For such a tiny country, Costa Rica has amazing biodiversity. Bird life in the rainforest varies widely from colorful hummingbirds, honeycreepers and red-capped manakins to large birds like great curassow and scarlet macaws. Curious troops of capuchin monkeys can be found exploring the trees as they look for food. Night brings a chance to see tiny creatures, like poison dart frogs and red eyed tree frogs, well hidden among the foliage. Join us as we explore the wildlife of Costa Rica’s lowland rainforests.

Joy has loved animals from the time she was a child growing up in New England and she would always take advantage of any outdoor time to explore nature. Now, she still loves to explore, but also to share her knowledge about wildlife, wildlife photography and nature in general. In addition to a BA in Biology, she has been doing a variety of animal-related education programs in her professional life for over 20 years. One of her favorite things to do is break people’s misconceptions about many animals that people fear, such as predators including sharks, reptiles and spiders. In June of 2020, Joy started her company The Joys of Nature doing Nature, Nature Travel and Live Animal programs for all ages, including programs for senior centers, libraries, camps and schools. Until June of 2020, Joy was a Naturalist and Educator at Mass Audubon’s Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary for almost 14 years. There she taught numerous programs, including those with live animals, for a wide range of ages on topics including butterflies and dragonflies, reptiles and amphibians, mammals, animal tracking and photography. During that time, she was also a trip leader and naturalist on canoe trips in both Massachusetts and in NH. From 2018 through 2023, she was a Naturalist Trip leader for marine related trips for the Oceanic Society. As of September 2023 she has been a Naturalist Study Leader for the non-profit travel company Road Scholar.