[jtwood]

I had been looking at a Bird photography trip to Costa Rica for a while but due to the Distance and awkward travelling from Scotland plus I needed a tailor made trip for Photography reasons I kept putting of my visit. During a wet spell in August I returned to looking at the internet for the right package. Costa Rica Gateway appeared to offer what I wanted and with a exchange rate of 2 dollars to the pound at the right price.
A number of e-mail’s to Sonia at CRG soon had a trip organised.
I choose a 16 day trip starting on the 17 November 1 night at Hotel Bougainvillea, 4 nights at Savegre Lodge plus three mornings guiding. 5 nights at Rancho Naturalista plus the services of a local Guide.
5 nights at Selva Verde Lodge plus one full day at La Selva OTS with private guide. 1 night at Hotel Bougainvillea for the flight home. Included in the price were three meals a day plus all internal transport within Costa Rica.
I choose the long stays at the Lodges to give me time to photograph the many species to be found at these locations.
The total cost for Myself and my Wife Barbara for the trip was £2100. I managed to get flights from Edinburgh where I stay to Costa Rica through Continental Airlines for £560 pp this with one stop at Newark.
Total cost of the Holiday £3260 for two for 16 days I paid in full in August a good move with the way the pound has fallen in value.

Equipment
Canon 40D Canon 600mm f4 IS Canon 400mm DO F4 IS Canon 1.4 Extender Manfrotto 444 Carbon Tripod Manfrotto 393 Head Canon 420EX Speedlite

The birds I mention in this report are some of the birds I photographed we saw and identified a lot more birds than I photographed in all I managed to Photograph 150 species on our 16 day trip, some just record shots most were of a Reasonable quality limitation of light etc made top Quality shots hard to come by.

[jtwood]

The Trip
We arrived in San Joe a Hour late to be met by a CRG driver who drove us to Hotel Bougainvillea a very well appointed Hotel with Famous birding Gardens.
I rose early to a wet day but could not wait to get out with the Camera a good number of species were busy in the Hotel grounds including Blue-crowned Mot Mot, Green-breasted Mango, Blue Gray Tanager,Yellow-faced Grassquit, Grayish Saltator.Clay Colored Robin.

Savegre Highlands
Our Driver for our Journey to Savegre arrived on time as the Costa Rica Gateway people did the whole trip. As we headed Higher into the Mountains the Rain got Heavier and heavier we reached a stretch of Road that had been washed away the double yellow lines that marked the middle of the Road were lying 30 meters down a hillside a bit worrying we managed passed this obstacle only to be met by the same 5 miles further on, again our driver kept going finally we turned of on a small dirt track that led to Savegre Lodge.
Savegere Lodge Lies at a Height of 7200 ft in the Costa Rica Highlands it is in a lovely Location the accommodation is very good the Birding and Staff were great our best stop on our Costa Rica Trip I can fully recommend this Lodge.
We arrived at Lunch time and grabbed a seat at the window where the Hummingbird feeders were I could see 4 species feeding White-throated Mountain Gem, Magnificent Hummingbird, Scintillant Hummingbird, Rufos-tailed Hummingbird. I could not wait for the food and dived out with my 400mm lens for a few hand held shots a good start at Saverge.
I went out after Lunch with the 400mm lens it was still raining so a brolly was required and I just had the Lens on my shoulder to protect it from the weather A Wilson’s Warbler and Slaty Flowerpiercer soon followed also a Sooty-capped Bush Tanager, Then the bird of the day a Collard Redstart what a beauty, the Rain really started to get heavy and I had to end my day early still a good first day in Costa Rica to-morrow I had the services of Melvin one of the Lodge Guides.



