Posts in Category: wildlife
Sunday Supplement: Squirrel Monkey
A troop of Squirrel Monkeys roost right over the dinning area at Danta Corcovado Lodge here on the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica, but they only appear when it is almost dark. We found this troop along the road into the Las Tardes Community Ecology Project at the edge of Corcovado National Park. They have to among the cutest of the primates! Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos.
ISO 640 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Scarlet Macaws
Scarlet Macaw: Playa Blanca, Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica, December 2022 — not the best bird of the day by far, but certainly the slowest! A large flock of Scarlet Macaws are attracted to the Beach Almond trees along the waterfront in Playa Blanca, not far from Danta Corcovado lodge here on the Osa Peninsula. We saw maybe a 8-10 there last year, but this year there were more than two dozen, maybe more, feeding in almost the same trees (between rain storms). It was a treat to watch and photograph these large spectacular…and very noisy…birds. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 250 @ f4 @ 1/500th. Plus .3EV.
Immature Long-billed Hermit Hummingbird
Immature Long-billed Hermit Hummingbird: Danta Corcovado Lodge, Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica, December 2022 — While we were waiting for our 4 wheel drive transport in to the very edge of Corcovado National Park, at the Las Tardes Community Ecology Project, this young Long-billed Hermit kept us entertained. Since its tail is not typical of the species we had some debate as to what it actually was…but settled on Long-billed…I mean, look at the bill! Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 800 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Yellow Eyelash Viper
Yellow Eyelash Pit Viper: Las Tardes, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica, December 2022 — I know not everyone likes snakes, but I was delighted to visit Las Tardes Community Ecological Project at the edge of Corcovado National Park on the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica, where they pay local farmers to bring them the snakes they find while working their fields…rather than killing them. They then take them deep into the park and release them. This Yellow Eyelash Viper is one of the most beautiful snakes in the world, I think, and to see it up close and in good light was a real treat. We also got to see a second Eyelash viper…larger, older, and a different color altogether. One hatch can contain snakes of different shades from the bright yellow to bright green to duller browns…but the yellows are certainly the best known and the most often photographed. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 250 @ 4 @ 1/500th.
Green-breasted Mango
Green-breasted Mango: Hotel Bougainvillea, San Jose, Costa Rica, December 2022 — Early in the morning, before breakfast, we were out in the gardens at the hotel looking for birds. This male Green-breasted Mango posed nicely…too far away, and not in good light…but still! A very special bird to start the day. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 6400 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Welcome to Costa Rica bird: Mottled Owl
Mottled Owl, Hotel Bougainvillea, San Jose, Costa Rica, December 2022 — Terrible light, just before it started to rain, deep in a grove of huge bamboo…but still, not a bad start to our Costa Rican adventure! Sony Rx10iv at 517mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications and multi-frame noise reduction for the low light. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. Equivalent ISO 6400 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Elephant on water
African Elephant: Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — Still on our way from the Northern sector of QENP to the Ishasha sector, we came upon a small herd of Elephants making their way across a wetland below the road, grazing as they went. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Wednesday extra: Monitor Lizard
Not our first Nile Monitor Lizard of the trip to Uganda in August…we saw one from the boat on the actual Nile in Murchinson Falls National Park earlier, but we were on foot for this one…beside the Kazinga Channel in the northern sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park. Sony Rx10iv at 238mm equivalent (so close). Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 250 @ f4 @ 1/500th. Plus 1.3EV.
Sacred Ibis
Sacred Ibis: Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — We left the northern sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park shortly after lunch for the, shall we say, “brutal” drive to the southern sector, or Ishasha as it is known. It is a long dive on a dirt road that way too many big trucks headed to or from far western Uganda use, it is always in desperate need of grading, and we are always in just a bit too much of a hurry to get to our lodge and what the Ishasha sector has to offer…from Topi to tree-climbing lions. We stopped at a small pond along the way to look for water birds and were rewarded with this somewhat bedraggled Scared Ibis…maybe not feeling quite so sacred at the moment. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed In Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4.5 @ 1/1000th.
Mom Lion
Lion: Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — The sharp eyes of Moses, our driver/guide for our Uganda safari, picked out the mother lion in the shade of a bush near the cub from yesterday’s post. Some maneuvering with the Land Cruiser and we found a spot on the road with a decent view through the long grasses. As I mentioned yesterday, she has worn a tracking collar for many years now, so this is a well known and well studied lion…with many successful litters of cubs over the years. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/640th.