4 “Smaller” Birds at Arenal

With 4 birds in today’s post and 4 more tomorrow I will have shared all that I got useable photos of on the Christmas trip. And no, I got no “lifers” or first-time seen birds on this trip, but that is expected when you have photos of more than 359 species of birds in Costa Rica!  It’s getting harder to find a new species!  🙂

Chestnut-sided Warbler, Arenal Observatory Lodge, Costa Rica

Continue reading “4 “Smaller” Birds at Arenal”

Celeste Mountain Lodge, Flowers, Insects

A “Catch All” post except for Rainforest Trail I’ll share tomorrow.

Each night many came early for dinner to visit & use the wifi.
In addition to this dining room there was a lounge area below, all open-air,
simple, rustic, and ecologically sound structurally.

After breakfast with friends from France, Italy, & New York City.

Hercules Beetle
Celeste Mountain Lodge, Bijagua, Costa Rica

Hercules Beetle
Celeste Mountain Lodge, Bijagua, Costa Rica

Chestnut-sided Warbler with Caught Insect in Rain
Celeste Mountain Lodge, Bijagua, Costa Rica
I did not include this photo with the other birds at the lodge. 

Heliconia
Celeste Mountain Lodge, Bijagua, Costa Rica

Heliconia
Celeste Mountain Lodge, Bijagua, Costa Rica

Heliconia
Celeste Mountain Lodge, Bijagua, Costa Rica

Hibiscus
Celeste Mountain Lodge, Bijagua, Costa Rica
Heliconia
Celeste Mountain Lodge, Bijagua, Costa Rica

The real highlight was the Birds at Celeste Mountain Lodge, link to earlier post
Or you might want to see the lodge’s website for more about their services, great food, etc.

Tomorrow I share the last of my trip to Bijagua, “The Celeste Mountain Lodge Rainforest Trail.”

For more photos of Costa Rica, see my gallery called Charlie Doggett’s COSTA RICA

Thrushes, Warblers & Swallows at Sarapiquí

Clay-colored Thrush or Yigüirro
Selva Verde Lodge Sarapiquí, Chilamate, Costa Rica
The national bird of Costa Rica

Wood Thrush (possibly Swainson’s or Gray-cheeked)
Selva Verde Lodge Sarapiquí, Chilamate, Costa Rica

Buff-rumped Warbler
Selva Verde Lodge Sarapiquí, Chilamate, Costa Rica

Chestnut-sided Warbler
Selva Verde Lodge Sarapiquí, Chilamate, Costa Rica

Southern Rough-winged Swallow
Puerto Viejo & Sarapiquí Rivers, Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí, Costa Rica

Mangrove Swallows
Puerto Viejo & Sarapiquí Rivers, Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí, Costa Rica

See also my Photo Gallery of Costa Rica Birds

More Birds from Rancho Naturalista

 NAME CORRECTION
Chestnut-headed Oropendola
The other day I mistakenly called it a “Crested Oropendola,” which does not
appear in this part of Costa Rica, only a few near Panama border in SW
I’ve not seen this in Atenas, only the Montezuma Oropendola, a favorite!
This one photographed at Rancho Naturalista, Tuis, Costa Rica

The following photos were made at CATIE campus near Turrialba, an agronomic program for research and education for all of Latin America farmers, headquartered in Costa Rica with a campus Trip Advisor reviews if planning to go. Cost is now $10 per visitor. It helped to have a good birding guide because he sees things I often miss! There were a lot of small forest birds I could not photograph because of light, distance and small size of birds. But some of the ones I got below are “first-timers” for me and that is good as my bird collection grows.
here and one in San Jose.  My guide at Rancho Naturalista, Harry, took 3 of us here for the morning of the 7th of Dec. It is a good birding place with a big pond or small lake and a Botanical Gardens with tropical plants from all over Latin America. This terrain is different than the lodge and has lots of possibilities. See the

Tropical Kingbird
Too big for gray-capped or boat-bill flycatchers I believe.
All three are colored the same and sometimes difficult to ID.
CATIE Campus, Turrialba, Costa Rica

Northern Jacana, second in number only to egrets at the pond.
CATIE Campus, Turrialba, Costa Rica

White-ringed Flycatcher, my first photo
Like the Social Flycatcher except white on head makes a circle (ring)
CATIE Campus, Turrialba, Costa Rica

Prothonotary Warbler, my first photo.
CATIE Campus, Turrialba, Costa Rica
Keel-billed Toucan, always from a distance,
Not easy for me to photograph.
CATIE Campus, Turrialba, Costa Rica

Chestnut-sided Warbler, which I photographed again at lodge better
This trip is my first time to photo this bird and twice at that!  🙂
CATIE Campus, Turrialba, Costa Rica

Chestnut-backed Antbird, not great photo but my first!
CATIE Campus, Turrialba, Costa Rica
Common Tody-flycatcher, another 1st photo – A good day!  🙂
CATIE Campus, Turrialba, Costa Rica

Muscovy Duck, who we later observed mating  🙂
CATIE Campus, Turrialba, Costa Rica
Great-tailed Grackle, female, common all over Costa Rica
CATIE Campus, Turrialba, Costa Rica

Baby Great Egrets, as this pond is a rookery for the Great Egret
Though fluffy & black-billed like Snowy Egret, they are not!
Note Mom’s black foot to left of baby head. Snowy’s have yellow feet.
CATIE Campus, Turrialba, Costa Rica
Hoffman’s Woodpecker
CATIE Campus, Turrialba, Costa Rica


I value my garden more for being full of blackbirds than of cherries, and very frankly give them fruit for their songs.  ~Joseph Addison, The Spectator, 1712