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Costa Rica 2022, Part 1 (Lowland Rain Forest) June 2022

2022 is a big year for us. Hali is a having a significant birthday this year, and we are also having our 25th anniversary. Big year. So we decided that we could splurge and take a trip to Costa Rica with one of our favorite guides - Greg Basco of Foto Verde Tours. Greg leads photographic tours in Costa Rica (and other places). The tour we joined this year had the same outline as the first tour we took with Greg 10 years prior. The places that we visited during this trip were different from our trip 10 years ago, but the overall theme is similar. Two noticeable differences were (1) the size of the group was a bit larger this time around, and (2) the co-leader for this tour was Greg's partner in Foto Verde Tours, Paulo Valerio-Murphy. Paulo, like Greg, has an often humorous personality that we enjoyed very much. The last (but not least) staff person on this trip was our friendly driver, Enrique.

For us, the total trip length was about 2 weeks long. The proper tour was only 10 days and began when all the participants met at a wonderful little resort on the outskirts of San Jose -- The Hotel Bougainvillea. We then traveled to the lowlands rain forest and spent a few days there. Next we moved on to the Arenal Volcano and spend a few days there. Then we traveled to the cloud forest and spend a few days there. Lastly we traveled back to the Hotel Bougainvillea and spent one final night there before our departure. The outline of the tour was designed so that the destinations begin at the lowest altitude and move upward as the trip progresses. We took so many pictures at each of the main destinations that we have decided to break up the web pages into one page per major destination (3 web pages for this trip). This is the first page. We were lucky to photograph many bird species that we've never photographed before! We hope you enjoy viewing these images as much as we enjoyed taking them.

We arrived a couple of days before the tour actually begins. We do this for a couple of reasons. Most importantly, it gives us some wiggle room if flights (or luggage) are delayed. It also gives us a little time to settle into the travel mode and take some practice shots around the beautiful grounds a the resort.

Hotel Bougainvillea

*** Click on grouped images to see the full size image ***

These are just a few phone pictures to show you how our journey started. All of our luggage made it without any issues, and our flights were generally on time. Still, it was a 03:00 wake up time to get started -- so we were happy but tired when we arrived. You can almost see the anticipation for the upcoming tour in Hali's smile! BTW, that picture of her was shot on the balcony of our room, overlooking the grounds of the resort.
A photographer could easily spend an entire day roaming the grounds of this resort. We started our first day here doing just that. (Top left) Mike spotted this lone lobster claw heliconia flower (Heliconia rostrata) in the shadows, but illuminated by a ray of sun (Nikon D850, 80-400mm). (Lower left) Mike shot this wide angle image of the resort icon using his phone. (Right) Hali shot this ginger flower just being hit by the morning sun (Canon R5, RF100-500mm)
The hotel has this large living plant wall. Hali tried her best but the photos don't do it justice, but the designs are made of individual plants growing in small canvas pouches attached to the wall. A heart is on one side and a butterfly on the other. Both pictures taken with her iPhone.
Some macro shots from Hali during a morning walk around the resort. Left: A Zebra butterfly on a Lantana (Canon R5, RF 100-500mm). Right: At the base of some of the trees there were mounds of Wandering Jew plants (Tradescantia zebrina). I liked the patterns they made.
Hali can get easily distracted and spend time with the same subject, photographing it in different ways. The early morning light coming through the large palm frond on the grounds of the hotel provided a good half an hour's diversion from walking around looking for birds. (Left and right were taken with the Canon R5, RF 100-500, and the middle shot was taken with the Nikon D850 and the 80-400mm lens).
Hali was hoping to be able to use her full spectrum infrared camera on the trip, she was able to get a few shots in but not many. This was one of the iconic statue in the gardens. (Canon RP full spectrum conversion, RF 24-240mm)
Mike is always looking for things to shoot besides birds and flowers, and he tracked down a few fun subjects. All of these images were taken with the Nikon D850 and the 80-400mm lens. (Left) A small green iguana (Iguana iguana) proved to be a tricky subject to capture. (Middle) One of the two types of squirrels that can be found in Costa Rica is the variegated squirrel (Sciurus variegatoides). (Right) Grasshopper on a Neoregelia bromeliad.
We obviously have a thing for that sculpture in the garden, and we couldn't resist a little fun with it (although I think Mike should have taken off his shoes!) (iphone picture) Hali liked the play of light and dark on this agave plant (Canon R5, RF 100-500mm)

Costa Rica Animal Rescue Center (CRARC)

Simon, one of the people in the workshop with us, has a friend whose relative runs the Costa Rica Animal Rescue Center, just outside of San Jose. He was able to set up a private tour for those of us who came in early and wanted to go. 8 of us went and got to see some orphaned baby sloths, a mother and baby sloth, several other sloths, and other wild animals that were being cared for.

