Costa Rica: A WILDLIFE TREASURE 

Thanks for your comments, Jim. Your comment about giving God thanks is right on. That is the first thing I do every time I am in a nature setting or observing/photographing wildlife.

Thanks Isabel. I am pleased to hear that the video has been helpful to you.

Thank your for your kind comments, Laxman. One of the joys of birding and for any hobby for that matter, is that there is always so much to learn. Although I have been birding for most of my life (about 70 years!) I feel I am just at the tip of the iceberg in terms of knowledge. As for the passion, I am deeply committed to doing my part to inform the public on the importance of wildlife in our lives and the critical need to protect wildlife for future generations. Thanks again.

Thank you, Stewart, for your very thoughtful comment. I appreciate it.

Thanks, Heiner, for your very kind comments. I agree with them completely. I struggled with whether or not to even introduce myself but ultimately decided it was OK to do so to properly introduce the subject matter. Unfortunately, many people today are very absorbed in life's activities rather than nature and wildlife. I hope this video will give at least some folks a different perspective on the importance of wildlife now and for future generations. Thanks again.

My pleasure, Grant, and thanks for your comments. I am a biologist by training so I imagine that is the reason I am so compelled to include labels in my wildlife photos/videos.

Thanks for the comment. I have done birding in several parts of the world but Costa Rica is my favorite. The birds and wildlife there are just incredible. I hope you can go there sometime.

Thank you so much for your kind comments. In my opinion, your country is one of the most beautiful in the world.

@@Lejun40 Thanks allot! And it’s my pleasure.

Thanks for your comment which is the bottom line for all my videos. He is the one to be praised.

Thanks so much for your comments, Violet. CR is truly an incredible place and I hope you can visit the country.

Thanks Richard. I greatly appreciate your comments.

Thanks so much for your comments, Kiran. Informing the public about the wonders and value of nature and wildlife is one of my missions in life. Homo sapiens is definitely having a negative impact upon wildlife and the environment in general and we would be advised to start getting serious about that fact. We need to preserve our planet for future generations.

Thanks, Daniel, for your very nice comments. You can be proud of of the beautiful plants and animals your country has for enjoying as well as the facilities and programs you have for protecting them. We look forward to visiting Costa Rica again.

Thanks so much for your kind comments, Matt. It was and extremely rewarding experience for me! Lew Scharpf

Obrigado por seus comentários legais, Milton.

Thanks so much, Shaul, for your kind comments! I was fortunate to have been traveling with an excellent guide and a very patient wife. Always pleased to hear someone else has been to that remarkable country.

Thanks so much for the very gracious comments, Kathy. I appreciate your raising me to that standard but I am afraid I have a lot more to learn before I get there. Thanks again.

@@Lejun40 You're not far from there!!!

My pleasure. It was an incredibly rewarding trip. I enjoy researching the facts about the various species as much as I enjoy the photography.

Hi Pat: My pleasure to have had the opportunity to make this video. The beauty and diversity of species in Costa Rica is just phenomenal. I am so thankful to have made this journey and God willing, hope to get there again. Thanks for your comments.

My pleasure, Shehan, and thanks so much for your kind comments.

My pleasure and thanks for your comments.

My pleasure and thanks for the comments!

My pleasure, Lisa, and thanks for your comments.

Thank you, Peter, for the kind comments. I believe I have seen some of your wildlife photos which are excellent.

Thanks so much for your comment. I never cease to be amazed at the wonders of nature. After 75 years of serious nature watching and photography, I seem to always am surprised to see something new in our remarkable eco system. I only hope that mankind will do more to protect it for future generations!

My pleasure, Matthew, and thanks for the comment. Traveling in Costa Rica was absolutely the pinnacle of my wildlife photography experiences.

Thank you, William, for your comments! Sorry to hear about your mother. I hope you and your sister get to make the trip. It should definitely provide some healing.

Thank you so much for your nice comments. Observing and photographing the flora and fauna of Costa Rica was one of the highlights of my life. All of the birds were just astounding in their beauty and behavior.

