Three shots and three different impressions of what a Polydamas Swallowtail, Battus polydamas “looks like” in three photos from my garden below, plus you can see more in my Polydamas Swallowtail Gallery.
One Street’s “Tree Tunnel”
I love these! And there’s actually more than one place in Atenas where a tree spreads over the street like this, forming a “tree tunnel” that cars drive through and I walk through. There would probably be more if the power company wasn’t tree-trimming along most streets in town regularly. Here the tree is actually growing in the street and power lines are over the sidewalk and you can see that the sidewalk side of the tree has been trimmed and it looks like it is about time again! 🙂
Though not all of my photos, I do have an Atenas Gallery, a collection of things & places here, or for pix of people and activities here see my PEOPLE, FIESTAS & ARTS Costa Rica collection of galleries which is mostly from Atenas.
And in case you are wondering, “Pueblo Atenas” and its county called “Canton Atenas” is in the Central Valley of Costa Rica about an hour and a half from the Capital, San Jose. It is a coffee and sugar cane farming town of about 8,000 people while the canton has 25,000, thus many more live away from the main town. A lot of expats from the United States, Canada and Europe live here, more in the canton than the town. Rich Americans have built big luxurious homes out in the country nearby and do grocery shopping in town or other nearby supermarkets and big box stores around Alajuela and in other suburbs this side of San Jose. Because I have no car and walk most places, I prefer to live in town. 🙂
¡Pura Vida!
Unidentified Tiny Tan
And maybe that would be a good name for this one, “Tiny Tan.” 🙂 And for you butterfly specialists, it almost has the tail of a hairstreak but not the lines or colors and thus is probably one of the enumerable Skippers! But I could not find this one in my book! Here’s 3 photos of one in my garden the other day . . .
Dina Yellow is Very Yellow!
One of the common butterflies here is the Dina Yellow, Pyrisitia dina, which I have featured more than once in the past, but still an enjoyable butterfly to share. Here’s 3 shots from my garden the other day . . .
Tropical Buckeye
This has always been one of my favorite butterflies, even in the states with a slightly different version, seen a lot when in Florida. Here’s two shots of one in my garden the other day . . .
See my Tropical Buckeye Gallery for more photos of this colorful guy! And note that in earlier years here I called it the “West Indian Buckeye” and I was wrong then. All I have seen here are the “Tropical” and theoretically we may have some “Mangrove Buckeye” here, though I’ve not seen one yet. Probably down along the coasts in the mangroves! 🙂
¡Pura Vida!
Whirlabout
Though that sounds like me over the last few days and in the coming days, it is actually the name of a butterfly, Whirlabout, Polites vibex, and here are two photos of one recently in my garden.
And what have I been so busy about? Well, several things . . .
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¡Pura Vida!
Fluffing the Great Tail!
Before I left on my recent Maquenque trip I caught a few shots of this male Great-tailed Grackle fluffing his tail in my Guarumo or Cecropia Tree. I thought it kind of funny, interesting and almost like art! 🙂 Here’s just 3 shots at different stages of his fluff! 🙂
Maquenque Trip Gallery Created
Finally I have all my photos for the 5 nights in April 2023 at Maquenque Eco Lodge and Reserve including the sub-galleries I’ve already shared. This was another great photo trip to one of my favorite places in Costa Rica with photos of 62 bird species (6 lifers!), 10 butterflies and more than 30 species of other animals! Plus my usual “Nature as Art” photos of everything from flowers to weird leaves and beautiful landscapes. Just this one trip gallery will show you why I am so excited about being “Retired in Costa Rica!” the name of my blog and website. Enjoy the photos! Just click this image:
Or use this address: https://charliedoggett.smugmug.com/TRIPS/2023-April-9-14-Maquenque-Ecolodge
¡Pura Vida!
10 Butterfly Species at Maquenque
Although birds are the biggest category of wildlife for me at Maquenque Ecolodge, there are a lot of other wildlife and on this April trip I photographed 10 species of butterflies with one being a Lifer or first time seen (the Glassy-winged Skipper). Below is 1 photo of each of the 10 species for those who don’t go to separate galleries. Or here’s links to the online gallery with all my butterfly photos from this trip. https://charliedoggett.smugmug.com/TRIPS/2023-April-9-14-Maquenque-Ecolodge/OTHER-ANIMALS/BUTTERFLIES
Or below see just one photo of each of the 10 species . . .