The working and open area of the CRARC was filled with wonderful murals. Hali has a soft spot for murals because of a good friend who is a mural artist. All photos taken with the iPhone 13 pro.
Despite taking lots of shots, there were only a few that Hali thought were worthy. The best was the baby 3-toed sloth on the left and the mother and baby on the right. (Canon R5, RF 100-500mm)

Mike shot the video below with his phone...

The CRARC was an interesting place, but Mike only took a few shots that he liked - and here are two of those. (Left) A red-lored parrot. (Right) The CRARC resident pup. Both shots taken with the Nikon D850 and the 80-400mm lens.

Back at the Hotel

One of the birds that we only saw at the hotel was the Blue-Crowned Motmot (Momotus momota). We could only find them as it was getting dark. After we returned from the CRARC we walked around the grounds before our group meeting for the start of the workshop. Hali found this juvenile in a tree, we think it is a juvenile because it lacks the long feather appendage at the end of the tail. (Canon R5, RF 100-500). Mike shot the wolf spider on the right using his phone. Although wolf spiders look scary, they generally tolerate photographers incredibly well (your mileage may vary so don't try this at home).

Catarata San Fernando

We stopped for coffee at Soda Cinchona on our way to our first destination. In addition to the coffee, there is a beautiful waterfall (catarata San Fernando) and a great deck from which to photograph the many birds that visit the feeders. This was also a good way to break up the longest drive of the tour.

Two different shots of a prong-billed barbet (Semnornis frantzii). On left is Hali's shot with a Canon R5 and the RF 100-500mm lens. On right is Mike's shot using a Nikon D850 and the 80-400mm lens.
The San Fernando waterfall. On left is Hali's Infrared shot taken with the Canon RP infrared converted and the 24-240mm lens. On right is using a Nikon D850 and the 80-400mm lens.
Three shots from the Nikon D850 and the 80-400mm lens. On left is male green thorntail (Discosura conversii). In middle is a brown violet-ear (Colibri delphinae). On right is a green-crowned brilliant (Heliodoxa jacula).
(Left) A silver-throated tanager (Tangara icterocephala), one of the many types of tanagers we saw on our trip (Canon R5, 100-500mm lens). (Middle and right) The emerald toucanet is also known as the blue-throated toucanet (Aulacorhynchus prasinus), (Nikon D850 and the 80-400mm lens). They are really beautiful birds, but sadly we didn't see them anywhere else during the trip.

We were most of the way towards the lodge when our guide spotted a spectacled caiman (Caiman crocodilus) in a small pond. They pulled over the bus so that we could all pile out and take some shots. No worries about blocking traffic out here -- there is none.

The spectacled caiman (Caiman crocodilus), also known as the white caiman, common caiman, and speckled caiman. (Left) Canon R5 with the 100-500mm lens. (Right) Using the Nikon D850 and the 80-400mm lens.
Smile honey! (Left) Mike snapped this shot of Hali during "the caiman stop" (Nikon D850, 80-400mm). And Hali returned the favor for one of Mike (Canon R5, 100-500mm)

Laguna del Lagarto

We didn't spend much time settling into the rooms. They have a large covered deck area which is great for shooting the birds. We did a little hand-held shooting before lunch. After lunch we pulled out the big lenses and started shooting with those.

