Costa Rica is a leading world nation in conservation, protecting roughly 25% of it's natural environment in the country's 26 national parks. This is for good reason; tropical rainforests are often referred to as "jewels of the earth" - they are home to two-thirds of all living animal and plant species on the planet.
Bordered by both the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, with Panama to the south and Nicaragua to the north, the country is just over twice the size of Wales. It is a peaceful country having abolished the need for an army since 1948.
An example to the rest of the world, Costa Rica is on track to become the first carbon-neutral country by 2020, with 99% of the country's energy needs met through a combination of geothermal, hydroelectric and wind power.
The first area I visited during my trip to this amazing country in July/August 2017 was the Caribbean lowland rainforest near the border with Nicaragua.
I was staying in an area known locally as Boca Tapada; located nearby the mouth of the San Carlos River. It is off-the-beaten-track from most tourist itineraries and because of this the wildlife viewing opportunities are second to none.
I stayed at an eco-lodge called Laguna del Lagarto. It is a haven for many bird species but in particular Toucans, Vultures and Macaws. By attracting key species - for example ecologists consider toucans among the most important seed dispersers in the rainforest - this in turn provides a platform for smaller species, such as Red-Legged Honeycreepers, to thrive.
From my flight into the capital, San Jose, the journey to Laguna del Largarto took us over the central mountain range and up to the hot, humid rainforest near the Nicaraguan border. The last hour/hour and a half was on a bumpy dirt track travelling deep into the rainforest.
On arrival it was almost as if the birds were waiting for us as, no sooner had we settled into the lodge and were about to have lunch, Collared Aracaris and Brown-Hooded Parrots were visiting the nearby feeders...
In the afternoon we had more Aracaris, Keel-Billed Toucans, Chestnut-Mandibled Toucans, Montezuma Orependolas, Green Ibis and even a Coatimundi visiting the area all in the space of a couple of hours - heaven!
The Lodge also provides a great opportunity to watch and photograph a bird that most will consider ugly, but do have amazing colours - the King Vulture.
A well-known name in the photography world, Bence Mate, set up a hide to watch this species only a short walk from the Lodge grounds. I took up the opportunity watch these animals on my first full day in the area on a swelteringly hot and humid morning. Despite sweating what felt like my body-weight, it was well worth it to see them!
Anyone who knows me will know I have a keen interest in reptiles and amphibians and, not surprisingly, Costa Rica is one of the best countries to see such a wide variety of them.
The lowland rainforests are the best place to look for them due to the heat, rainfall and humidity, and Laguna was no exception. There were many species in the grounds including the cute (!) Blue Jeans Dart Frog and an amazingly camouflaged Eyelash Viper...
As mentioned above the area has become a magnet for smaller bird species thanks to seed dispersers like Toucans. Each morning, while waiting for breakfast, we were greeted with a vast array of amazingly colourful species.
I must admit, while it's always nice to see birds such as Blue Tits and Greenfinches in my garden at home, these little birds take colourful to another level! Even heavy rainfall didn't seem to put them off, albeit looking a bit bedraggled!
Each day in this area would follow a similar pattern - as the sun warmed up what already felt like a steam room the heavy rainfall from the previous night would begin to evaporate causing heavy mist and cloud moving through the forest.
The toucans were usually the first to be seen and would come to the feeders around the Lodge, followed by many other species of birds. First thing in the morning is my favourite time of day as there is a 'stillness' about the air and everything is quiet. Being here surrounded by such a contrast in landscape to the farmland of home was no exception and I had an air of excitement in what opportunities would present themselves each day.
With a monotone background of white-grey cloud it gave opportunities for high-key photos, where you overexpose the image, as well as capturing the atmosphere of the area through the mist...
The photography here didn't stop when the sun went down. There are many amazing nocturnal rainforest species and, again, the lowland rainforests are one of the best places to see them.
I first visited Costa Rica in 2013 and was very unlucky in not seeing the Red Eyed Tree Frog. An icon of the rainforest and probably one of the most well-known animals in the world. You can imagine my excitement on the realisation that we were in prime habitat for them and their cacophony at night meant there were loads around.
So at the beginning of this trip I had managed to fulfill a life-goal of seeing a Red Eyed Tree Frog in the wild, and managed to get some creative images of them in the process. I was giddy from this experience but the photography didn't stop there...
After having dinner and a few beers, we ventured out into the rainforest again to a known spot where Pallas's Long-Tonged Bats come to feeders. Originally the feeders were put up for hummingbirds, but when the Lodge staff noticed the feeders being emptied overnight, they set up trail cameras to watch what was going on. The culprit was these bats and so another opportunity emerged. Using numerous off-camera flashes to light the scene in a natural way and a motion sensor to trigger the camera when the bats appeared some amazing photos were to be had...
