# Costa Rica Holiday Pics!



## Ozgi

I've been back for a couple of weeks now but only just got around to sorting out my photo's!

What a country! Everything about it is breathtaking, it's a must visit for any nature lover.

We had 3 nights in Alajuela, visiting Volcano Poas and La Paz Waterfall Gardens. 

Then 3 nights at Savegre Mountain Hotel in San Gerardo de Dota which is in the cloud forest 7000ft above sea level. We did a 15km trek down the "Cerro de la Muerte", it's not called the Mountain of Death for nothing!

Then a week by the Pacific near Manuel Antonio National Park. There was tons of wildlife here, it's pretty intense being surrounded by Squirrel Monkeys, Sloths and huge Iguanas within minutes of arriving!

Everywhere you go in Costa Rica is completely different to the last place, it makes you realise why they are called "micro-climates"! The first place was warm, but still quite mild, the cloud forest was pretty cold and the Pacific was absolutely roasting. It's not just the weather, everywhere looks completely different too!

One thing which is constant throughout the country is the amount of wildlife, there is stuff everywhere!! It was completely mindblowing being surrounded by birds, reptiles, lizards, monkeys, sloths, frogs.... all of which are completely new to me! I added about 190 birds to my life list in the 2 weeks I was there.

Enough from me, enjoy the pics!

View from the balcony of the first hotel:










Beetle:










Cool star-shaped spider!! (Gasteracantha cancriformis)










Blue-crowned Motmot:










Poas Volcano:










Green-crowned Brilliant Hummingbird:










Bananaquit:










Brown Violet-ear Hummingbird:











Black-bellied Hummingbird:










Violet Sabrewing Hummingbird:


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## Ozgi

Hummingbird feeders:










Coppery-headed Emerald Hummingbird:










Green-crowned Brilliant Hummingbird:










Green Violet-ear Hummingbird:










Collared Trogon:










White-throated Mountain Gem Hummingbird:










At the summit of the Mountain of Death! 10,000ft up above the clouds:










Where the jungle starts on Cerro de la Muerte:










The cloud just appears out of nowhere:










Jungle:


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## Miss Lily

What an amazing place! I love all the hummingbird photos! Looks like you had a brilliant holiday!


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## Ozgi

White-throated Mountain-gem Hummingbird (female):










Spot-crowned Woodcreeper:










Sooty-capped Bush Tanager:










Resplendent Quetzal (female):










Resplendent Quetzal (male):










White-throated Mountain-gem (male):










Green Violet-ear:










Butterfly:










Blue-grey Tanager:










Black Iguana:


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## Ozgi

Miss Lily said:


> What an amazing place! I love all the hummingbird photos! Looks like you had a brilliant holiday!


It was amazing! I can't wait until I can go back again. Being surrounded by hundreds of hummingbirds is an experience you can't put into words!

There's loads more pics to come.....


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## Woodsman

Fantastic photos.really enjoyed seeing them.And well done on identifying them.
What's the situation regarding deforestation there?


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## Ozgi

Three-toed Sloth:










Three-toed Sloth:










Red-backed Squirrel Monkey:










Squirrel Monkey again:










Squirrel Monkey:










Yellow-headed Caracara:










Gecko:










Insect:










Gecko:










Lizard:


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## Ozgi

Woodsman said:


> Fantastic photos.really enjoyed seeing them.And well done on identifying them.
> What's the situation regarding deforestation there?


Thanks : victory: 

As far as I could make out it doesn't seem to be a problem there, there are some huge palm plantations near the coast but they are on land that has been used for farming for years (most of it was for bananas and pineapples until they realised palm was a lot more profitable).

There are national parks everywhere, and on the whole the people are very proud of the natural treasures they have and do everything they can to preserve them.

The biggest pressures at the moment are from tourism, but it seems to be contained quite well at the moment.



I think I did quite well naming all the birds but the lizards were pretty hard!