Two shots of a male red-legged honeycreeper (Cyanerpes cyaneus). On left using the Nikon D850 and the 80-400mm lens. On right, a little later with more rain coming down, taken with the Canon R5 and the 500mm lens.
The collared aracari (Pteroglossus torquatus) are so expressive when they move their long beaks around. They are also fairly aggressive when it comes to other birds. Mike shot these with the Nikon D850 and the 80-400mm lens.
(Left) A wet mullet never looks good on anyone, but this keel-billed toucan (Ramphastos sulfuratus) manages to pull it off. (Top right) A male green honeycreeper (Chlorophanes spiza). (Bottom right) A female black-cheeked woodpecker (Melanerpes pucherani). All 3 shots were taken with the Nikon D850 and the 500mm lens.
The rain was on and off most of that first afternoon at Laguna De Lagarto, On the left -the male Shining honeycreeper (Cyanerpes lucidus) and on the top right the Passarini's tanager, also known as the Scarlet-rumped tanager (Ramphocelus passerinii) were taken during a fairly heavy downpour. The Golden-hooded tanager (Tanagara larvata) was taken during a break in the rain. All were taken with the Canon R5 and the EF 500mm lens.
(Left) The great curassow (Crax rubra) is the punk rocker of the birding world. This female probably spent hours in the mirror to get her hair to stand up just right. (Right) The keel-billed toucan (Ramphastos sulfuratus) is always gorgeous. Both shots were taken with the Nikon D850 and the 500mm lens.
It was really hard to pass up shots of toucans, they were so photogenic! Both shots were taken with the Canon R5 and the EF500mm lens.
(Left) Male Green honeycreeper (Chlorophanes spiza) taken with the Canon R5 and the EF500mm lens. (Right) Collared Aracari (Pteroglossus torquatus), shot with the Nikon D850 and the 500mm lens.
(Left) A brown-hooded parrot (Pionopsitta haematotis), shot with the Nikon D850 and the 500mm lens. (Right) A pair of parrots trying to negotiate right of way along a branch, taken with the Canon R5 and the 500mm lens.
(Left) A make red-legged honeycreeper (Cyanerpes cyaneus). (Right) The female of the same species. Both shot with the Nikon D850 and the 500mm lens.

Vulture Shoot

This was a very busy day. After breakfast, we gathered our gear to go to a blind for a king vulture shoot. The blind was set up on the land of the family of one of the people who worked at the lodge. This shot was taken while we were waiting for news of activity by the blind before we drove over. Taken with the iPhone 13.
Just a couple of phone shots that Mike took while waiting for the vultures to show up. On left is the blind that we used, and it was hot in there. On right is the field that would serve as the backdrop for photo session.
Landing gear down, flaps up! King vulture flight 101 coming in for a landing. King vultures (Sarcoramphus papa) are the largest New World vultures after the condors. Adult king vultures can be 2.5 feet tall and weigh 8 pounds. They are also one of the few New World vultures without eyelashes. Canon R6 and the 100-500mm lens.
Feeding time, part two. Adult black vulture (Coragyps atratus) feeding a juvenile. (Even though we watched the juvenile feed itself moments before). Canon R6, RF 100-500mm lens.
Black vulture (Coragyps atratus). Both shots taken with the Nikon D810 and the 80-400mm lens.
King Vulture (Sarcoramphus papa). Both shots taken with the Nikon D850 and the 500mm lens.
(Left) An adult and first year juvenile king vulture rest on a branch after a good meal. Taken with the Canon R6 and the 100-500mm lens. (Right) A king vulture fluffs its feathers (ptiloerection). Shot with the Nikon D810 and the 80-400mm lens.

Macro Session at Adolfo's home

Adolfo and his family have done a lot of work to his home (near the lodge) to make it a great location for photography. As part of that work, they have modified their patio into a covered macro 'studio'. Adolfo and his son would grab some of the cool local critters, they would help us take pictures of them, and then they release them back into the wild. As a bonus, they brought out cappuccino and tasty pastries that Adolfo's wife made -- delicious! What a super-nice family! And we had some great photo opportunities there...

