producing rental properties to buy and I even went to one beach area with him to check out getting one there too, but he decided no (too expensive!), though he did buy a condo here in Atenas very near Roca Verde where I live. It stayed rented until he recently sold it and bought a house up the hill from me here in Roca Verde that he is going to “fix up” and move here with his wife and two kids. Soon, he hopes!
They all arrived yesterday from Nashville and are staying in Hotel Colinas del Sol, just 3 blocks from me! So I’m going down there to have breakfast with them this morning, answering a lot of questions, talking to their kids about nature spots here, etc. 🙂
They will of course visit their future home, but also must meet with a lawyer in San Jose on their residency paperwork and work with someone on the remodeling of the house, plus many other nitty-gritty things for such a life change! 🙂
A busy week for them and it happens to be a busy day today for me with breakfast at 7, my spanish class at 9, grocery shopping, then work on tomorrow’s blog post! Plus continue to process hundreds of photos from the Caribe Sur trip! So I can share with you! 🙂
I still haven’t processed all my photos from today and will get a few more in the morning before I leave, but I’m pleased to get a different bird and butterfly from all the other days here . . .
Cocoa Woodcreeper, Hotel Banana Azul, Puerto Viejo, Limón, Costa RicaZebra-striped Hairstreak, Hotel Banana Azul, Puerto Viejo, Limón, Costa Rica
And one of many shots of sunrise this morning that I haven’t all processed, but will eventually share more, including the throng of local people out at sunrise on Saturday morning! 🙂
Rufous-tailed Hummingbird feeding on a Red Button Ginger Flower (Costus woodsonii) that grows wild only in Costa Rica, Panama & Colombia! 🙂
Because of some pains that make walking difficult, I’m limiting myself to short walks down the beach road (one lane, dirt) and of course the hotel gardens instead of longer hikes in the nearby national park and separate wildlife refuge. I’m up to 15 species of birds now, just right here! And I don’t know how many butterflies because I haven’t processed those photos from today, but know that I got some new ones again! One of the beach road joys is watching wild hummingbirds – they are all wild, including those in my garden at home! 🙂 And like at home, the Rufous-tailed seems to be the dominant hummingbird here too! 🙂 Here’s just two shots for now and more will be in the trip gallery later.
Rufous-tailed Hummingbird feeding on a Red Button Ginger Flower (Costus woodsonii) that grows wild only in Costa Rica, Panama & Colombia! 🙂
And another lovely sunrise! The two new birds are called “lifers” by birders, while the one new butterfly species is just generally called a new species! 🙂 And it is my favorite! The two new birds were identified by Merlin for the sake of any birders reading. 🙂 After I submit them to eBird, they will be reviewed and someone will notify me if they think misidentified. 🙂 The markings on both of these two birds are similar though their body builds are different and a tan color with white wing stripes is common to many species as is the white eye ring, but I’m trusting Merlin on these. 🙂 I’m now up to 10 bird species on this trip and 6 butterfly species, with there simply not being as many butterflies here this year or in October compared to my usual September trip. But I’m happy with what I’m getting and the sunrises alone are worth the trip, though I do miss hiking in Gandoca-Manzanillo & Cahuita! “Being old is not for sissies!” 🙂