*By the way, if anybody knows any of the lizards/insects that aren't labelled please let me know what they are!*


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## Ozgi

Freshwater turtle:










Red-backed Squirrel Monkey that stole a banana from the table at breakfast, peeled it and ate it, all in about 20 seconds!:










Monkey thief:




























Pedro the Black Iguana that lived in a drain at the hotel:










Pedro:










Squirrel Monkey rubbing it's face:










Squirrel Monkey:










Scarlet Macaw:


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## Ozgi

Scarlet Macaw:










Forest Floor Millipede:










Green and Black Poison Dart Frog:










Lizard/Skink:










Butterfly:










Butterfly again:










Black Iguana:










Juvenile Black Iguana:










Black Mangrove Hawk:










Turkey Vulture:


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## Ozgi

Black Iguana:










Green Heron:










Great White Egret:










Mangrove Swallows:










White-faced Capuchin Monkey:










Capuchin:










Capuchin:










Capuchin:


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## Ozgi

Bare-throated Tiger Heron:










Groove-billed Ani:










Cherrie's Tanager:










Red-capped Manakin:










Huge Locust:










Black Iguana:










Manuel Antonio beach:



















Hermit Crab:


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## Ozgi

White-nosed Coati:





































Black Iguana:










White Ibis:










Mantled Howler Monkey:










Howler Monkeys:


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## Ozgi

Three-toed Sloth:




























My favourite picture:



















Lizard:










Beach:










Cup fungus:










Harvestman:










Termites:


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## Moodie

:devil::devil::devil: Jealous. As. Fcuk.

Think I'll be booking a hol there pretty soon!!! I'm guessing by the quality of your pictures photography is a hobby of yours? Amazing pics!! :no1:


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## Ozgi

Chestnut-mandibled Toucan:










Leafcutter Ants:










Grasshopper:










Heliconia butterfly:










Shield bug:










Shiny insect:










Wasp:










Awesome spider:










Butterfly:










Caterpillar:


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## Ozgi

Shield bug:










Anteater (Tamandua):










Soldier leafcutter ant:










Butterfly:










Cool moth:










Lizard:










Praying mantis ooth:










White spider and unusual web:










Shield bug:


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## Ozgi

Golden Orb Weaver, Nephila sp.:










Underneath:










Owl butterfly:










Coati:










We spent a night in the jungle at this camp... it was a 2 hour hike into the rainforest:










Our bedroom, what a view!:










Visiting the toilet at night was interesting!:










Jungle:










Giant tree root:










Fungus:


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## Fill

Wow! Some amazing pictures there! Thanks for sharing, mate! And welcome back


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## Dan27

Wow. I'm truly jealous! The variety of wildlife seems unbelievable!

Your favourite picture is my favourite too :no1:


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## Testudo Man

Mate, these pics are insane:gasp: you must of had a really bloody good time seeing all these fantastic creatures...I dont know where to start, well, the Humming bird pics might be a good place...keep the pics coming:no1:


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## Ozgi

Spider:










Tiny frog:










Giant wasp eating a moth:










Blue-crowned Manakin:










Crested Owl (these were way up in the canopy):










Another small frog:










Giant Katydid:










Black Vulture:










Weird grasshopper/cricket thing:


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## Ozgi

American Crocodile:





































Stick Insect:











That's all folks! 

I took well over 1500 pics and still could have taken more! We went out on several night walks and saw tarantulas, snakes, whip scorpions, poison dart frogs.... but as it was raining I didn't take my camera with me!

All I can say is that Costa Rica really is paradise on earth, and if you love wildlife then you really should do all you can to visit one day, it'll be the best thing you ever do. :no1:


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## JackieL

Truly awesome pictures, I love the sloth and where someone's named the black iguana's home :lol2:!

The place you stayed in that took you 2 hours to get to looks like a slice of heaven to me, I bet you didn't want to come home! 

Thanks for sharing : victory:.


