Bill Tuckers Field Journal

While for the past number of years I have always traveled to Bosque Del Apache NWR around Thanksgiving to photograph Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese the opportunities there have been awful the past few years so this year I headed back down to Costa Rica to do some more hummingbird photography. I spent some time around the San Jose area with people I have met there and then headed out to spend a few days at Rancho Natuural Lodge with Greg Basco. This lodge is in a different area of the country and the drive out was much easier than other I’ve previously visited. The roads are certainly in better condition. The lodge is a beautiful property and we had plenty of opportunities with the hummingbirds.  Rancho Naturalista is known as one place to find the Snow Capped Hummingbird, which is quite small (may be the smallest hummingbird) unfortunately both the male and female eluded us. A female or two had been spotted around but they are routinely chased away from the feeders by some of the other larger species.

I returned to Costa Rica for seven days this time spending the majority of the time in the mountain ranges and a little time on Caribbean Coast. I had a wonderful time, despite this being the start of their rainy season and it raining at some point on all but one day In the mountain areas the roads are treacherous to say the least. Granted some of these roads were in areas that suffered damage from the earthquake this past January but other were not. In addition to the road conditions you add in free roaming cattle, ox, dogs, chickens, horses, children sitting on the edge of the road playing, and fog / low clouds in some areas and you have a lot to deal with. All and all the driving provided it’s own adventure especially after dark!. Don’t get me wrong I would do it again without hesitation.

Costa Rica has a wide selection of wildlife and I chose to spend some time on this trip photographing Hummingbirds. For this I enlisted the help of Greg Basco / Verde Tours who is a Costa Rican Photographer. Greg is an American but has lived in Costa Rica for the past sixteen years and is very knowledgeable about Costa Rica. He is also a real nice person. Hummingbird photography is a bit specialized requiring props and multiple flashes, which Greg can provide. This is invaluable as transporting light stands, and the related equipment by air is a bit costly, bulky and if something happens to it in transit you will have a real problem. Greg obviously knows which areas have which species and which lodges are better than others for photography which saves valuable time.

Catarata del Toro – Is one place I visited and had excellent results with every species of hummingbirds that frequent the lodge. Sorry I don’t have a species count as of yet as I have not had time to go through all the images. Catarata del Toro is a beautiful property that overlooks a spectacular 300ft waterfall. Unfortunately they suffered some damage in January’s earthquake and had just re-opened less than a week before my arrival. Accommodations there are a bit primitive (no internet, TV, etc,) but are quite adequate. You pretty much need to plan on eating on the property as the nearest towns are a bit of a drive. There are trails there you can hike on. The main trail leads all the way down to the base of the waterfall. While I did not see them, there are Monkeys in the area as well as Toucans and Quetzals which according to the owner frequent the grounds of the lodge as they put food out for them as well as the hummingbird feeders. I did hear the monkeys on a number of occasions. They also have a wide variety of plants on the grounds that one could photograph.

La Paz Waterfall Gardens – Is another place I visited that is worth mentioning. This is a privately owned ecological park that is located about an hour and a half from San Jose. It and the roads leading to the facility suffered damage from the earthquake too and both are still under repair. The road is passable but caution should be used and the park still has some areas that are closed. The facility is just spectacular, I was amazed at the craftsmanship and detail that went into building this facility all the way down to the restrooms. Honestly I don’t go around admiring restrooms but the uniqueness of these caught my attention.

There are five waterfalls on the property. There is a walk through aviary where you have the opportunity to photograph varies birds in a natural environment. I would recommend getting there early as I found the birds more cooperative before there had been food put out. Inside the aviary you will encounter a few species (raptures, scarlet macaws) that are in their own smaller enclosures and you won’t be able to photograph them unless you are willing to shoot through wire. There is an enclosure with six Toucans that you can enter. These guys are adorable and quite tame. You will be limited here due to the size of the enclosure and the limited natural light. Close-up headshots with a macro lens and fill flash is ticket. There are also a number of wild species of birds in the area should you want to bring a long lens. They get twenty-four species of hummingbirds. Unfortunately I do not think they are receptive to setting up multiple flashes, props and such so the photographic opportunities for hummingbirds here are limited.

There is a butterfly house, a frog house, orchard house, and lavish amount of plants on the property that could provide endless photographic opportunities. In regards to the frogs, they are mostly sleeping during the day so patience is needed. You may want to hit this area late in the day and inquire with the staff about the possibility of waking up some of the frogs.

Admission is a bit pricey by U.S. standards for a facility without any thrill rides, and it looks small from the road. I assure you though it is worth visiting. They have a restaurant on site that serves a buffet style lunch. Again there is not really anything else close by so you should plan on bringing something or eating at the faculty.

I also went repelling at two waterfalls not mentioned above on this trip. That was a blast and repelling is something I haven’t done for close to twenty years. I also found two musicians from Nashville performing classic rock at local bar in San Jose on my last night who were quite good. They apparently visit the area a couple of times a year performing.

When returning I was selected to be searched by customs. I guess being there for seven days and having three pieces of luggage looked out of place. Before they even said much I retrieved and presented the officer with my stack of Form 4457’s which lists and certifies each piece of photography equipment I am carrying was taken abroad from the U.S. and not recently purchased, being subject to duty. After seeing these the officer hardly looked at my stuff and never mentioned the word duty. I have been carrying these forms for a few years waiting for this situation after hearing of another photographer being challenged that he just purchased his equipment and it being subject to duty. They did casually look through all my bags and asked some random questions such as what city I was born in. I would highly suggest if you travel with a lot of high dollar equipment regardless if it looks new or not you take the time to fill out these forms and get them certified before taking a trip outside the U.S. It can alleviate any question about there being a duty on the item(s). You can get the forms on line and once filled out have them certified by any customs officer. Typically just go to your airport early before your next trip and locate the customs office and they will be happy to help you. You only need to do this once and keep the forms for all future trips. Just remember to fill out new ones for any new equipment you purchase.