So my time at Laguna came to an end, although I could have quite easily spent months there. The next area on my travels would take me up into the central highlands, to the Caribbean cloud forest, in an area known as the Bosque de Paz Biological Reserve.
En-route, we stopped at a local farm where the owner has planted favoured nesting trees for Scarlet Macaws and Great-Green Macaws. The farmer also feeds them to attract them in. It was a welcome sight - not only for how amazing they look but the fact that they're endangered. Shockingly, before 2005 there were more pet Macaws in New York City that in the wild in Central America. Since then, thanks to efforts like this, the two species have started to make a comeback expanding into healthy flocks in Boca Tapada and on the Pacific Coast in the country.
There were fantastic photo opportunities of both perched and in-flight images here...
On arrival at Bosque de Paz in the Caribbean cloud forest we felt instantly better for being a cooler climate. It was similar to a summer's day in England and, following the hot humid conditions of Laguna, it was welcome.
The area we had stopped at is well known for it's amazing population of the 'jewels of the rainforest'; hummingbirds. The lodge we stayed at put up feeders so they buzzed around everywhere. This gave an opportunity for a technique I was looking forward to learning more about - multi-flash setups to freeze the action of the hummingbirds.
Using four flashes carefully positioned to create a natural feel to the image, you can freeze the action of these tiny birds without the need for an extremely fast shutter speed. The technique is capable of capturing the action at anywhere between 1/15,000 of a second to 1/30,000 of a second.
It was great fun to have a go!
I think it was safe to say I got very carried away with photographing these hummingbirds! I've only put up four here for this blog, but if you'd like to see more there are plenty in the stock images section.
Each morning I'd awake to the sound of the rushing rapids of a river that ran nearby the lodge. The cooler climate was so welcome. When not getting overly-excited about photographing hummingbirds I went walking into the forest along trails leading from the lodge. They took you into, what felt like at least, deep jungle in the cloud forest.
Lush green vegetation was everywhere, with epiphites like bromeliads growing off other plants, each vying for sunlight - prime real-estate in a dense rainforest!
The river had swelled due to a lot rainfall recently and so it gave for some great opportunities for landscape photography, something I always try to do a bit of to show the wildlife's environment...
We also had a visit to Catarata del Torro, an impressive waterfall not far from the lodge - the opening photo to this blog shows it surrounded by the mist that makes the cloud forest unique.
Further landscape images were possible here when, again, not focusing on the hummingbirds...
So we were on to our next lodge of the trip. Straight after breakfast we were on the road, this time coming down the mountain range that separates the Caribbean side from the Pacific side, through San Jose (very busy with traffic) and back up the Talamanca Mountain range to Paraiso Quetzal Lodge.
We arrived in time for lunch (you never go hungry in Costa Rica!) with some stunning views. While the photo below was taken at sunrise the following day, the view was nonetheless the same...
The area is fantastic for bird life. We were here to spot some particularly colourful hummingbirds and, while their activity was low, we still had some chances. The hummingbirds had less interest in the feeders around the lodge as a local flower (which I didn't get the name of) was blooming early in the forest. The flower is a favourite of hummingbirds and therefore they're less interested in the feeders.
We still had plenty of opportunities to see and photograph the birds in the area though...
The main purpose for visiting Paraiso Quetzal Lodge was to look for what has been called the 'most beautiful bird in the world'; the Resplendent Quetzal.
We tried many different locations, including their favoured Avocado trees which they love to eat, but unfortunately didn't have much luck.
So we tried a different area; the Savegre Valley. About half way down a steep and winding road we noticed three people at the roadside with a spotting scope. It turned out they were looking at a Quetzal!
Photographically speaking none were in a great position, but given our luck I tried to make do with the circumstances and I'm happy with the two photos below. On high spirits we continued to our lunch stop, the Havana Restaurant, only to find another two Quetzals right by a viewing platform! Again, not great for photography but I wasn't complaining after no joy the previous two mornings.
No trip to Costa Rica would be complete without some time dedicated to the amazing variety of reptiles and amphibians that call the country home.
The photos below are a collection from places across the country, but notably in the more hot and humid areas. My last stop of this trip saw me return to my favourite area from four years ago; Sarapiqui.
Just like Laguna it is a sweatbox of lowland rainforest on the Caribbean side. The conditions are perfect for many different species in the lowlands, including a favourite of mine; the Golden Eyelash Palm Pitviper, also known locally as 'Oropel'...
When I first got into photography I was all about the frame-filling portrait images. Now, when the circumstances work, I much prefer the environmental images showing the animals in their habitat, like the photos below show...