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## Ozgi

Moodie said:


> :devil::devil::devil: Jealous. As. Fcuk.
> 
> Think I'll be booking a hol there pretty soon!!! I'm guessing by the quality of your pictures photography is a hobby of yours? Amazing pics!! :no1:


Cheers! It is a hobby now, but I've only had a decent camera for a couple of months, I bought it especially for this trip as there was no way I was making do with my ancient compact!



Fill said:


> Wow! Some amazing pictures there! Thanks for sharing, mate! And welcome back


Cheers mate, I would say it's good to be back, but it's really not. I'd give anything to be back there!



Dan27 said:


> Wow. I'm truly jealous! The variety of wildlife seems unbelievable!
> 
> Your favourite picture is my favourite too :no1:


You can't comprehend the amount of wildlife there. It's so depressing being back here! Just walking out of the hotel I would see monkeys, sloths, coati's and about 20 species of bird. I'm lucky to see 20 species here in a week!



Testudo Man said:


> Mate, these pics are insane:gasp: you must of had a really bloody good time seeing all these fantastic creatures...I dont know where to start, well, the Humming bird pics might be a good place...keep the pics coming:no1:


Hey mate, hope you enjoy them! Being there was like a dream, shame I had to wake up from it!



JackieL said:


> Truly awesome pictures, I love the sloth and where someone's named the black iguana's home :lol2:!
> 
> The place you stayed in that took you 2 hours to get to looks like a slice of heaven to me, I bet you didn't want to come home!
> 
> Thanks for sharing : victory:.


It was amazing, there was nobody around for miles and the sound at night was intense. We shared our cabin with a huge cricket and a gecko (and plenty of other biting things that I didn't see!).


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## shep1979

stunning pics, did u ooth make its way into ur suitcase:whistling2: no pics of any mantids then?


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## repibabe

amazing pics and a great photographer thanks for sharing


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## Ozgi

shep1979 said:


> stunning pics, did u ooth make its way into ur suitcase:whistling2: no pics of any mantids then?


Lol, it crossed my mind for a minute, but I left it where it was : victory: I didn't see any mantids :bash:



repibabe said:


> amazing pics and a great photographer thanks for sharing


Thanks very much!


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## shep1979

haha i would have poped it off, a mantid keeper and u left it lol u never know wot it could have been


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## Morgan Freeman

Best pics ever. I'd love to go to Costa Rica.


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## Ozgi

Morgan Freeman said:


> Best pics ever. I'd love to go to Costa Rica.


Cheers :2thumb: You really should go, it's such an amazing place.

Here's a few more pics that my dad took....

Bats:










Porcupine....










Bat Falcon:










Tree Frog:










Helmeted Iguana:










Baird's Trogon:










Fiery-billed Aracari:










Wood Stork:










Basilisk Lizard (Jesus Christ Lizard):


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## JaMMiT

Wow, Must have been a great holiday i hope you had a good time


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## Lucky Eddie

Welcome back Oz, bet you're feeling the cold mate!

Cracking photos there. I reckon you have a few birds there that even Andy Hood hasn't seen!

I asked for hummers and you certainly surpassed yourself.

Brilliant.

Bet you cant wait now to get into some freezing cold hide on the North Norfolk coast!


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## Ozgi

JaMMiT said:


> Wow, Must have been a great holiday i hope you had a good time


It was amazing! I don't think I'm going to go on a better holiday for a long time.



Lucky Eddie said:


> Welcome back Oz, bet you're feeling the cold mate!
> 
> Cracking photos there. I reckon you have a few birds there that even Andy Hood hasn't seen!
> 
> I asked for hummers and you certainly surpassed yourself.
> 
> Brilliant.
> 
> Bet you cant wait now to get into some freezing cold hide on the North Norfolk coast!


Cheers mate! The last place we stayed at on the coast was roasting, but when we were up in the cloud forest it was a similar climate to here! Everywhere you go in Costa Rica is completely different to the last.

I went out on Saturday to a couple of places locally and it was the most depressing birding ever, I knew what I'd see before I even got there. coot, canada goose, moorhen, mallard, grey heron.... maybe a common sandpiper if I was lucky, lol.

