Category: Atenas

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Perched Like a King!

This Tropical Kingbird, Tyrannus melancholicus (linked to eBird) is perched proudly on the powerline cable in front of my house like so many do. He is common in both South America and Central America and one of the many little joys of living in Costa Rica! 🙂 See more of my photos in the gallery titled Tropical Kingbird — Tirano Tropical with that second name being the Spanish name for this bird along with the unofficial local common name of “Pecho amarillo.” 🙂

Tropical Kingbird, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

Hope you’re happy America!

UPDATED Monday, 8:33am after reading similar, more detailed article in the Washington Post:

Another one of your deportee planes just landed in Costa Rica’s San Jose Airport with 135 Refugees (Tico Times link) after a 4 hour flight from California, they faced an 8 hour bus ride to a migrant camp near the Panama border (Darien Gap). That included 65 minors and several senior adults & 2 pregnant women. All will be cared for lovingly by the Costa Rica people and helped to get to either their birth country or, because many can’t go back, will be helped to residency in another accepting country like Costa Rica. The refugees are from all over the world including Asia who are being sent here and to Panama, two countries who agreed to be intermediary locations for persons forced out of the U.S. The same day these 135 came here, 300 arrived in Panama. The richest country in the world kicks out people it doesn’t want and lets other, poorer countries like Costa Rica & Panama take care of them. Hmmmmmmm. While at the same time talking about taking over the Panama Canal. You guys really chose Trump as your president?

The U.S.A. kicks out its refugees & immigrants. Some here have landed in Costa Rica for help. –Photo taken from Tico Times was made by Patricio Bianchi/AFP/Getty Images.

I guess those Republican Evangelicals have forgotten what the Bible says about accepting refugees and migrants. So sad! And it is also sad to watch from a distance as Trump (“Perched like a king!”) and his evil cohorts (the Republican Party & Rich People) destroy my birth country. But I guess we will all eventually get used to China & Russia as the new world leaders.

🙁

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Hermes Satyr

This has been one of the most common butterflies in my garden and maybe they are starting to return early! 🙂 For at least two years I called it a Carolina Satyr, which most sources say appears only in the Eastern U.S. while from Mexico south the almost identical butterfly is the Hermes Satyr and I have yet to learn the difference in the two, other than their locale. I expect to see a lot more in the coming months. See more of my photos of this beautiful work of “brown art” in my Gallery Hermes Satyr.

Hermes Satyr, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

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Visitor from Baltimore – The Oriole!

Possibly a migrant, this Baltimore Oriole, Icterus galbula (linked to eBird) was in and out of several trees in my garden Sunday. We do have some resident Baltimore Orioles here, just like some of us humans from up north! 🙂 But this time of year they are likely to be migrants. And I’m still amazed at how far birds fly!

Baltimore Oriole, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

See also my Baltimore Oriole Gallery for more photos of this northerner made in many places all over Costa Rica! And you might also be interested in some of his relatives who are also down here . . .

  • Black-cowled Oriole (Gallery)
  • Orchard Oriole (Gallery)
  • And there are 3 other species of Orioles in Costa Rica that I have no photos of. 🙂 They are: Streak-backed Oriole, Spot-breasted Oriole, and Yellow-tailed Oriole. Orioles are in a bigger family that includes Blackbirds.

¡Pura Vida!

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Rare “Pale Sailor” Butterfly

This sailor (one of several “sailor” species) has been seen in my garden before and one other place in Atenas (8th Ave) plus my last previous sighting was in Cahuita National Park in Caribe Sur last October. See all my photos of this species in its own gallery: Pale Sailor, Dynamine agacles core. And yes, it seems to be a little rare with only one other person posting on butterfliesandmoths dot org and only 6 people on iNaturalist Costa Rica. So not an everyday butterfly! 🙂

Here’s three shots of one last Saturday in my garden . . .

Pale Sailor, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Continue reading “Rare “Pale Sailor” Butterfly”
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Simple Beauty

I continue to photograph dying palm fronds and other leaves because, to me, there is a different and simple beauty in each one, kind of like people! 🙂 And the colors vary greatly from bright yellows and oranges to rusty browns or coffee colors, and yes, even almost black sometimes. Then there is the overall shape of a frond, slightly different with each species of palms and the multiple lines and shapes that each frond forms. Oh well, I guess “Simple Beauty” says it best! 🙂 Enjoy!

Dying Palm Frond, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

And of course I have a gallery of Leaves & Nature Thing! 🙂

¡Pura Vida!

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Tropical Greenstreak

This one is one of about 30 different green-colored Hairstreak butterflies in my main book, but has several characteristics that make him different from the others. And yes, I had one about a month ago, but since there are not a lot of butterflies now (and even fewer birds), I’m sharing this find in my garden the other day. I’ve had this one several times over the last year, as shown in the GALLERY Tropical Greenstreak, Cyanophrys herodtus.

Tropical Greenstreak, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Continue reading “Tropical Greenstreak”
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Mango Tree Flowers

In a neighbor’s garden, snapped with my telephoto lens from my own driveway. In a tropical place like Costa Rica I seem to find something new and wonderful to photograph every few days, even while standing in my own garden! 🙂 I love it here!

Mango Tree Flower, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

Mango, Mangifera indica (linked to a Wikipedia article)

Or perhaps you would enjoy my “Trees” GALLERY which I just noticed has had 3,000 views since February 2022, in just 2 years! Seems that someone else likes trees too! 🙂

“The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.” – Nelson Henderson

¡Pura Vida!

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Tiny Damselfly . . .

. . . maybe in the genus Argia (says iNaturalist’s computer), though I cannot find a match in the book Dragonflies and Damselflies of Costa Rica nor online in iNaturalist. None seem to have those bright (yellow-gold) spots on wings nor the orangey body color, so I am again stumped on an ID. 🙂 Here’s two different-looking photos of the same individual.

Unidentified Damselfly, maybe Argia genus, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Unidentified Damselfly, maybe Argia genus, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

See my Costa Rica Dragonflies & Damselflies GALLERY for many other species (50+) I’ve collected in Costa Rica. Another amazing category of wildlife in Costa Rica!

¡Pura Vida!

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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!”

🙂

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Owl-Butterfly at Hummingbird Feeder

Wednesday morning just before 6 am I went out on the terrace to open the gate for my maid an saw this unusual sight, a Pale or Yellow-fronted Owl-Butterfly, Caligo telamonius (linked to my gallery) eating from the Hummingbird feeder. Got my camera and a few shots before he flew away! 🙂 The sun was coming up behind some clouds, so not a lot of light, thus the photo below with fast shutter speed in the dim light is not very sharp and has a glare, while the feature photo at top of post was made with the flash turned on and I think it’s a better photo. I don’t remember ever seeing a butterfly at a hummingbird feeder before, but then there are a lot of things I don’t remember! 🙂

Pale or Yellow-fronted Owl-Butterfly, Atenas, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!