Canonical URL: https://natureslens.co.uk/what-you-could-photograph-in-the-next-twelve-months/why-you-could-be-photographing-wildlife-in-december/ # What You Should Be Photographing in December Published on July 16, 2026 [![A Red Eyed Tree Frog Sat On A Leaf In The Jungle Typical Of The Kind Of Image We Hope You Will Capture During Our Costa Rican Wildlife Photography Holiday](https://natureslens.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/a-red-eyed-tree-frog-sat-on-a-leaf-in-the-jungle-typical-of-the-kind-of-image-we-hope-you-will-capture-during-our-costa-rican-wildlife-photography-holiday-1024x683.jpg)](https://natureslens.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/a-red-eyed-tree-frog-sat-on-a-leaf-in-the-jungle-typical-of-the-kind-of-image-we-hope-you-will-capture-during-our-costa-rican-wildlife-photography-holiday.jpg) ### Article brief Editorial article Published July 16, 2026 We close the year the way a lot of photographers open their wish list, tropical colour over the festive period, or Europe’s rarest cat in an entirely different palette to summer. Here’s what’s on. [![A Red Eyed Tree Frog Sat On A Leaf In The Jungle Typical Of The Kind Of Image We Hope You Will Capture During Our Costa Rican Wildlife Photography Holiday](https://natureslens.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/a-red-eyed-tree-frog-sat-on-a-leaf-in-the-jungle-typical-of-the-kind-of-image-we-hope-you-will-capture-during-our-costa-rican-wildlife-photography-holiday-1024x683.jpg)](https://natureslens.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/a-red-eyed-tree-frog-sat-on-a-leaf-in-the-jungle-typical-of-the-kind-of-image-we-hope-you-will-capture-during-our-costa-rican-wildlife-photography-holiday-1024x683.jpg) ## Why does Costa Rica run in December? [Ultimate Costa Rican Wildlife](https://natureslens.co.uk/photography-holiday/costa-rica/ultimate-costa-rican-wildlife/) & [Essential Costa Rican Wildlife](https://natureslens.co.uk/photography-holiday/costa-rica/essential-costa-rican-wildlife-2026/) both run this month for anyone who wants tropical colour over the festive period, [basilisk lizards](https://natureslens.co.uk/photograph/basilisk-lizard/), [blue jeans poison dart frogs](https://natureslens.co.uk/photograph/blue-jeans-poison-dart-frog/) & toucans all still productive at this point in the dry season. ### Spend the festive period building a tropical portfolio [Ultimate Costa Rican Wildlife](https://natureslens.co.uk/photography-holiday/costa-rica/ultimate-costa-rican-wildlife-2027/) gives you toucans, tree frogs & hummingbirds against genuine rainforest, right through December. [Explore our Ultimate Costa Rican Wildlife holiday](https://natureslens.co.uk/photography-holiday/costa-rica/ultimate-costa-rican-wildlife/) ## Why is December a completely different Iberian lynx trip to July? [Iberian Lynx of the Spanish Winter](https://natureslens.co.uk/photography-holiday/spain/the-iberian-lynx-in-spain-during-winter/) gives you the same rare [Iberian lynx](https://natureslens.co.uk/photograph/iberian-lynx/) as our summer departure but in an entirely different palette, cooler light, sparser scrub, a genuinely different portfolio from the same species rather than a repeat of the same images. [![Lynx Photographed At The New Location Which Is Used For The Iberian Lynx In Spain During Spring Photography Holiday](https://natureslens.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/thumbnails/large/lynx-photographed-at-the-new-location-which-is-used-for-the-iberian-lynx-in-spain-during-spring-photography-holiday-05-1024x768.jpg)](https://natureslens.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/thumbnails/large/lynx-photographed-at-the-new-location-which-is-used-for-the-iberian-lynx-in-spain-during-spring-photography-holiday-05-1024x768.jpg) ## Should I book the summer or winter Iberian lynx trip? Whichever season’s palette appeals more, since the access & photographic approach are equally strong on both. Some photographers deliberately do both across different years specifically to build two genuinely different bodies of work around the same species. ## Which of these December trips should you choose? Choose [Costa Rica](https://natureslens.co.uk/discover/central-america/costa-rica/) if tropical colour & volume over the festive period is what you’re after. Choose