March found me in my fourth country of the year: Costa Rica. Here I was the photography leader for Wildside Nature Tours and I joined forces with our amazing local guide, Jehudy "Jay" C. of Birding Experiences Costa Rica, and our talented driver, Sandro, to provide our small group of clients with an unforgettable trip around Costa Rica.
Flying into San Jose, we first headed into the Tropical Dry Forests as our first ecosystem. Tropical forests are frequently thought of as lush, green, humid, and hot. Well, throughout this trip the idea of what tropical forests are would challenge participants based on what we actually faced. The tropical dry forests were dry in that they don't receive as much rain as tropical rainforests, but that doesn't really keep the humidity at bay much and the heat is still there. Yet, the "lack" of rainfall (over that found in rainforest environments) means that the understory vegetation is different and not as dense in this area and promotes the habitation by different species of wildlife, especially birds, than those seen in true rainforest ecosystems.
Spending several days here we explored this Central Pacific area. This included a morning boat excursion on the Tarcoles River where crocodiles were seen cruising the muddy banks while turquoise-brow mot-mots dug burrows for their soon to be families and scarlet macaws could be heard chortling to each other as they flew overhead. Ah! Mornings in the tropics! We were also fortunate to be able to photograph five of the six species of kingfishers while on the tour, several of which we saw on the river.
We wrapped up the area with some frigate birds that were cruising the beaches and fishing camps for scraps before making one last stop for a pair of nesting scarlet macaws.
From the dry forests of the Pacific we headed north, through the cloud forests, where the clouds kept hidden the three-waddled bell bird. We heard it and were able to see an outline but unable to get any real usable image due to the cloud layer.
Continuing north, almost to the Nicaraguan boarder, we found ourselves in a tiny little village, surrounded by pineapple plantations and in an area where Jay spent quite a bit of time when he was younger as his family had a place near-by. These northern lowlands, characterized by diverse habitats from agricultural fields to rivers and wetlands to jungles and rainforests, are just as rich in species as well. Here we were able to photograph a wide array of avian species including various tanagers, toucans, honeycreepers, and parrots.
It is also where we had our first session of high speed flash with hummingbirds.
And an amazing session with wild but captive/handled reptiles and amphibians. These were all handled for only short periods of time with limited use of artificial light (since flashes and LED lights can produce excess heat that can dry out or overheat especially amphibian subjects). The handler was a local specialist and many of the subjects were released back where they were captured directly after our session limiting the length of time they were in captivity.
Itty bitty to big, both bright, as so many things in the Costa Rican jungles seem to be. Mid-way through the tour we visit a property with several permanent blinds that provide visitors ideal viewing of king vultures. Second in size only to the California condor, these massive carrion eaters are a sight to behold and many birders and photographers come from around the world to catch a glimpse of them.
As carrion eaters, it means that meat and meat products are set out for the birds to consume as bananas and papayas just are not going to cut it like they do for the tanagers. In this area, that means the local butchers, who provide the villagers and lodges with their meats also provide the vultures with bovine and swine heads and bones. It is important to note that, in the name of full transparency on how images are captured, that these types of images would not qualify for many national and international photo competitions since vertebrate animal parts were used to attract the birds to this location. Typically, I avoid set ups like this unless they are done for conservation of a species as I don't think that the life of one animal is worth less than another and should then be sacrificed just to be offered to allow us to photograph a certain predatory or scavenger species. However, in this situation, this is about utilizing the full animal in an area where disposal of the remains is often as simple as leaving it out for scavengers. Just, by utilizing them in this way, they are able to generate more income for the community while still protecting the natural resources around them.
Moving on, we crisscrossed the country heading south again, this time our destination the southern cloud forests. However, we did have a stopover in the Sarapiqui area where we had more birds and, my favorite, red-eyed tree frogs. This time they were wild and unhandled with the images taken after dark with the use of a low lumen flashlight that Jay so kindly held for me while I photographed. Due to having to position myself rather precariously around foliage and rocks that surrounded the pond these frogs were gathered near, these images were all hand held! We are not in film days any more. Use the tools and technology you have to capture the images you want!
Onward to the southern cloud forest, higher elevation and the area of San Geraldo de Dota. Here the cooler mountain air was refreshing after the sweltering heat of the lowlands. It was time to pull out the puffy shells we had been toting around in the bottom of our packs up to this point. But with the change in temperatures, elevation, and moisture comes change in the flora and fauna as well. Up here is the land of the resplendent quetzal, emerald toucanet, and a vast number of higher elevation hummingbirds we had yet to see on the trip so far such as the fiery-throated hummingbird.
Spending two nights at elevation, we had several sessions where we tried to capture images of the nesting resplendent quetzals. Personally, while I understand that seeing them on the nest (nesting cavities are inside vertical tree trunks) and changing places is guaranteed given enough time, that is a tall order if a photographer is not fully committed to capturing this particular species or does not have the physical capability to stand or sit on natural (stump/log) materials for hours on end to wait. I much preferred my experience with the quetzals when I visited in December of 2022 (see my article from that trip here.)
We also had another high speed flash session with hummingbirds. This session I think I had a bit more success and I liked that I was able to capture multiple species in the frame at one time. They still remind me of Sears portraits through. I think I will stick with natural light photography for the majority of my work.
Descending the mountains, we spent an evening lakeside on a coffee plantation beside Lake Cachi. Our last full day on tour found us starting the morning in a beautiful private garden with a waterfall and lots of hummingbirds and butterflies.
Our last night in Costa Rica was spent at the well known Hotel Bougainvillea, where large stately rooms overlook amazing gardens that are filled with wonderful bird and macro life. We were able to have both an evening and morning session right on the hotel grounds as participants wanted and were able to see an additional species of owl, more mot-mots, and more tree frogs. What a way to end the tour!
Costa Rica continues to inspire and call me back. I cannot wait until I am able to touch down there again and see what other areas I might explore and what other species I might photograph. The diversity that the country holds is so rich that it may take a life time of visits for me to grow tired of visiting. Who wants to go with me next year? I will once again be leading the tour for Wildside and with Jay as our local guide. We are changing up the itinerary slightly and adding a few spots that I have now scouted when I revisited Costa Rica in June for a different project. Those who are into macro field work are not going to want to miss this! The 2025 Wildside Costa Rica photography tour promises to be filled not just with birds but also frogs, snakes, insects, and so much more! Details and registration can be found here for those interested.
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