Thanks for your comments Evelyne. Yes, it is a remarkable country and I also hope to go back in the not too distant future.

Thanks for the comments, Ryan. The minute I saw this snake, I knew it had to be the subject of some photos. I would think you would have a reasonable chance of seeing this species, especially if you are going to be with any local tour guides. Have a great trip!

@@Lejun40 Absolutely is, and yes hopefully I am able to come across one, thank you!!

Hi Mike. Thanks for your very nice comments.

My pleasure, Elvira. Thanks for your comments.

Thanks for the comments, Angela. I am glad to hear it was a learning experience for you.

Lysanders, I greatly appreciate your nice comments. I also greatly appreciate your concern for and support of efforts to prevent the continuing loss of these wonderful animals and plants. It did take a while to do the upfront photography and even more time of doing the post processing and research on the various species. Thanks again for your comments and support. I appreciate it. Lew

Thanks, Jeanne. It was indeed mind-boggling. We enjoyed making the trip and writing up the report. I am glad you have enjoyed it.

Juan Santamaria is the name of the airport, where they started their journey

Thank you so much for the nice comments. It was indeed a challenge to find, photograph, and publish the flora and fauna observed on this trip. In case you are interested, here is the report from and guide service I used for my Costa Rica travels www.tropicalbirding.com/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/CentralAmerica/CostaRica/TR_Costa-Rica-Custom-Photo-Feb2017.pdf I hope this helps. Thanks. Lew Scharpf

Orbelio, thanks so much for the nice comment.

Thank you so much for your comments, Amandeep.

Thanks!

My pleasure. Thanks for the comments.

Thanks so much for your kind comment, Eduardo.

Thank you for your gracious comments, Karen. I have not been to Ecuador but have considered going there. I am aware of some of your endemic species and can only imagine the beautiful and interesting species you must have on your property. Thanks also for your willingness to share them with me. I have learned from experience that guided tours provide the best options for seeing as many species as possible and photographing them. I read that a group called "Birwatching Guatemala" is a reliable and reputable guide in your country and do bird photography trips. They are a specialized branch of Martsam Travel. Do you know anything about this company and would you recommend any alternative groups? Also if I had a limited time of say 5 days or so, which areas would you say are a "must" to see? Thanks again for your comments and I look forward to hearing from you. PS: I see that you a graduate of Southwest Mo. State University. I graduated from SMS in 1961 and grew up in Springfield.

Thank you for your comment Emad. Best Regards.

Thanks for your comments. I am glad you enjoyed it!

Thanks for the nice comments. We used an organization called Tropical Birding and here is a link to their tours of Costa Rica www.tropicalbirding.com/central-south-america-birding/costa-rica/ Our Guide was George Lin and you can read about his background and experience in the "Meet-our-guides" section at www.tropicalbirding.com/meet-your-guides/ We were very pleased with the organization and George's guiding and would not hesitate to travel with them again. Hope this helps.

Thanks so much for the kind comments, Tom.

Thanks so much for your kind comments, Ron. A challenge but a great pleasure to put together.

Dear Lew - Thank You - God of Wonders > 298 MB > 1Hr. 25 Min ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-QAuGRhZsMCs.html

Hi Keegan and thanks for your comments. For the stills, I used a Nikon D-800 DSLR along with a prime Nikon 300mm f2.8 lens. I used either 1.4, 1.8, or 2.0x teleconverters depending on the reach I needed. Video was shot with either my Lumix DMC-FZ300 or the Nikon D-800 DSLR in video mode. All video was shot in 4K format. All the best. Lew

The Eastern Wood Pewee (Contopus ochraceus) is present in Costa Rica. I think they are pretty often seen in Tapanti National Park. Thanks for your comments!

Hi Greg and thanks for the comments. Thanks also for the correction and I will post it on the introductory part of the video. I certainly hope you can make it to Costa Rica. It is an incredible wildlife destination.

Thanks for your comments, Jane. I have viewed your Costa Rica videos and find them excellent. Keep up the great work.

