A Rainforest Adventure

YEAH, THAT’S A SUNBITTERN. It posed for me (well, almost) in the shadow of Volcán Arenal, an active volcano along the cordillera in northern Costa Rica. Ruth and I and two dear friends are just back home after chasing nature in this fabled nation of protected rainforests and kind people.

Birds and botany occupied most of our adventures, although I managed to visit with butterflies and a few dragonflies as well. I also experimented with a new point-and-shoot, the Nikon Coolpix B700 (which replaced my usual arsenal of heavy camera gear on this trip). The Nikon is one of the super-zooms I mentioned in my 2018 report on point-and-shoots for wildlife. It performed as expected, which is to say pretty good for displaying online images, but certainly nothing like my SLR and its expensive (and heavy) lenses.

I’m on a break from email and glowing screens until March 20, after which I’ll have more to say on the camera. Until then, I’ll leave you with a few images from the Nikon in Costa Rica — some good, some mediocre. For more of my perspective and philosophizing on the endless mysteries of these tropics, see my 2015 report and photo gallery from the rainforest. And I’ll see you later this month. ¡Pura vida!

Oh, by the way, the best pose for that Sunbittern — a second sunrise — is with its wings spread.