Category: People

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Birds of a feather? Flock together?

Well, in this case, two totally different “feathers” are flocking together or at least sharing the same tree in a neighbor’s yard on a hill above me. First time I have seen the Keel-billed Toucan and the Gray-headed Chachalaca sharing a perch tree. (Names are linked to my galleries of each species.)

My landlord “K” texted me to say he looked down (his house is above mine on the same hill) to tell me that there were two toucans in my Cecropia Tree. I went out with my camera and as I looked up the last one of the two flew off. But fortunately both flew up a different hill into someone else’s tree which they shared with a Gray-headed Chachalaca. 🙂

And thanks to my telephoto lens I managed to get this shot of friendly neighbors of different species about a hundred yards away! 🙂 Maybe it’s an object lesson for us humans! 🙂

Two Keel-billed Toucans and a Gray-headed Chachalaca, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

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Giant Butterfly Moth

I’ve seen this large daytime moth several times in my garden & house and the only other place was at Esquinas Rainforest Lodge near Golfito on the Pacific Coast. The other day I saw two, one on my Cecropia Tree and another injured one hiding among plants in my garden. When not wanting to be seen, they are this plain beigey brown color with off-white spots and bars. But when they fly or lift their forward wings, the hindwings are a bright orange and white. You can see this from earlier sightings in my GALLERY: Giant Butterfly Moth, Castniomera atymnius (linked to the gallery). Just two shots here from this November sighting.

Giant Butterfly Moth, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Giant Butterfly Moth on Cecropia Tree trunk, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

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Gray-headed Chachalaca

Regular noisy visitors all around my house that I haven’t been trying to photograph much recently. Interesting chicken-sized “chatterboxes.” 🙂 The Gray-headed Chachalaca, Ortalis cinereiceps (linked to my gallery). Here he is in my slowly dying Cecropia Tree that I will replace in another year or so.

Gray-headed Chachalaca, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

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You ask me why I dwell in the green mountain

The green mountains of Atenas, Costa Rica seen from my terrace.

You ask me why I dwell in the green mountain;

I smile and make no reply for my heart is free of care.

As the peach-blossom flows downstream and is gone into the unknown,

I have a world apart that is not among men.

~Li Bai, 8th Century Chinese Poet

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That is sort of my response to the U.S. election and what has been going on there for many years now. And as I finish my life retired in Costa Rica, I will continue, as long as able, to photograph and write about birds, butterflies and flowers! 🙂

The photo is of the green hills of Atenas, Costa Rica as seen from my terrace at breakfast.

¡Pura Vida!

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Large Orange Sulphur

Another new species for me in my gardens during October was the Large Orange Sulphur, Phoebis agarithe. My collection is growing with over 300 species now!

Large Orange Sulphur, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

A Day with Friends Starting the Caravan Tour of CR

Gary & Kenna Eatons, friends from my Nashville days, began their tour of Costa Rica with Caravan Tours yesterday coming a day early for a tour of two great museums Sunday in San Jose led my me and my driver/guide Walter, who took his selfie here with our group in front of the National Museum (the yellow building). The other couple, the Huskey’s, are friends of the Eaton’s, also from Nashville. And I took a few other cell phone photos in a gallery: Two Museums Tour.

When their tour ends next Sunday morning, Walter & I will take them on an art museum tour before taking the Huskey’s to the airport and bringing the Eaton’s to Atenas for an extended visit of Costa Rica with me and Walter. 🙂

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Whirlabout

I love the name of this butterfly, which is maybe descriptive of all butterflies! 🙂 The Whirlabout, Polites Vibex (my gallery link) is a plain light orange skipper when his wings are folded, but open like in this photo on a Zinnia, he is a colorful bright orange. He is seen in the SE U.S. south through the West Indies and Central America down to Argentina.

Whirlabout, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

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The Little Zinnia Patch

My landlord “K” has really brightened his other properties with Zinnia flower beds and thus hundreds of butterflies for his tenants, especially in his two AirBNB short-term rentals where tourists and short-term visitors will be thrilled with the butterflies. Then he recently had his gardener plant a little patch along our driveway next to my upper garden of Porterweeds. So now I have two different major attractions for butterflies. Here’s just one shot with a slide show online including some shots with butterflies on them! 🙂 And one with a ladybug! 🙂

My Little Zinnia Patch!
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Brazilian Skipper

I saw this simple little guy with his distinctive three squarish spots two or three times in October and here’s just two of the photos with more to be seen in my Brazilian Skipper Gallery. As the butterfly season slows down here (peak time for me is May-September) I am seeing less of the more colorful butterflies and many more of the skippers. I just roughly counted more than 20 species of skippers photographed in October this year! And around 4 or 5 were new species for me! This one was not new but is a nice little Skipper that is also seen in a good portion of the states.

Brazilian Skipper, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
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Spiders . . .

. . . are almost no one’s favorite wildlife, even though they are an important part of ecology and eliminate other less desirable insects. I try to photograph many of them that I see at home and when traveling which can be seen in my Spider Gallery of photos. Here’s two of the lastest seen at my house, one inside and one outside . . .

Genus Kiekie Spider, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Golden Orbweaver Spider, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!