Thank you very much for your nice comment. See you. Jane

Thanks for your comments. I am pleased that you enjoyed it.

Hi Scot. Thanks for your comments. Unfortunately we did not see the lowland rainforest pigs. We knew about them and kept watching for them but perhaps were not close enough to the Osa Peninsula to see them. Like you, I will make an effort to get some footage of them If I back.

Thanks so much for your kind comments! So pleased the video brought back memories and that you will be going to Costa Rica again.

Hi Natacha and thanks for your very kind comments. For my Costa Rica Video, I used the following equipment: Cameras: 1) Nikon D850 with the following Lenses: Nikon 300mm f2.8 alone and in combination with 1.4x, 1.7x, and 2.0x Nikon Teleconverters; Nikon 24-120mm f1.4 zoom lens and 2) and Lumix DMC FZ300 camera with a fixed zoom lens 25-600mm. I took both still shots and videos with each of the cameras with the various lens combinations in 4k. The still shots and raw videos were post-processed using the Apple Final Cut Pro X software. For the videos, I used a Rode shotgun microphone attached to the cameras to enhance the audio. I hope this helps and let me know if you have any further questions. Thanks again for the comments.

Hi Lew thank you so much for these great, useful and very precise explanations! You are so kind! I loved this country and hope I’ll go back for the completion of my tour ... thanks again and BRAVO!

Hi Jeanne: Sorry for the delay in responding. I think the best information I can provide you is a trip report we published upon completion of our tour. You can access it at: www.tropicalbirding.com/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/CentralAmerica/CostaRica/TR_Costa-Rica-Custom-Photo-Feb2017.pdf I hope this is helpful and if you desire more information, let me know and I will try to provide it. Thanks for your interest!

Hi Dr. Solanki. Thank you for your nice comments. The duration of our trip to Costa Rica was 10 days counting travel time. For the still images and some of the video footage I used a Nikon D-800 camera and a Nikon 300mm f2.8 lens alone and in combination with a Nikon 1.7x and Nikon 2.0 teleconverters depending upon the focal lengths required. For some of the scenic video footage I used a Lumix DMC FZ-300 in 4K mode. Hope this helps and let me know if you have any further questions

My pleasure and thanks for your comments, Rainer. Here is a link to a report on our birding trip to CR which identifies all of our stops and many of the birds we observed at each stop. www.tropicalbirding.com/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/CentralAmerica/CostaRica/TR_Costa-Rica-Custom-Photo-Feb2017.pdf I hope this helps.

Hi Alan, and thanks so much for your kind comments. We made our visit to CR via a custom private tour organized by Tropical Birding Ltd. www.tropicalbirding.com/ Our tour guide was George Lin. We spent most of our time on the back roads and walks in the forests and seldom used trails. The tour met or exceeded our expectations in every respect and George was an excellent guide. I highly recommend Tropical Birding Ltd. Here is a link to the report George made of our trip including many of my photos www.tropicalbirding.com/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/CentralAmerica/CostaRica/TR_Costa-Rica-Custom-Photo-Feb2017.pdf We observed the Scarlet Macaws at the Finca Lodge Macaw Farm facebook.com/lafincalodge This is a fascinating place and I highly recommend it for wildlife enthusiasts visiting CR. Finally, here is a link to my still photos from our Costa Rica. Due to space limitations, I was unable to include many of these in my video. www.flickr.com/photos/35610936@N03/albums/72157676952349203 I hope you can visit Costa Rica. I am also interested in insects and have a few posted in my still photo gallery. Thanks for your inquiry and I wish you the best on your trip.

@@Lejun40 thanks you so much for taking the time to send me all this information........I just cant wait to go

My pleasure, Alan.

Hi, Jaime, and thanks for your comments. I would love to come to Colombia to see all the wonderful beauty of your country. I have read and researched about some of the wildlife in Columbia. Do you have any suggestions as to who might be able to serve as a guide if I were to plan to visit?

