This is a trip report.... there I said it. I had been loth to call it that. Trip reports have always at least to me smacked of lists. Pedantic descriptions of where and when. comments on the food etc. But I've had to face facts. This is a report of our trip to Costa Rica whether I like it or not. My girlfriend Carey and I took this trip in April of 07. Photographing birds was high up in my plans for the place.and yes I will comment on the food.

Although birds were what I went for I quickly discovered that the sheer scale of this tiny country overwhelmed any single interest. I didn't resent this shredding of my resolve. I knew I would still be chasing the little buggers. Its just that there were many shiny things to look at and perhaps photograph. I should add here that only the bird shots in this report were taken by myself. All the others were taken by Carey.

I will state here that bird lists are not high on my list of priorities. It is certainly not because I think lists of the sort that exist in the birding world are not a noble pusuit, far from it. Apart from the fact that I'm already tired it is that my life is already full of lists. You see, we live on a aging sailboat here in Vancover, Canada. Anyone who has actively owned a sailboat will understand. A large part of owning an old bucket like ours involves, you guessed it, lists. Lots of them. Lists of lists, daily, weekly, monthly. Well you get the point. As a result I feel downright naughty not counting or keeping lists of birds. It is a delightful thought!
Another reason for this stance on bird lists is a long and sordid history in the seedy world of art. it would not matter how many times I've seen a particular species. It wouldn't make onto any list I might keep until I could boast a reasonably fine shot of it. Most certainly it must meet certain minimum artistic criteria. On that basis my life list is probably very tiny.

One other thought occurs regarding lists. Are people who are interested in say, insects as avid about lists, or are birders just rowdier?

On the topic of bird photography and photography in general. Our shooting style involves hiking and moving through an area. I like to have the option to be mobile, so a kit that can be humped up a mountain and still be in hand for that dream shot is ideal. A 300mm plus a 1.7 teleconverter on a monopod does the trick very nicely.
Of course this shooting style is fraught with difficulties. Camera shake, missed chances. It generally doesn't allow for setting up for that technically perfect text book shot. What it does allow for is wonderful opportunities for charming serendipitous events that I could never have dreamed up.

At this point your rambling but perhaps thoughtful reporter will beg the indulgence of the reader as all this meandering at some point will... well, have a point. I'll come clean right here and say that I'm pretty sure this will not be the case here. All this rambling will "not" come to a point in the story where the epiphany will become present and clear.
In keeping with the moderately disorganized quality of this thing. I will say here where I should have stated right out of the gate that this entire trip, its roaring success, its smooth unfolding as we proceeded. Everything about it was the result of our guide and I hope now our friend Noel Urena., His lovely wife and their company Tropical feathers.
Noel was recommended to us by Richard Garrigues. As it turns out it was a fortuitous match. Noel is a very fine photographer in his own right. Our hunting style seemed to mesh well and we had a lot of fun creeping through the bush stalking zipping two ounce objects with minds of their own. His instincts were unerring and it was a delight to watch him work. I hope to traipse through the jungle with him again someday.

Oh, Yes, the report.
Day one of course involved the usual hectic time spent in taxis, airports, and planes. Upon our arrival we immediately started to relax when we found Oldemar who was to be our driver for a good part of the trip. He ran us over to the Bougainvillea Hotel where our heads hit the pillows pretty quickly.
The morning found us wandering the grounds while waiting for our ride to Rancho Naturalista. This lodge is located in the Caribbean foothills near Turriablba. This took about two hours allowing for cows etc. Got ourselves settled in time for lunch, yummy! Where we had the opportunity to meet the other guests. I enjoyed the dining arrangements as the round table allowed everyone to mingle over the lovely meals.

When I was researching lodges on the net I came across a thread on a birding forum where the original poster very plausibly painted a picture of a deteriorating lodge and its environs. When Noel booked us in there I was curious and wished to see for myself if any of these allegations had any basis in facts. I can state here that I did not encounter any of his list of complaints. In fact we had the opportunity to hear the lodges side of the O.P's story which if true would explain why the O.P's opinion differed fundamentally with that of the owner. Perhaps it may have something to do with the opposing schools of thought regarding banding and the value of the data. The lodges position being that it in fact does not produce data of any value except perhaps when applying for research funds.

Suffice to say we enjoyed our stay there. Our local guide Leo was very knowledgable and went to great lengths to ensure that we saw many cool things as well as sharing his own interests and enthusiasms. Our next trip will include a stay there.

Day two. our first full day at Rancho was spent hiking the local trails. I felt leo was sizing us up, in the nicest possible way of course. I think he was trying to decide whether he should show us a female Snowcap sitting on her nest amoung other things. We must have past the test cause he consented to showing us. I asked him if I could get a shot of it and you can see the result.

