My only really good look at the “other” barbet of Costa Rica, the Red-headed Barbet, came on my very first trip. Since then I have either not seen one at all…or, as on this year’s trip, only had momentary glimpses of the female. I put it down to simple bad timing. They are there. And this female which appeared for only a moment at the feeders at Soda Y Mirador in Cinchona, is proof. The male of the species is unmistakable, with its bright red head, but the female is certainly an attractive bird as well. I would not have expected the blues around the face, which are totally lacking in the male. A few of the folks on my Point and Shoot Nature Photography Adventure in Costa Rica were better positioned than I was and got killer shots of this bird. Hard not to be jealous. 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Anti-motion Blur mode. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.

There were at least two Emerald Toucanets at Soda Y Mirador in Cinchona, Costa Rica, overlooking St. Francisco Falls. I know I already posted at least one shot of one of them, but I have a lot more, and they are such a striking bird. In addition, we saw more Emerald Toucanets this trip than ever before, by a factor of 10. They were common and aggressively present at mid-elevation wherever we went. They are really pretty birds, but they are not nice birds. They are among the major nest, egg, and hatchling predictors in the mountains…and their prey includes the Resplendent Quetzel where they overlap. Also, through they are currently considered the same species, the Emerald Toucanets of Costa Rica are considerably different, and much more complexly colored, than the Emerald Toucanets of Honduras. The Honduran birds are very basic by comparison. They lack the blue on the throat, the white edging on the bill, and many of the blue tones in the plumage. I would not be surprised the ornithology gods someday decided they are indeed a different species…but then I am not much surprised by anything the ornithology gods do or don’t do. Sony Rx10iv at about 400mm equivalent. Anti-motion Blur mode. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.

Just up the road (or rather down the road, since we are on the other side of the continental divide now) from La Paz Waterfall Gardens there is a little road-side Soda (a small mom-and-pop restaurant/gift shop: Soda Y Mirador) with a wonderful view of St. Francisco Falls off the back deck and active fruit and hummingbird feeders to draw in the birds. Walking through the Soda is very unassuming, and then you get to the deck and, if you are a birder, and it is the right time of day, are instantly overwhelmed by the bird life and photographic opportunities. Excellent coffee too! My kind of place. This is a Prong-billed Barbet, one of only two barbets in Costa Rica (the other being the Red-headed Barbet). Taken from about 5 feet at 600mm equivalent. Anti-motion Blur mode. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.

We only saw a few of the 17 species of parrots and parakeets that live in Costa Rica on our Point and Shoot Nature Photography Adventure. This is the White-crowned Parrot, common in the Central Valley in the foothills around San Jose. At dawn they generally fly over the hotel where we spend our first night in Costa Rica, and often settle for a moment in the top of tall trees just off the hotel grounds. They are, parrot like, very noisy in flight and you can often hear them coming before you see them. The tree they favor is not close, but using Clear Image Zoom to extend the Sony Rx10iv’s range out to 1200mm equivalent, it is possible to get a decent shot. The colors are intense in the fresh morning sun. This is program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.

So here I am, stuck at the Newark Airport on my way back from the Point and Shoot Nature Photography Adventure in Costa Rica…canceled flight…and not rebooked until 10 PM…so what better to do than to to remember this amazing bird. The Golden-browed Chlorophonia from Batsu Gardens above the Savegre Mountain Hotel and Resort in the Savegre Valley of the Talamanca Mountains. Certainly a stunning little finch (or at least finch-like bird). This is a male in full plumage. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications, plus Multi-frame Noise Reduction, as it was getting late in the day. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.