@@Lejun40 yes! but it would depend on the area you want to go. I can give you info in email jesalasbahamon18@gmail.com

Thanks for your comments, Sangita.

My two favorite spots were the La Paz Waterfalls & Mirador San Fernando area where they have hummingbird feeders & fruit feeders set up. It turned out to be a VERY productive stop as we saw the endemic Copper-headed Emerald and the beautiful Violet Sabrewing. There are also beautiful Tanagers present including Blue-gray Tanager, Silver-throated Tanager, Baltimore Oriole, Buff-throated Saltator, and the Blue-throated Emerald Toucanet, the Prong-billed Barbet and the female Red-headed Barbet. You couldn't go wrong with stops at either of these places.

Hi Rhonda: Thanks for your nice comments. I have been a birder for over 50 years however my experience has been limited to US (including Alaska and Hawaii) birds. Observing the Costa Rican birds was a first for me which required a lot of research and study. Thanks again.

My apologies for the late response. We utilized the same guide (Tropical Birding Tours www.tropicalbirding.com/) for the entire trip around the country. I would recommend that you use a guide because of the road conditions, access to local guides (which we used) and knowledge of food and lodging access. I know we would have had considerable difficulty in finding places and birding venues on our own. I hope this helps and have a wonderful trip.

Thanks for your comments, Tracy. Many of them were photographed during our stay at Laguna del Lagarto. We visited Costa Rica in February and observed approximately 180 species.

Thanks for your comment!

Hi Nancy, sorry for the delayed response. My prime camera for both stills and videos was a Nikon D-800 equipped with a Nikon 300mm f2.8 lens. I also used either Nikon 1.7x or 2.0 teleconverters with that equipment. I also used a Lumix DMC FZ300 at the 4K setting for some of the video footage. All video footage was shot at 4K. Thanks for your comments and hope this helps.

Thanks for the comments, Valerie. This was early February, 2017.

Sí, Costa Rica es un país hermoso y un paraíso. Gracias por tus comentarios.

Sí, tu país es muy hermoso. Gracias por el comentario.

My pleasure. De nada!

Thanks for your comments, Bryan. Yes, God is a wonderful Creator. We must rejoice in that fact.

Thank you so much for your comment, Anzay. I am pleased to give you permission to illustrate your book with pictures from my video. I would be happy to supply you with individual high resolution copies of any of the images you desire. All I would ask is that you give me credit either under the photo and somewhere in your book as follows: Copyright © Lewis Scharpf I love poetry and wonder how I could get a copy of your book? Thanks again for your comments and inquiry.

No questions right now Nick but will contact you if I have any. Thanks.

Thanks!

Thanks for your comment!

Thanks for the question, Rufus. We simply ran out of time. We are planning to make another trip during which time we will concentrate on the Atlantic side.

Hi Muhammed. Sure, feel free to use the video for private showings. If you actually post it somewhere, I would appreciate your giving me credit as follows: Copyright © Lewis Scharpf

@@Lejun40 you do not deserve the credit, only mother nature does. Thanks

@@jacgof5646 shut up

Thanks for your comment, Annikken. I am pleased that you enjoyed the video.

Thanks, Arman. Hope the video will be helpful in planning and executing your trip.

@@Lejun40 Thank you! It was a pleasure to watch, there is so much to see.

Thanks so much for your comments. I would very much like to view your Costa Rica documentary. Can you provide me with a link? Thanks.

February 8-15, 2017. This turned out to be an excellent time for viewing wildlife.

@@Lejun40 I just finished watching your video on the smartphone camera lenses. I download a couple of apps that have magnifying recording capabilities and they seem to work pretty well I just don't know how to put them together to make a RU-vid video have great interesting wildlife photos and short videos. What advice can you give a newbie from Atlanta?

@@prettybird2588 Sorry for the delay. Been out of town with no access to the internet. I'm not quite sure of your question. Are you asking about how to use an attachable lens with a smartphone camera or about the apps that have magnifying recording capabilities? My knowledge on the former is good but not so for the latter. Thanks.

