One of the joys of going on a photo tour is you’re with photographers all the time. There’s no one saying it’s time to go — except when the bus is leaving — no one to ask how many times you’re going to photograph the same thing.
During our recent photo tour to Costa Rica, the group noticed a nesting pair of s great kiskadees in the parking area. The birds built their nest in a palm tree right in the main parking area of the lodge. We walked below the nest to meals and returning from meals.
Great kiskadee nesting in a palm tree near the Rincón de la Vieja Volcano in northern Costa Rica.
The nesting kiskadee pair was just part of our day. The pair carried grass and fibers into the nest throughout the day. One bird could spend four or five minutes inside the nest packing the grass in just the right spot. Then that bird would fly out and the other member of the pair would fly in with a beak-full of fibers. That bird would pack their fibers in place, round and round inside the nest, then rest in the opening for a bit, and fly out.
Great kiskadee with a beak-full of nesting material.
Over and over again we watched this pair of birds perfect their messy nest.
Great kiskadee with another load of nesting material.
Finally when the light was lovely on the nest, I suggested we stop and photograph the kiskadees building their nest.
For the next hour, we stood together and photographed the kiskadees.
We compared shutter speeds to see if we stopped the wings of the bird as it left the nest that time. Slight blurring — raise the ISO, get a faster shutter speed and give it a try next time.
Someone got the crown pattern on the top of the kiskadee’s head. It looks like a bulls-eye if you’ve never seen it. “Wow! I need to get that next time!” someone in the group said. And off we’d go again. Waiting for the bird to fly out of the nest and show us its head pattern.
Over and over and over we photographed two birds as they built their nest. Those birds gave us such joy. We learned so much about our cameras and photography thanks to them.
My thoughts go out to that pair of determined birds in Guanacaste Costa Rica. I hope they are sitting on a clutch of heathy eggs that will mature into a nestful of great kiskadees.
My photographer friends at the great kiskadee nest in Costa Rica.
My husband and I have been taking birding/photography groups to Costa Rica since 2004. We’ve used Strabo Tours for each of these as well as a local Costa Rican tour company and our local guide, Willy Alfaro. The same operators and guides for every trip. We change the locations and time of year, and that changes the birds. Each trip is the same but each is different.
Our March 2020 trip was to the northern reaches of Costa Rica. We began in Liberia in the state of Guanacaste and ended in San Jose in the center of the country.
Our first lodge was in the hills of the Rincón de la Vieja volcano. The habitat was officially dry forest but the grounds were lush and filled with birds. Temps were in the 80s but we were plagued by misty rain. This gave us amazing rainbows but made photography a challenge.
Birds on the grounds included crested guan, white-throated magpie-jay, black-headed trogon, Garter trogon, keel-billed toucan, and turquoise-browed motmot. Those were the big, colorful birds. We didn’t overlook social flycatcher, summer tanager, western tanager, and other small but important birds.
We spent two nights at this location, then packed and drove past the Miravalles Volcano to the Rio Celeste. A stop along the way at Celeste Mountain Lodge gave us a chance to eat lunch and photograph birds at the feeders. Yellow-throated euphonia, scarlet-rumped tanagers, palm tanagers, and others gave the group new birds.
Our lodging in this area put the group in an unexpectedly luxurious eco-lodge. My room had a private outdoor terrace, a private outdoor shower on the other end, an indoor shower big enough for a football team, luxurious bathroom, and amazingly comfortable beds.
Bird feeders on the grounds attracted buff-throated saltator, Montezuma oropendola, and others. Overhead, we photographed swallow-tailed kites during a morning walk. After a nice mid-morning hike, we got to photograph the turquoise-colored Rio Celeste.
After two night, we packed-up and drove to the Arenal volcano area. Along the way we stopped at Danaus Nature Center to photograph two-toed sloth, white-nosed coati, boat-billed heron, and other things. The group was not ready to leave but our hotel for the night held lots of photo opportunities.
Arenal Volcano in the La Fortuna region of Costa Rica.
We maximized our time in the Arenal area but packed again to drive to Maquenque Eco-lodge near the Nicaraguan border.
Maquenque is a destination that nearly overwhelmed the group. Feeders near the dining room attracted many birds we’d already photographed but then there were new birds. Brown-headed parrot was the star and a lifer for me. All three honeycreepers — red-legged, green, and sparkling — came into the feeders frequently. Amazon kingfisher, great egret, purple gallinule and northern jacana frequented the property’s marshy pond.
Montezuma oropendola; Psarocolius montezuma; Maquenque Lodge; Costa Rica; Rio San Carlos; Maquenque Eco-lodge
After two nights, the tour headed a bit south to the Sarapiqui area. This is a favorite location for bird photography and our main stop was Dave & Dave’s Nature Park. Dave and Dave (father and son) have built a location where birds land on natural perches to feed on native fruits. The photo opportunities are amazing.
golden-hooded tanager; Tangara larvata; Costa Rica; Sarapiqui
Collared aracari; Pteroglossus torquatus; Costa Rica; Sarapiqui
Blue-gray tanager; Thraupis episcopus; Costa Rica; Sarapiqui
Great kiskadee; Pitangus sulphuratus; Costa Rica; Sarapiqui
Gray-headed chachalaca; Ortalis cinereiceps; Costa Rica; Sarapiqui
Green honeycreeper; Chlorophanes spiza; Costa Rica; Sarapiqui
Two visits to Dave & Dave’s gave us a chance to photograph different perching birds plus several hummingbirds. The group was exhausted but still managed to eat amazing TexMex food before heading across the mountains to San Jose.
We gave the group one last stop while driving through the mountains. A small roadside coffee shop has a balcony overlooking a lush tropical valley. Feeders attracted mountain birds including Emerald toucanet, black guan, and a little Tennessee warbler. Hummingbirds feeders let us photograph green hermit, coppery-headed emerald, and violet saberwing.
Green-crowned brilliant; Heliodoxa jacula; Mirador De Cinchona; Costa Rica; Premontane Wet Forest; Alajuela Province
Green thorntail hummingbird; Discosura conversii; Mirador De Cinchona; Costa Rica; Premontane Wet Forest; Alajuela Province
Coppery-headed emerald hummingbird; Elvira cupreiceps; Mirador De Cinchona; Costa Rica; Premontane Wet Forest; Alajuela Province
Black guan; Chamaepetes unicolor; Mirador De Cinchona; Costa Rica; Premontane Wet Forest; Alajuela Province
As we cruised into San Jose for our last night in Costa Rica, the group was happy but a bit anxious. Corona Virus was in the news back in the United States. We’d experienced great bird and wonderful lodges. Our memories will always be enhanced thanks to the 500 or so pictures we took each day.
We’ll do this route again in March 2021. Details are on the Strabo Photo Tour website.
Kathy Adams Clark 