Or most online sites say “relatively rare” but vary in the reasons from being very healthy or the “right amount of sun” to being stressed or root bound. Not sure why my snake plant in the frog pot on the terrace is blooming, but it is, and I thought a first for me, but after loading this I find my 2017 blog post with another one blooming. I had forgotten! 🙂
This older and much larger Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, Amazilia tzacatl (my gallery link) was visiting a couple of days ago and has not been back. I think that the smaller and younger one is chasing all other hummingbirds away as if he owns the place. The Blue-vented I had here earlier last month has not returned either. I filled the feeders again, hoping if would attract others, but maybe not with a little boss bird around. 🙂
Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa RicaRufous-tailed Hummingbird, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
My Costa Rican gardener has always called this flowering shrub “Once de Abril” as a local name honoring our one war hero who fought off the North American Rebels trying to turn Central America into another slave state in the 1800’s. Thanks to Google Lens & iNaturalist, I’ve discovered that it is “officially” . . .
Duranta erecta, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Scientific Name = Duranta erecta
Common Names in English
Golden Dewdrop
Pigeon Berry
Skyflower
Nombres comunes en español
Coralillo (iNaturalist CR)
Tala blanco (en Argentina)
Flor celeste
Fruta de iguana (I like this because my iguanas eat those yellow berries) 🙂
So there you have it for all the “official” names I could find! 🙂 Which like pretty much everything in nature, the only sure name is the scientific name and sometimes even that changes! 🙂
This colorful, purpleish, dove-like bird is not as common in my garden as the White-winged Dove, but I like him just as much! He is the Red-billed Pigeon, Patagioenas flavirostris (linked to eBird) and found only from Costa Rica to Mexico. Just one more of the many birds unique to this part of the world! The best place to go birding! 🙂
I used to see a lot more of these but that was back when I saw a lot more of all birds than now. It is the Yellow Warbler, Setophaga petechia (eBird link) which is found in all of the lowlands of Costa Rica but be aware that some books are now separating the American Yellow Warbler (Setophaga aestiva) and the Mangrove Warbler (Setophaga petechia) which is the one that is a resident of Costa Rica while the American are migrants from the north and also here. The Mangrove Warbler is best known to birders as the one whose male has a chestnut red head. The females seem to be identical. You can see both in my Gallery of Yellow Warblers. And eBird has kept them together as I do in my gallery. Here’s 3 shots from my garden . . .
And this featured photo is of a Natal Lily or Bush Lily – Clivia miniata that I have seen at only one other lodge, Playa Cativo in Puntarenas Province. Xandari has different flowers blooming every month, so you can expect different ones if you go at different times of the year. For this December trip my Xandari ’24 FLOWERS Gallery has photos of more than 30 species! Enjoy! And it is the first sub-gallery I have completed for this latest “Trip Gallery” that I will announce when finished. The Butterflies’ identifications are slowing me down this time! 🙂
Natal Lily or Bush Lily – Clivia miniata , Xandari Resort, Tacacori, Alajuela, Costa Rica
¡Pura Vida!
And if you like flowers, check out all mine in the Flora & Forest Galleries. where there is a big gallery for just Xandari!
Flash News!
I finished the entire “Christmas at Xandari” GALLERY last night, so all my photos from this little 2-day retreat are ready to view! Click that link!
CLICK this image of first page to go to the gallery.
This Yellow-patched Satyr or Starred Oxeo, Oxeoschistus tauropolis (my gallery link) is not one often reported on the scientific websites, and though I’ve seen it three times now, it was always in the same place! 🙂 This one on Christmas Day 2024, again at Xandari Resort which has always been one of my better butterfly locations.
Yellow-patched Satyr or Starred Oxeo, Oxeoschistus tauropolis, Xandari Resort, Tacacori, Alajuela, Costa RicaYellow-patched Satyr or Starred Oxeo, Oxeoschistus tauropolis, Xandari Resort, Tacacori, Alajuela, Costa RicaYellow-patched Satyr or Starred Oxeo, Oxeoschistus tauropolis, Xandari Resort, Tacacori, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Yes, on Christmas Eve, in the tree by my terrace at Xandari, I photographed another new species for me! This Philadelphia Vireo, Vireo philadelphicus(linked to eBird) was identified by the Merlin app from eBird and is probably a non-breeding immigrant from Canada who passed through Philadelphia on his/her way to Costa Rica. 🙂
Philadelphia Vireo, Xandari Resort, Tacacori, Alajuela, Costa RicaPhiladelphia Vireo, Xandari Resort, Tacacori, Alajuela, Costa RicaPhiladelphia Vireo, Xandari Resort, Tacacori, Alajuela, Costa Rica
¡Pura Vida!
Other Vireos, for you birders reading, that I’ve collected in Costa Rica linked to my photo galleries of each:
I remember seeing this bird on my first trip to Costa Rica back in 2009, down on the southern end of Osa Peninsula near Corcovado NP at Lookout Inn, Carata. He’s a handsome bird without the extravagant colors of many tropical birds. And now he’s a regular in my garden! 🙂 See more photos in my gallery for the Tropical Kingbird, Tyrannus melancholicus from literally all over Costa Rica and that first I saw is at the bottom of the gallery. 🙂