The amount of species I see in a day here is what I could have got just looking out the window in Costa Rica!

I'm actually going to Norfolk in a couple of weeks, nothing like freezing your face off staring at bleak nothingness! lol.


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## slippery42

Ozgi said:


> Cheers :2thumb: You really should go, it's such an amazing place.
> 
> Here's a few more pics that my dad took....
> 
> Bats:
> 
> image
> 
> Porcupine....
> 
> image
> 
> Bat Falcon:
> 
> image
> 
> Tree Frog:
> 
> image
> 
> Helmeted Iguana:
> 
> image
> 
> Baird's Trogon:
> 
> image
> 
> Fiery-billed Aracari:
> 
> image
> 
> Wood Stork:
> 
> image
> 
> Basilisk Lizard (Jesus Christ Lizard):
> 
> image


how come it looks like you were inside a tin can when taking pictures?


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## HABU

Ozgi said:


> American Crocodile:
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> Stick Insect:
> 
> image
> 
> 
> That's all folks!
> 
> I took well over 1500 pics and still could have taken more! We went out on several night walks and saw tarantulas, snakes, whip scorpions, poison dart frogs.... but as it was raining I didn't take my camera with me!
> 
> All I can say is that Costa Rica really is paradise on earth, and if you love wildlife then you really should do all you can to visit one day, it'll be the best thing you ever do. :no1:


i remember the crocs... they were everywhere... my friend almost got grabbed by one washing his mess kit out by the river...

at the mouth of the rio serena the crocs hung out and we had to cross the river from time to time... my friend would keep a lookout for crocs while i swam across using an air mattress for camping for buoyancy...

he'd warm me when a croc started towards me... at night we just had eyeshine to spot them...

the lagoons and old oxbows in the river were full of them... you'd just splash the water and that would draw them in towards you...

american crocs aren't so bad... not like other big crocs...

i'd love to go back one day... but likely it's all touristy now with trails and cabins and the like...

it's better doing it wild than all fancy...

great shots... 

did you ever see a boa?... i caught a really big one while i was there...


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## HABU




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## hollydominique

WOW @ the jungle photos!!! I want to go explore those, bet theres some amazing plant life therein!!!

Also the beetle and the spider are incredible :gasp:


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## Ozgi

slippery42 said:


> how come it looks like you were inside a tin can when taking pictures?


Lol, those last lot were pics that my dad took through his telescope, it's called digi-scoping.



HABU said:


> i remember the crocs... they were everywhere... my friend almost got grabbed by one washing his mess kit out by the river...
> 
> at the mouth of the rio serena the crocs hung out and we had to cross the river from time to time... my friend would keep a lookout for crocs while i swam across using an air mattress for camping for buoyancy...
> 
> he'd warm me when a croc started towards me... at night we just had eyeshine to spot them...
> 
> the lagoons and old oxbows in the river were full of them... you'd just splash the water and that would draw them in towards you...
> 
> american crocs aren't so bad... not like other big crocs...
> 
> i'd love to go back one day... but likely it's all touristy now with trails and cabins and the like...
> 
> it's better doing it wild than all fancy...
> 
> great shots...
> 
> did you ever see a boa?... i caught a really big one while i was there...


Those crocs were from the Tarcoles bridge, so there was no danger for us (apart from falling off the bridge!). 

I imagine it is far more touristy than when you went, but there are still a lot of areas of wilderness if that's what you want! A few of the trails we went on were pretty much non-existant and it was just trekking through the jungle, lol.

Sadly no boas, we only saw 3 snakes, a cat-eyed snake, blunt-headed tree snake and a garter.




hollydominique said:


> WOW @ the jungle photos!!! I want to go explore those, bet theres some amazing plant life therein!!!
> 
> Also the beetle and the spider are incredible :gasp:


It's breathtaking when you are actually there, so many plants and flowers! The smell of the jungle is amazing, there's something that smells quite garlicky which was pretty common. The noise is something else as well, it's almost deafening at times.


