Category: Trees

Posted on

Close & Far Panoramas

The first shot on my cellphone is close, as I step out through my gate onto the road by the cow pasture and begin another walk. The second photo on my camera is a merging of 3 shots of the far mountains in a common panorama vista from my terrace. I love where I live! 🙂 Plus it is not far from some totally different vistas I can visit in rainforests, beaches or cloud forests. Pura vida! 🙂

The cow pasture across the road from my casita on a hill, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica.
And the distant view from my terrace, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

See the photo gallery titled: From My Roca Verde Terrace for many more similar vistas. And FYI: “Roca Verde” (Green Rock) is the name of the housing development where I live, named after the big green (moss-covered) rock just inside the entrance gate. 🙂

Atenas: “El mejor clima del mundo!” “The best weather in the world!”

🙂

Posted on

Nance Trees Blooming!

Along with dozens of other trees that bloom here during the dry season, which at first seemed strange to me, but I guess it is all about the sun. 🙂 These little yellow and orange cluster flowers will eventually turn into clusters of Nance Berries (yellow) which many birds will enjoy! And the iguanas too! 🙂 And here a few people eat them or make jams-jellies or marmalade with them. I tried eating one and did not like it as a bitter taste to me. Read about them on Wikipedia: Nance Tree, Byrsonima crassifolia.

Nance Tree Flowers that will become berries, Atenas, Costa Rica.

¡Pura Vida!

Posted on

A New Rufous-tailed Visited

This older and much larger Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, Amazilia tzacatl (my gallery link) was visiting a couple of days ago and has not been back. I think that the smaller and younger one is chasing all other hummingbirds away as if he owns the place. The Blue-vented I had here earlier last month has not returned either. I filled the feeders again, hoping if would attract others, but maybe not with a little boss bird around. 🙂

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

Posted on

Gray-headed Chachalaca

The only “regular” (almost daily) large (Turkey-sized) bird in my garden is the Gray-headed Chachalaca, Ortalis cinereiceps (eBird link) which is found only in the southern parts of Central America or from Honduras to Columbia. When a whole flock of them swoop into one of my trees they are sort of “pests” because of their constant chatter. But lately it has only been 2 to 4 at a time which is less noise and more interesting to watch. See my many photos of this unique bird in my Chachalaca Gallery. Just one shot here.

Gray-headed Chachalaca, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

Posted on

Red-billed Pigeon

This colorful, purpleish, dove-like bird is not as common in my garden as the White-winged Dove, but I like him just as much! He is the Red-billed Pigeon, Patagioenas flavirostris (linked to eBird) and found only from Costa Rica to Mexico. Just one more of the many birds unique to this part of the world! The best place to go birding! 🙂

Red-billed Pigeon, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

Posted on

My Iguana Neighbor . . .

The Black Spiny-tailed Iguana,  Ctenosaura similis (my gallery link) is called “Garrobo” in Spanish and lives only on the Pacific Slope, which is also where I live. Here’s just two shots from one recently in my garden (living there or nearby) and the only neighbor I have who walks on my roof! 🙂 See more of this interesting fellow in the above-linked gallery.

And what about the Green Iguana? Well, he lives on both slopes, but I’ve not seen one in Atenas, I see many in the Caribe.

Black Spiny-tailed Iguana, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

My Favorite Quote Today . . .

“Hitching the evangelical wagon to Donald Trump has meant unhitching it from the life and teachings of Jesus. It’s a bad trade.” –Peter Wehner, Writer, The Atlantic

Thanks to Ellie for sharing that article in The Atlantic! It is at:

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/01/evangelicals-trump/681450/?gift=qFEJ9LdWpG_UQ02zpyrhX2xpGq7ImcdmeknHDgHmMlk&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share

And a Related Bible Verse . . .

From last night’s devotional . . .

