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I had a trip coming up to Costa Rica and it was time to invest in some serious gear. I finally had the following gear just before my upcoming trip in October of this year.
D7500 paired with 200 - 500mm Nikkor
D5100 paired with 18 - 200mm Nikkor
50mm prime
Sirui carbon fiber monopod with a Sirui Ball-Head
A few filters and other accesories
All packed up in a Lowepro Pro Runner 350 AW
I was a little skeptical about lugging that thing around as the in-cabin luggage and also because it weighed a whooping 11kgs. In the end, it all worked out well and I had a fantastic trip.
We were in Costa Rica for 2 weeks but since this was a work trip, we had only about 4 days on weekends for birding. So, I planned it in such a way that we cover a bit of everything (low-lands, tropical forest and the cloud forest). My guide for the first 2 trips was a guy named Randal Ortega - Extremely knowledgeable and claims to have been a birder for over 20years. My friend drove us to Quetzal Paradise lodge on the last day before flying out as it was just a day trip.
The rough itinerary looked like this:
Day 1: In and around Jaco Beach,
Day 2 / 3: Le Selva National Park
Day 4: Quetzal Paradise lodge
This is my first serious birding trip and experts please forgive me for any errors / oversight.
On day1, we did what Randal called, drive-by birding :)
We drove around the Carara National Park, took a quick boat ride on Jaco River and went to a well-known birding spot by the Jaco Beach.
Here are a few pics from Day1.
Grove Billed Ani Hoffmann’s Woodpecker Black Hawk Northern jacana Tiger Heron Whistling duck The Majestic looking, Crested Caracara Black Vulture Chestnut Mandibled Toucan Mangrove Swallow Swallow Tailed Kite Osprey Roseate Spoonbill Blue Heron Black-necked Stilt Boat-billed heron Green Kingfisher Sandpiper (Spotted?) Pearl Kite Wood Stork White Stork Great Egret, with a red snapper Scarlet Macaw - I insisted that we should look hard for the Macaws as it was very high on my list. This is where local knowledge helps, I've been to Jaco Beach atleast 3 times before but was never able to see these majestic (& super noisy birds!) - Time of the day was wrong. The guide has seen this behaviour several times and was confident that the birds will be on this almond tree around 3pm everyday. We drove to that place and viola... there were atleast 30 birds & It was amazing!
Day 4:
My friend in Costa Rica drove us to this place called "Paraiso Quetzal Lodge", which was about 85KMS from our hotel. The lodge is admist prime Quetzal territory at an elevation of about 9,000ft above MSL. It was a beautiful drive and the lodge itself is extremely picturesque. We had to hike for a kilometer to vantage point where Quetzals are known to frequent. We reached the place around 10:00am and every birding enthusiast knows... this is not the best time for birding. However we stayed put in that place for about an hour, as a farmer there reassuringly mentioned that the birds generally do return around 12 in the noon. Guess what?! He was right... and here are some pics of the magnificient bird.
Resplendent Quetzal
Green Violetear Hummingbird
Scintillant Hummingbird Female
Black-capped Flycatcher
Talamanca Hummingbird
As it is evident, even a rookie like me can make half-decent pics because the places and birding opportunities are some of the best in the world! The biodiversity in the forests of Costa Rica is truly amazing. To explore the whole country, one needs to spend atleast 10 - 15 days.
Anyways... I really hope that you enjoyed viewing the pics, as much as I liked clicking, shortlisting and posting them.
Hope to share more from our South Indian forests soon.
Cheers!
Goutham
Note from Moderator
Thanks for sharing - a really excellent photologue
Moving to Travelogue section
Brilliant photos. Loved the colours.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Venom_rider
(Post 4532464)
Birds of Costa Rica |
Lovely pictures! Thank you very much for taking the time to post them, and mentioning the name of each bird. This thread made my afternoon clap:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Venom_rider
(Post 4532493)
Swallow Tailed Kite |
I am no bird expert, but based on my limited knowledge of birds, that doesn't look like any kind of Kite to me. It looks like some kind of Albatross, which I'm inclined to think due to it's beak.
I googled for the Swallow Tailed Kite, and this is what it looks like, which definitely does not match the bird in your picture. So, I'm not sure if you uploaded the wrong picture; or you put the wrong name for the bird?