I think the critter on the left is just a grasshopper (shot using the Nikon D850 and the 105mm lens). On right is an eye-lash pitviper (Bothriechis schlegelii, using Nikon D810 and the 80-400mm lens).
Red-eyed tree frog (Agalychnis callidryas) shot using the Nikon D850 and the 105mm lens. This is one of Mike's favorite shots of the trip.
Two shots. Two different eye-lash pitvipers (Bothriechis schlegelii). The shot on the left was taken with the Canon R6 and the RF 100mm macro lens... The shot on the right was taken using a Nikon D810 and the 80-400mm lens).
FROGS!! Costa Rica has some really cool looking frogs, and we were lucky to have a good selection to shoot during our macro session. (Top left) Veragua cross-banded tree frog, AKA Drab tree frog (Smilisca sordida). (Top right) We think this might be an hourglass tree frog (Dendropsophus ebraccatus). (Bottom left) Green-and-black poison dart frog (Dendrobates auratus), AKA green-and-black poison arrow frog, AKA green poison frog. (Bottom right) The blue jeans color morph of the strawberry poison frog, or strawberry poison-dart frog (oophaga pumilio).All shots taken with the Nikon D850 and the 105mm lens.
And yet more frogs! On the left is possibly an hourglass tree frog (Dendropsophus ebraccatus) and on the right is that Red-eyed tree frog (it is hard to resist taking pictures of them!) Both photos taken with the Canon R6 and the RF100mm lens.
Just a couple of phone images taken during the macro session at Adolfo's.

Bat Shoot

What do you get when you combine a dark night in the jungle with 10 photographers, 2 guides, and 100 pounds of photographic equipment?

So many bats! It was amazing watching them come to feed. “The Shot” is the bat slightly underneath and to the side with its tongue out towards the flower. We didn’t catch that, but we did catch some great other shots. The image all the way on the left captured 3 bats in the short period of time the shutter was open (2 sec). All shots Canon R5 with the 100-500mm lens and a wired remote release.
I could try to identify the bats, but I would probably get them wrong. Let's just say "fruit bats". All three shots taken with the Nikon D850 and the 80-400mm lens.

Back at the Lodge

Even though the previous day was very full, we were still up super early the next morning to get out and shoot on the deck before sunrise. I think we woke at around 4:45 so that we could shower and get out to the observation deck before 6. We would get out as early as 5:30 some mornings, but the darkness made shooting difficult. Shots were taken at 5:30, but better shots were taken a little later.

We spent most of the morning shooting from the observation deck, and then we went back to Adolfo's home for a hummingbird shoot.

Orange-Chinned Parakeet (Brotogeris jugularis) posing nicely for a moment on a piece of branch. Canon R5 and the EF500mm lens.

Top left a black cheeked woodpecker, bottom left a golden-hooded tanager. On the right a male curassow (Crax rubra) staring at the lady curassow walking below. All shots with the canon R5 with the EF 500mm lens
Top left is a male passerini's tanager (Ramphocelus passerinii, formerly known as the Scarlet-rumped Tanager). Top right is a male and female shining honeycreeper (Cyanerpes lucidus). Bottom right is a brown-hooded parrot (Pionopsitta haematotis). Lastly, bottom left is a female black-cheeked woodpecker (Melanerpes pucherani). All four shots using the Nikon D850 and the 500mm lens.
Topp left is a male red-legged honeycreeper (Cyanerpes cyaneus). Top right is the female of the same species. Bottom right is a male shining honeycreeper (Cyanerpes lucidus). Bottom left is a chestnut-mandibled toucan (Ramphastos swainsonii). All four shots using the Nikon D850 and the 500mm lens.
It's hard to believe that this is the same species - this is a female Passarini's tanager (which used to be known as the scarlet-rumped tanager for obvious reasons). It is a great example of sexual dimorphism in birds. Canon R5 and the EF500mm lens.
Two more shots of a collared aracari (Pteroglossus torquatus), both taken with the Nikon D850 and the 500mm lens.
Top: The Collared aracari (Ptreglossus torquatus) would often come en-mass to hog the branches and would even drive off the Toucan's on occasion. Bottom right a Carribean race Variable Seedeater, bottom left that male Passarini's tanager. All three photos taken with the Canon R5 and the EF 500mm lens.
These berries just make me want to sing... An Olive-backed euphonia (Euphonia gouldi) singing it's heart out. Taken with the Canon R5 and the EF 500mm lens
On left is a Olive-backed euphonia (Euphonia gouldi), on right is a palm tanager (Thraupis palmarum). Both shots were taken with the Nikon D850 and the 500mm lens.
Left: It's love, well, a parents' love. Despite the juvenile palm tanager stuffing its face moments before on a berry, it still begged its parent to feed it some banana. Right: a black-cheeked woodpecker searching for its next meal on a well-explored tree-trunk. Both shots taken with the Canon R5 and the RF 500mm lens.
Top left is a golden-hooded tanager (Tangara larvata). Top right is a female red-legged honeycreeper (Cyanerpes cyaneus). Bottom right is cute pup that wandered into the lodge one day and decided to stay (I think someone took it home towards the end of our stay). Bottom left is a montezuma oropendola (Psarocolius montezuma). All shots taken with the Nikon D850 and the 500mm lens, except for the dog pic -- that was a phone shot.
No berries, but I still want to sing. Another few shots of an Olive-backed euphonia. Taken with the Canon R5 and the EF 500mm lens.
On left is a black-cowled oriole (Icterus pectoralis). On right is a another red-legged honeycreeper (Cyanerpes cyaneus), male. Both shots taken with the Nikon D850 and the 500mm lens.
Before lunch and after an extended session shooting the birds from the deck, we took a walk around the grounds with a guide. We saw a few critters along the way, including this Basilisk Lizard (Basiliscus plumifrons).

