Category: Photography

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Glimpses of Poró Flowers through a Tree

From my terrace the Oró Tree across the street is hidden by my big Higueron Tree (Strangler Fig or Ficus) but when the light is right, I can see glimpses of the orange flowers through the foliage. There is another one up the hill above me that I’ve shown here before, seen more from a distance. Historically, these trees were planted on coffee farms to provide partial shade to grow better coffee beans. They flower between December and April all over Costa Rica, sprinkling the hills and forests with their bright red-orange flowers. See Google Search Photos. :-)

Poró Tree, Atenas, Costa Rica. Flowers come out before the green leaves.
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Ceraunus Blue

This tiny little butterfly was new to me in a September 2022 sighting at Hotel Banana Azul in Caribbean Costa Rica, which I saw again there and in my garden in 2023, Ceraunus Blue, Hemiargus ceraunus! I liked it so much I chose one of my garden shots for the cover of my newest butterfly book, Pura Vida Butterflies, Second Edition released last month.

Of course I also have a Ceraunus Blue GALLERY with shots from all four sightings. Now here’s what I saw the other day in my garden, with two shots, even though not as good as my earlier photos :-)  . . .

Ceraunus Blue, Atenas, Costa Rica — 
And what looks like a black/dark brown corner of the wing is actually a shadow of the leaf above him. :-)
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Yigüirro

is the locally used Spanish name for the English-named Clay-colored Thrush (Turdus grayi), the National Bird of Costa Rica, supposedly because the indigenous people believed that its beautiful songs in April brought the beginning of rainy season in May. It is mostly a Central American bird, found from South Texas to Columbia in South America. And yes! Their songs in April are beautiful! They sing their hearts out almost constantly until it starts raining, then they stop. :-)

Yigüirro or Clay-colored Thrush, Atenas, Costa Rica

See many more photos in my Clay-colored Thrush GALLERY.

¡Pura Vida!

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Cerulean Dancer Damselfly

The Cerulean Dancer Damselfly (Argia anceps), male here, is one of dozens of blue and black damselflies with this one most often confused with the Azure Dancer and the Thorn-tipped Dancer (says the book), but because of the shade of blue, the size and the wing color I am declaring this a Cerulean Dancer! :-) But to be honest, with both damsel and dragonflies, I am seldom 100% certain of the identification and I use a Costa Rica specific field guide with nearly 300 species of damselflies and dragonflies included with photos! You would think that makes it easy, but not for me! The many similarities between species makes identification a challenge for many! This one was photographed on the railing of my terrace in Atenas, Alajuela Province, Costa Rica.

Cerulean Dancer Damselfly, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

See my Dragonflies & Damselflies GALLERY with 50+ species! And many are unidentified! :-)

¡Pura Vida!

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Chachalacas Stop By!

The full name of this one is Gray-headed Chachalaca (Ortalis cinereiceps) with the only other one named “Plain Chachalaca” and it’s found only in Guanacaste (dryer NW Costa Rica). This one is a regular “chicken-sized” bird living in my neighborhood, though like other birds, I’ve been seeing fewer for a while. They always come in groups or families and “chatter” a lot, thus Ticos sometimes jokingly call a person who talks a lot “a Chachalaca!” :-)

Here’s three shots of them moving between my trees and you can see more photos in my Gray-headed Chachalaca GALLERY. I see them in many parts of Costa Rica and they are indigenous to Central America.

Gray-headed Chachalaca, Atenas, Costa Rica.
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