Bill Tuckers Field Journal

Immediately after returning from Costa Rica I left on another flight to Churchill Manitoba Canada to photograph Polar Bears for a week. I was home just long enough to dump the clothes I had in Costa Rica and re-pack cold weather clothing, grab a bite to eat, sleep three hours and head to the Tampa airport for 8am flight. As a matter of fact I wrote the last blog entry on my flight to Canada and put the finishing touches on it at the Winnipeg Airport while waiting for my connection to Churchill.

I have wanted to photograph Polar Bears here for a number of years. A last minute opportunity presented itself this year to join friend and fellow photographer Charles Glatzer on a tour he was running. So despite the rushed nature of doing two trips back to back I jumped on the opportunity. The customs officer in Winnipeg noticed I was just in Costa Rica and asked how it was and I replied a lot warmer than here, he then asked where I was headed and I said Churchill and he laughed and said it would be a lot colder there than here. I said I know!

Churchill is a very small town where everybody knows everybody. For roughly seven weeks each year hundreds of people visit Chruchill to view polar bears before the waters totally freeze over and the bears head out to hunt. Weather was very cold due to the winds. There was a little snow on the ground but not much of an accumulation. I had expected more for an area so far north. After the first day it seemed the bays and such were freezing over but the ice broke up and moved in and out with the tides for the rest of the time I was there. We had periods of sunshine over three of our days, which is good for this area, and this time of year.

The first two days we spent in vehicles driving around to various locations looking for Polar Bears and other wildlife. Wildlife activity around town was very minimal. For the rest of the time we went out on Tundra Buggies each day and the activity was much better. We found plenty of Polar Bears, ptarmigan, and an artic fox.  Unfortunately we never saw a snowy owl or an artic hare. Some had been spotted here and there but not in the numbers they usually are. We spotted some other species of foxes but never close enough or in the clear to get a good photograph. The last day had to be the most active. The wind had died down which made it seem a bit warmer and the day started off with light rain, which turned to snow later on. Early on we found a female bear with a cub and observed them swimming, then drying off and interacting. We had seen females with cubs on previous days but seeing one swimming at this time of year is a bit unusual. Later we found another younger bear probably in its second or third year and watched him catch and kill a seal. After dragging it around for a bit and taking into the willow brush to eat for 15-20 minutes the scent drew in other bears. The first to come in was a bigger one who appeared to have already been eating something as he had blood on his fur and paws. Without any confrontation the smaller bear surrendered the catch to the larger bear. After this one had it for a while a larger bear came in and took the remains, it was hard to believe there was anything left. During this time the original bear hung around and another smaller one came in all hopping to get something. This provide hours of photo opportunities without having to move very far.

That evening with the snow coming down there was a fireworks show in town to kick-of the Olympic Torch Ceremonies for the next day. This was the first time I have ever seen fireworks in the snow and from what I heard the it was the first time for many of the local residents too. The next morning I had just enough time to watch the Olympic Torch come through town before having to head to the airport for my return flight. Upon reaching Winnipeg a maintenance issue with the plane caused the flight to be cancelled and I ended up spending the night there.

While I enjoyed Churchill and would have loved to have stayed longer, I was tired of the artic cold and all the extra work that goes into getting dressed and un-dressed to go outside. Upon arriving in Tampa the overcast sky made home seem just like Churchill except quite a bit warmer.

If you want to photograph Polar Bears in Churchill you will be best to find someone running a trip that charters the entire Tundra Buggy for the group and keeps the group size small (eight or so). If you are on a buggy mixed with general tourists you may be with thirty or so people on a buggy and your photo opportunities will be severely limited. Chas runs his trips this way and each person had a whole row on the buggy to themselves which allowed us to shoot out of either side of the buggy or on the back deck depending on what the situation was.

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!