Posts in Category: Sarapiqui
Costa Rica! Monkey business
White-faced Capuchins: Macaw Ranch, Sarapique Valley, Costa Rica, December 2023 — I told this story a while ago, but it bears telling again. Besides the large flock of Macaws that live at Macaw Ranch, there is a troop of White-faced Capuchins who visit on occasion, and just as with the Macaws, they are well habituated to humans and will approach very closely…one tried to steal the hat off my head in fact, and I have a photo, taken by our guide, to prove it. 🙂 They did get the hat off another of our guides and had to be chased to get it back. They apparently think hat stealing is great fun. Being at Macaw Ranch and litterally surrounded by wild playful Capuchins changed my view of the species completely. I had always thought of them, from past encounters, as somewhat sour individuals, but it is apparently just the set of their faces. Behind the thoughtful scowl is the heart of a monkey! I can relate to that. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 800mm, 400mm, and 200mm equivalent (the close-up is the 200mm one 🙂 . Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Scarlet Macaw head and shoulders
Scarlet Macaw: Macaw Ranch, Sarapique Valley, Costa Rica, December 2023 — Head and shoulder portraits of two Scarlet Macaws at the Macaw Ranch in Costa Rica. These are wild, free flying birds, but so habituated to human presence that they are easy to approach. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 200mm equivalent (close!). Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Macaw feathers
Scarlet Macaw: Macaw Ranch, Sarapique Valley, Costa Rica, December 2023 — There is a free flying flock of close to 100 Macaws, mostly Scarlet and hybrid (there is one big male Great Green Macaw in the flock who seems to have been very active!) at a remote ranch in the Sarapique Valley, down a long dirt road to the end. The Macaws are used to humans and are easy to get close to. Ideal for photography, but I do have my reservations about the number of hybrid birds. I am not sure that is good for either species in the long-run. Still, it made for some stunning photo ops. This is a close-up of a preening Scarlet Macaw from just a few moments after we arrived. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. I actually still had the camera in my birds in flight and action mode (Program with modifications) so this is at ISO 3200 at 1/1600th. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Crested Quan
Crested Quan: Selva Verde Lodge and Reserve, Sarapique Valley, Costa Rica, December 2024 — Another find from our morning photo walk at Selva Verde Lodge: the Crested Guan. Bigger than a chicken, slightly smaller than a turkey, this is a large bird of humid forests all through tropical Central America and the lowlands of northern South America. They forage both on the ground and on tree branches, generally in small groups and pairs. This shot was from quite a distance. OM Systems OM-1 with the ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Writing or zig-zag spider
Spiny-backed Orb-weaver Spider: Selva Verde Lodge and Reserve, Sarapique Valley, Costa Rica, December 2023 — We found several of these “writing” or “zig-zag” spiders as the locals call them (because of the patterns in the web), under one of the cabins at Selva Verde on a morning photo walk. I put the macro capabilities of the 100-400 IS zoom to work. This is a member of one of two genus of spiders collectively called spiny-backed because they share the pointy spins. Both are in the Orb-weaver family. OM-Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 454mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. -1.0EV to keep detail in the spider against the dark background. This shot was at ISO 25600 by the way. 🙂 Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! The other Poison Dart Frog
Poison Dart Frog: Selva Verde Lodge and Reserve, Sarapique Valley, Costa Rica, December 2023 — The other Poison Dart Frog, a completely different species, from Selva Verde. This is the Strawberry or Blue-jeans Frog, a member of the Oophaga genus. There are many different color variations in the genus, from this bright red, through various oranges and yellows, spotted and patterned. The Blue-jeans is by far the most common. Again these shots at take in poor light at the full 800mm equivalent of the 100-400mm IS zoom with 2x digital tele-converter. OM Systems OM-1 in Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator and Pixelmator Pro.
Costa Rica! Green and Black
Green and Black Poison Dart Frog: Selva Verde Lodge and Reserve, Sarapique Valley, Costa Rica, December 2023 — By the time we got to the frogs, we were, to be honest, already loosing the light, but you do what you must. It put a strain on the cameras…shooting at much higher ISO than any of us would have liked. Most people were working close with macro lenses…I was standing back and shooting at the long end of my zoom, 800mm equivalent, with the digital 2x extender engaged for 1600mm equivalent and a 1 to 1 image magnification…so a true telephoto macro. This is Dendrobates auratus, one of two poison dart frogs common on the grounds of Selva Verde Lodge. They are actually quite different species and only associated by their common name and the fact that both can be used to make the poison that was used on darts and arrows for hunting in the American tropics. This is the larger of the two species by quite a bit, and it is still less than 2 inches long. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 800mm x 2 digital for a 1600mm field of view. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Blue-grey Tanager
Blue-grey Tanager: Dave and Dave’s Costa Rican Nature Park, La Vergin, Costa Rica, December 2023 — The full sun of late morning in Costa Rica brings out all the subtle blues and feather textures of the Blue-grey Tanager, feeding just a few feet off the observation platform at Dave and Dave’s. This bird might have a damaged beak. Though the Blue-grey’s beak is somewhat stubby for a tanager anyway, this one seems to be unusually stubby. OM Systems 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! Star of the show
White-necked Jacobin: Dave and Dave’s Costa Rican Nature Park, La Vergin, Costa Rica, December 2023 — Very much the star of the hummingbird show at Dave and Dave’s. If the White-necked Jacobins had their way, no other hummingbirds would visit the flowers at Dave and Dave’s. Ever. They seem to spend more time and energy defending the feeding spots than they do feeding. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS Zoom at 506mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds in flight modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Ruddy Ground Dove
Ruddy Ground Dove: Dave and Dave’s Costa Rican Nature Park, La Vergin, Costa Rica, December 2023 — The Ruddy Ground Dove is a common bird in fields and parks from western North America, all down through Central America, and in the northern two thirds of South America (minus the deepest Amazon). Still, an attractive little bird to see anywhere. I have seen it on almost every visit to Dave and Dave’s. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom, at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.