The Yellow-thighed Bushfinch is a sight to see, always. This one was another of the birds we encountered at Miriam’s Quetzals in San Gerardo de Dota, Costa Rica on our stop with the Point and Shoot Nature Photography Adventure. This Bushfinch is a very active bird. It does not pose for photos. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.

This female Slaty Flowerpiercer shows off her piercing tool at Miriam’s Quetzals in San Gerardo de Dota, Costa Rica, during our stop on the Point and Shoot Nature Photography Adventure. In the rain again. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.

Acorn Woodpecker in the rain. On our yearly Point and Shoot Nature Photography Adventure in Costa Rica, we always plan a stop at Miriam’s Quetzals, a small coffee shop and cafe, half way down the twisting mountain road from the Pan American Highway to the Savegre Mountain Hotel, in San Gerardo de Dota, It gets its name from a tree in the backyard which attracts Resplendent Quetzals when it is in fruit, but it is a great spot for a variety of cloud forest birds. You get great views from Miriam’s partially covered back deck. I was shooting from under an umbrella, juggling a cup of Miriam’s excellent coffee, and attempting to keep my camera dry. Still the birds are too good to miss. This bird, a female, was less than 6 feet away. Acorn Woodpeckers are pretty much limited to mixed oak forest, from west coast of the US south of the Canadian border, all the way down to Columbia in South America. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.

Not a wonderful shot, but our only sighting of a King Vulture on this year’s Point and Shoot Nature Photography Adventure to Costa Rica, and an immature bird at that. We were on our way from Selva Verde Lodge to Savegre Mountain Hotel, still in lowlands near the Sucio River and the junction of routes 4 and 32. That is a Black Vulture next to it. This is an extreme shot for the Sony Rx10iv. It was taken at 1200mm using 2x Clear Image Zoom, in relatively dim light, and then heavily cropped to get the bird this large in the frame. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.

On our way from Selva Verde Lodge in Costa Rica back to San Jose and then south to the Talamancas, we always stop where the road crosses the Sucio River in Limon to see if we might see a Sun Bittern. We never have yet, but there are generally Fasciated Tiger-Herons and Kingfishers along this stretch of river as compensation. This Tiger-Heron posed nicely for us. Fasciated Tiger-Herons frequent the rocky streams of the foothills and mid-elevations. Sony Rx10iv at 1200mm equivalent (2x Clear Image Zoom). Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.

This Fasciated Antshrike played hard to get along the entrance road at La Selva Biological Research Station in the Sarapiqui valley of Costa Rica. I have lots of photos of it partially obscured by foliage…more obscured even than this photo. 🙂 This one captures enough of the bird to be mildly satisfying, including the reddish tint to the eye. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.

While some of the Point and Shoot Nature Photography group enjoyed the Chocolate Tour near Selva Verde Lodge in Costa Rica, a few of us went back to the entrance road to La Selva Biological Research Station to see what the afternoon would bring. Our first visit had been early morning in the rain, and the half mile or so of road through second growth rainforest can be one of the best and most productive birding sites in the world. Our guide, Edwin was convinced we had only scratched the surface. And the birding was indeed good. This Slaty-tailed Trogon greeted us only moments after we got out of the van, and we had 6 different woodcreepers, two woodpeckers, a jacamar, and an antshrike before we got back in the van to pick up our compatriots from the Chocolate Tour. Though it was afternoon, the light under the canopy is always difficult. Sony Rx10iv at 1200mm equivalent (2x Clear Image Zoom). Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.