Our quest to photograph the sickle-bill hummingbird in the jungles of southwestern Costa Rica.
It's early in the morning just before dawn as we arrive at the small airport near the capital city of San Jose.
We manage to be first in line for takeoff.
It's a beautiful, clear morning. We can look down and see the mountains that surround the central valley as we fly over them.
An hour later we can see the runway for the small airport in Puerto Jimenez on the Osa Peninsula of southwestern Costa Rica.
The landing is a bit rough. It seems that we have a flat tire.
As our plane refuses to budge, we become the local entertainment.
Help materializes as we must get out of the way before the next takeoff.
The footbridge that crosses the river in front of our lodge is the only access that we have without getting wet.
We are now in Puerto Jimenez.
We are now in Puerto Jimenez.
We are now in Puerto Jimenez.
We are now in Puerto Jimenez.
It's the dry season, so fording the river that runs along our lodge is not a problem.
Beto, who is a cook at the lodge, also doubles as our driver.
Beto, our driver, shows off the small town of Dos Brazos del Rio Tigre, including its official tourist office.
That same afternoon, we take off in search of the sickle-bill nest, guided by our lodge owner, Abraham.
Since solar cells don't work in the dark, breakfast the next morning is by a romantic candlelight.
There is no trail to the nest, so the best approach is by horseback.
Unfortunately, I have never ridden a horse before.
We have enlisted the help of Ulysses, an experienced local guide, and also Mateo, who happens to be his father and the horse owner.
What am I doing here? I don't know. I'm trying to get up the roof of a pool.
Is this just a picture of a little tiny bird?
That's probably a sickle-bill, but look how close the material is.
Would that be the sickle-bill? This is Banto Barthart?
No, it's a sickle-bill.
You think they're both sickle-bill?
Yes.
Oh, long-billed hermit.
Look how much bigger this is.
It's a sickle-bill.
That's a sickle-bill.
It's a long-bill.
Long-bill, do you think, or bantailed?
No, bantailed barthart.
Well, we don't know for sure.
Because of the difficult lighting conditions, we are only able to photograph early in the morning.
Chuck has spent countless hours researching this new equipment, which we will be using
for the first time on location in order to photograph the sickle-bill nest.
Will it work?
Geithner's job is usually as a gold miner in the small town, but he has agreed to stay
with us all day as needed to help guard our equipment and also be our assistant.
He truly enjoys learning about flash photography.
We take turns waiting patiently for mom to arrive to feed her hungry chicks.
After nearly an hour of waiting, we finally spy her making a cautious approach to her nest.
The nest has been carefully placed under a banana leaf overlooking the river.
It helps to shelter the chicks from the rain and also from predators.
Her nest has been carefully constructed of sticks and bound together with spider webs.
The chicks are fed with a mixture of flour nectar from Heliconius and insects which she has gathered
on the fly and mixed in with the nectar.
After feeding her chicks, mom inspects the nest and takes off in search of more food.
Several days later, we are back at the airport in Puerto Jimenez and ready for our flight home.
Unfortunately, our plane has been sitting in the hot tropical sun for too long.
It is refusing to take off.
The local mechanic performs a house call.
We are soon able to take off.
We fly back home over the mountains of the Central Valley,
tired but happy in the knowledge that we have many good photographs.
Another surprise awaits us as we land at the airport in Pavas.
A helicopter has decided to cross our path unexpectedly.
With the helicopter still in front of us, our driver parks right next to the plane and we are able to unload our equipment.
We are back in the heavy traffic of San Jose and we are finally on our way home.
