Category: Places

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Last Night in Nicaragua – Tired & Just One Photo

I’m exhausted from 6 days in the jungle with no internet or much electricity, seeing and photographing more birds than I expected for an absolutely wonderful week! I’m in Managua tonight (Tuesday) and fly back to San Jose in the morning. Expect a lot of Nicaragua photos during the next couple of weeks! 🙂

Crimson-collared Tanager, El Jaguar Reserva, Nicaragua  (Standing on a coffee plant!)

This is my favorite shot of the whole 8 days in Nicaragua and totally untouched or cropped! Straight out of the camera. As we walked along one side of a coffee field we stopped to see a smaller bird across the way in a tree. This guy flew down and landed about 7 feet from me on this coffee plant. A true blessing! And I’ve now fallen in love with another Central American country!  🙂

J.M. Barrie

“The reason birds can fly and we can’t is simply because they have perfect faith, for to have faith is to have wings.”
― J.M. Barrie, The Little White Bird
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Too Much Seen to Report it All!

Today’s Volcano Mombucho has many more photos but I’m settling for the orchid growing near the top! Yesterday’s boating trip had about 20 different species of birds photographed and I’m settling on just the Limpkin, my first to see or photograph in the wild! Plus one of the monkeys we saw on an island. And at dinner tonight more Holy Week pageantry. Tomorrow after breakfast I leave on my birding tour, so in the rainforests the next 6 days. And MAY NOT HAVE INTERNET MUCH OF THE NEXT WEEK.

Orchid growing wild on Volcan Mombucho
Limpkin camouflaged in tree on Lake Nicaragua
Monkey eating apple on an island in Lake Nicaragua
Tonight’s Semana Santa pageantry in addition to a carnival at the church.
Again with the large volunteer brass band playing and parading with the above through streets.

It’s an awesome place!
Nicaragua!

Nuestras experiencias más encantadoras son las más breves; es mejor que no sean comunes . . .
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Nature Air Travel to Nicaragua

View of Cathedral from Iglesia La Merced bell tower across from my hotel
I immediately got into the colonial beauty of this old town.
My Nature Air plane for 11 of us from San Jose to Managua
Views from a small plane are spectacular! Farms, mountains and Lake Nicaragua.

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First Night in Granada is Memorable!

La Merced Church is across the street from my Hotel La Merced and I watched this during my open air dinner,
Semana Santa (Holy Week) has pageantry several days and I’m thankful to begin my tour of Nicaragua with this!

From Wikipedia: 

A common feature in Spain is the almost general usage of the nazareno or penitential robe for some of the participants in the processions. This garment consists in a tunic, a hood with conical tip (capirote) used to conceal the face of the wearer, and sometimes a cloak. The exact colors and forms of these robes depend on the particular procession. The robes were widely used in the medieval period for penitents, who could demonstrate their penance while still masking their identity. These nazarenos carry processional candles or rough-hewn wooden crosses, may walk the city streets barefoot, and, in some places may carry shackles and chains on their feet as penance. In some areas, sections of the participants wear dress freely inspired by the uniforms of the Roman Legion.[1]

I will share more about the trip and other activities tomorrow. 

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Night Hike Shots

Sorry, I meant to post this last night before I left for Nicaragua. The last post from Monteverde.

Sleeping Brown Jay
Monteverde, Costa Rica

Sleeping Orange-bellied Trogon
Monteverde, Costa Rica
Sleeping Keel-billed Toucan
Monteverde, Costa Rica

Sleeping Skipper Butterfly
Monteverde, Costa Rica
A Strange Cloud Forest Fruit Eaten Only by Bats
Monteverde, Costa Rica

It Was Dark! Night Hike!
Monteverde, Costa Rica

We saw many other creatures that I could not get usable photos of, like a Margay cat, two snakes, army ants, leaf-cutter ants, other insects, and some other birds including a spectacled owl.

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Other INSECTS at Monteverde

Golden Orb Spider

Monteverde Butterfly Garden, Costa Rica

 

Unknown Insect

Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, Costa Rica
At the entrance buildings

 

Walking-Leaf Katydid

Monteverde Butterfly Garden, Costa Rica

 

Walking-Stick Insect

Monteverde Butterfly Garden, Costa Rica

 

Unknown Insect

Monteverde Butterfly Garden, Costa Rica

 

Leaf Cutter Ants

Monteverde Butterfly Garden, Costa Rica

 

Butterfly Caterpillars in the Rainforest

Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, Monteverde, Costa Rica

There were of course many more insects seen and not photographed. Costa Rica has one of the largest selection of insect species in the world, more than all of the U.S. and Canada combined and yet it is the size of the state of West Virginia.

