Posts in Category: Sarapiqui
Costa Rica! Both sides now
Collared Aracari: Selva Verde Lodge and Reserve, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica, December 2023 — I began to think we were going to get through our whole time at Selva Verde without seeing an Aracari…which would have been very strange for December…but a small group finally showed up early one morning in the rain. Toucans in general were in short supply while we were there. Facebook friends tell me they are coming to feeding stations in their normal numbers now, so maybe it was just some heavy crop of fruit they like in the rainforest that was keeping them busy away from the feeders. I hope so. OM System OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Frog different
Rosenburg’s Tree Frog (?): Macaw Ranch, Sarapique, Costa Rica, December 2023 — Of course, the Red-eyed Leaf (or Tree) Frog is not the only amphibian of the Sarapique rainforest. We found this brown species in a bush near the ranch house at Macaw Ranch. Tree Frogs are very rare in the daylight. I think it might be a Rosenburg’s. OM System OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! More frogs
Red-eyed Leaf Frogs: Selva Verde Lodge and Reserve, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica, December 2023 — Part of what makes Red-eyed Leaf Frogs so much fun to photograph is the interesting poses they take and hold. We don’t pose them. This is the way we find them, caught in the act of being themselves. 🙂 OM System OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with in-camera focus stacking. ISO 6400 and 2000. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Celebrity
Red-eyed Leaf Frog: Selva Verde Lodge and Reserve, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica, December 2023 — One of the “poster” species for Costa Rican conservation, the Red-eyed Leaf Frog, in its more colorful Caribbean slope variety. They are easy to find right at the foot of the stairs going up to the dining hall at Selva Verde. Flash is not allowed on the Selva Verde grounds, but the frogs do not seem disturbed by led flashlights and even small video lights, and they often sit in one spot for ten or fifteen minutes, so they are relatively easy to photograph. I always use a long lens with close focus so as to disturb them as little as possible. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. ISO 6400 @ f6.3 @ 1/200th. -0.7EV. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Toucan in the rain
Yellow-throated Toucan: Selve Verde Lodge and Reserve, Sarapaqui, Costa Rica, December 2023 — This used to be the Chestnut Mandibled Toucan…and it is still listed as the Chestnut Mandibled sub-species of the Yellow-throated Toucan. It is resident from Honduras to Columbia. In South America the two Black-mandibled sub-species become dominant. A handsome bird, but not a good neighbor as they like to raid nests for eggs and nestlings. Not as common this year as where we have seen it in past years for some reason. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications (ISO 25600!). Processed in Photomator and assembled in FrameMagic.
Costa Rica! Hybrid incoming
Hybrid Scarlet and Great Green Macaw: Macaw Ranch, Sarapiqui Valley, Costa Rica, December 2023 — One of the results of the dominance of the male Great Green Macaw in the flock of Scarets, this hybrid bird was coming in fast and just swerved at the last moment to avoid a collision. Right place at the right time! OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 200mm equivalent. (This bird was close!) Program mode with my custom birds-in-flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! two Macaws
Scarlet and Great Green Macaws: Macaw Ranch, Sarapiqui Valley, Costa Rica, December 2023 — Two, not of a kind, but closely related. This is a sight you don’t often see. These are both free flying birds that have settled at the Macaw Ranch and are habituated to human proximity. This is in the gardens outside the ranch house. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 300mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Great Green Macaw Portrait.
Great Green Macaw: Macaw Ranch, Sarapiqui Valley, Costa Rica, December 2023 — And here is the man himself…the Great Green Macaw that has attached himself to the flock of mostly Scarlet Macaws at Macaw Ranch. Posing nicely. Certainly the closest shot I have of this endangered bird. Efforts are, as I mentioned in a previous post, in progress to reintroduce the Great Green Macaw to its traditional range in the lowlands of Costa Rica…but researchers have discovered that success is limited by the available habitat and food sources. The country as it is, simply can only support so many Great Green Macaws. To increase the population will require habitat restoration, not just bringing in more birds. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 300mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Great Green
Great Green Macaw: Macaw Ranch, Sarapiqui Valley, Costa Rica, December 2023 — There is at least one full adult male Great Green Macaw that has attached itself to the free flying flock of Macaws at the Macaw Ranch…but his influence is all out of proportion. He appears to be the dominant male in the flock, as many of the younger birds are obvious hybrids. Again, mixed feelings. I am not sure this degree of hybridization is good for either species…and a lot of effort has gone into the attempt to restore Great Greens to their previous habitat in Costa Rica. Still, to see one in flight, coming on at eye-level was a real treat. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 300mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds-in-flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Incoming Macaw
Scarlet Macaw: Macaw Ranch, Sarapiqui Valley, Costa Rica, December 2024 — More by chance than by design, the spot I chose to stand in the pasture where the Macaws fly gave me views as they passed at eye-level, but also as they circled out and up a little rise toward my vantage point…so I could photograph them as they came head-on and slightly below me. The OM-1 was simply magical when faced with the challenge. 🙂 OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 300mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds in flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator.