Posts in Category: Tico Rainforest B&B
Black-faced Grosbeak
Black-faced Grosbeak: Tico Rainforest B&B, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica, December 2024 — There were several Black-faced Grosbeaks working the undergrowth and the under side of the low canopy in Victor’s little patch of second growth rainforest, but they proved to be very hard to photograph. This is the only decent shot I got out of a dozen or more attempts. Like our North American grosbeaks, this one is a member of the cardinal family. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
The last Trogon
Gartered Trogon: Tico Rainforest B&B, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica, December 2024 — This is the last of the Trogons to put in an appearance at Tico Rainforest B&B on my last morning there. You have to look closely to differentiate the Gartered from the Black-throated Trogon we saw earlier. The yellow eye-ring and the more vertical than horizontal banding on the tail are the give-aways. This bird never gave me a clear, unobstructed line of sight, but it is a great bird for all that. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Mother love
Mantled Howler Monkey: Tico Rainforest B&B, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica, December 2025. This youngster was actually pretty independent already. I saw it climbing around in the branches on its own, though never more than a few feet from mom. We humans respond to the young of most species (well, at least the mammals) in a unique and predictable way. Awwwh. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Black-throated Trogon
Black-throated Trogon: Tico Rainforest B&B, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica, December 2024 — On this December trip to rainforest Costa Rica we encountered 4 different species of Trogon, 3 at Tico Rainforest B&B and another at Caño Negro. This Black-throated Trogon was the least likely of the 4 for us to see, so, of course, it is the most special. 🙂 Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Pensive
Mantled Howler Monkey: Tico Rainforest B&B, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica, December 2024 — On my last morning with Victor at Tico Rainforest B&B, we got to enjoy a troop of Howler monkeys working the lower canopy in Victor’s little photo glade in the rainforest. There were at least 20 individuals. Photography against the canopy is a challenge, but I had lots of opportunities. They were aware of me, down there on the ground below them, but not worried about me at all. These are three males. They always look to me to be deep in thought, and not very happy about the state of world…or at least their little patch of rainforest. But then, I know better than to project myself on to the facial features of any other species…these guys could be expressing delight for all I know. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Difficult bird!
Rufous-tailed Jacamar: Tico Rainforest B&B, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica, December 2024 — The Rufous-tailed Jacamar was one of the first birds we heard on my first morning at Tico Rainforest B&B, and one the last birds I saw on my last day at Tico Rainforest B&B…and I did not see it until that morning. They tend to say low in the undergrowth, and if my experience is anything to go by, low down in overgrown gullies and washes at that. This bird sat against a busy background in deep shade, with no completely clear line-of-sight. Not easy! I am happy to have gotten what I did…but I long for an easy Jacamar on one of these trips. 🙂 Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Dusky-faced Tanager
Dusky-faced Tanager: Tico Rainforest B&B, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica, December 2024 — This is a bird I had not seen in 10 previous trips to Costa Rica, and Victor, my host at Tico Rainforest, said that it is one of the main attractions for photographers at his place. Though it bears the Tanager name, it is not one of the true tanager family. It and 3 other tanager species were placed in their own family in 2013. It ranges through Central and north west South America, but evidently is not all that easy to see in Costa Rica. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Black-cowled
Black-cowled Oriole: Tico Rainforest B&B, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica, December 2024 — Early in the morning from the deck at Victors B&B…my first and only sighting of the Black-cowled Oriole on this trip. I have only seen this bird once before in Costa Rica, though it is not an uncommon bird at feeders. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Yellow is the color
Yellow-throated Toucan: Tico Rainforest B&B, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica, December 2024 — One of the most recognizable birds of the American Tropics, the Yellow-throated Toucan has a wide range, when including its nominate and 2 sub-species, all down through the lowland rainforests of Central America and along the north-west rim of South America from eastern Venezuela to southern Peru. It is still listed as “near threatened” by the IOU. No one actually knows how it is doing within its range…but there is a lot of deforestation going on throughout, and it is assumed numbers are declining. Big, bold, loud and just a little clumsy around feeders, it is one of those birds that you see in the air or perched and think, “How is that possible?” For one thing that huge beak is a thin, hollow shell, and weighs very little compared to the mass of the bird. Always a delight to see. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 Di iii @ 600 and 515mm equivalents. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Showing some scarlet
Scarlet-rumpled Cacique: Tico Rainforest B&B, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica, December 2024 — In my experience it is rare to see any red at all on the rump of the Scarlet-rumped Cacique…they mostly keep it well hidden under the tips of the wings. To be fair though I have not seen many…they were occasional visitors to Selve Verde where I have stayed in the Sarapiqui in the past…they were daily, hourly visitors at Victor’s place. I am told that Cacique means chief in native caribbean languages, and it has come to mean “boss” (as in party boss or gang boss or mob boss) in much of Latin America. And like most in the blackbird family, the Scarlet-rumped Cacique is very much the boss of the feeders when it comes around. Sony a6700 with Tamron 50-400 Di iii @ 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.