Dave & Dave's Nature Pavilion is in La Virgen de Sarapiquí, only a few hundred metres from Tirimbina Lodge. It is a world-famous site for hummingbird photography and has been designed around capturing these birds in the most photogenic surroundings possible. The family bought what had been a palm plantation beside the Sarapiquí River and replanted it to attract a variety of local species, advised by the nearby La Selva Biological Station.

A deck above the slope to the river puts the photographer at eye level with flowers and the hummingbirds that visit them. Heliconia flowers are set out within about two metres of the deck, without sugar being injected into them. I could stay in one position, watch the birds' approaches and photograph them hovering in natural light at reasonably low ISOs. I took around three thousand perfect images, far too many, but the ability to get such fabulous shots of hummingbirds so close was irresistible. You'll be pleased to hear that I am showing you only six photographs here, displaying different distances, angles and wing positions that you rarely see so close up.

Pierella Garden, in Horquetas de Sarapiquí, about 20 minutes away, was also hugely enjoyable. This family-run property is centred on a commercial butterfly-breeding operation, yet packs a remarkably rich range of bird and frog species into its grounds (the frog and bat shots from here are in the next album).

One of the absolute highlights shown to us by the guide was a pair of Rufous-tailed Jacamars perching on a branch near the butterfly station. Our guide remarked that they ate butterflies and was prepared to go and get some dead ones from the station. We then had an extraordinary sequence of the jacamars flying off the branch to collect their butterfly lunch and returning to eat it, presenting some really gorgeous wing positions and colours in the process. The garden photographs also include a nightjar resting on the forest floor.

Dave & Dave's and Pierella were clearly set up with photographers in mind. In contrast, La Selva Biological Station, while an important research centre, was firmly oriented towards bird spotting, and hence only two photographs from it make the album: a green parakeet in flight beside a tree and a male Scarlet-rumped Tanager perched among the foliage.

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