If you are unsure if I really enjoyed myself, I already have another visit planed for January and if the opportunity presents itself I may get there again before that trip!

I had an amazing time visiting Costa Rica. I only regret not allowing more time.

I was not overlay impressed with the city of San Jose. Very dirty, and run down except for the tourist hotels. This of course may be typical of larger South America cities. It was sad to see how bad off some of these people are.

They say San Jose is safe to walk during the day but not after 9pm. I however had no problems walking short distances in the evenings. There are taxis everywhere and they are relatively cheap, less than a dollar to go five or six blocks. The real problem is the taxi drivers rarely speak English (as is the same for the majority of the population) and they don’t seem to know where anything is. The taxi driver I had from the airport had no clue where my hotel was despite saying he did and I even had a map of downtown showing where it was. What they do is start calling their friends / other cabbies etc. till they find someone who knows where their destination is.

Another problem I found throughout my whole trip is the lack of street signs. I had a great map of downtown, trouble is very few intersections are marked. Every five or six blocks you may find an older well-kept building with a sign indicating it’s name imbedded in the side. When you do this will only identify one of the streets of the interception. In all the driving I did to places outside of the city I never found a sign identifying what road I was on. There are many signs advising you of the speed limit and a few saying what town you are approaching but nothing say you are on Route 141 for example. I honestly doubt I would have found many of my destinations without a GPS. Most all the rental car companies rent them and will tell you up front you need one. 

While I scouted a number of lodges and areas to photograph from in the future, I visited the following two locations:

Wildlife Rescue Center / La Marina Foundation-

This was truly the harder of the places to find until I found it listed in the GPS as Eco Zoo La Marina. It was a very nice place, and well kept. I would not recommend a visit if your strictly looking to photograph animals or birds. A majority of the enclosures are dark and next to impossible to photograph in. There are some open areas with various animals and an area where free flying Macaws come and go to feed. Unfortunately at the time I was there I only saw two Scarlet Macaws around that were free. If you are in the area and have an hour or two to spare it is certainly worth a visit.

Being listed as a wildlife rescue center I was not expecting that much photographically. I was more interested to see the facility and how things differ from facilities I am familiar with in the U.S. After visiting I am unsure how much they are a wildlife rescue center vs a zoo. Certainly not a zoo in comparison to a typical U.S. Zoo. Most likely in these countries places have to double as both to survive as I am sure getting donations is much harder.

With the presence of Muscovy Ducks and Black Vultures it certainly felt like a Rescue center back home.

For me the best part of the visit were the pair of Spider Monkeys, they have a pair in an open enclosure and they are just adorable and friendly. It appeared they crave interaction from any outside source. As soon as they spot you they will come down from the trees to the fencing near you. This makes photographing them hard but if you act like you are leaving they will move back into the field or in their trees where you will have better opportunities. While they both will come over to visitors the one sticks his hand through the fence looking to touch or shake hands with you. He was extremely curious about my camera.

The facility has a number of snakes, various birds, and species of cats. It was sad to see these smaller species of cats have small cages and no real habit. While they looked well kept these guys certainly could not be happy. I suspect the facility is doing the best they can with the funding they receive.

For more information:
http://www.zoocostarica.com

Sloth Rescue Center

This facility is the city of Limon, which is about a three hour drive from San Jose. They provide rescue & rehabilitation to almost only Sloths. These are amazing and adorable animals. They mostly become orphaned or injured much like squirrels and opossums do here in the U.S., they fall from tress and mom doesn’t retrieve them / they wander off or mom gets run over and the babies are found by some caring person.

This facility is spacious and well maintained. For a photographer there are many opportunities to photograph some of the resident sloth’s in a natural environment as well as finding some wild ones on the hiking trails. They also offer an early morning canoe trip, which will give you the opportunity to photograph other native birds and animals. A 300mm – 400mm lens is recommended. Another opportunity here is to spend a night or two in their hotel.

The sloths that are non-releasable are kept as residents for educational purposes. Many are quite habituated to people and the interaction you can have with them is priceless. When you stay at the center meals are provided and many of the resident Sloths will eat theirs in the same area.

For more information:
http://www.slothrescue.org

There were a number of interesting moments during the trip. Some of the best and easiest places to eat in San Jose were the tourist hotels/ casinos when you don’t speak or read Spanish. The food was good and the staff was somewhat fluent in English. Unfortunately the street peddlers and con artists hang out at the entrances to these places. One offered me a shoeshine despite the fact I was wearing sandals. Another offers to take your blood pressure. Many are trying to sell you things from cigars to drugs. Trying to return home even proved a bit challenging. Seems the planes third engine was not working, this engine isn’t needed to fly but rather runs the a/c and starts the two main engines when on the ground. When the third engine doesn’t work a ground pack runs the planes a/c and provides the power to start the other engines. Well the ground pack was not working properly and a full plane waited about an hour while they either fixed the one hooked up to our plane or found another one to get us on our way. It got a bit hot and I for one was hoping they would just cancel the flight!

All and all it was excellent trip. I am already looking at dates to return.