On my last trip to Costa Rica, I spent some time photographing hummingbirds. This beauty, the Purple-throated Mountain-gem was absolutely stunning. From most angles, he looked like a plain, green bird with no distinct markings. But then, when he’d turn to face you, at just the right angle–bam!–he glowed with iridescent splendor. Hopefully it was captured here in the video.
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When I left for Costa Rica in 2010, I said I wasn’t coming back home until I’d seen three life birds: the scarlet macaw, the keel-billed toucan, and the resplendent quetzal. I saw all three, though briefly. This recent trip, my goal was to get a photograph of each. Only the macaws were cooperative. With their beautiful plumage, I can see why people around the world are taken with them. And their antics are almost comical. Unfortunately, there aren’t many left. Only in a few small areas of Costa Rica could they be found. That’s where we went. And I was rewarded with several keepsake images and a lifetime of memories.
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I’m so excited to share some photos from my recent trip to Costa Rica. These are a few of the best.
The Squirrel Monkey above is highly endangered. They are so cute and docile, they’ve been very popular as pets and are almost gone in the wild.
The Scarlet Macaw is another endangered animal, again taken as pets and their beautiful plumage for decoration.
The White-faced Capuchin is a smart primate, crafty even. Tourists are warned not to leave anything on the beach when they go swimming because these little guys like to run off with shiny trinkets.
The Emerald Toucanet, a bird I had not yet seen. I was thrilled to capture this portrait. Isn’t he a spectacular bird!
The Northern Tamandua, an anteater, is nocturnal. We got lucky enough to find one snoozing on a palm tree.
The Red-eyed Leaf Frog is the iconic critter of Costa Rica. He was absolutely stunning.
One can’t talk of the wildlife of Costa Rica without including the iguana.
You hope to see a sloth (you’d think they wouldn’t be that hard to find, but you’d be surprised) so when Amber and I came across this little cutie and photographed him for almost two hours as he stretched and posed for us, we couldn’t believe it. We named him Hollywood!
I’m sure my fellow photographers will appreciate this photo. I’ve always dreamed of catching a shot like this. Wow! You fire away, click, click, click, then in editing this pops up. Mind blown!
All these and more are in my new book, Costa Rica Wildlife: A Photographic Collection, 
available in just a few days. I’ll post when it’s official. Also, Costa Rica Birds: A Photographic Collection and Costa Rica Hummingbirds: A Photographic Collection are in the works, so stay tuned.
Since my trip to Costa Rica in 2010, I haven’t been able wait to go back with all my camera gear and that dream has come true! Wait until you see all the photos. I can’t wait to share them. My friend Amber and I shot 1000s of frames in the two weeks we traveled around Costa Rica. Amazing! This sloth was so animated and enjoying posing for us we named him Hollywood. We were blessed! More to come…
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I’m headed back to Costa Rica! I can’t wait. I’ll have photos and video to share with you. For now, I thought it would be fun to post an image from my 2010 trip. On that adventure, I took only a point-and-shoot camera since I traveled with just a backpack. This time, I’m taking some pro gear and a pro videographer friend. Wish us a good time and we’ll see you on the flip side.
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The Poppy McVie, Saving Animals One Book at a Time Series Box-Set (Books 1-3) is now on sale at Amazon.com
For animals, there’s nothing she won’t do.
Feisty Agent Poppy McVie travels the world–from the steamy jungles of Costa Rica to the high seas of Norway to the deep forests of Alaska–fighting wildlife crime.
Box-Set includes Operation Tropical Affair, Operation Orca Rescue, and Operation Grizzly Camp.
This was unplanned. I happened to be at Manuel Antonio Beach to enjoy the sunset. This image isn’t particularly spectacular, but it will always be a great memory for me. Being from northern Michigan, I’ve seen many sunsets over the water. But to be that close to the equator, I learned something that became quite obvious. The sun seemed to drop from the sky and disappear before my eyes. It was as though it was on fast-forward. Apparently, as I looked up on the internet later, being at the 45 parallel in Michigan, the sunset is much longer as not only does the Earth turn, but the sun “sets” at more of an angle, rather than straight along the rotation. Hadn’t thought of it before that moment. So sunsets truly are different around the world.
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