As the most common, and most aggressive, hummingbird around feeders at low to mid elevations in Costa Rica, it is way too easy to stop looking at Rufous-tailed Hummingbirds. I mean they are always there. You have already seen dozens, and will see dozens more in the days to come. This one, however, sat so nicely, just off the covered patio at Dave and Dave’s Costa Rica Nature Park, waiting patiently in the rain. I am not sure what it was waiting for, but it returned to this same perch repeatedly in the few hours we spent at Dave and Dave’s. It is a beautiful example of the Amazonia hummers, with its predominantly green iridescence, and, rufous tail and noticeable red base to the bill. Sony Rx10iv at 1200mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications, plus Multi-frame Noise Reduction. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.

I still have a few shots I want to share from the our first full day in Costa Rica with the Point and Shoot Nature Photography Adventure. There were many Coppery-throated Emeralds, a Costa Rican endemic, at La Paz Waterfall Gardens when we made our traditional first stop of the day. This one was at the lower feeders, in the shade up under the hummingbird trellis. A brilliant little bird. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Anti-motion Blur mode. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.

We are still at the feeders at La Paz Waterfall Gardens, on our first day of the Point and Shoot Nature Photography Adventure in Costa Rica…and still at the upper feeders right outside the entrance at that! The Purple-throated Mountain Gem is a gem of a hummingbird…richly colored and active, with a lot of attitude. It posed nicely for us and kept us entertained with its coming and goings for as long as we could spend there. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Anti-motion Blur mode. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.

In addition to unusually high numbers of Green-thorntails, noted before, there appeared to more Black-bellied Hummingbirds than I can remember seeing at La Paz Waterfall Gardens. The Black-bellied Hummingbird has a lot of attitude for a small hummer, and it is hard to miss them when they are around. The squared off crown seems to be characteristic of their display behavior. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr.

There are a few feeders right inside the entrance of the La Paz Waterfall Gardens, right opposite the rest rooms, so while some of us are otherwise engaged, the rest are easily entertained. In fact, I warned my Point and Shoot Nature Photography group that it is easy to get so wrapped up in the hummers just inside the entrance that we might find it difficult to get to the real birding on the levels below. And, sure enough, this Coppery-headed Emerald was there to great us, and, along with the many other species using the feeders, keep us way too long. The Coppery-headed Emerald is one of only 6 endemic species in Costa Rica, and the only one with a wide enough distribution to be easily seen. (There are also, of course, 48 near endemics, shared only, mostly, with a narrow strip of northern Panama.) One of the reasons it is hard to break away form the upper feeders at La Paz is that there are lots of natural perches around them, and natural looking shots like this one are possible as the birds return repeatedly to the same perches. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Anti-motion Blur mode. (The feeders are in the deep shade of the entrance building itself.) Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.

I did not get home from Costa Rica until 4 AM this morning, thanks to weather delays in Newark, but that gave me lots of time to continue to work with my images from the Point and Shoot Nature Photography Adventure in Costa Rica. 🙂 This is the Green Thorntail hummingbird from La Paz Waterfall Gardens just over the continental divide on the way from San Jose to Selva Verde Lodge in the lowland forest. Most years I have to wait a while to see one, but this was among the first hummers I encountered at La Paz and there were numerous individuals present. Nice surprise. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Anti-motion Blur Mode. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.

Batsu Gardens sit on the side of the mountain about 500 feet above the Savegre River and Savegre Mountain Hotel and Resort. I always schedule a visit to the gardens for the hummingbirds and other mountain specialties that come the well designed feeding stations and the abundant bird magnet plants. This the male Lesser Violetear Hummingbird, which Edwin, our guide, tells me expends up to 60% of its energy in competitive displays with other males. You can clearly see where the “violetear” part of name comes from. The ears lay flat against the head when it is not displaying. it used to be called the “green violetear”. I have no idea why they changed the name. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr.