Posts in Category: Tico Rainforest B&B
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.
Costa Rica! Posed Parakeet
Orange-chinned Parakeet: Tico Rainforest B&B, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica, December 2024 — Victor’s feeder by the corner of the 2nd floor deck is ideal of bird portraits…as in this portrait of a Orange-chinned Parakeet who posed nicely on the moss with the bromeliad. Sony a6700 with Tamron 50-400 Di iii at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Parakeets
Orange-chinned Parakeet: Tico Rainforest B&B, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica, December 2024 — Victor has a flock of Orange-chinned Parakeets that frequent his fruit feeders daily. They are noisy and aggressive and he often moves them on with feather duster on a long pole once they have eaten, otherwise they would dominate the feeder for hours, not eating, but preventing other birds from eating. It seems to be all part of the game to them. I am posting the second photo to show the orange chins, which are hard to see unless you catch them just right. The Parakeets fly as flock but often perch as pairs. I am assuming that is intentional, and reflects the inner structure of the flock…a flock of mostly pairs. Sony a6700 with Tamron 50-400 Di iii @ 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Dusky
Dusky-faced Tanager: Tico Rainforest B&B, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica, December 2024 — According to Victor, many birders and photographers come to Tico Rainforest B&B specifically to see and photograph the Dusky-faced Tanager. And indeed, in all my trips to Costa Rica, I have only seen it at Victor’s feeders, on this trip…or maybe, if memory serves, had distant glimpses of it from the Sarapiqui tour boat on the Puerto Viejo river right behind Victor’s property. It is a fairy common bird and ranges down from Costa Rica all the way to Ecuador and Peru, but is maybe harder to see than some of the other more brightly colored Tanagers. Sony a6700 with Tamron 50-400 Di iii @ 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Green Honeycreeper close!
Green Honeycreeper: Tico Rainforest B&B, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica, December 2024 — After an active morning around Victor’s place, and a mid-day rest, I spent the rest of the afternoon sitting and photographing birds at the feeder. Victor has a fruit feeder with plantains set up off one corner of the 2nd floor balcony, with a mossy branch that he replaces as needed, and a nice distant background…ideal for photography. And, closer to the house, between the balcony and the feeder, there are some bushes that frame the feeder and provide even closer perches for birds as they come and go. This is pretty much a full frame shot of the male Green Honeycreeper in one of those close bushes, just beyond the balcony rail. In a shot like this you can appreciate the subtle color variations and the texture details of the plumage. The artistry of creation. Sony a6700 with Tamron 50-500 Di iii @ 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator. (The green in the name Green Honeycreeper comes from the female of the species who is bright leaf-green.)
Costa Rica! Brown woodpeckers of the Sarapiqui
Smoky-brown, Rufous-winged, Cinnamon, and Chestnut-colored Woodpeckers: Tico Rainforest B&B, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica, December 2024 — In two days of active birding on the grounds at Tico Rainforest B&B with Victor, I saw and photographed 4 of the brown woodpeckers of Costa Rica. (Though the Cinnamon here is a photo of a more cooperative bird just down the road from Victor’s at the Pierrella Ecology Gardens.) As you might be able to tell the top two are closely related, and the bottom two are closely related, but the top and bottom pairs are not. The Cinnamon and Chestnut-colored are fruit eaters, while the Smoky-brown and Rufous-winded eat mainly insects. Sony a6700 with Tamron 50-400 Di iii @ 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator and assembled in FrameMagic.
Costa Rica! more Broadbills
Broad-billed Motmot: Tico Rainforest B&B, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica, December 2024 — As I mentioned yesterday, this Broad-billed Motmot was very tolerant and allowed me to work around it quite close while it actively hunted for flying insects. It was super alert, but not bothered by me. In fact I may have been of use, as I was undoubtedly stirring up insects as I circled the bird. Happy to help, and I did get a lot of satisfying photos of this bird in return. Sony a6700 with Tamron 50-400 Di iii @ 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator. ISO 16000 with some noise reduction in post.
Costa Rica! Broad-billed
Broad-billed Motmot: Tico Rainforest B&B, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica, December 2024 — It was the call of the Broad-billed Motmot that drew us out into Victor’s little patch of second-growth rainforest early in the morning and we had glimpses of the bird right away…but then it was off on its rounds and it was not until a couple of hours later that it came back and sat so I could photograph it. It was pretty tame and allowed me to circle for angles and light for a good half hour while it hunted flying insects…eventually catching and eating a monster cricket. At one time it was thought that the little paddles at the end of the tail feathers were the result of intentional preening, but recent studies have suggested that the barbs along that section of tail feather are loosely attached and fall off naturally as the bird moves through foliage. Why? Of course, no one has been able to answer that question…but the paddle tails certainly add to the allure of an already beautiful bird. Sony a6700 with Tamron 50-400 Di iii @ 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. +0.3EV Processed in Photomator. (Including some noise reduction in these ISO 8000 shots).
Costa Rica! Trogon snack
Slaty-tailed Trogon (immature male): Tico Rainforest B&B, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica, December 2024 — Eventally the immature male Slaty-tailed Trogon Victor and I had been watching caught a bug and flew into a perch only about 5 feet from me and just slightly above my eye-level. It sat there and worked the bug down, very aware of me watching it just over arm’s reach, while I zoomed in and out to frame it in several different ways. This shot is at 375mm equivalent. This was one case where I was very happy to have the full 75-600mm range of the Tamron zoom. Sony a6700. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. -0.3 EV. Processed in Photomator. (This, by the way, is at ISO 8000 with some noise reduction in Photomator.)