TTL
- Through The Lens - Tour with Greentours UK to Costa Rica Sep. 2012
White-necked Jacobin, Photo courtesy Moira Gardner
Red-eyed Tree frog, Photo courtesy Andrew Eadie
Tiger Moth, Photo courtesy Martin Angel
Group Photographing a 3-toed Sloth
Scarlet Macaw, Photo courtesy Ron Humphrey
A great surprise came when
Tony asked me if I wanted to join as a participant on the TTL tour with Greentours - Natural History Holidays to Costa Rica that he was leading with Chris Gardner.
As we (Always An Adventure) had our own little
Birding & Photography tour there in March this year, I was very excited
with the proposal.
Costa Rica - such a beautiful
country with an amazing variety of wildlife, a laid-back attitude and service
minded Costa Rican people. A country with great flavor of spice and color.
After my first trip to the
country, when I got over 300 life birds, I simply fell in love with the place.
This feeling only became stronger after the TTL trip with Greentours. Now I'm sitting here in Ottawa, editing
amazing images and writing this BLOG entry while dreaming of my return.
Magnificent Hummingbird, Photo courtesy Andrew Eadie
Photo courtesy Andrew Eadie
Green-crowned Brilliant, Photo courtesy Mary Guy
Army Ants, Photo courtesy Martin Angel
Common Basilisk, Photo courtesy Andrew Eadie
Snow Cap, Photo courtesy Tony Beck
Moira meets Paca, Photo courtesy Martin Angel
Banded Peacock, Photo courtesy Ron Humphrey
Photo courtesy Andrew Eadie
Upon arriving at the airport
in San Jose, the first bird we saw was, of course, the Black Vulture.
We headed straight for our
first lodge at tranquil Bosque de Paz. What a magnificent place, with a
wonderful bird feeding station, an orchid garden, a butterfly garden, a
waterfall and a stream. I think I could remain only at this place for weeks,
photographing the lovely surroundings and the amazing micro world inside the
rain forest.
We stayed here for two nights
before we took the long drive over to Laguna Lagartos' - 1250 acres of virgin
rainforest. Having the place to ourselves was a plus and we had a hard time
sitting still as the forest and wildlife was constantly calling our names.
I had the first view ever of
a Puma’s paw print! It was fresh in the mud after a light rain shower, and we
were walking the same trail as the Puma had just a few hours before us. I have
to admit the thought was quite exciting!
Strange insects, butterflies,
damselflies, mushrooms, monkeys, frogs and plants were captivating, and held
our attention for hours at the time. Back at the lodge and the fantastic patio,
we watched and photographed Montezuma Oropendulas, Scarlet Macaws, Collared
Aracari and many other bird species. We had Spectacled Camen in the ponds next
to the lodge and Emerald Basalisks running around the property.
While visiting a private home
in the nearby area, a big earthquake hit an amazing 7.6 on the Richter scale.
It's absolutely crazy no one got hurt during this significant tremor. We were
about 160 km east of the epicenter, and we could feel the natural phenomenon
very well unfolding under our feet. So well, that after about half a minute I
started getting bit worried as the movements continued. Another 15-20 seconds
later, everything went more or less back to normal. The Howler Monkeys went
totally bananas for about 45 minutes after the quake ended.
Nevertheless, Laguna Lagartos
was a fabulous, lively and entertaining place .
We spent 3 glorious nights there.
We spent 3 glorious nights there.
Puma paw-print!
Photographing Red-legged Tree Frog
Red-legged Tree Frog
Nina shooting Red-legged Tree Frog, Photo courtesy Martin Angel
Spectacled Caiman, Photo courtesy Martin Angel
Orchid flower, Photo courtesy Andrew Eadie
Jumping Spider, Photo courtesy Moira Gardner
Abstract, Photo courtesy Ron Humphrey
Honduran White Bats, Photo courtesy Mary Guy
Our next stop was up in the
cloud forest surrounding San Gerardo and Savegre Lodge. When I was there in
March, I missed good views of the male Resplendent Quetzal. But, this time,
with help from a local guide, we got him! The Quetzal loves avocado trees, and
sure enough, there it was, obscured by branches, lianas and green leaves. What
an amazing bird, with the “punkiest” hair-do I've ever seen.
Photo courtesy Mary Guy
Tropical Tiger Beetle, Photo courtesy Martin Angel
Photo courtesy Andrew Eadie
Photographing Poison Dart Frog
Saturnid Moth, Photo courtesy Martin Angel
Masked Tree Frog, Photo courtesy Martin Angel
After Sevegre, and the nice
clean crisp mountain air, we headed for the Osa Peninsula. Getting there was
fun and extremely interesting. We were transported by Aero Taxi from Golfito to
Jimenez. The small airplane ride took only about 20 minutes giving us a
fantastic view of the nearby area. Our lodge, Bosque del Cabo, is a private
reserve overlooking the Pacific Ocean. During our 5 days stay, we observed
several Humpback Whales, a Minke Whale, all kinds of monkeys swinging from the
treetops, Crested Caracaras loafing around on the lawn, 9-banded Armadillos
turning the earth for crabs and other food, and many other bird and mammal
species. Of course, the loudest of them all were the many Scarlet Macaws ruling
the air space.
Again, we had the place
almost totally to ourselves, and the people at the lodge really spoiled us
well. It was a serene and wonderful experience to have been there.
Giant Helicopter Damselfly, Photo courtesy Ron Humphrey
Photo courtesy Andrew Eadie
Jumping Spider, Photo courtesy Martin Angel
Harvestmen, Photo courtesy Andrew Eadie
Male Golfe Dulce Anole (displaying), Photo courtesy Martin Angel
Dragonfly, Photo courtesy Moira Gardner
Green Iguana, Photo courtesy Martin Angel
Rain forest, Photo courtesy Mary Guy
Group Exploring
Central American Agouti, Photo courtesy Mary Guy
Our last night was spent at the fabulous La Cusinga Lodge in the Dominical area. The place grasped my heart so intensely, I simply have to go back! The sooner the better!
Scarlet Macaw, Photo courtesy Tony Beck
Photo courtesy, Ron Humphrey
Green-crowned Brilliant, Photo courtesy Andrew Eadie
Mating Gladiator Frogs, Photo courtesy Martin Angel
Collared Aracari, Photo courtesy Mary Guy
Unfortunately, all (good)
things must come to an end. This time, I
simply wanted to stay. I had purposely throughout the trip refused to look at
my photos, so that I could extend the trip much longer after I got back home.
I'm still editing images and re-living the tour - the places, the food, the
people, the animals, the insects, the flowers, everything!
We were 11 happy travelers,
including two leaders, who had a lot of fun, learning and teaching each other
about nature, wildlife, flora, fauna and most important of all; photography.
Thank you to all you
wonderful people: Moira Gardner, Mary Guy, Martin Angel, Heather Angel, Andrew
Eadie, Michael Brooking, Ron Humphrey & Hilary Humphrey. You all made this
trip so very unforgettable. Also a great thank you to Chris Gardner and Tony Beck for your excellent expertise, patience and knowledge.
Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, Photo courtesy Mary Guy
Golfo Dulce, Photo courtesy Ron Humphrey
Moira Gardner & Mary Guy
White-fronted Nunbird
MORE photos captured by Nina Stavlund & Tony Beck from the trip can be seen here:
And, MANY more images will be added to this gallery the next following weeks.
Stay Tuned!
