Butterflies Galore

Unexpectedly, I took the most butterfly photos of the trip during my time in San Jose. I started at the zoo where they didn't have a butterfly house but there were wild butterflies around.

I found this interesting (although ragged) Bumblebee Metalmark butterfly on the underside of a leaf. I was on the ground shooting photographs upwards when a couple walked by looking curious. I showed them the butterfly but I got the impression it didn't totally justify my antics to them.

I'm pretty sure this is a skipper but I'm not sure which one.

After the zoo, I noticed Spirogyra Butterfly Garden on Google Maps not far away. It turned out to be quite small but still a nice garden. By the time I got there it was the middle of the day and the butterflies seemed more interested in flying than posing so I didn't get a lot of photos. In North American butterfly gardens/houses you often see tropical butterflies that you wouldn't see in the wild. Here, the butterflies were mostly local so I saw many of them in the wild as well.

There were even a few Monarchs. I think of them in terms of their North American migration but they are also found in Central and northern South America (and other places like Australia).

The next day I thought I'd go to the National Museum - some history and culture for a change. The funny part was that immediately after you enter, you're in a large butterfly house! I had no idea it was there so I only had my all around lens on my camera. It was quite a bit larger than the butterfly garden the day before. And it was first thing in the morning so the butterflies were a little more cooperative.

The Owl butterflies are easy to confuse with the Blue Morphos. The difference is that the owl just has one main "eye" whereas the morphos have several.

I was lucky to see a Blue Morpho emerging from its chrysalis.

This one was almost ready to fly. The wings look so shiny and new compared to the ragged ones of the older butterflies.

After a couple of nights at the Gran Hotel in downtown San Jose I moved to the Hotel Bougainvillea (where the frogs were) It was in a suburb with not much around but that was ok because their large gardens gave me plenty to photograph while I was there.

This skipper only has a handful of observations on iNaturalist so it must not be very common. Love those bright red eyes!

On the other hand, these Hermes Satyrs were quite common.

Not counting repeats, I'd guess I photographed about 50 kinds of butterflies in the span of 4 or 5 days. I know I won't convince the birders but I find it just as rewarding finding and photographing butterflies (and other kinds of creatures).

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San Jose Zoo

After I finished with the group I spent a couple of days in San Jose. On our previous trip we didn't spend any time in the city so I thought I'd check it out. I stayed in the Gran Hotel Costa Rica which is right on the pedestrian street and beside the Plaza de la Cultura. It's in a historic 1930's building although the interior is modern. I was missing my coffee shop time and enjoyed both Alma De Cafe in the National Theatre next door and Tizate Coffee Shop a few blocks away. Tizate had an upstairs seating area that was seldom busy and I could hang out and drink coffee and work on my photographs.

Despite being in the city, I still looked for nature. I spent the first morning at the Simón Bolívar Zoo and Botanical Garden which was only a 15 minute walk from the hotel. I like to get to zoos and aquariums at opening time to avoid potential crowds. When I arrived there was no sign of anyone but I was five minutes early so I waited. But 10 minutes after opening time, there was still no one around. The gates were wide open so I wandered a little way inside and took a few photos of nearby stuff. A truck drove by and the driver yelled at me (in Spanish). I assume he was telling me they weren't open yet but I thought it was humorous he was pointing at his watch since it was well past opening time. I went back outside the gates and continued waiting. Eventually someone showed up to open the ticket booth.

Close to the entrance there was a pond with turtles. I'm not sure what kind they were.

And various wild birds were hanging around the pond as well. It looked like this Green Heron was sitting on a nest. And the other one was perhaps its mate?

I spent quite a long time sitting on the ground by the ocelot enclosure. I was lucky there was no one else around. As always I have mixed feelings about such animals in captivity. But it is amazing to see them up close separated only by a pane of glass.

I also feel sorry for the primates. It's anthropomorphism, but they often look sad, or at least thoughtful.

Maybe the crocodile is also thoughtful?

Certainly the Green Macaw is.

And maybe the Black Vulture

It's tricky to get photos of snakes through the glass, in dim light but this one turned out ok.

