Category: Birding and Photography

Rita and I were privileged to spend some relaxing time in Belize this winter, recovering and healing from life and health stresses. It was so good to visit several national parks, including St Herman’s Blue Hole and Mayflower Bocawina. We also just walked along the roads where our hosts, Loren and Mairi Helmuth, lived. It was especially satisfying to compile a list of 162 bird species on this 14-day trip, as we didn’t have birds coming to feeders, and we only had a bird guide for a few hours. I added 25 species to my life list. We’re getting more Read More

Rita and I just spent a few weeks visiting our daughter and her family in Scottsdale. We took time to do a good bit of hiking, traveling, birding and photography. Arizona has a wealth of diverse landscape and habitat, and attracts a huge variety of birds. We really enjoyed the hiking and exploring that this beautiful area offers. My favourite on this trip was Cave Creek Canyon, in the Chiricahua Mountains near Portal. I added nine lifers to my list on this trip, my favourite being the Lucifer Hummingbird. All the photos are taken by me, and are not to Read More

November 24-27: Osa Peninsula: Bosque del Rio Tigre On a beautiful Sunday morning we got up early to arrive at the domestic terminal in San Jose by 4:15 AM. We were loading up on a Cessna Caravan to make the short flight to Puerto Jimenez on the Osa Peninsula. It was a very scenic flight over the mountains and along the Pacific shoreline. Landing on the small airstrip was unique, in that the approach was over the water, and the airstrip was right in a residential area with houses barely beyond the wingtips. Our taxi ride to the lodge at Read More

November 22-23: Carara National Park Region, and Tarcoles River; (Cerro Lodge) We took a two-hour ride from Monteverde to Cerro Lodge, and arrived at another very different environment right at sea level, on the Pacific coast. The temperature was much warmer than the mountainous Monteverde cloud-forest. Just an hour or so after settling into our place, we left for another short ride to Tarcoles River, where we did a river cruise (we were the only clients) and saw more than 40 species of herons, shorebirds, and forest species all from the boat. An excellent driver stopped whenever I needed a Read More

November 20-22: Monteverde (Cala Lodge) From Arenal Volcano area, we began our travels to Monteverde by driving to the shores of Arenal Lake, and boarding a ferry to cross in order to save many hours of driving around the perimeter of the lake. The ferry was packed with people and luggage, and the weather was dreary and rainy for the entire trip of about 90 minutes. We had another two hours of driving on some pretty rough roads and some high elevation passes before arriving at the town Monteverde.

November 17-20: Region: Arenal Volcano (Arenal Observatory) These regions are higher elevation, and are cloud-forest environments. The weather was rainy and foggy sometimes, and forest conditions were often darker and much more challenging for photos and for clear sightings. We had a good guide each morning, and in the afternoons we were on our own for exploring and identifying. Our list was significantly longer because of the immediate identification by our guide. The lodge where we stayed was designed for people who want to appreciate nature and birds and wildlife. Once or twice a day, they fed fruit to attract Read More

November 13-16; Region and Locations: San Jose area (El Rodeo, University of Peace); Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui area (Dave and Dave’s Nature Park, La Quinta Lodge, Martinez B&B farm) This amazing experience began to take shape in early 2018 when the board members of LHNM began to brainstorm about a gift for our retirement from the responsibilities we have carried in that organization for many years. The surprise was presented to us at our retirement celebration in October 2018. Many friends and colleagues contributed to the fund that made this trip possible. We are deeply grateful! We were connected with Read More