We met Melvin at 7am next day and hit it of at once he loved the 600mm lens I told him I was lucky to have married a rich woman who had bought me the lens now she was poor and I had the Lens, that broke the Ice. Melvin only had one bird in mind for the day the Quetzal we got in the 4x4 and started to search the trees at the side of the Valley Road we came to one spot where there was a gathering of Birdwatchers a Quetzal had been spotted earlier but the location was unsuitable for a photo so we moved on we spent a hour searching with no luck when Melvin said I know and turned of the road into a gorge we passed through a locked gate then over a bridge with a hole in it a man and bike could have fell through.
We parked at the bottom of a steep hill Melvin pointed to a Avocado tree on a very steep hillside Melvin must have seen the look of horror on my face at the thought of lugging the 600mm lens up there he picked up the lens and of he marched at speed after a short distance he stopped and pointed to a Tree, Long-tailed Silky Flycatcher I soon had him in focus a good start as we headed uphill.
Melvin spoke with the owner of the land we had no Spanish but we could tell that he was relating the rich wife poor wife story to the farmer, we reached a flat area close to the Avocado Tree and there were a Male and Female Quetzal displaying a great 15min display took place with the Male perching 18ft from us at one point they had just gone when Melvin spotted a Torrent Tyrannulet in the Stream below us a welcome addition to the list. On the way out we stopped at the House there was a small charge of $8 to pay the Farmer we gave Melvin $10 which was slipped below the Door, well worth every penny.
The afternoon produced Acorn Woodpecker, Baltimore Oriole, Flame-colored Tanager

Next Day we returned to the Quetzal on the Farm free of charge the birds again put on a super display we then added Collard Trogon, Tufted Flycatcher, Yellowish Flycatcher, Fiery-throated Hummingbird, Spot-crowned Woodcreeper, Scintillant Hummingbird to our list.
The third day we were taken by 4x4 up a Mountain track at the back of the Lodges then we walked into the remnants of the of the original undisturbed Cloud Forest with its 400 year old Oaks covered in Lichens with Orchids growing from branches on the Trees, a fantastic place. We saw several mixed flocks of birds but the Rain was so heavy it would have been camera suicide to try for a shot.
The rain eased as we dropped down the Mountain Black-billed and Ruddy-capped Nightingale-Thrush, Wilson’s Warbler, Dark Pewee soon joined the list.
Our stay at Savegre was a happy and productive one next day we were travelling to Rancho Naturalista in the Caribbean Foothills.

[Steve G]

Cracking report so far Jim. Clearly you saw some superb high elevation birds.


I missed out on a CR Highland stay .............clearly I missed out badly!!!

I will definitely have to go back soon -& Savegre looks to be the place to stay at. Rain & good birds -what more could I ask for?

[hummerman]

should have done the higher elevation birding when i stayed at the canopy tower in panama,but that gives me a treason to go back or do CR,cracking report so far,great bit about Quetzal.

[madamcoolpix]

Delighted to have found this, Jim, so I can enjoy the reading of your adventures along with the pictures I've already seen in the gallery!!! The new ones are fantastic too!!!

[Black Wheatear]

Sounds a great trip Jim. Looks like you are doing the same route I had done at the beginning of the year http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=107772&page=2 Are you going to La Quinta / La Selva after Rancho?

Great photos and looking forward to the next batch.

[jtwood]

