Posts in Category: Costa Rica
Costa Rica! Green-crowned Brilliant
Green-crowned Brilliant Hummingbird: Feather’s Garden, Savegre Mountain Hotel, Spa and Reserve, San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2023 — After our lunch and the amazing bird show at the Miriam’s Quetzals, the rest of the group took jeeps up into the Cloud Forest for a walk high above Sevegre Mountain Hotel. I have done that walk many times and decided to stay behind and spend the afternoon at Feather’s Garden, a small back yard garden that is maintained by Melvin, a guide who lives on the Resort grounds. I have stayed at Sevegre many times, and somehow never knew this garden existed. It is designed for photography, with a small shelter in case of rain, chairs to sit in and watch the birds come and go. It is well through out, well maintained, and attracts all the birds common at the 7500 foot elevation of Sevegre, including this Green-crowned Brilliant. You can have high expectations for any hummingbird named Brilliant and the Green-crowed (or Green-breasted as it sometimes called) does not disappoint. OM System OM-1 with M. Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Sooty Thrush
Sooty Thrush: Miriam’s Quetzals, San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2023 — A common bird of the highlands of southern Costa Rica and northern Panama in fields and oak forest edges, the Sooty Thrush is a large true thrush, similar in size and behavior to our North American Robins. In fact it used to be called the Sooty Robin. The yellow bill, legs and feet, make a strong contract with the sooty body. OM System OM-1 with M.Zuiko 100=400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Silky Flycatchers and Parakeet
Sulphur-winged Parakeet and Long-tailed Silky Flycatchers: Miriam’s Quetzals, San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2023 — Typically we do not get close views of Long-tailed Silky Flycatcher at Miriam’s, but they often perch on the very top of the tall tree against the mountains on the other side of the Savegre Valley. This trip they were joined by a pair of Sulphur-winged Parakeets, one of which makes the third in this trio of birds. The tree is a long way off, on the brink of the drop to the valley below. This is a fairly heavy crop. OM System OM-1 with 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Yellow-thighed Bushfinch
Yellow-thighed Bushfinch: Miriam’s Quetzals, San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2023 — One of the more unique looking birds of the mountains of Costa Rica and northwest Panama, the Yellow-thighed Bushfinch, with it’s bright yellow leg warmers, is a common visitor to the feeding station at Miriam’s. It is another finch that is not a finch…it is a member of the same family as American Sparrows and Towhees. OM System OM-1 with 100-400IS zoom at 614mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Emerald
Northern Emerald Toucanet: Miriam’s Quetzals, San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2023 — We had seen Emerald Toucanet at Soda y Mirador Cincinola on the way to the Sarapiqui Valley, but it is always nice to see them again in the high valley of the Savegre at Miriam’s and Batsu Gardens…both good spots for this attractive but aggressive egg predator. It is sometimes called the Blue-throated Emerald Toucanet, for obvious reasons. OM System OM-1 with 100-400IS zoom at 552mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Big foot!
Large-footed Finch: Miriam’s Quetzals, San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2023 — Take a look at those feet! The Large-footed Finch is aptly named (though it is not a finch at all…but a large sparrow) and a speciality of the Talamanca mountains of southern Costa Rica and Northwest Panama. Miriam’s is low for this bird. It is more commonly seen in the area on Cerro de la Muerte another 2000 feet almost straight up from Miriam’s. OM System OM-1 with 100-400IS zoom at 614 and 552mm equivalents. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! shades of Talamanca
Talamanca Hummingbird: Miriam’s Quetzals, San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2023 — There were probably only a few male Talamanca Hummingbirds at Miriam’s when we visited, but they were aggressively defending the feeders and their territories, so it felt like a lot of birds. I have grouped shots here of males, to show off the various shades of violet and blue that the changing light brings out. Each photo is worth a look on its own for the details. OM System OM-1 with 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Talamanca Hummer
Talamanca Hummingbird: Miriam’s Quetzals, San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2024 — The problem at Miriam’s is not that the Talamanca Hummingbirds are too far away…it is that they are too close. They were literally buzzing around our heads and often landed behind us under the eaves at the back of the deck. The Talamanca is among the largest hummingbirds in Central America and used to be called the Magnificent Hummingbird, before the species was split and the Central American birds were renamed after the mountain range where they dwell in Southern Costa Rica and Northern Panama. I had my OM System OM-1 on my birds-in-flight program but the 1/1600th of a second was still not fast enough to completely still the wings at this close distance. 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. -0.3 EV. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Flame
Flame-colored Tanager: Miriam’s Quetzals, San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2023 — Someone in the comments on my recent Acron Woodpecker post, images taken at Miriam’s Quetzals in San Geraldo de Dota, sang the praises of the Flame-colored Tanager…a common bird at the feeders at Miriam’s. One of the brighter of the mountain birds of Central America (and that is saying quite a bit considering the competition), the male and female, while different shades of flame, are both brilliant. These shots, both on the same perch in the partial shade, show off the colors. OM System OM-1 with 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Acorn at Miriam’s
Acorn Woodpecker: Miriam’s Quetzals, San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2023 — We drove up to the top of Buena Vista Mountain as it is named on the maps, or Cerro de la Muerte as it is commonly known, but the mountain top was shrouded in dense fog, hiding the vistas, so we returned to Savegre for a morning of photographing silky water in the stream below the hotel. Then for lunch we drove back up to Miriam’s Quetzals, a small family owned restaurant/coffee shop/gift shop half way back up to the Panam highway, perched on the side of the Savegre canyon, with a wonderful deck and feeding station which draws all the common birds at its cloud forest elevation, approaching 9000 feet. In the year since my last visit they have improved and enlarged the deck and it is an even better perch for photographing birds. Acorn Woodpeckers are among the dominant species, and though we can see them in the Western US, they are always a treat to see in the mountains of Costa Rica. The deck at Miriam’s provides close up views. OM System OM-1 with 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.