The most recent book by publishing house Ojalá Ediciones, titled Greatest Wildlife Spectacles, documents 29 wildlife shows of migration, mating, nesting and gathering of animals in the Guanacaste area. (Watch the video at the end of the article too)

The book is written in Spanish and English, it gives information and shows images of the agglomeration of ducks in Palo Verde National Park, the humpback whales in Santa Elena, and the nesting of leatherback turtles in Ostional, among others.

According to “The Voice of Guanacaste” site, compiling of all these scenes and descriptions took writers Michelle Soto, Yazmín Ross and Ernesto Carman, over three years of investigation. The photos included are the work of Luciano Capelli and other 14 photographers, specialized in underwater photography.

Michelle Soto, is a journalist, with 16 years of covering environmental topics, she explained that each of the spectacles is scientifically documented, investigations, scientific documents and thesis were analyzed and the data was corroborated with different experts.

Photographer Luciano Capelli explained: “One of the most shocking things, is watching the sting rays jumping. Even 500 can be seen at a time, but it is very complicated to find the right angle and manage to capture them with the lens”. Due to this he mentioned he had to visit the same place even eight times to catch the right image.

The book sells for ₡19.500 (under $40 USD) and can be found at the Automercado stores, Libreria Internacional and Lehmann.

Some of what you’ll be able to find in the book:

Flocks of migrating ducks that come from North America, some even from Alaska, to the Palo Verde National Park during the months of January, February and March.

The groups of false killer whales, the fourth largest dolphins, which receive their name because they can be easily confused with whales. These can be found during the months of January and February in the Catalina Islands, one of the preferred spots for scuba diving in Costa Rica.

The jump of the devil rays is one of the most incredible spectacles of Guanacaste, sometimes groups of 20 or even 30 sting rays can be seen doing acrobatics in the air. Some marine biologists believe that this jumps help them get rid of some of the remora fish that adhere to their bodies, others believe it helps them escape from predators, as part of their mating ritual to attract the attention of females, or simply as communication. You can be witness to this amazing nature’s show from December to February at the Santa Elena Bay in Guanacaste.