My Other Insects of Costa Rica  PHOTO GALLERY     OR   Costa Rica Butterflies

And I just finished the Monteverde Birding Club Trip 2016 TRIP PHOTO GALLERY

If we were to wipe out insects alone on this planet, the rest of life and humanity with it would mostly disappear from the land. Within a few months.    ~E. O. Wilson
Land of Great Species Diversity

 

 

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10 Things the USA Could Learn from Costa Rica

Here’s a neat little blog article by a younger writer, Joe Baur:

10 Things the USA Could Learn from Costa Rica  (click title to read)

Pura Vida!

And he didn’t even mention that we have no army and get along with all our neighbors and all other countries in the world. And no Republican Party! Though sorry to say there’s politics here, just not as evil as the states’.  🙂  But we will stick with a young writer’s ten reasons for now!

They are also just 10 of the many reasons I came to Costa Rica and expect to stay here the rest of my life! I have many other reasons like the natural world, etc. . . .

Anyway! Enjoy!

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Hummingbirds at Monteverde

Green-crowned Brilliant
Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, Costa Rica

Stripe-tailed Hummingbird
Curi-Cancha Reserve, Monteverde, Costa Rica

Stripe-tailed Hummingbird
Curi-Cancha Reserve, Monteverde, Costa Rica

Green Violetear Hummingbird
Curi Cancha Reserve, Monteverde, Costa Rica

Violet Sabrewing Hummingbird
Selvatura Adventure Park, Monteverde, Costa Rica

Purple-Throated Mountain-Gem Female
Selvatura Adventure Park, Monteverde, Costa Rica
Purple-Throated Mountain-Gem Male
Selvatura Adventure Park, Monteverde, Costa Rica

Hummingbirds are difficult to photograph and for me sometimes more difficult to identify (why they are the last birds I’m sharing), so I’m proud of these photos and three represent new species for my photo collection. Of course we saw many more species, especially on the trail in the wild, but too difficult to photograph.

For more bird photos see my Costa Rica Birds Photo Gallery, 169 species & 26 are hummingbirds!


 “Time passes too fast. Like a hummingbird flying by, it’s just a blur to my eyes.”
~Amanda Leigh

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A few of the BUTTERFLIES at Monteverde

Isabella Tiger

Monteverde Butterfly Garden, Monteverde, Costa Rica
Owl Butterfly

Monteverde Butterfly Garden, Monteverde, Costa Rica
Malachite Butterfly

Monteverde Butterfly Garden, Monteverde, Costa Rica

Bluewing or Blue-Banded Purplewing

Monteverde Butterfly Garden, Monteverde, Costa Rica

Colubura Dirce

Monteverde Butterfly Garden, Monteverde, Costa Rica
Thoas Swallowtail

Monteverde Butterfly Garden, Monteverde, Costa Rica

Postman

Monteverde Butterfly Garden, Monteverde, Costa Rica

Heliconius Sara

Monteverde Butterfly Garden, Monteverde, Costa Rica
Blue Morpho Butterfly on Charlie Doggett

Selvatura Park, Monteverde, Costa Rica

Heliconius Hecale Zuleika

Selvatura Park, Monteverde, Costa Rica

The Selvatura Adventure Park Butterfly House was bigger and fancier and maybe landscaped better or prettier but did not have as many species as the smaller, family-run Monteverde Butterfly Garden which also had a more lively insect exhibit, again not as big, but with more live insects shown up close by one of the owners. If you can go to only one of the butterfly gardens, I would recommend Monteverde. Plus if you go hiking in the Cloud Forest Reserve or Curi-Cancha you will see lots of butterflies in the wild.

Happiness is like a butterfly: the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder.
-Henry David Thoreau
My Costa Rica Butterflies PHOTO GALLERY

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Some Small Birds from Monteverde Trip

Slaty-Backed Nightingale-Thrush Juvenile 
Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, Costa Rica
Cute?

Slaty-Backed Nightingale-Thrush Adult 
Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, Costa Rica
Both under a picnic table at park entrance. Could be Mom of above.

Yellowish Flycatcher

Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, Costa Rica
Sooty Thrush

Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, Costa Rica

Rufous-collared Sparrow

Curi-Cancha Reserve, Monteverde, Costa Rica
Slate-throated Redstart

Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, Costa Rica
My earlier posts had the more exciting birds like the  3-wattled Bellbird,  Emerald Toucanet,  Brown Jay with two Elegant Euphonias,  and Black Guan. And after the insects, I may do a post on the Night Hike which included several sleeping birds, just not real good photos, so we will see. And eventually I’ll post the new Hummingbirds gotten on this trip which are always slower for me to label.
And don’t forget that I have a large Costa Rica Birds PHOTO GALLERY with 165 species now. Making photos of the birds here is my main hobby and passion. 
You think birds watch people?