Costa Rica
Several years ago, I saw a picture of a red-eyed tree frog for the first time - it was fascination at first sight.
Since, I have dreamed of one day being able to photograph this beautiful and colorful amphibian myself, but the challenge is that it only lives in South and Central America.
However, in the middle of November 2022, I went on a 16-day photography trip to Costa Rica.
The country is located in Central America with the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east. A true natural paradise that has developed into a country with strong sustainability.
In addition to the obvious photo for the trip, I had high hopes of returning home with a wide range of images of hummingbirds and other brightly colored birds from the country with the greatest biodiversity in the world.
During the entire stay in Costa Rica, I and the other five participants had a nice little bus with a very friendly and helpful local driver available.
The trip started in San Gerardo de Dota in the highlands south of the capital San José.
We then went north to Sarapiqui and later Boca Tapada and Bijagua close to the Nicaraguan border.
The final part took place more south in the area of Quespos and Tarcoles nearby the coast of the Pacific Ocean.
San Gerardo de Dota
It was late in the evening as we arrived from the airport to San Gerardo de Dota in the central highlands a little south of the capital San José.
Here we stayed at the lodge Mirador de Quetzales for three nights. I got a fine cabin with a nice view of the mountains.
However, when you are at an altitude of 2,700 meters it is cold – even in Costa Rica.
With daytime temperatures of 10-15 degrees Celsius and down to freezing at night, it was bitterly cold - and the cabin had no heating!
On the other hand, the photographic part of the trip started fantastic.
We drove from the lodge the first morning at 5:30 to a place nearby hoping to see the Resplendent Quetzal, considered one of the world's most beautiful birds. And luck was with us.
In an area outside a small house there were two males and a female during our few hours stay.
Sometimes they were perched on top of a free-standing branch with a relatively fine background. It rained a bit most of the time, which gave some extra atmosphere to the images.
Male and female Resplendent Quetzal sitting in the rain
Afterwards, we drove to another location to photograph hummingbirds. It turned out to be miserable. There were no stationary setups where hummingbirds used to be fed. Only as we arrived a few branches and flowers with nectar were set up, but no hummingbirds came by.
However, later in the afternoon I had the opportunity to get a few nice images of hummingbirds on a small platform at a restaurant nearby our lodge.
Male Talamanca hummingbird
The next morning, we went for the Quetzals once again, but this time without any success. We saw a few of the beautiful birds in the area, but they were at a long distance.
The rest of the day was far more rewarding photographing hummingbirds.
After a lovely home-cooked dinner in private surroundings with a local nature guide, we were allowed to spend the afternoon in his garden. Here, he had fine arrangements of flowers that attracted hummingbirds and we had a great afternoon with lots of photo opportunities.
Volcano hummingbird coming in for some nectar on a flower
Following a nice dinner in the evening at the lodge – which cooked good food – it was time for my last night in the cold.
Exciting to have experienced the mountains in central Costa Rica, but great to move on to warmer locations.
Sarapiqui
After a short drive towards Sarapiqui we spent a large part of the day at Quinta Galeon Lodge. A lovely place with good food and coffee.
However, the photographic conditions were far from optimal. They had set up a lot of plastic nectar dispensers to attract hummingbirds but you had to take pictures before they got too close to the dispensers - which was difficult.
Furthermore, flowers were missing to complete the composition and at the same time the lighting conditions and backgrounds were poor. Definitely not photo-friendly.
Hummingbirds, on the other hand, were in abundance. I photographed at least six different species during the 5-6 hours we spent there.
At one point I found a secluded area where hummingbirds occasionally were sitting on some branches. It required a lot of patience and concentration – they didn't rest for many split seconds.
In the afternoon we drove on to Sarapiqui, but had to go through the capital San José, so the 170 km took us four hours.
The place for the next five nights was Trogons Birding Lodge. It is owned by Jose Solís who also traveled with us as a guide for the rest of the trip.
My cabin was simple but at least it was clean and warm with air-condition.
