Tuesday 2 April 2013

Daydream - The Lovin' Spoonful

What A Day For A Daydreamin' Boy
The day started here like I guess most days do, with a gathering around the El Yunque Mar Hotel restaurant, which is across the road, al fresco and the coffee point seemingly open and free to all.
The amazing friendliness of the local people also continues, so it was no surprise to be engaged in conversation by José (who's surname, much to my disgust, I never found out) a man of similar years who lives 2 doors from this spot. On meeting he had said that if he could be of any help during my stay, please don't hesitate to ask, and if I wanted to join him and his friend for a drive to Rio Blanco today I would be more than welcome. Decanting from the breakfast bar to his front yard, I began to think that if you believe in such things as Omens then today could be a bit special. The first of these was a
MAGNIFICENT FRIGATEBIRD
flying directly over his property, and on closer inspection
seen to be carrying a FISH!
 
At even lower altitude, this was followed by a fine
GREAT EGRET
plus the ever attendant Caribbean Martins - it felt like 'Game On'.
In his retirement from the military José, already something of a large property owner, had decided to by a plot in the Rain Forest and build his own retreat. Now at the final furlong, but still quite a bit to do, it was down to fixtures and fittings which he and friend Victor would be engaged in today.
Railings around the verandah was the order of the day, so a short stop at the FERRETERIA (Iron Mongers) to buy the required metal tubing, before passing through some
Beautiful Countryside to Salida 22 and the by-road to
RIO BLANCO
the best shot I could get of the White River
tumbling down the mountainside.
Like many who take on such a venture, you could feel these 2 were simply itching to get to work, having already advised me that this would be a 'full day'. On the strength of that alone it is decided to make this post a II Parter and I needed no coaxing to get about my own business. Starting on an up hill climb to the north, first on parade was
SCALY-NAPED PIGEON
followed by an unexpected 'lifer'.
BRONZE MANNIKIN
A widespread bird in Africa
 
it was probably introduced to the Island during the early colonial era and now a common resident. Probably no less valid on the World List than Little Owl or Ring-necked Parakeet in Great Britain. 
Ogling this (Sweet Pea) there was the flash of a 'black bird' with distinctive 'white rump' that appeared to land on the other side of the valley, some distance away.
 
A 'scope would have been handy, but enhancing the image
it was seen to be
 
PUERTO RICAN WOODPECKER
which of all things seemed to respond to pishing?
Whether this was simply coincidence or not
may never be known, but what is fact,
 
it landed briefly on the telegraph pole right next to me.
 
The encounter was short, but there was much else to see
including good numbers of
YELLOW-FACED GRASSQUIT
followed by
RED-TAILED HAWK
SMOOTH-BILLED ANI
and these FISH which I would describe as
BROOK TROUT?
BEAUTIFUL BLOOMS everywhere
similar to
 
GREY KINGBIRD
 
and a variety of
DRAGONFLIES and other insects.
What were also infuriatingly 'common' were BLACK-WHISKERED VIREO, seemingly singing from every bush and tree, of which this was the only recognisable shot. However, my constant pursuit of a decent image proved to be beneficial as I turned up another 'Lifer' and 'Endemic' in the shape of PUERTO RICAN VIREO a fitting end to Part I me thinks!
finally, the 'bad news' is Stat Counter have now priced themselves out of my market. At nearly £500 per annum a GREAT SERVICE becomes an over expensive luxury so has been suspended. Over the 3 years they serviced my site all I received, by way of comments, were positive and most found it a pretty exciting way of seeing just how many people from so many countries and regions of the world tune in to these humble ramblings. To that end the final figure was 187 countries, the first, of course, being England and the last (but not least) French Polynesia. A huge THANK YOU to everyone for tuning in as the Show Goes On!
Your log size of 200,500 has 200,261 entries.
A GOOD number to quit on!
Country | State/Region | City | ISP

Num
Perc.
Country Name


drill down
107002
71.78%
United Kingdom
United Kingdom

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11376
7.63%
United States
United States

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2403
1.61%
Canada
Canada

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2039
1.37%
Estonia
Estonia

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1596
1.07%
Australia
Australia

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1482
0.99%
Germany
Germany

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1384
0.93%
France
France

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1291
0.87%
Netherlands
Netherlands

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1140
0.76%
Japan
Japan

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1006
0.67%
Italy
Italy

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979
0.66%
India
India

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967
0.65%
New Zealand
New Zealand