Cheers
Quote:
Originally Posted by Joxster
(Post 4532587)
Lovely pictures! Thank you very much for taking the time to post them, and mentioning the name of each bird. This thread made my afternoon clap:
|
Thank you buddy... Glad you like the clicks
Quote:
Originally Posted by Joxster
(Post 4532587)
I am no bird expert, but based on my limited knowledge of birds, that doesn't look like any kind of Kite to me. It looks like some kind of Albatross, which I'm inclined to think due to it's beak.
I googled for the Swallow Tailed Kite, and this is what it looks like, which definitely does not match the bird in your picture. So, I'm not sure if you uploaded the wrong picture; or you put the wrong name for the bird?
Cheers |
Sorry looks like I mixed up the title and pic... The photo infact is of the
Magnificent Frigate bird. Thanks for highlighting the error.
Cheers!
Great picture gallery Venom_Rider !
Your glass has captured excellent, crisp & sharp pictures & you have painstakingly mentioned the name of each bird, goes so much to say about the passion you have about Birding & photography !
Well done !!
Brilliant pics and thanks for taking us on the trip. I'm an amateur photographer and just can't understand how you guys manage to get that tack-sharp focus.
I play around with the 50mm prime and a Tamron 90mm macro, but somehow I can't manage that sharp focus.
Any tips? :-D
Brilliant Photography and really Sharp photos.
When ever I thought of birds, only Brazil used to come mind. Had never thought of Costa Rica.
Thanks for sharing. My 3 year old daughter enjoyed seeing the pose of some the birds clap:
Brilliant pictures Goutham! Chestnut Mandibled Toucan is my favourite.
Thanks for the names of each bird, informative for non-bird experts like me lol:.
Thank you very much VR, for bringing Costa Rica to us.
Excellent log, one of a kind. It reminds me another log some time back on Masai Mara. Beautiful pictures, my favourite is
Keel-Billed Toucan
Would you also share some landscape pictures, I believe Costa Rica is a beautiful country with turquoise beaches.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rav11stars
(Post 4533196)
just can't understand how you guys manage to get that tack-sharp focus.
I play around with the 50mm prime and a Tamron 90mm macro, but somehow I can't manage that sharp focus.Any tips? :-D |
Hey, although I don’t do wildlife much, a couple of basics are,
1. Do not use macro for wildlife, especially birds, because they tend to move and with a shallow DOF, focus goes for a toss.
2. Lens focusing technology such as HSM/USM helps a lot. If you got a slow lens then Aperture is the key, it has to be high enough for the lens to focus faster. I usually start at F8, if my shutter is not fast enough (i.e. < 1/100) increase sensitivity.
3. A lazy shortcut can be shooting in sports mode. It would be sharp but grainy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rav11stars
(Post 4533196)
I play around with the 50mm prime and a Tamron 90mm macro, but somehow I can't manage that sharp focus.
Any tips? :-D |
I am no expert either buddy but apart from the tips provided by @Thermodynamics, here are few basic things that should help you get sharp photos especially from 50mm prime.
Get the balance between Aperture, Shutter speed and ISO right. The newer DSLRs can handle higher ISO well, so don't hesitate to crank it up carefully depending on the lighting conditions. 50mm (1.8?) can handle low light really well because of the wide aperture and Nikon version of it produces images with amazing sharpness and bokeh!
I always use Image Stabilization and use group of 4 focus points. The D7500 has very adept focusing system so never felt it to be challenging. The D5100 on the other hand, tests your patience, so right body matters!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chandrda
(Post 4533333)
Brilliant Photography and really Sharp photos.
When ever I thought of birds, only Brazil used to come mind. Had never thought of Costa Rica.
Thanks for sharing. My 3 year old daughter enjoyed seeing the pose of some the birds clap: |
Thanks buddy and I'm glad you and your daughter enjoyed :)
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Riddler
(Post 4533427)
Brilliant pictures Goutham! Chestnut Mandibled Toucan is my favourite.
Thanks for the names of each bird, informative for non-bird experts like me lol:. |
Welcome buddy!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thermodynamics
(Post 4533437)
Thank you very much VR, for bringing Costa Rica to us.
Excellent log, one of a kind. It reminds me another log some time back on Masai Mara. Beautiful pictures, my favourite is Keel-Billed Toucan
Would you also share some landscape pictures, I believe Costa Rica is a beautiful country with turquoise beaches.
|
Thank you so much... Unfortunately I don't have any good landscape photos. I generally didn't carry my DSLR during the beach trips, sorry!
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