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## xvickyx

Fantastic photos, we are considering going to Costa Rica, either next year or year after & this photos have made me want to go even more!!

Can I ask what camera & lens you were using, as you have some awesome photos.


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## HABU

Ozgi said:


> Lol, those last lot were pics that my dad took through his telescope, it's called digi-scoping.
> 
> 
> 
> Those crocs were from the Tarcoles bridge, so there was no danger for us (apart from falling off the bridge!).
> 
> I imagine it is far more touristy than when you went, but there are still a lot of areas of wilderness if that's what you want! A few of the trails we went on were pretty much non-existant and it was just trekking through the jungle, lol.
> 
> Sadly no boas, we only saw 3 snakes, a cat-eyed snake, blunt-headed tree snake and a garter.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> It's breathtaking when you are actually there, so many plants and flowers! The smell of the jungle is amazing, there's something that smells quite garlicky which was pretty common. The noise is something else as well, it's almost deafening at times.


i caught a blunt-nosed tree snake while i was there!

damnest thing too!

it just up and died after i caught it... all i did was pick it up nicely and apparently it just went into shock... within a couple minutes it was dead as a door nail...

the lizards... i so remember the zillions of lizards on the rough trails... you couldn't run because you'd just squash them they were so many...


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## Ozgi

xvickyx said:


> Fantastic photos, we are considering going to Costa Rica, either next year or year after & this photos have made me want to go even more!!
> 
> Can I ask what camera & lens you were using, as you have some awesome photos.


Thanks :2thumb: don't delay! Go there as soon as you can, it'll be the best place you ever visit!

I've got a canon 500D with kit lens and the 55-250mm lens. I'm still learning how to use it though, I bought it for the holiday, lol.



HABU said:


> i caught a blunt-nosed tree snake while i was there!
> 
> damnest thing too!
> 
> it just up and died after i caught it... all i did was pick it up nicely and apparently it just went into shock... within a couple minutes it was dead as a door nail...
> 
> the lizards... i so remember the zillions of lizards on the rough trails... you couldn't run because you'd just squash them they were so many...


There were lizards absolutely everywhere! One night there were at least 30 geckos on one wall in the hotel.


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## boisterous_billy

I think them pics just speak for themselves mate.

Can only say one word WOW!.:notworthy:


Hate to think what size hard drive you got in your computer for your great collection....:2thumb:


PS if you dont mind me asking what camera did you treat yourself to because
it works very well.:no1:


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## fergie

Brilliant pics and looks like a beautiful, tranquil place. Nice one mate. Cheers for sharing : victory:


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## Ozgi

boisterous_billy said:


> I think them pics just speak for themselves mate.
> 
> Can only say one word WOW!.:notworthy:
> 
> 
> Hate to think what size hard drive you got in your computer for your great collection....:2thumb:
> 
> 
> PS if you dont mind me asking what camera did you treat yourself to because
> it works very well.:no1:





fergie said:


> Brilliant pics and looks like a beautiful, tranquil place. Nice one mate. Cheers for sharing : victory:


Cheers guys:2thumb:

Surprisingly they don't take up too much room, I've got a 500gb external hard drive and there's loads of room left on it!

I got a Canon 500D and 55-250 lens, pretty much entry level SLR kit, will do me for a while until I can afford a better lens though!


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## NickBenger

WOW!Nice pics!...what camera do you use?...EDIT: Soz didn't read last page my bad


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## Whosthedaddy

Sweet shots.


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## Ozgi

TheDogMan said:


> WOW!Nice pics!...what camera do you use?...EDIT: Soz didn't read last page my bad





Whosthedaddy said:


> Sweet shots.


Thanks :no1:


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## PESKY

brilliant photo's i really enjoyed looking through them: victory:


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## Ozgi

Apologies for the bump, I need to practice uploading a pic to see if it works and couldn't think where else to do it!

edit: Ok, that worked, photo deleted.


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## ReptileGary83

Beautiful pics!


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