I always like the unofficial residents of zoos. (Like the herons above.) I assume they are attracted by sources of food and lack of predators. Although they need to be tolerant of humans. This iguana was hanging around near the entrance.

Along with a noisy grackle

Of course, there were spiders and insects as well. (But I'll leave the butterflies for another post.)

And some interesting plants and flowers.

Walking back from the zoo I came across this lizard on the sidewalk. I approached slowly and once it got used to me, it didn't seem to mind being photographed.

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Recent Photos

A few random recent photos, some of them taken to test a new telephoto lens. I'm not sure whether this hummingbird was getting ready to take off, or just stretching its wings. It happened to be both in focus and at the right angle to catch the iridescence. It looks like it was all puffed up for the cool weather.

When I took this photo, the magnolia beside our townhouse was just starting to bloom, now there are lots of open flowers.

I'm not sure what the flower below is. It started blooming very early in the year.

I don't really need more photos of Canada Geese, but this one was a cooperative subject to test my lens.

I also have lots of Great Blue Heron photos but I still like to photograph them, especially if I can catch some aspect of their behavior - like swallowing a fish. (with nice backlight)

The rest of these were taken on my first kayak outing this year. The Coho (car ferry to Port Angeles) seems intimidatingly large when seen from a tiny kayak. In turn, it looks small next to the huge cruise ships (which thankfully haven't started up yet this year).

There were a number of Harlequin ducks on the island in front of our place. I managed a few photos before they got nervous about my presence and swam away. They are attractive birds.

As I was paddling by, I checked this tree where I've seen Bald Eagles before. It took me a minute to spot this one. Of course, when I got a bit closer it flew away. I happened to be taking photos just as it launched.

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Amaryllis

One of the benefits of looking after my sister Penny's plants while she's away, is when the Amaryllis flower. There's an extra connection this time because I saw lots of Amaryllis flowers in Costa Rica.

As soon as the buds started to develop I could tell this one would have some nice color. Here's how it looked on the 16th.

By the 17th it was getting close to opening.

And this morning (the 18th) it was open when I got up in the morning although not quite all the way.

What makes these flowers stand out is the right light. I played with natural light and with my led panel light. The challenge with natural light was getting a plain background while still being in the right spot for the sun. Another big factor was how I processed the images. Do I make the background completely white (high key)? Or leave it gray? And how bright do I make the actual flower?

The flowers opened up more as the day progressed.

I tried some with head on flat light, but I don't like the results as much.

Except maybe for closeups of the details.

This is quite a different Amaryllis from the one I photographed last year.

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Tarcoles Birding Lodge

The last night with the group we spent at the Tarcoles Birding Lodge, which coincidentally was next door to Cerro Lodge where I'd stayed at the beginning of the trip. It was brand new, just opened a few months before, by the previous owner of Cerro Lodge. It was quite small, just 6 cabins and a few rooms. The cabins were beautifully done. We were only here overnight, so not a lot of photos for a change.

When we arrived there was a Howler monkey in one of the trees. It seemed quite relaxed, moving around and gathering leaves to eat.

There were also some Scarlet Macaws eating the seeds/fruit of one of the trees.

I didn't spot a lot of other birds, although I'm sure they were around. I managed a distant shot of this White-crowned parrot.

My best discovery was when I returned to my cabin after supper. There was something on the spotless tile floor. At first I thought it was a leaf or twig but it turned out to be a scorpion. And even more interesting, it was in the process of eating a smaller scorpion! It didn't even run away when I shone bright lights on it and took numerous photographs. It only got worked up when I captured it with a drinking glass and a piece of cardboard. I was quite careful with this process as I had no desire for it to escape and sting me. I must admit I was a bit nervous walking around the cabin in my bare feet afterwards.

I found this interesting spider on a barbed wire fence. And I was able to get through the fence to take photos from both sides. Spiders can look quite different depending which side you see them from. It turned out to be a Silver Garden Orbweaver. I saw a few different Garden Orbweavers on this trip.

The lodge (like Cerro) is on the top of a hill, with a nice view towards the ocean and the sunset.

See all 16 photos in this batch.