charliedoggett.net
Seen in my garden before, another big brown, fuzzy Skipper that at times seem like the majority of the butterflies! 🙂 I’ve had this one in my garden one other time, back in 2023 as shown in my gallery: Wind’s Skipper, Windia windi. (Linked to the gallery.)
One of the old regulars in my garden seems to always make a good picture, the Great Kiskadee, Pitangus sulphuratus (my gallery link) and is almost always here! Found from Mexico to South America. Here’s one on the powerline.
¡Pura Vida!
This is one of those that are almost impossible to identify with no matches in any of my sources of those spots and other characteristics. The AI called Google Lens is for the entire world and on difficult individuals like this one, they might call it a butterfly that lives only in Asia or Africa, so not as helpful on ones like this as they are on very unique and unusual insects they can find another photo of. So far, iNaturalista’s AI is the most helpful on butterflies, but not always. In the case of this one, as far as they will go in identification is to put it in the Hesperini Tribe which is pretty broad or general. As I write this, I haven’t yet posted these photos on iNaturalist yet. But when I do there is a real possibility that one of the experts who have devoted their lives to butterflies will have an identification, but not always. Here’s three photos of this Skipper Butterfly that I cannot ID:
And the most common hummingbird in my garden is this Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, Amazilia tzacatl (my gallery link). Fairly common from Mexico to northern South America at multiple altitudes.
¡Pura Vida!
There are a lot of these around my garden as you can see in the gallery: Dorantes Longtail, Cecropterus dorantes.
¡Pura Vida!
Looking over the meadow across from my house where he will feed, this male has a black band across his back which is the shadow of another powerline above him. 🙂 I’ve seen both male & female of these all over Costa Rica as shown in my gallery at: Blue-black Grassquit, Volatinia jacarina, including that first trip to Costa Rica while at Carate on the Osa Peninsula in 2009. Note that he is similar to the Blue-black Grosbeak I recently shared a photo of, but smaller. Both feed on the grasses (seeds).
¡Pura Vida!
I think it is most likely the Telemiades nicomedes, but not sure, so giving it the genus name. iNaturalist uses the genus name a lot as you can see on this Genus Telemiades page of iNaturalist Costa Rica.
¡Pura Vida!
Is still coming around in September and I’m glad! I think he is one of the most elegant of the birds here!
See my gallery: Lesson’s Motmot, Momotus lessonii
¡Pura Vida!
And like with most of the young everywhere it seems, the grass appears greener on the other side of the fence! 🙂
¡Pura Vida!
This is another new species for me! And I keep finding them in my own garden! The Common Mylon – Mylon maimon (linked to Wikipedia) is found from Mexico to Argentina. One of the many Skippers. And on iNaturalist Costa Rica my observation is only the 13th in Costa Rica and I’m only the 10th person to report seeing one. But one of those others has the best photos I’ve seen and on his own website: Dr. Heiner Ziegler, MD (Switzerland). Costa Rica attracts nature lovers from all around the world!