On a terrace outside the small main building, we ate a home-cooked dinner outdoor every evening.
The first morning we went out to Frogs Heaven, which is established by Jose. A fantastic place where we photographed frogs all day.
There were opportunities to take pictures with multi-flash as well as natural light. The flash setup was done by local nature photographer Bernardo López Miranda.
Red-eyed tree frog photographed by use of a multiflash setup
The frogs were continuously found in the surrounding vegetation and returned back once we had taken our pictures.
The highlight of the day was of course the red-eyed tree frog. I managed to get lots of lovely images worth the whole trip to Costa Rica.
The stunning red-eyed tree frog
After a good night's sleep, we spent most of the next day in a private garden of a nature enthusiast named Diego. He has arranged his garden with a small pond where branches and bananas have been set up to attract birds.
Bird life at the pond was amazing and I got images of orange-chinned parakeets and other nice birds.
Orange-chinned parakeet from Diegos garden
Red-winged blackbird by the pond of Diegos garden
Next morning, we spent two hours driving up the mountains to Catarata San Fernando.
Emerald toucanet from Soda Y Mirador, Cinchona
Here we had a few hours to photograph from a café where bananas and other fruit had been set up to attract birds.
A lot of crossing branches made it unsuitable for serious photographers.
At the same time, it was a bit unfortunate that low-hanging clouds gave huge white spots in the background where there is normally green rainforest.
However, I got a lovely picture of a beautiful green emerald toucanet, so the trip was not an entire waste.
In the afternoon we were back in Frogs Heaven. This time snakes were on the agenda.
Andrey, who is Jose's younger brother, hosted the show. We had the opportunity to photograph five different snake species, some of which are very venomous.
They were brought out from terrariums and placed photogenic in the open by use of a long metal hook.
Side-striped palm pitviper
We were only allowed to take pictures of each individual snake for a few minutes, so they wouldn't get stressed. They had better keep calm.
A different and interesting experience, where I was always at a good distance with my long 500mm lens.
The next day had a great start. I got up early hoping to get something exciting from the platform on top of the main building before breakfast.
Luck was with me. A beautiful yellow-throated toucan and a collared aracari came by and I got some nice images.
However, the rest of the day in Pierella Ecological Garden was a total waste of time.
Three-toed sloth from Pierella Ecological Garden
It is a great place for birders with a myriad of different species.
Furthermore, the owners were very nice people who really cared for their guests.
Unfortunately, the settings are not at all suitable for serious nature photography with only a single miserable looking branch for birds to sit on and hopeless backgrounds.
The only positive experience during the day was that I got to see a three-toed sloth sitting in a low palm tree.
Poor photography conditions at Pierella Ecological Garden
Not the best way to finish our stay in Sarapiqui before the onward journey towards Boca Tapada.
Boca Tapada
After breakfast and a farewell to Trogons Birding Lodge we continued towards Boca Tapada.
On the way, we had a few hours of photography at Sarapiqui's Birding, which is a small private residence, where bananas are set up in the garden between two branches.
Compared to the day before, it was a much better set-up with fine branches and a background at an appropriate distance.
Pale-billed woodpecker at Sarapiqui’s Birding
It turned out to be a good couple of hours of photography before a four-hour long drive to Pedacito de Cielo Hotel Eco Lodge, which was to be our base for the next three days.
A very nice place with wooden cabins and a much higher standard than earlier on the trip. Only downside was that the cabin had no air conditioning and it was unbearably hot. But better hot than cold!
After a good night's sleep – luckily the temperature dropped – the stay in Boca Tapada started with another photo session in a small private garden. Unfortunately, another one with bad branches and a lousy background.
However, a great experience awaited us later in the day – we had to photograph vultures!
At a site nearby our lodge, a carcass was laid out in front of a large photo hide and several vultures were attracted by the free meal.
The hide was on a hilltop with a long distance to the background, which provided good photographic conditions.
A large number of black vultures were already on site when we arrived. A little later, also some of the impressive king vultures came by.