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892
0.60%
Spain
Spain

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826
0.55%
Philippines
Philippines

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649
0.44%
Brazil
Brazil

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595
0.40%
Taiwan
Taiwan

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565
0.38%
Sweden
Sweden

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547
0.37%
Korea, Republic Of
Korea, Republic Of

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538
0.36%
Switzerland
Switzerland

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524
0.35%
Poland
Poland

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494
0.33%
Thailand
Thailand

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469
0.31%
Belgium
Belgium

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388
0.26%
Norway
Norway

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386
0.26%
Russian Federation
Russian Federation

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352
0.24%
South Africa
South Africa

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333
0.22%
Mexico
Mexico

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315
0.21%
Ireland
Ireland

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303
0.20%
Turkey
Turkey

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297
0.20%
Romania
Romania

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290
0.19%
Finland
Finland

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285
0.19%
Malaysia
Malaysia

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284
0.19%
Peru
Peru

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281
0.19%
Indonesia
Indonesia

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256
0.17%
Greece
Greece

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238
0.16%
Portugal
Portugal

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224
0.15%
Denmark
Denmark

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211
0.14%
Czech Republic
Czech Republic

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211
0.14%
Hungary
Hungary

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210
0.14%
Colombia
Colombia

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203
0.14%
Argentina
Argentina

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186
0.12%
Singapore
Singapore

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183
0.12%
Pakistan
Pakistan

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181
0.12%
Israel
Israel

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180
0.12%
Hong Kong
Hong Kong

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176
0.12%
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka

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175
0.12%
United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates

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171
0.11%
Ukraine
Ukraine

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166
0.11%
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia

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133
0.09%
Panama
Panama

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129
0.09%
Bulgaria
Bulgaria

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125
0.08%
Chile
Chile

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124
0.08%
Vietnam
Vietnam

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120
0.08%
Venezuela
Venezuela

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116
0.08%
Slovakia
Slovakia

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113
0.08%
Croatia
Croatia

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110
0.07%
Austria
Austria

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109
0.07%
French Guiana
French Guiana

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100
0.07%
Serbia
Serbia

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99
0.07%
Costa Rica
Costa Rica

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96
0.06%
Oman
Oman

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88
0.06%
Suriname
Suriname

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86
0.06%
Europe
Europe

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86
0.06%
El Salvador
El Salvador

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80
0.05%
Malta
Malta

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79
0.05%
Anonymous Proxy
Anonymous Proxy

drill down
78
0.05%
Bangladesh
Bangladesh

drill down
70
0.05%
Lithuania
Lithuania

drill down
69
0.05%
Guyana
Guyana

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69
0.05%
Egypt
Egypt

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67
0.04%
Qatar
Qatar

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64
0.04%
Ecuador
Ecuador

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63
0.04%
Madagascar
Madagascar

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53
0.04%
Morocco
Morocco

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41
0.03%
Palestinian Territory
Palestinian Territory

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41
0.03%
Guatemala
Guatemala

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39
0.03%
Asia/pacific Region
Asia/pacific Region

drill down
38
0.03%
Slovenia
Slovenia

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38
0.03%
Trinidad And Tobago
Trinidad And Tobago

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37
0.02%
Iraq
Iraq

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37
0.02%
Luxembourg
Luxembourg

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37
0.02%



drill down
36
0.02%
Georgia
Georgia

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36
0.02%
Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic

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35
0.02%
Guernsey
Guernsey

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35
0.02%
Mongolia
Mongolia

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34
0.02%
Latvia
Latvia

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31
0.02%
Macedonia
Macedonia

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30
0.02%
Jamaica
Jamaica

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30
0.02%
Lebanon
Lebanon

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29
0.02%
Haiti
Haiti

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28
0.02%
Yemen
Yemen

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27
0.02%
Cyprus
Cyprus

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26
0.02%
Satellite Provider
Satellite Provider

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26
0.02%
Kenya
Kenya

drill down
26
0.02%
Cambodia
Cambodia

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26
0.02%
Netherlands Antilles
Netherlands Antilles

