These Golden Carpenter Ants (Camponotus sericeiventris) look like tiny scraps of gold velvet scurrying about the forest floor. Taken on my recent holiday to Costa Rica over Christmas 2022.

Drake Bay will always hold a very special place in my heart. In 2015 and 2016, I stayed there while doing my PhD fieldwork on the Osa Mélange. The town has changed so much in just the few years since then but it is no less beautiful. The sunsets are especially marvellous. Taken on my recent holiday to Costa Rica over Christmas 2022.

This photo of a juvenile Brown Boobie (Sula leucogaster) in flight was taken from a moving boat bouncing through the waves. The fact that I was able to get a usable photo in those conditions was astoundingly good luck. Taken on my recent holiday to Costa Rica over Christmas 2022.

I’m really glad I was able to get a photo of this brown three-toed sloth (Bradypus variegatus) while I was in Costa Rica. Taken on my recent holiday to Costa Rica over Christmas 2022.

The beautiful Rio Sirena as it meets the Pacific Ocean. I never got a chance to visit the Corcovado National Park when I was in Costa Rica in 2015 and 2016 for my PhD fieldwork so this was a very special experience. Taken on my recent holiday to Costa Rica over Christmas 2022.

We were very fortunate to watch this Baird’s tapir (Tapirus bairdii) cross the Rio Sirena and walk right past us. I never got a chance to visit the Corcovado National Park when I was in Costa Rica in 2015 and 2016 for my PhD fieldwork so this was a very special experience. Taken on my recent holiday to Costa Rica over Christmas 2022.

Drake Bay will always hold a very special place in my heart. In 2015 and 2016, I stayed there while doing my PhD fieldwork on the Osa Mélange. The town has changed so much in just the few years since then but it is no less beautiful. The sunsets are especially marvellous. Taken on my recent holiday to Costa Rica over Christmas 2022.

I spotted this Bare-throated Tiger Heron (Tigrisoma mexicanum) wading through the stream that ran through our hotel in Puerto Jimenez. Taken on my recent holiday to Costa Rica over Christmas 2022.

It was so amazing seeing these brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) diving in sequence to catch fish. Taken on my recent holiday to Costa Rica over Christmas 2022.

It was so amazing seeing these brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) diving in sequence to catch fish. Taken on my recent holiday to Costa Rica over Christmas 2022.