Rancho Naturalista
I had read some bad press reports before I booked Rancho but the lure of the Garden feeders and Forest Humming bird Feeders encouraged me to book, A big mistake Rancho was a very Low point in our Holiday.
We arrived in time for Lunch where the owner invited us to use the grounds of a nearby cottage which had feeders it was not let at present and had some different species.
I had a word with our guide after lunch, First I enquired about the Forest Feeders I was told they were out of bounds to dangerous, then I asked about Tuis River also out of bounds, I then mentioned the Cottage, to busy and overgrown was the reply, Help! What was I to do for five days. The Garden feeders had some nice but very damp birds feeding on Bananas including Crested and Montezuma Oropendola, Brown Jay, Summer, Passerini’s, Crimson-collard, Tanagers, Orange-billed Sparrow, Black-cheeked and Hoffman’s Woodpecker. Then a surprise visit from a White-throated Crake.
I had a word with the owner over dinner explaining I could not spend five days photographing the same species in the Garden and that I was well used to Rain as I had lived for 30yrs in the West Highlands of Scotland with 100inches of rain a year.
Bingo! Next morning I was taken to the Forest feeders to my utter amazement there were three elderly ladies there when we arrived, so much for the trees falling down all over the Forest, The guide then took a cell phone from his pocket stood 3ft from one of the feeders and started photographing the Hummingbirds the birds they quickly moved to the next feeder he followed them and so it went on, I and the Ladies of course managed very few shots. I did not mind doing my own guiding it is sometimes better for photography but I did need transport and access to the birding sites This appeared to be a Can’t do rather than a can do establishment.
Snowcap, Violet Saberwing, Rufous Tailed, Brown Violet Ear, Brown Thorntail.all visited the Feeders.
After a word with the owner that evening she offered us a way out of our five nights at Rancho, She had a property on the Tarcol River with a Housekeeper and Guard she would send food and a Guide with us, The sun was reported to be shinning on the Pacific Coast after a bit thought we decided to go, The pool of water on our bedroom floor from a leaking roof sealed the deal.
We were told we could go back to the Forest Feeders in the morning to get some of the Hummingbirds I had missed but the Guide informed us in the morning that our transport would arrive at 7.30am after a very short breakfast and quick pack of our cases before the car arrived. In we got there was no Guide or Food we presumed they were following on needless to say we never saw either of these items again.
Footnote
Two days later I met a American photographer who had stayed at Rancho previously he inquired who our guide had been when we told him he just said Lazy B------ it just summed up my feelings at the time.

[jtwood]

Tarcol Lodge Central Pacific Lowlands
The property at Tarcol River turned out to be Tarcol Lodge somewhere I had already dismissed due to its description as Rustic and having no private bathrooms, Rustic it is with a capital R but it was clean and the Location was superb, The housekeeper and Guard had no English we had no Spanish but we managed to get by, The best Lunch of our trip so far was provided by the Housekeeper. Given the circumstances of our arrival here and the fact our phones did not work in Costa Rica we were at a loss to our position
We had been promised some contact from Rancho this never happened, there was only one thing for it get the camera out while the Sun was almost shinning and sort the detail later.
We headed for the Beach Spotted, Least, and Semipalmated Sandpiper, Osprey, Ringed Kingfisher, Greater Yellowlegs, Black-necked Stilt, Frigate Bird, Willet., Black and Turkey Vulture, Northern Waterthrush, Sanderling. all photographed in a two hour session. Things were looking up!
The Housekeepers brother Louis ran Mangrove Birding Tours so a trip was arranged for next morning, Louis turned out to be a very fine birding Guide and his skill in handling the boat in the flood swollen River was awesome.
The Tours run from the Jetty at Tarcol Lodge we were a bit early for the Tide but Louis found us a Lineated Woodpecker while we waited. We were joined by an American photographer John, his rig consisted of a Canon 300mm f2.8 Lens Canon 1ds Mark 111
And a Bush Hawk shoulder mount, the shoulder mount gave him stability plus speed in focusing a good rig for walking the Forest and using from a boat just a bit short in reach for some situations. I mounted my 600mm on a Tripod in the front of the Boat. Also I had the 400mm lens with a 400D ready for handheld situations.
We had just left the jetty when Louis spotted a Bare-throated Tiger Heron, Spotted Sandpiper, Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Mangrove Black Hawk, Mangrove Swallow, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Yellow Warbler. Soon followed, more common Seabirds and Waders lined the shores Crocodiles basked in the Sun we just had a great mornings birding and photography, Louis would do his utmost to get you the shot even to the extent of running aground.
Both John and I eagerly booked Louis for the Next Day, We joined Louis next Morning at a jetty further upstream due to the Low Tide at the Tarcol Jetty. The plan was to travel further upstream to hopefully get some new species. We were minutes from the Jetty when Louis picked up the sounds of feeding Scarlet Macaws feeding in fruit trees at the riverside this was the fastest part of the River but he held the boat right on station for enough time for me to focus on the birds, great start, next a Boat-billed Heron full frame followed quickly with Amazon Kingfisher then Roseate Spoonbill, Green Kingfisher, Mangrove Black Hawk, Yellow-headed Caracara, Southern Lapwing, Wattled Jacana,
Bank Swallow, We ended the morning thanks to Louis and his boat craft with a Pygmy Kingfisher so close it was just in focus. The cost of the morning trip was $30 pp the engine needed to control a boat in these conditions is in Louis case a 70 Horsepower, taking the cost of fuel I thought it great value for Money. It was a very happy photographer who returned to the Lodge for lunch. We sat on the Veranda after lunch my wife spotted a bird fly into the Mangrove in front of us I put the bins on it Squirrel Cuckoo! What a bird but sadly no Pic. The afternoon produced Orange fronted Parakeet and Rufous-naped Wren.
Our time at Tarcol was now over we contacted Costa Rica Gateway and they arranged transport for us for the next day to resume our original schedule and head for Selva Verde Lodge.
We arrived at Tarcol Lodge by a twist of fate but it turned out a great birding spot the accommodation is Rustic and most likely not suitable for mixed groups the food was the best we had anywhere on our trip, and the Lodge was clean.
The Owner of Rancho had paid our transport cost to Tarcol so there was goodwill from Rancho, my own thoughts are that there is a Staff problem at Rancho. I would not suggest people should not go there the birding I know is very good, The Rain did effect our visit there but I do not mind birding in the Rain. Still all’s well that end’s well.