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25
0.02%
Belarus
Belarus

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24
0.02%
Kuwait
Kuwait

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23
0.02%
Jersey
Jersey

drill down
23
0.02%
Jordan
Jordan

drill down
23
0.02%
Namibia
Namibia

drill down
23
0.02%
Saint Kitts And Nevis
Saint Kitts And Nevis

drill down
22
0.01%
Algeria
Algeria

drill down
20
0.01%
Lao People's Democratic Republic
Lao People's Democratic Republic

drill down
19
0.01%
Bahrain
Bahrain

drill down
19
0.01%
Isle Of Man
Isle Of Man

drill down
19
0.01%
Nepal
Nepal

drill down
18
0.01%
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico

drill down
18
0.01%
Gibraltar
Gibraltar

drill down
17
0.01%
Belize
Belize

drill down
16
0.01%
Uruguay
Uruguay

drill down
15
0.01%
Maldives
Maldives

drill down
14
0.01%
Albania
Albania

drill down
14
0.01%
Moldova, Republic Of
Moldova, Republic Of

drill down
14
0.01%
Nigeria
Nigeria

drill down
14
0.01%
Mauritius
Mauritius

drill down
14
0.01%
Barbados
Barbados

drill down
13
0.01%
Bermuda
Bermuda

drill down
13
0.01%
Armenia
Armenia

drill down
13
0.01%
Honduras
Honduras

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12
0.01%
Tunisia
Tunisia

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12
0.01%
Brunei Darussalam
Brunei Darussalam

drill down
12
0.01%
Sudan
Sudan

drill down
11
0.01%
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan

drill down
11
0.01%
Reunion
Reunion

drill down
11
0.01%
Montenegro
Montenegro

drill down
10
0.01%
Bosnia And Herzegovina
Bosnia And Herzegovina

drill down
10
0.01%
Iceland
Iceland

drill down
9
0.01%
China
China

drill down
9
0.01%
Tanzania, United Republic Of
Tanzania, United Republic Of

drill down
9
0.01%
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

drill down
9
0.01%
Virgin Island, U.s.
Virgin Island, U.s.

drill down
8
0.01%
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe

drill down
8
0.01%
Aruba
Aruba

drill down
8
0.01%
Bahamas
Bahamas

drill down
8
0.01%
Antigua And Barbuda
Antigua And Barbuda

drill down
7
0.00%
Martinique
Martinique

drill down
7
0.00%
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan

drill down
6
0.00%
Ethiopia
Ethiopia

drill down
6
0.00%
Seychelles
Seychelles

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6
0.00%
New Caledonia
New Caledonia

drill down
6
0.00%
Bhutan
Bhutan

drill down
6
0.00%
Faroe Islands
Faroe Islands

drill down
6
0.00%
Uganda
Uganda

drill down
5
0.00%
Guam
Guam

drill down
4
0.00%
Zambia
Zambia

drill down
4
0.00%
Saint Lucia
Saint Lucia

drill down
4
0.00%
Virgin Islands, British
Virgin Islands, British

drill down
4
0.00%
Bolivia
Bolivia

drill down
4
0.00%
Cayman Islands
Cayman Islands

drill down
4
0.00%
Syrian Arab Republic
Syrian Arab Republic

drill down
4
0.00%
Ghana
Ghana

drill down
4
0.00%
Iran, Islamic Republic Of
Iran, Islamic Republic Of

drill down
3
0.00%
Fiji
Fiji

drill down
3
0.00%
Botswana
Botswana

drill down
3
0.00%
Paraguay
Paraguay

drill down
3
0.00%
Dominica
Dominica

drill down
3
0.00%
Myanmar
Myanmar

drill down
3
0.00%
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe

drill down
3
0.00%
Gambia
Gambia

drill down
3
0.00%
Cameroon
Cameroon

drill down
2
0.00%
Cote D'ivoire
Cote D'ivoire

drill down
2
0.00%
Falkland Islands (malvinas)
Falkland Islands (malvinas)

drill down
2
0.00%
Macao
Macao

drill down
2
0.00%
Andorra
Andorra

drill down
2
0.00%
Gabon
Gabon

drill down
2
0.00%
Grenada
Grenada

drill down
1
0.00%
Malawi
Malawi

drill down
1
0.00%
Anguilla
Anguilla

drill down
1
0.00%
Afghanistan
Afghanistan

drill down
1
0.00%
French Polynesia
French Polynesia

drill down
1
0.00%
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan

drill down
1
0.00%
Vanuatu
Vanuatu

drill down
1
0.00%
Swaziland
Swaziland

drill down
1
0.00%
Monaco
Monaco

drill down
1
0.00%
Turks And Caicos Islands
Turks And Caicos Islands

drill down
1
0.00%
Rwanda
Rwanda

drill down
1
0.00%
Northern Mariana Islands
Northern Mariana Islands

drill down
1
0.00%
Senegal
Senegal