Back to Adolfo's home...

Adolfo and his family have also set up feeders to attract some of the beautiful local birds. They also modified the patio set up so that we could do some hummingbird photography there (using Greg's awesome flash set up). Plus more cappuccino and pastries?

Half of our group went in the morning and the other half (including us) went in the afternoon. While one person was doing the hummingbird shoot, the rest of us were shooting the other birds...

On left is a blue-gray tanager (Thraupis episcopus). They are not the most colorful birds, but I always have a difficult time getting a good shot of them. In the middle is a female green honeycreeper (Chlorophanes spiza). On the right is female shining honeycreeper (Cyanerpes lucidus) -- very colorful! All three shots were taken with the Nikon D850 and the 500mm lens.
On left is a yellow-throated euphonia (Euphonia hirundinacea). In the middle is another brown-hooded parrot (Pionopsitta haematotis). On the right is a female passerini's tanager, (Ramphocelus passerinii, formerly known as the Scarlet-rumped Tanager). All three shots were taken with the Nikon D850 and the 500mm lens.
On the left a yellow-throated Euphoia, on the right a red-legged Honeycreeper [Canon R5, 100-500 f/4.5-7.1 both images].

The hummingbird shots at this location all used the same plant: a spiral ginger flower (Costus pulverulentus). All of these shots used the amazing lighting set up designed by our guides.

Three different shots of a rufous-tailed hummingbird (Amazilia tzacatl) zooming in to feed. These shots were taken with the Nikon D810 and the 80-400mm lens.
(Left and middle) Two different white-necked jacobin (Florisuga mellivora). (Right) Scaly-breasted hummingbird (Phaeochroa cuvierii). These shots were taken with the Nikon D810 and the 80-400mm lens.
It might not be the prettiest flower we've seen and photographed, but this spiral ginger (Costus pulverulentus) had what it took to attract the hummingbirds. Left to right: Rufous-tailed humminbird, White-necked Jacobin hummingbird, and a Scaly-breasted hummingbird. All of these were taken with the Canon R5 and the EF 500mm lens.

Back at the Lodge

On our final morning at Laguna del Lagarto it was pouring rain. We still got in a few pre-breakfast shots, but then it was time to finish packing and head off to our next destination for the trip.

Pre-breakfast shots of the keel-billed toucan (Ramphastos sulfuratus), in the rain -- all shot using the Nikon D850 and the 80-400mm lens. The rightmost shot is one of Mike's favorite toucan shots!
(Left) In addition to having one of the most amazing bird calls in the entire world, the montezuma oropendola (Psarocolius montezuma) is also a very cool looking bird. That was shot with the Nikon D850 and the 80-400mm lens. (Right) The keel-billed toucan (Ramphastos sulfuratus) taken with the Canon R5 and the RF100-500mm lens.

Next destination: Arenal Volcano! Coming soon: the web page with images from the second leg of our photo safari in Costa Rica...

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Jim and Hali Sowle
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© JM Sowle, © Hali J. Sowle