the [Iberian lynx](https://natureslens.co.uk/photograph/iberian-lynx/) in winter for a cooler, sparser take on [Europe](https://natureslens.co.uk/discover/europe/)’s rarest cat. Tropical colour to close the year in Costa Rica, or a rare European predator in winter light, both trips make a strong final month. In this articleJump to section 1. [Why does Costa Rica run in December?](https://natureslens.co.uk/what-you-could-photograph-in-the-next-twelve-months/why-you-could-be-photographing-wildlife-in-december/#why-does-costa-rica-run-in-december) 1. [Why is December a completely different Iberian lynx trip to July?](https://natureslens.co.uk/what-you-could-photograph-in-the-next-twelve-months/why-you-could-be-photographing-wildlife-in-december/#why-is-december-a-completely-different-iberian-lynx-trip-to-july) 1. [Should I book the summer or winter Iberian lynx trip?](https://natureslens.co.uk/what-you-could-photograph-in-the-next-twelve-months/why-you-could-be-photographing-wildlife-in-december/#should-i-book-the-summer-or-winter-iberian-lynx-trip) 1. [Which of these December trips should you choose?](https://natureslens.co.uk/what-you-could-photograph-in-the-next-twelve-months/why-you-could-be-photographing-wildlife-in-december/#which-of-these-december-trips-should-you-choose) ## What You Could Photograph in the Next Twelve Months - [What You Could Photograph Over the Next Twelve Months with NaturesLens](https://natureslens.co.uk/what-you-could-photograph-in-the-next-twelve-months/what-you-could-photograph-over-the-next-twelve-months-with-natureslens/) - [Why January Is a Strong Month for Wildlife Photography](https://natureslens.co.uk/what-you-could-photograph-in-the-next-twelve-months/why-you-could-be-photographing-wildlife-in-january/) - [What You Should Be Photographing in February](https://natureslens.co.uk/what-you-could-photograph-in-the-next-twelve-months/why-you-could-be-photographing-wildlife-in-february/) - [What You Should Be Photographing in March](https://natureslens.co.uk/what-you-could-photograph-in-the-next-twelve-months/why-you-could-be-photographing-wildlife-in-march/) - [What You Should Be Photographing in April](https://natureslens.co.uk/what-you-could-photograph-in-the-next-twelve-months/why-you-could-be-photographing-wildlife-in-april/) - [What You Should Be Photographing in May](https://natureslens.co.uk/what-you-could-photograph-in-the-next-twelve-months/why-you-could-be-photographing-wildlife-in-may/) - [What You Should Be Photographing in June](https://natureslens.co.uk/what-you-could-photograph-in-the-next-twelve-months/why-you-could-be-photographing-wildlife-in-june/) - [What You Should Be Photographing in July](https://natureslens.co.uk/what-you-could-photograph-in-the-next-twelve-months/why-you-could-be-photographing-wildlife-in-july/) - [What You Should Be Photographing in August](https://natureslens.co.uk/what-you-could-photograph-in-the-next-twelve-months/why-you-could-be-photographing-wildlife-in-august/) - [Why September Is a Strong Month for Wildlife Photography](https://natureslens.co.uk/what-you-could-photograph-in-the-next-twelve-months/why-you-could-be-photographing-wildlife-in-september/) - [Wildlife Photography in October: Kenya & Botswana](https://natureslens.co.uk/what-you-could-photograph-in-the-next-twelve-months/why-you-could-be-photographing-wildlife-in-october/) - [What You Should Be Photographing in November](https://natureslens.co.uk/what-you-could-photograph-in-the-next-twelve-months/why-you-could-be-photographing-wildlife-in-november/) - What You Should Be Photographing in December **Related Trips:** [Ultimate Costa Rican Wildlife Photography Tour](https://natureslens.co.uk/photography-holiday/costa-rica/ultimate-costa-rican-wildlife-2027/) **Explore by Country:** [Costa Rica](https://natureslens.co.uk/discover/central-america/costa-rica/) **Related Species:** [Basilisk Lizard](https://natureslens.co.uk/photograph/basilisk-lizard/), [Blue Jeans Poison Dart Frog](https://natureslens.co.uk/photograph/blue-jeans-poison-dart-frog/), [Chestnut-headed Oropendola](https://natureslens.co.uk/photograph/chestnut-headed-oropendola/), [Chestnut-mandibled Toucan](https://natureslens.co.uk/photograph/chestnut-mandibled-toucan/), [Collared Aracari](https://natureslens.co.uk/photograph/collared-aracari/), [Emerald Toucanet](https://natureslens.co.uk/photograph/emerald-toucanet/), [Fiery-billed Aracari](https://natureslens.co.uk/photograph/fiery-billed-aracari/), [Fiery-throated Hummingbird](https://natureslens.co.uk/photograph/fiery-throated-hummingbird/), [Glass Frog](https://natureslens.co.uk/photograph/glass-frog/), [Great Kiskadee](https://natureslens.co.uk/photograph/great-kiskadee/), [Green Iguana](https://natureslens.co.uk/photograph/green-iguana/) & [Hoffmann's Woodpecker](https://natureslens.co.uk/photograph/hoffmanns-woodpecker/) - [![Some Of The Images That Were Captured By Dennis Craggs During Our 2024 Costa Rican Photography Holiday 87](https://natureslens.