Birding at Hotel Villa Lapas

[Ely Teehankee]

This is a nice hotel to stay as it is quite close to the Carara National Park, the Tarcoles river where they have live in crocodiles 24/7, and plenty of birds along the shore and on the trees. Birding around the hotel premises is not so difficult if you like to walk. I am glad that I had a lighter lens to be carrying around with a tripod on it.



Canon EOS 1D Mark IV, Canon EF 300mm
f/2.8L IS USM with Canon Extender 2X II.
Gitzo GT3530LS tripod, Wimberley WH200 head. Manual exposure in available light.



Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra) 7 inches (18 cm) (Male) taken after crossing a hanging bridge that goes to the area where a chapel is located. The bright red color of this bird makes it easy to see it among the trees.
1/100 sec., f.5.6, ISO 400




Summer Tanager (Female)
1/100 sec., f.5.6, ISO 800




Female Summer Tanager
1/160 sec., f.5.6, ISO 800




Great Kiskadee (Pitangus sulphuratus) 9 inches (23 cm)
1/100 sec., f.5.6, ISO 400




Blue-gray Tanager (Thraupis episcopus) 6 inches (15 cm) Considered one of the most common bird in Costa Rica the light blue color and white makes it difficult to get the right exposure on this bird. Shooting with a 2X TC brought the bird closer.
1/80 sec., f.5.6, ISO 800




Common Tody-Flycatcher (Todirostrum cinereum) 4 inches ( 10 cm). This is a pert little bird and I was so happy when I was able to take some photographs of this bird.
1/80 sec., f.5.6, ISO 800




Common Tody-Flycatcher.
1/125 sec., f.5.6, ISO 800




White-tipped Dove (Leptotila verreauxi) 11 inches (18 cm)
1/80 sec., f.5.6, ISO 800




White Ibis (Eudocimus albus) 25 inches (64 cm). The red bill and legs and black wing tips makes it easy to identify this bird who are roosting and preening their feathers as it was starting to get dark. The climate in Costa Rica is very conducive to the Epiphytes such as mosses, ferns,
cacti, orchids, and bromeliads. It is a plant that grows upon another plant like the bromeliads on this tree. It derives its moisture and nutrients from the air and rain.
1/125 sec., f.5.6, ISO 800

[Ramon Quisumbing]

Beautiful harvest, Ely! I must go to Costa Rica some time.

[Ely Teehankee]

Sept 3, 2012 22:51:44 GMT Ramon Quisumbing said:

Beautiful harvest, Ely! I must go to Costa Rica some time.

Thank you Ramon for your appreciation. I agree with you but try to spend at least two weeks and going to different place for at least 3 days each. In is very much like here, in that different places have different birds.

[Juan Manuel C. Del Prado]

Ely, the Common Tody-flycatcher "reminds" me of Peter Lorre...sinister-looking. Very nice photos, indeed.

[Ely Teehankee]

Sept 12, 2012 9:11:13 GMT Juan Manuel C. Del Prado said:

Ely, the Common Tody-flycatcher "reminds" me of Peter Lorre...sinister-looking. Very nice photos, indeed.

I could not think of a word to describe how this Common Tody-Flycatcher looks like. For a while I was thinking of grouchy but sinister looking fits it perfectly. Thank you Poch for your comment and appreciation.