Tag: Egret

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Egret Haiku

Great Egret on the Tarcoles River, Costa Rica
I am now playing around with Haiku, the ancient Japanese poetry method that only describes nature. I’m a novice and your advice or opinions are welcome. I will not stick to rigid rules and prefer the more modern English approach of 2-3-2 syllables as opposed to Japanese 5-7-5, but even that will be flexible. And of course my goal is to combine Haiku creations with my nature photos. It will be fun and may or may not develop into something meaningful or continuing. Pura Vida!  🙂
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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