Daily Archives: February 9, 2024
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.
Florida! Wood Stork
Wood Stork: Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville, Florida, USA, January 2024 — A couple of Wood Storks in all their January finery. Is there a more handsome bird anywhere? Of course there is. Still the Wood Stork has an undeniable presence. I can remember my first sighting in Georgia, years ago, and how hard I worked for it, and how happy I was. My second sighting was in a ditch along the highway leaving the airport in Florida the very next year, out in plain sight in broad daylight, as they say. I have seen hundreds since, mostly on Blackpoint Drive at Merritt Island. These were among the first birds I saw after entering the loop this year. 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.