On our third day we hiked up the mountain of Silence in search of Lovely Cotingas. No luck, did see prong-billed barbets, Chlorophinias and Emerald Toucanets. One of the few times I did not have the kit out and ready was of course when a Red-fronted Parrotlet landed on the end of a branch not twenty feet away.It was very cooperative and politely waited until I pulled my camera out, got set up and pointed it at the rare fellow. It was then that it flew away! From that point on I never put the damn camera away but no more Parrotlets. I can report that climbing up the Mountain of Silence with a ten pound camera and lens on my shoulder was, shall we say strenuous.

That evening we did a night hike on the trails. This involved much fun. It's a very busy forest after the sun goes down. Leo took us to the hummingbird feeders up the trail to see the night shift. With red head lamps we could see what turned out to be hundreds of of nectar eating bats at the feeders. I thought hummingbirds were fast. Standing beside the feeders we could feel their wingtips brush our faces. A big thrill was a glimpse of a White-breasted Wood Wren sitting on her nest not two feet away. Didn't get a photo of her as leo felt that we might disturb her with the flash so we agreed and didn't risk it.
Among other cool things was a huge Tarantula hanging about in front of her nest.

The next day Oldemar picked us up early to make the trip to La Selva located in the Caribbean lowlands. An amazing place. we went on a short guided walk with one of the biologist/guides. saw many tiny blue jean frogs, one with a tadpole on its back.
At one point we saw a Toucan being ridden on its back like a horse and rider. the rider in this case was a very angry Social flycatcher who was vehemently stabbing its beak into the back of the Toucans head as it fruitlessly tried to escape from its antagonist. Careys only comment on that event was that she had grown up with the cereal commercials and was dismayed to learn Toucans ate eggs and young rather than the fruit loops she had always supposed. Needless to say she felt grossly misled.
The Volaceous Trogan with the male on the nest and the female keeping watch was a treat. Nice shots of the female. the Collared Peccary wandering round like they owned the place were fun to watch as well.
Our room was about a kilometer away from the station itself. So if we wanted to avail ourselves of the cafeteria we had to hoof it down a concrete path through a second growth forest. That would prove to be interesting all by itself. On our second night we were walking back with another guest whose room was in the same complex as ours. It was dark and we had our flashlights in hand. The three of us were flapping our gums and swapping stories. when we stumbled upon a rather large very beautiful snake coiled up on the path. It was about two meters in front of us and seemed unconcerned at our presence. Of course we saw this as a photo opp. so Carey started snapping away, flash popping while crouching to get a better angle. When she got enough we very carefully sidled along the edge of the path. At this point the snake decided to amble off.
Needless to say we were excited until we checked our reference book back at the hotel. We had been paparazzi to a Fer de Lance! Can you say "gulp".

We stayed at La Selva for two nights. The next morning Oldemar picked us up for the four hour drive to La Savegre Lodge. Up, up,up, we went. All the way up to la Savegre nestled in the Oak forests of Cerro de la Muerte. We checked in and Noel arrived soon after. This portion of the trip was to be spent in his company. his knowledge seemed endless, he was fun to be with and of course a big plus he appeared to laugh at my jokes.

We started with a walk around the lodge itself. Within ten minutes and 200 yards of our room we saw our first ever male Quetzal and very near by a Fiery Tanager. This was to be the tone of our visit right to the end. In fact a Avocado tree in a gravel parking lot by our rooms was to prove to to be a favorite lunch spot for the nesting Quetzals in the area.
Two real highlights were a Black faced Solitare, often heard but rarely seen and a Ruddy-capped Nightingale Thrush. Oh yes a pair of nesting Pygmy Owls feeding the young one.
We enjoyed La Savegre very much. The second afternoons downpour didn't damp our day because we spent it in the bar drinking hot chocolate by a roaring fire watching hummingbirds.

The next day found us on our way to Talari lodge located near San Isidro de el General. Not before we did some birding and shooting at some higher elevations. We were happy to see Volcano Juncos and I got a nice shot of a Flame-throated warbler

Talari Lodge owners Ben and Mandy made us feel welcome. The food everywhere we went was better than I expected but the meals at Talari lodge was without a doubt the best by far. I realize that there is a negative comment floating around the net regarding the food there. I would disagree vehemently. Our home town of Vancouver has the second or third highest number of restaurants to population in north America . You could sell an apartment without a kitchen and few would notice. We have eaten in many,many kinds of eateries. I figure we are enthusiasts. We both liked the food at Talari Lodge.
Having set the record straight regarding the food. I can talk about the wildlife. The place was thick with birds. One didn't have to leave the porch of the room to see dozens of different species.
We didn't spend much time in the grounds as the next day Noel took us to a local park called Las Quebradas biological reserve.