@@Lejun40 I'm sorry my message wasn't clear after I regret it. What I was asking is do you have a video on how you put your videos together? You're so talented and I admire all that you do.

Thanks for the clarification. Unfortunately I do not have a video on my video production techniques. What I can say is that for most of my wildlife photography, I use cameras that have high resolution capabilities....I typically shoot in 4k format. I also use high quality lenses for both macro and telephoto shooting. I typically use a 100mm macro lens for close-up work and a very fast 300mm telephoto lens with teleconverters that can give me up to 600mm reach to the subject. I use both Nikon and Panasonic cameras and lenses. High quality lenses are a very important component in achieving good, clear videos and photos.I use Apple's Final Cut Pro X for post processing my videos. I also use camera attachable microphones (both shotgun and lavalier) to record audio. I hope this helps and would be pleased to try to answer any other questions you might have. Thanks for your interest.

Hi Scott and thanks for the comment. I did a little ready on macaw hybrids and If I am understand it correctly, the Scarlet X Buffon's hybrid is often called a Verde or Verdi Macaw. I also read that there are 3 subspecies of the Scarlet Macaw and colors of the Verde will vary depending upon the subspecies of Scarlet used in the cross. There is no question that the Verde hybrids are extremely similar in color and pattern to the birds I photographed at 16:00. The birds in my video were photographed in a conservation area so I am wondering if possible intentional hybridization occurred there. Very interesting indeed and thanks for bringing this to my attention.

Hi Lew, first and foremost, great video. The quality and information are excellent and your video is very enjoyable to watch. Also, thank you for identifying the name of this hybrid. I've seen a lot of Shamrocks(Scarlet x Military) in the trade but knew that it wouldn't be correctly applied to a Scarlet x Buffon's. It also crossed my mind if these were bred intentionally since they are from a conservation center but I've seen hybrids in the wild from S. America i.e., Scarlet x Blue & Gold (Catalina) and Scarlet x Green-Winged ( a.k.a., Ruby). You're very knowledgeable. I read there are three subspecies of Scarlet: Mexican, Central America, and S. America, though I think the S. American should be reclassified further as the birds from Colombia tend to be small. I do have a pet Scarlet but, honestly, I can't identify his genetic origin. He doesn't have any green on the yellow band but is medium in size, compared to the many that I've seen over the years, so it's hard to say what his ancestry is. Domestic bred birds are often from parents of different geographic origins so he could be a mix. Please keep up wit the great work and we look forward to seeing more similar videos from you.

Thanks so much Scott for your thoughtful and helpful response. It is most interesting that you have seen in the wild, those hybrids you describe from S. America. I am currently working on three videos dealing with the fledging of swallows, woodpeckers, and bluebirds in our area. Thanks again for your interest and support.

Although I cannot translate your comment, I thank you for it.

I am fascinated by velociraptors and learned that recent research suggests that Velociraptor mongoliensis was a feathered dinosaur and may be the most important link between birds and dinosaurs. Unfortunately they lived many million years ago so I cannot include them in my video!

I don't feel its fair to say 1 link is more important then another but I know what you mean. :) And actually I was just making a Jurassic Park reference. It takes place in CR.

Sure, understand about Jurassic Park. Thanks.

Thanks so much for your comments. I am pleased to hear of your daughter's interest in wildlife. She has a real talent in "getting the word out" in your videos. I hope more young people will become interested in observing and helping to support and preserve all forms of wildlife. Your videos are great. It appears that you are using a smart phone and if that is the case, consider holding the phone horizontally at least some of the time to get a broader field of view. With time, you might want to get some sort of telephoto lens/camera arrangement to get a longer reach on the wildlife. Thanks again and keep your channel going!

Thanks for the tips! Yes we have just started filming horizontally in our new Malaysia wildlife video. What camera do you use?

I use Nikon D800 and D850 digital single lens reflex cameras with various Nikon lenses for still shots and videos and supplement with a Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ-300 for hard to get places where the Nikon's are too heavy and bulky.

Great thanks!