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/thumbnails/medium/Some-of-the-images-that-were-captured-by-Dennis-Craggs-during-our-2024-Costa-Rican-Photography-Holiday-87-300x200.jpg)](https://natureslens.co.uk/2025/01/27/some-of-the-images-that-were-captured-by-dennis-during-our-costa-rican-photography-holiday/) ### [Images from Dennis’s Costa Rica Wildlife Photography Holiday](https://natureslens.co.uk/2025/01/27/some-of-the-images-that-were-captured-by-dennis-during-our-costa-rican-photography-holiday/) January 27, 2025 Immerse yourself in the dazzling images from the NaturesLens Costa Rican Photography Holiday, superbly captured by Dennis Craggs, one of… - [![A Lesser Kestrel Rests On The Tiles Of A Derelict Barn Photographed During One Of The Natureslens Photography Holidays To Spain](https://natureslens.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/a-lesser-kestrel-rests-on-the-tiles-of-a-derelict-barn-photographed-during-one-of-the-natureslens-photography-holidays-to-spain.jpg)](https://natureslens.co.uk/2019/07/18/birdlife-of-spains-plains-of-calera/) ### [15 images of the diverse birdlife of Spain’s plains of Calera](https://natureslens.co.uk/2019/07/18/birdlife-of-spains-plains-of-calera/) July 18, 2019 In this second trip report on the birdlife of Spain, I look back at our week in Calera. We arrived… - [![One Of Kerkinis Dalmatian Pelicans Making Quite A Splash In The Waters Of The Lake Photographed During One Of The Natureslens Dalmatian Pelican Photography Holidays](https://natureslens.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/one-of-kerkinis-dalmatian-pelicans-making-quite-a-splash-in-the-waters-of-the-lake-photographed-during-one-of-the-natureslens-dalmatian-pelican-photography-holidays.jpg)](https://natureslens.co.uk/2018/03/01/lake-kerkinis-pelicans-captured-by-george/) ### [8 Images of Lake Kerkini’s Pelicans captured by George](https://natureslens.co.uk/2018/03/01/lake-kerkinis-pelicans-captured-by-george/) March 1, 2018 George visited Lake Kerkini's Pelicans back in 2018, & as you can see, came back with some strong images! The… In this articleJump to section 1. [Why does Costa Rica run in December?](https://natureslens.co.uk/what-you-could-photograph-in-the-next-twelve-months/why-you-could-be-photographing-wildlife-in-december/#why-does-costa-rica-run-in-december) 1. [Spend the festive period building a tropical portfolio](https://natureslens.co.uk/what-you-could-photograph-in-the-next-twelve-months/why-you-could-be-photographing-wildlife-in-december/#spend-the-festive-period-building-a-tropical-portfolio) 1. [Why is December a completely different Iberian lynx trip to July?](https://natureslens.co.uk/what-you-could-photograph-in-the-next-twelve-months/why-you-could-be-photographing-wildlife-in-december/#why-is-december-a-completely-different-iberian-lynx-trip-to-july) 1. [Should I book the summer or winter Iberian lynx trip?](https://natureslens.co.uk/what-you-could-photograph-in-the-next-twelve-months/why-you-could-be-photographing-wildlife-in-december/#should-i-book-the-summer-or-winter-iberian-lynx-trip) 1. [Which of these December trips should you choose?](https://natureslens.co.uk/what-you-could-photograph-in-the-next-twelve-months/why-you-could-be-photographing-wildlife-in-december/#which-of-these-december-trips-should-you-choose) ### Author Next step ### Find your next wildlife photography holiday Browse small-group trips by destination, subject, season and photographic goal. [Browse Holidays](https://natureslens.co.uk/) ### Article topics ### Field notes by email New articles, trip reports and wildlife photography holiday announcements from NaturesLens. [Join The List](https://natureslens.co.uk/newsletter-preferences/)