Posts in Category: Costa Rica
Costa Rica! Denisons of the night 2
Barn Owl: Caño Negro, Costa Rica, December 2024 — As we continued our Owl Prowl along the Caño Negro we came upon this Barn Owl nesting in an old palm near an industrial building of some kind. Again these shots are in the light of a hand-held flashlight/torch. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. ISO 25600. Processed in Photomator (including noise reduction).
Costa Rica! Denisons of the night 2
Barn Owl: Caño Negro, Costa Rica, December 2024 — As we continued our Owl Prowl along the Caño Negro we came upon this Barn Owl nesting in an old palm near an industrial building of some kind. Again these shots are in the light of a hand-held flashlight/torch. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. ISO 25600. Processed in Photomator (including noise reduction).
Costa Rica! Denisons of the night
Great Potoo: Caño Negro, Costa Rica, December 2024. We took an Owl Prowl the night we stayed at the Kingfisher Lodge on Caño Negro. Though we got off to a slow start…no owls calling at their regular spots, we found this Great Potoo hunting flying insects under the light at the end of a narrow bridge. Though it looks and acts like a huge nightjar, it actually is part of its own, Potoo family. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600 and 402mm equivalents. By the light of a hand-held torch (flashlight). Program with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Aracari
Collared Aracari: Mirador El Pizote, Boca Tapada, Costa Rica, December 2024 — The second feeder platform, also covered with benches, seems to attract the larger birds…including a small flock (gang is more appropriate) of Collared Aracaris…toucans of uncertain temperament. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Shiny again
Shining Honeycreeper: Mirador El Pizote, Boca Tapada, Costa Rica, December 2024 — The after the Vultures version of the Shining Honeycreeper. 🙂 Such an amazing bird. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 Di iii at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! More Euphonias
Yellow-throated Euphonia: Mirador El Pizote, Boca Tapada, Costa Rica, December 2024 — after the Vulture Blind, the sun was full out on the feeders and perches by the covered patio down by the house, and the colors on the honeycreepers and euphonias really popped! Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with bird and wildlife modifications. -0.3EV. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Passerini’s no more
Scarlet-rumped Tanager: Mirador El Pizote, Boca Tapada, Costa Rica, December 2024 — There used to be two tanagers in Costa Rica with red rumps…the Passerini’s and the Cherries, one basically on the caribbean side and one on the pacific. This would have been the Passerini’s. They were recently lumped into a single species…the Scarlet-rumped. The males were never really distinguishable, and the females differed only enough to notice if you had the two side by side. The Passerini’s name is still out there, and still in use by some authorities. We will go with Scarlet-rumped. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 Di iii @ 600mm equivalent. Program mode with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator. Though it is a common bird, these are somewhat rare shots in that you can see the feather detail in the black…the light was just right.
Costa Rica! What do you want to be when you grow up?
Red-legged Honeycreeper: Adult and Immature males. Mirador El Pizote, Boca Tapada, Costa Rica, December 2024 — There is no bird that I know of where the immature male is so obviously caught in the act of becoming the adult than the Red-legged Honeycreeper. The almost identical poses, both captured after we returned from the Vulture blind at Mirador El Pizote, make it just that much more obvious. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 Di iii @ 600mm equivalent. Program mode with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator and assembled in FrameMagic.
Costa Rica! Kings about their business
King Vulture: Mirador El Pizote, Boca Tapada, Costa Rica, December 2024 — Carrion is the business of vultures, of course, and the Kings are no exception. The bare head is an adaption specifically for carrion eaters to allow them to dig deep into a carcass. Of course I am not sure why the bare head has to be so brightly colored. I mean what is that bold yellow stripe in line with the spine about…or why the outrageous carbuncle…but I as not consulted on Vulture design. Good thing. Leave that to the true artist. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 Di iii at 375 and 600mm equivalents. Program mode with bird and wildlife modifications. Highlight metering. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Kings rampant
King Vulture: Mirador El Pizote, Boca Tapada, Costa Rica, December 2024 — Immature and Adult. The King Vulture is the largest New World Vulture except for the Andean Condor. They can weigh up to 8 pounds and have a 6 foot wingspread. They dwarf the Black Vultures they hang out with at Mirador El Pizote. The immature that showed up while we were at the vulture blind seemed even larger than the adults, but that might just be because it lacked the distraction of the bright head and carbuncle. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 Di iii @ 517 and 313mm equivalents. (And that, right there, tells you something about the size of these birds!) Program mode with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.