[stephennj]

Jim sorry to hear about the complications at Rancho , but the Crake is nice . Did you get any decent Snowcap shots ? Your Tarcol experience looks like a good consolation prize . Wonderful report and photos , looking forward for more.

[jtwood]

Hi Stephen
Many thanks for your comments. With the light at the Forest feeders being so poor I only managed a record shot of the Snowcap.

[stephennj]

This is Great shot for a tiny understory bird ! Well done

[Steve G]

Sorry to hear of your problems at Rancho Jim.
Guys like us invest a lot of time, effort & money in a holiday like this and we only get one chance at it. Surely the owners of Rancho need to understand this. We go for the birds & if the staff at Rancho are not prepared to deliver then perhaps Costa Rica Gateway need to source alternative suitable lodges in that area.

I would happily pay more knowing that I was going to get the service I wanted but the problem is that Rancho has a bit of a monopoly on Caribbean slope birder's lodgings at present!

Despite the difficulties of rain, light & useless guides you have taken many great images Jim. I found bird photography in CR to be a much greater challenge than in Kenya, d Gambia or T &T.

[jtwood]

Selva Verde Lodge the Journey

The Costa Rica Gateway Driver arrived right on time as Usual he had been instructed to make two birding stops on our journey to La Selva by Sonia at CRG.
The first would be at the sprawling town of Ortina which is halfway between the Pacific Coast and San Jose. We drove down the busy and noisy main street and stopped at a small Square in the middle of the Town, The driver got out stood on the pavement and pointed into a Tree there looking down was a super Black and White Owl, I stretched into the Car for my 400mm Lens 3 minute’s later we were on way job done.
We started to climb over the Central Spine of Costa Rica the first spots of Rain started to fall by the time we were near the summit it was Monsoon conditions, Then our first Landslide of the day a 30 min delay several more landslips greeted us on our journey finally we pulled into a garage type building at the side of the road . The driver told me to bring my camera we walked through the garage and up a wooden stair into a Transport Cafe the Lady behind the counter knew why we were there she grabbed some Bananas and fixed them to some dead trees at the veranda Wow! it was instant Emerald Toucanet, Red-headed Barbet, Prong-billed Barbet, Crimson-collared Tanager, Passerini’s, Summer Golden-headed, Silver-throated, Blue-Gray Tanager all descended on the Bananas a stunning display of colour on this drab Day, Also there were many Hummingbird Feeders with Hummer;s every where even sitting in the Cafe.
The Driver then ushered us next door to a Craft shop where there were just as many birds.
Unfortunately the light was so poor in the Cafe I could not do the subjects justice but it was fun trying. A must stop for any photographer travelling across Costa Rica.
The name of the Cafe is Mirador at Cinchona a Google search will give you more information on this area.
We had only travelled a few Km after our stop when we met a group of Schoolchildren on the Road they flagged us down to tell us the road ahead had been washed away in a Landslide we would have to turn back, They were soaked they had to abandon there School bus and walk. We about turned and headed back up the Mountain the driver then turned of on a boulder strewn potholed Mountain Track he said it went for 10Km more and more traffic joined the track in both directions what a journey but in the end we did arrive at Selva Verde.