Having never been to Costa Rica before we weren't sure what bits of wildlife we should get excited about. Since they were all new to us they all seemed rare and therefore cool. So we came to rely on Noels level of excitement as a gauge for fauna that were unusual for that area or just plain rare. So we were very excited when Noel got excited when Carey spotted a Ochre-breasted Antpitta I even got of three crummy photos. I think Noel got better ones.
This kind of special sighting was to repeat it self on at least two other occasions. One of them being a Scale-Crested Pygmy Tyrant who was utterly curious and got closer and closer. Had to back up a bit to get some shots. I really felt like a bird whisperer with that one.

Next in line was Hacienda Baru on the coast near the Baru river. It was here that Noel left us on our own for our stay here. He had a local birding group to look after for a few days.
it was hot enough that we were grateful for a chance to slow down. The thatched gazebo with an assortment of hammocks near our cabin became birding headquarters for the duration of our stay. A nearby almost leafless tree turned out to be a cleaning/preening station for the local bird population. An all sorts tree that provided entertainment and some great photo opps. the place was thick with wild life.
A low bush next to the restaurant housed a nesting pair of red rumped Tanagers. The nest was attacked by a green tree snake who succeeded in devouring the hatchlings.
Four or five in the afternoon seemed to be the busiest time of day just outside the cabin.Consequently I managed to get some good shots of Olivaceous Piculet. which by the way is a great name. This little guy is Costa Ricas smallest tree creeper. Rufus-naped wrens seemed to be in charge of the garden along with a Chestnut-mandibled Toucan who as usual was being harried by the local nesting crowd.

Noel swung by on day three to take us up to Villa Lapas on the coast near Cararas National park. None the less the road above the lodge produced Trogans, Squrriel Cuckoos, creepers and Scarlet Macaws.

We didn't have to travel into Cararas very far. the happy reason being that we kept stopping and scrambling into the bush because we'd spot an Antpitta or a Jacamar or a Ruddy Quail-dove, or a royal flycatcher or.... well you get the picture.
The next afternoon we were to go on a boat tour of the mangroves with just Noel, the skipper and us. As it transpired we ended up sharing the boat with a great gang of Australian birders. a brassy bunch that brought some fun to the afternoon. Highlight of the day, a Pygmy kingfisher.
As a sop to the mix up the boat owner gave us another trip to the mangroves Gratis the next morning. So there we were leaving the dock the next day at six a.m. Mangrove hummingbirds and Mangrove Warblers were the result. my shots of the hummingbird were adequate while my warbler shots sucked. Noels warbler shots were inspired. So all in all it was a good boat ride.
one special bird we saw in the gardens of villa Lapas was a Blue-Vented Hummingbird.
It might have been the time of the year but I would have to say Villa Lapas and the surrounding countryside was the most diverse as far as birds were concerned. from Scarlet Macaws, trogans, Ant-wrens the diversity was amazing.

Oldemar was there bright and early the next day to take us up to Bosque la Paz. it was here at Villa Lapas that morning that Noel was to take his leave of our little party. We were sad as he was a big part of of the trip, we would miss him. We trusted his instincts. his sense of fun was, well fun. we had an opportunity to meet his family who were as delightful as he. We will come back to visit again someday.

Bosque la Paz is a beautiful lodge in the central volcanic region on 30,000 acres. We were on our own again and on Noels suggestion birded and photographed along the road. It was a wise prompt because we discovered a small colony of Clorophonia nesting along the road which resulted in some nice photos. Spinetails were kicking around along with Slate-throated Redstarts.

violet Sabre-wings were dominating the feeders. Found one sitting on a branch in the forest which afforded a nice photo.

Careys stick insect and the discovery of a pair of Long-tailed Silky flycatchers building a nest near the lodge rounded out our last morning nicely before Oldemar picked us up.

Bougainvillea next and our last stop before our flight back. An afternoon and next morning spent in the gardens produced some nice shots of Motmots, Black-faced Saltartores, and a very suspicious Brown Jay.

Our arrival back in Vancouver was anti climactic . we were greeted with wet and dreary weather. a cold protracted spring to say the least. It has inspired my machinations to get my butt back to Costa Rica.
I did some head scratching trying to figure out how to sum up this report, where would I begin. Then it finally sank in, how obvious, the people we met. Of course at the top of the list, Noel.
All the people of whom we had the opportunity to talk to were simply friendly and kind. Obviously proud of what they have accomplished with their country. Not to mention their love of the land and the environment.
needless to say we were reluctant to end our trip to that breathtaking country. it was difficult to process so much of what we saw and heard into a coherent ordered story. I hope I have succeeded in conveying something of what our trip was like.

Bryan/07