As so often before, we had a torrential downpour along the way, which gave an additional interesting dimension to the pictures. A super nice session!
Juvenile King vulture in the rain
The next day started at Mirador el Pizote. It is a place with the traditional couple of branches and attractive bananas. For once, the background was far away which was very positive.
The goal was to photograph toucans, but only one came by for a short period of time in the six hours we were on site.
Yellow-throated toucan from Mirador el Pizote
After a nice lunch at the lodge, where you eat really well, a boat trip on the San Carlos River was planned.
The river runs right below the cabins, so we just had to walk down a steep slope to a boat with an outboard motor.
A local nature guide sailed us up the river towards the border of Nicaragua.
Immediately, we saw a huge male green iguana lying freely on the bank and I managed to get some nice images. It is an impressive lizard and the largest in Central America. The male green iguana can reach 8 kg in weight and be 2 meters long – and this one was definitely a big guy.
Green iguana male showing off
Later, we saw a beautiful green basilisk - also known as Jesus Christ Lizard, as it can run on the water surface.
Green basilisk also known as Jesus Christ Lizard
After sailing 10-12 km up the river we reached the Nicaraguan border. In fact, we were not allowed to cross the border, but sailed just a few meters on San Juan River in Nicaragua before returning for a short stop at a small bar with local beer.
The journey home proceeded at high speed before it was getting dark. Also, we had to return to Mirador el Pizote this time to photograph bats with multi flash.
In the dark, we had the opportunity to photograph when a bat approached a flower with some sweet nectar. It was certainly not an easy task.
With pre-focusing on the flower and a remote release on the camera a single image could be taken at a time. Also, it was dark and only a bit of light made it possible to sense when something came flying.
I got the opportunity to take a total of 25 images and had no idea of the result along the way. Fortunately, I had been lucky with a few.
A long-nosed proboscis bat
The two days of photography in Boca Tapada ended well and now Bijagua was waiting.
Bijagua
The trip to Bijagua was long. After 4-5 hours of driving and a lunch along the way, we stopped at a place called Birdsong Garden.
It was a garden with some large bushes where a few hummingbirds flew around.
We spent an hour observing the hummingbirds and I got a few images. Nice to see the Black-crested coquette but not a place worth visiting.
Heavily cropped image of a black-crested coquette from Birdsong Garden
Then, we drove a short distance to Cataratas Bijagua Lodge, being the destination for the next two nights. Fortunately, I got a nice wooden cabin after a long day on the road.
The next morning, we already left the lodge at 5:30 for Tapir Valley Nature Reserve, which is a 220 acre privately owned national park. It has become famous because the endangered Baird's tapir has been found in the area. National Geographic has spent many months in the nature reserve.
It was an amazing place that you can't just visit without prior appointment. Thus, we were the only guests in the entire national park for the whole day.
The owner was present in the first hours and provided an exquisite breakfast with the usual good Costa Rican coffee.
In addition to the opportunity to photograph hummingbirds in the open, there was also a super nice platform visited by toucans, aracaris, woodpeckers and other birds including a Keel-billed toucan at a distance.
Also, we had the incredible experience of seeing and photographing a beautiful broad-billed motmot. It sat briefly on a branch in the rainforest close to a bridge leading up to the platform.
A beautiful Broad-billed motmot from Tapir Valley Nature Reserve
In terms of weather, Bijagua was a little different from the other locations. It rained more frequently and the humidity was extreme.
Although we had a lovely day in Tapir Valley National Park the overall value of going to Bijagua was limited considering the amount of transport time we used.
Quespos
Another long day on the roads from Bijagua in the north of Costa Rica to our next destination Quespos, which lies along the Pacific Ocean in the south of the country.
It took all day to drive the roughly 250 km to the town of Quespos, where we were to spend two nights at Hotel Le Priss.
The hotel was in the middle of a noisy city with 20,000 inhabitants. A huge anti-climax after two weeks in peaceful natural surroundings. And the standard of the hotel was certainly not high.