[Steve G]

Superb images Jim!
If Carlsberg did detours..............

[Stephen C]

A really nice read. And what photos. many thanks

[Black Wheatear]

Some more super photos and a good read. We had Little Hawk at La Selva Jim, so hears hoping you catch-up with this species. We also had Spectacled Owls in the gardens of the La Quinta hotel, well worth a look as you are in the area (very approachable).

Peter

[jtwood]

Selva Verde Lodge

The Lodge is a modern well appointed complex on the edge of the Rainforest the Restaurant and Bar are in a great location on the Banks of the Sarapiqui River the food is plentiful and good one big snag is it is the noisiest accommodation I have stayed in ever!
Birdwatching covers a small part of its activities most of its trade comes from groups of High School Kids freed from the strict American alcohol laws they spend there time at the Bar the other main trade comes from groups of Male thrill seekers taking in the Whitewater Rafting and Skylinng activities both groups make a evening at Selva Verde a noisy affair, The Lodge also sits adjacent to the main East West Highway where large very noisy Trucks thunder past night and Day, if you are a peace loving birder avoid this Lodge.
The Lodge advertises bird feeders these were not maintained during our stay the birding in the Lodge grounds is very limited with the Sun Bittern being the main attraction.
I spent the first day in the grounds a Ringed Kingfisher and Rofous Motmot adding to my list, One of the waiters told me the Sun Bittern often made a appearance below the Bar area in the afternoon, I waited from mid morning until mid afternoon when I then fell asleep in a chair in the Bar area I awoke after a short nap had a look at the River saw nothing and prepared to leave when the friendly waiter appeared pointing at he River shouting Sun Bittern there directly below me was the bird preening on a rock every now and then it would stretch its wings and display its intricate wing pattern Wow! I rewarded the waiter with a good tip for his Kindness and interest, i had been so lucky to capture this superb bird.
The next three days we spent birding the La Selva OTS station access can only be obtained with the services of a official Guide this costs $40 pp for a full days guiding the day starts at 8am until 4pm with a 2 hour break for lunch, this time is not wasted as there is very good birding to be had in the area of the Cafe while you are waiting for your guide to return from lunch.
On our first day we had a Young Lady as our guide who was excellent Chestnut-billed Toucan, Violaceous Trogon, Slaty-tailed Trogon, White-throated Manakin, Black-headed Tody-Flycatcher were some of the birds photographed.
Next day our guide was Rodger who had trained at La Selva then joined a Tour company before moving back to La Selva
Our lady guide introduced us then told Rodger what I had photographed the day before we joked that that did not leave Rodger a lot left to find, Thinking myself it would be a hard day for Roger to find me new birds to photograph.
To my surprise Rodger managed to find 25 new species for me to photograph Black-throated Trogun, Sun Grebe, Black-cowled Oriole, Long-tailed Tyrant, Yellow-crowned Euphonia, Green Honeycreeper, Keeled-billed Toucan were some of the birds added to my list.
Next Day Rodger said he was willing to start birding at 6am if we would collect him in the morning, we jumped at the chance knowing the best birding was first light .I could not believe our luck when I rose in the morning the Sun was out. We started birding at the entrance to La Selva in the first tree there were three birds Grey flycatcher Palm Tanager and Long-tailed Tyrant all birds I had photographed before but it was a good sign.
But the day did not live up to my expectations the Sun appeared to have driven the birds into the Rainforest by the end of the morning only three new species had been added Gray Hawk, Crested Gaun and Yellow-bellied Elaenia Rodger reckoned this to be quite common on a sunny day.
Rodger was a top Guide and the tally of birds photographed at La Selva stood at forty many more birds were seen including my old friend the Squirrel Cuckoo again no photo.
La Selva OTS was a fantastic birding spot, The guides were top Class and very committed, Not to be missed on any trip to Costa Rica.

