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These were not a particular goal for me and of course there were many others, had I spent more time at water’s edge of the beach or on any nearby stream, but here are 5 very common ones I did see, with the Cormorant being the most frequently seen this time, though not always the case. And note that all of these can be seen inland on fresh water except the pelican, though all are more frequent near the ocean or nearby mangroves and estuaries . . .
There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less, but Nature more,
From these our interviews, in which I steal
From all I may be, or have been before,
To mingle with the Universe, and feel
What I can ne’er express, yet cannot all conceal.
– Lord George Gordon Byron, 1813
9 more photos below . . .
Continue reading “There is a pleasure in the pathless woods”
Being quarantined at home with Covid means I can give more time to finishing my photos from the July trip to Maquenque Eco Lodge and I now have that “Trip Gallery” finished, which I’m pleased with. It is Costa Rica Trip #121 and I continue to feel my trip galleries are the best.
You can click on the first page below to go there or if prefered, here’s the web address: https://charliedoggett.smugmug.com/TRIPS/2024-July-4-9-Maquenque-Eco-Lodge
¡Pura Vida!
One of my favorite ducks in Costa Rica, the Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Dendrocygna autumnalis, is found where there’s a lot of water. The only place I’ve seen more than at Maquenque was at Palo Verde National Park and the Rancho Humo next door. Here’s two shots and you can see more of my efforts to photograph them in my Black-bellied Whistling Duck Gallery, or read about them on eBird. They are found in Eastern and Southern U.S. south through all of Central America and most of South America. Here’s two shots from last week with more in the above gallery.
¡Pura Vida!
While waiting on the guide to get our group together for the boat trip this morning on Rio San Carlos, I noticed someone photographing something in one of the flowerbeds in front of the dining room. I checked it out and got both front and side/back views of this Common Mexican Tree Frog because the flowerbed had a sidewalk on two sides. 🙂 Got a lot of photos on the boat trip, but these two were my favorites today! 🙂 And a new species for me too! 🙂 And notice how different his front and back are! It’s the same frog photographed on the same flower from two directions.
You can read more about this Mexican Tree Frog, (Smilisca baudinii) on Wikipedia. And to see more of my fun frog photos, including several other tree frogs, go to my Amphibians Costa Rica Galleries (50+). 🙂
¡Pura Vida!
To celebrate what will be 10 years of living in Costa Rica come December, I decided to publish a coffee table book of my favorite bird photos that turned out to be a lot! 174 photos! Each includes both the English and Spanish common names of that bird plus the location where I photographed it. Whether a birder or a lover of “Nature As Art,” I think you will like this 86 page photo book printed on premium matte paper. It might even become a collector’s item some day! 🙂 It will definitely become the book that I gift to the birding lodges I visit over the next year or two! 🙂
You can see a free electronic preview of all 86 pages by clicking the above image of the book cover or go to this web address: https://www.blurb.com/b/11961281-costa-rica-birds
¡Pura Vida!
Two were photographed at Villa Lapas and one in the Carara Park, but both are a part of the same transitional rainforest in the lowlands of Rio Tarcoles, along the Pacific Coast, just an hour’s drive from where I live in Atenas.
The Northern Waterthrush, Parkesia noveboracensis (eBird link), is a common bird found near water throughout North America, Central America and the northern portions of South America, but I’m sharing this lackluster photo because I haven’t seen very many here in Costa Rica. In my Northern Waterthrush Gallery I have photos of them from only 2 other places, the nearby Hotel Punta Leona and Maquenque Eco Lodge. Here’s one now from Hotel Villa Lapas in Tarcoles . . .
¡Pura Vida!
Sometimes it’s the little things that are usually ignored that become my biggest discoveries in nature and my Leaves & Nature Things! GALLERY has 20 of these discoveries that I found at Hotel Banana Azul and there were more such nature things I shared in the Cahuita and Gandoca-Manzanillo sub-galleries, but click the above link for Hotel Banana Azul. And here’s just one leaves shot and one mushroom! Plus email readers must click the title above to see my feature photo & favorite leaf shot! 🙂
Leaves & Nature Things! at Hotel Banana Azul.
¡Pura Vida!
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!