The next day it was finally photography time again. We spent the whole day in Esquipulas Rainforest, where we arrived at 6:00 after a 30-minute drive from the hotel.
It was possible to photograph against setups on either side of a nice covered seating area.
Unfortunately, the photographic conditions were mediocre. A lot of crossing branches made it almost hopeless to get a clear shot of even a small bird.
However, the birdlife on the branches was exciting. In addition to a number of different species of small birds, there were Yellow-throated toucans and the relatively rare Fiery-billed aracari.
Fiery-billed aracari at Esquipulas Rainforest
After a few hours, we got some of the worst obstacles removed from the setups and the photo conditions got slightly better for the rest of the day.
Esquipulas Rainforest is a lovely place. Many interesting birds comes by but it is a pity that the conditions for wildlife photography are not up to standard. And it will take so little to improve.
Golden-naped woodpecker
After a nice dinner at a restaurant by the city's fashionable marina, it was time for the last night at the hotel in Quespos, where the noise in the streets was certainly not conducive to a good night's sleep.
As with Bijagua the value of spending so much time travelling to get a single day of photography in Esquipulas Rainforest was rather limited.
Now only one night remains in Tarcoles before going back to Europe.
Tarcoles
The day started with departure from the hotel at 9:30.
After a few hours of driving and lunch, we arrived north of Tarcoles to pick up the local nature guide Alvaro Gutierrez.
Alvaro was going to show us some rare birds in the area.
For three hours we drove around to different locations and observed several interesting bird species.
There were a common pauraque and northern potoo, which are very difficult to spot in the wild. We also saw a pearl kite and two Costa Rica pygmy owls.
Ornithologists would have been delighted, but as a wildlife photographer it was a total waste of time.
The birds sat high up and deep into the trees with no real photo opportunities. At times, some individuals in the group could not even see the birds despite guided direction.
The only reasonable image I got was of a Gartered trogon sitting close by and relatively freely for a few seconds.
Gartered trogon
At 5pm we arrived at Cerro Lodge for the last night in Costa Rica.
It was dark already and the rain was pouring down. Furthermore, the power had gone in the entire area.
We spent a few hours in the reception area in the glow of candles before the power came back on.
The lodge was wonderful with nice rooms and I had an amazing pizza for dinner.
An early boat trip on a nearby river was arranged for the next morning, but I decided on a long sleep and plenty of time to pack.
In the morning we left for San José and the flight to London was on schedule.
Closing remarks
To me, it is always exciting to visit new cultures that differ significantly from the homelike Danish one.
Costa Rica turned out to be a fascinating country with an absolutely unique nature. At the same time, the locals are extremely friendly and always smiling.
The stunning red-eyed tree frog
It is a green and lush country with temperatures of 25-30 degrees Celsius during my stay in November. The exception was of course in the highlands, where it was cold.
The lush rainforests exist for a reason. It rained almost every single day of the trip. Not all-day rain, which is known from Denmark, but often downpours for a short period. And the humidity was high.
Photography wise my biggest dream came through – the red-eyed tree frog!
Furthermore, I returned home with a large portfolio of lovely pictures of brightly colored birds, which are primarily found in this part of the world.
The amazing Resplendent quetzal
Visiting many different locations from the northernmost part of Costa Rica at the border with Nicaragua to the southern part at Quespos and Tarcoles was of course interesting.
The downside was that it meant a lot of time wasted on transportation.
Especially the last part of the trip was poorly planned and brought very little photographic payoff.
I clearly recommend Costa Rica for nature lovers and birders.
As a wildlife photographer with an artistic approach the overall conclusion is a bit mixed.
No doubt that the subjects to photograph are unique and worth the visit.
However, on the organized trip I took part in, the photography was very conventional and generally you ended up with traditional images of birds on a branch. Thus, there was very little room for the creative element needed to make something unique.
On the other hand, as a wildlife photographer you cannot avoid being thrilled about having such an easy access to a huge number of astonishing birds without even using a hide.
PURA VIDA – Costa Rica was an unforgettable experience.