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy. Colossians 2:8

Posted on

Yellow Warbler

I used to see a lot more of these but that was back when I saw a lot more of all birds than now. It is the Yellow Warbler, Setophaga petechia (eBird link) which is found in all of the lowlands of Costa Rica but be aware that some books are now separating the American Yellow Warbler (Setophaga aestiva) and the Mangrove Warbler (Setophaga petechia) which is the one that is a resident of Costa Rica while the American are migrants from the north and also here. The Mangrove Warbler is best known to birders as the one whose male has a chestnut red head. The females seem to be identical. You can see both in my Gallery of Yellow Warblers. And eBird has kept them together as I do in my gallery. Here’s 3 shots from my garden . . .

Yellow Warbler, my garden, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Continue reading “Yellow Warbler”
Posted on

Scarlet Macaw

We saw many Scarlet Macaws on Rio Tarcoles but none where we could get a good picture, but as we were leaving the village of Tarcoles on our way to Punta Leona, we saw this one along the side of the road and thus it is my only photo of one this trip! But I have a lot more photos in my Scarlet Macaw Gallery. 🙂

Scarlet Macaw, Tarcoles Village, Puntarenas, Costa Rica

This Scarlet Macaw lives mostly on the Pacific Slope of Costa Rica with a few going over the continental divide to the Atlantic or Caribbean Slope. They are listed as “threatened” and are decreasing in numbers because of habitat loss, but not listed as “endangered” yet like the Great Green Macaw which lives only on the Caribbean Slope. There are Ara Projects for both species working to save them in the wild. In Limón Province at Manzanillo there is the AraManzanillo (Green Macaw Project) and for this Scarlet Macaw there is on Nicoya Peninsula the Macaw Recovery Network which is working to preserve this beautiful parrot. Both programs use nesting boxes in the wild because there are not as many old trees left with natural holes for nests. I’ve seen these nesting boxes at both Hotel Punta Leona and at Tambor Tropical Resort. They work! with lots of macaws nesting in both places. And Maquenque Eco Lodge is adding nesting boxes and planting almond trees (favorite food of macaws). In fact, I planted one of the almond trees the last time I was there! 🙂

¡Pura Vida!

See the Day Trip Gallery: 2025 January 7 — Rio Tarcoles & Punta Leona

Posted on

Magnificent Frigatebird

Our birding boat trip on Rio Tarcoles was both in freshwater and in the brackish tidal water near the mouth of the river and of course mangroves there. Mangroves are near the mouth of all rivers and where you see lots of seabirds and many use the mangroves to birth and raise their young, just like a lot of the sea fishes. So it is a rich in nature place to photograph nature. Today I’m sharing the biggest bird we saw, the Magnificent Frigatebird, Frigata magnificens (linked to eBird) and you can see my photos from 7 different sightings since coming to Costa Rica at my Magnificent Frigatebird GALLERY. Here’s four shots from this sighting . . .

Mature Male Frigatebird (red throat pouch), Tarcoles, Costa Rica
Continue reading “Magnificent Frigatebird”
Posted on

Monkeys at Playa Mantas

I’m still working on my hundreds of photos of birds photographed on Rio Tarcoles Monday, so I will start with one of the last things we saw, a Troop of White-faced Capuchin Monkeys among the trees along Mantas Beach (Playa Mantas), which I first visited while staying at Hotel Punta Leona in March of 2019. The beach photo below was made then. 🙂 The hotel and resort development owns most of the land but the government says beaches cannot be private, so Walter took us to a little trail at the end of one street in the village of Punta Leona to get here, mainly for the monkeys and sloths. I did not get a sloth photo this time, but some of my Canadian friends did. To see more of these monkey photos, go to what will become a sub-gallery of this Trip Gallery: Playa Mantas Monkeys 2025 or if you want more, see my capuchins from all over CR in gallery: White-faced Capuchin Monkeys.

White-faced Capuchin Monkey, Playa Mantas, Punta Leona, Costa Rica
Continue reading “Monkeys at Playa Mantas”