Lichens, Leaves & Things . . .

. . . are a part of the often unseen beauty in nature and have become a regular category of photos for me when I trek in the forest. Here’s 2 photos plus the feature at top, but you can see several more in my Lichens, Leaves & Nature Things GALLERY from the Caribe Sur this month.

Withered Cecropia Leaf
One of many lichens on rainforest trees.

¡Pura Vida!

And beyond this recent trip to Hotel Banana Azul, I have a bigger gallery of collected Leaves & Nature Things pulled from many trips and my garden that just might interest you and another of Just Fungi (lichens, mushrooms, etc.). Both are from all over Costa Rica. 🙂

Since I first wrote this I have completed the entire Trip Gallery for Hotel Banana Azul, Playa Negra, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Limón Province! 🙂

And though I could continue sharing photos from Banana Azul, I think I will stop for now and come back to photo shares from my garden in Atenas, Alajuela Province, starting tomorrow. But you can see more in the above-linked Trip Gallery. ¡Pura Vida!

Fiery Skipper

This is probably one you have seen, found in most of the Eastern and Southern U.S. all the way south to Argentina, the Fiery Skipper,  Hylephila phyleus (my gallery link). Like many butterflies, the top and folded wings views are different and distinct. Here’s a shot from the Caribe of both views, and of course the one with a bee in it made me smile! 🙂

Fiery Skipper, Hotel Banana Azul, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Limón, Costa Rica
Fiery Skipper, Hotel Banana Azul, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Limón, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

Caribe’s Polydamas Swallowtail

This swallowtail is the species of swallowtails that I see most often in my garden – and I still like it! 🙂 You can see the many that I’ve photographed in my Polydamas Swallowtail Gallery (linked). The scientific name is Battus polydamas and even though most of the other swallowtails are more colorful, he/she is striking! (Male & female are basically identical). Here’s a front view and a side view and you can see several top views in the above-linked gallery which is all black with a yellow dot row. This is my first one to photograph outside my garden. He is found from South Texas and Florida south to Argentina.

Polydamas Swallowtail, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Limó, Costa Rica
Polydamas Swallowtail, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Limó, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

Black-cheeked Woodpecker

This Black-cheeked Woodpecker, Melanerpes pucherani (my gallery link) is possibly the woodpecker I’ve seen the most of in my 10 years in Costa Rica, out of 13 species found here, and in the above-linked gallery I have photos of this one from 9 different locations (all on the Caribbean Slope). And none from my garden, where the Hoffmann’s Woodpecker is the most common. That may be because they are more common on the Caribbean Slope and I live on the Pacific Slope. 🙂 But they are found on both slopes from Southern Mexico to Ecuador.

In my CR Birds big gallery you will find galleries for 9 of those 13 species (I’m missing 4!) and one Olivaceous Piculet, which is really a tiny woodpecker without the name! 🙂

Black-cheeked Woodpecker, Hotel Banana Azul, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Limón, Costa Rica

If interested in more info, see the Black-cheeked Woodpecker eBird Page.

¡Pura Vida!

Africanized Honeybee

The Africanized Honeybee, Apis mellifera (Wikipedia article link), was introduced from East Africa into Brazil and it migrated north throughout Central American and into Texas. I’m pretty sure of this ID and that is what Google Lens called it. Photographed on a wildflower along the beach road, Hotel Banana Azul, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Limón, Costa Rica.

Africanized Honey Bee, Apis mellifera, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Limón, Costa Rica

All of the bees I’ve photographed in Costa Rica are in a general Bees Gallery, with several species and most unidentified so far. 🙂 They were photographed before Google Lens! 🙂

¡Pura Vida!

Julia Heliconian in Caribe

Julia Heliconian, Dryas julia, Hotel Banana Azul, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Limón, Costa Rica
Julia Heliconian, Dryas julia, Hotel Banana Azul, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Limón, Costa Rica

This is one of my favorite butterfly species and I keep finding them almost everywhere I go in Costa Rica. See more of my photos of this beauty in my gallery: Julia Heliconian, Dryas julia.

¡Pura Vida!

Pelicans were scarce this time . . .

. . . for reasons unknown to me. Normally I see a lot of these Brown Pelicans, Pelecanus occidentalis (my gallery link) on both coasts and usually every day there, but these were the only ones I saw this time and I was a good distance from them, walking on the beach road, so not great photos or close-up like you can see in my gallery linked above. Here’s two shots and I cropped in on the second one just to make them seem bigger, but certainly not my best images. 🙂

Brown Pelicans, Playa Negra, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Limón, Costa Rica
Brown Pelicans, Playa Negra, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Limón, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

Crimson Patch

One of those many colorful and beautiful butterflies in Costa Rica is the Crimson Patch, Chlosyne janais (linked to my gallery). It is found from Colombia north through Central America and Mexico to South Texas. Here’s two views of one on the beach road near Hotel Banana Azul last week . . .

Crimson Patch, Chlosyne janais, Hotel Banana Azul, Puerto Viejo, Limón, Costa Rica
Crimson Patch, Chlosyne janais, Hotel Banana Azul, Puerto Viejo, Limón, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

New Bird & Butterfly on Final Day

I still haven’t processed all my photos from today and will get a few more in the morning before I leave, but I’m pleased to get a different bird and butterfly from all the other days here . . .

Cocoa Woodcreeper, Hotel Banana Azul, Puerto Viejo, Limón, Costa Rica
Zebra-striped Hairstreak, Hotel Banana Azul, Puerto Viejo, Limón, Costa Rica

And one of many shots of sunrise this morning that I haven’t all processed, but will eventually share more, including the throng of local people out at sunrise on Saturday morning! 🙂

Continue reading “New Bird & Butterfly on Final Day”

Wild Hummingbirds on Wild Flowers

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird feeding on a Red Button Ginger Flower (Costus woodsonii) that grows wild only in Costa Rica, Panama & Colombia! 🙂

Because of some pains that make walking difficult, I’m limiting myself to short walks down the beach road (one lane, dirt) and of course the hotel gardens instead of longer hikes in the nearby national park and separate wildlife refuge. I’m up to 15 species of birds now, just right here! And I don’t know how many butterflies because I haven’t processed those photos from today, but know that I got some new ones again! One of the beach road joys is watching wild hummingbirds – they are all wild, including those in my garden at home! 🙂 And like at home, the Rufous-tailed seems to be the dominant hummingbird here too! 🙂 Here’s just two shots for now and more will be in the trip gallery later.

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird feeding on a Red Button Ginger Flower (Costus woodsonii) that grows wild only in Costa Rica, Panama & Colombia! 🙂

¡Pura Vida!