Remote control aerial photography in Santa Rosa National Park

"Have you ever thought about flying a small drone?" This was a question asked of me by a Missouri professor back in December when we were corresponding about my potential involvement in his course in Costa Rica (http://mucostarica.wordpress.com/)  My answer was a solid no, and at first I thought that he was asking me a hypothetical interview question. It turns out, however, that he was serious.

Cade, a senior science and agricultural journalism
student at the University of Missouri, flying the drone
from the monument in Santa Rosa.

When the professor used the word "drone," he was referring to a small remote controlled quadcopter with a built-in camera—more of a hobbyist's toy than a piece of military technology. These gadgets capture images and videos with potential applications in journalism, biological research, and conservation. 

The catch is that the FAA prohibits drone use for journalistic purposes in the US. Seeking a way to continue experimenting with drone journalism, the professor arranged for one of his students, Cade, to spend four days capturing aerial photos and footage in Santa Rosa National Park.

I came along to accompany Cade—showing him around the park, translating, and assisting in small ways like adjusting the tilt of the camera or deciding when to take stills using Cade's iPod, which received wireless signal from the drone.

The plot on the left side of the road has been burned yearly
for several decades, while the forest on the right began as pasture
but was protected from fire.

We flew the drone over three fire plots, a firebreak, the canopy of the Bosque Húmedo (a patch of primary dry forest), the dry waterfall of Quebrada Costa Rica, the hilltop monument of the battles of 1856 and 1955, the lookout over Witch's Rock, and the mangroves in Cuajiniquil.

We also crashed the drone three times, not including a short fall when Cade was teaching me how to fly. Luckily, we were able to fly the drone on all four days. In between excursions to take video and photos, we had the chance to explore Santa Rosa and check out all kinds of critters: tarantulas, tree frogs, great currasows, white-tailed deer, and a tamandua.

Besides just being a lot of fun, our drone flying excursions taught us some lessons about the possibilities for drone applications in the Guanacaste Conservation Area: 1) drones can fly in fairly strong winds, but it is best not to fly them too close to branches; 2) if flown in the right places, drones might be able to help with fire detection during the dry season; 3) drone photography may be useful for research involving tree crowns, such as studies on caterpillars or epiphytes; and 4) drone images are great for adding a sense of context, perspective and scale to stories about the park, whether those stories are in the form of newspaper articles, videos, or slideshows.

Cade is still processing footage from the trip, but I am hoping to have more aerial photos to share with you soon.

Armored car from the Rafael Calderon's attempted invasion
of Costa Rica in 1955.

Central american coral snake (Micrurus nigrocinctus ) between the two dorm
buildings in Santa Rosa.

Marbled tree frog, Phrynohyas venulosa (I think)

Looking toward Rincon de la Vieja from the monument
in Santa Rosa.