[jtwood]

Conclusion

I found bird photograph in Costa Rica one of the most challenging trips I have been on, Low light levels and thick vegetation coupled with lots of moister in the atmosphere made f4 and 640iso to 1000iso normal settings, Depth of Field and sharpness and noise levels suffered. If I could have changed one piece of my equipment it would have been the 40D for a 1D series body, The noise levels of the 40D when set at the iso levels I required was far to high and I would have hoped for a improvement with the 1D body. There were some focusing problems with the 40D in thick vegetation when it tended to hunt then focused this again may have been helped by a 1D series body.

A November trip to Costa Rica was a bit of a gamble unfortunately we arrived in a period of very heavy rain. We managed only two dry days in our 16 day trip with a total of 12 hours sunshine not the best for a photography Trip, Image quality suffered due to the weather, The plus side was the birding sites were quite and guides were easily available.
Excluding Racho Naturalista we found the people of Costa Rica very friendly and helpful and the Guides of the highest calibre and committed.

[IanF]

A marvellous trip report Jim and some stunning photos despite the conditions.

[Fritz73]

Nice report and photos. Thanks for sharing.

[kittykat23uk]

Fab report and what amazing photos!

[Birdingcraft]

Great report! Sorry to hear about Rancho- nice photo of the Crake though! And the record shot of Snowcap looks pretty good too! Cinchona is one of my favorite spots- nothing like relaxing with a coffee while Barbets, Toucanets, Tanagers and Hummingbirds are within arms reach.
There are some alternatives to Carib. slope birding- I will post about those at my blog and here sometime.
Yes, OTS is great- I am headed there for the weekend for the annual Christmas count- I will post about that.

[Birdingcraft]

Originally Posted by Steve G

Sorry to hear of your problems at Rancho Jim.
Guys like us invest a lot of time, effort & money in a holiday like this and we only get one chance at it. Surely the owners of Rancho need to understand this. We go for the birds & if the staff at Rancho are not prepared to deliver then perhaps Costa Rica Gateway need to source alternative suitable lodges in that area.

I would happily pay more knowing that I was going to get the service I wanted but the problem is that Rancho has a bit of a monopoly on Caribbean slope birder's lodgings at present!

Despite the difficulties of rain, light & useless guides you have taken many great images Jim. I found bird photography in CR to be a much greater challenge than in Kenya, d Gambia or T &T.

Rancho often gets mixed reviews- some have a great time while others pretty bad.
Gateway is overall pretty good though- run by Kevin Easley- excellent birder and nice guy.
Hard to beat the feeders though. Other lodges on Carib. slope middle elevations (cheaper but lacking guides and feeders are: Heliconias at Bijagua, Kiri just outside Tapanti, new community lodge called Copal (?) near rancho- supposedly fantastic birding- I need to get there!). An expensive option is la Paz waterfall gardens.
Could also go with own transport and hired guide to various sites away from lodges and get most of the same bird species.

[jtwood]

The problem at Rancho was the lack of any effort on the part of the Guide to bird in difficult conditions sitting on the Veranda drinking Coffee was the only solution put forward. Having spent £3500 getting to Costa Rica it was just not a option as far as I was concerned. I had just come from Saverge where the weather was just the same and had a great time with a Guide who was commited to getting the best for his clients. The continued bad press that Rancho recieves does point to a problem at Rancho as far as I am concerned if you want to get the best from your birding I would not say no but I would place a Big Health warning against staying there.

[costaricafinca]

Now, during the 'holidays' I have time to catch up with reading!
Jim, you definitely picked the wettest and worst conditions for this trip! This was the worst 'wet' season since we have lived here, and it's still not 'back to normal'!
We used to live near Rancho naturalista, and knew the owners daughter. They 'send her packing' along with her husband and daughter and I don't think the place has ever recovered.
We actually considered buying their other property, the Tarcol Lodge, but didn't for a variety of reasons.
But, you have provided a great report with wonderful photos, thanks.