COSTA RICA I: La Selva

Hello folks. Sarah and I are past the half way point in our adventure to Costa Rica. Right now we're on the Pacific coast but I might as well start back at the beginning. We arrived in Costa Rica on Feb 20. Flights were uneventful and our first night we stayed at Hotel Bougainvilla. Nice place with beautiful gardens. So that was a good way to get in and adjusted. Our first real destination though was the La Selva Biological Station run by the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS) This is Caribbean lowland tropical rainforest; the real deal. We absolutely loved it here. Simple room and food but we were sharing the facilities with researchers from all over the worldThis is the bridge that goes across the Rio Puerto ViejoWe'd hang out here in the mornings and evenings and watch for toucans, parrots, trogans, monkeys and all kinds of cool stuffThe trails on the other side go deep into the forest and we only had time to explore the closest onesAnd the birds were amazing! I'll do a full bird list when I get back. A few highlights I didn't get very good pics of were the GREAT GREEN MACAWS, HOOK-BILLED KITE and SNOWY COTINGA.

But others were less camera shy...

Crested GuanCollared AracariWhite-collared ManakinPale-billed WoodpeckerRufous-tailed JacamarGray-necked Wood-RailBroad-billed MotmotGreat CurrasowFaciated AntshrikeKeel-billed Toucan

A special treat was getting to see several male SNOWCAPS on our way to La Selva. This is an incredible little hummingbird and one of my favorites of the entire trip...