Bright-rumpled Attila: Las Tardes Ecological Project, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica — My only excuse for this photo is that this very common bird of the Central American tropics is also very hard to see…the field guides say “more often herd than seen.” Not a great photograph, but it does show the bright rump that gives the bird its name, and the hooked beak that gives it its character! Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. (I had to dig the bird out of the shadows and it is a heavy crop.) ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/500th.

Bananaquit: Las Tardes Community Ecology Project, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica, December 2022 — The Bananaquit has long complicated story. It was placed with the new world warblers, or the sparrows (buntings), or maybe in a genus of its own…before genetic profiling put it with the tanagers, in the same sub-family as Darwin’s Finches. It is a wide-spread bird all through Central and South America and the Caribbean, occasionally reaching extreme South-Florida in the US. It has an unusual amount of variation over its range, with island birds in particular, being quite different looking than those found on the continents. It has 41 (41!) recognized sub-species, at least a few of which are already on track to be split into species of their own. So, no, not a simple bird, though common all through the American tropics. It eats nectar and fruit and can be seen around dwelling with gardens. It will come to bananas at feeders. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 800 @ f4 @ 1/500th.

Scarlet Macaw: Playa Blanca, Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica, December 2022 — not the best bird of the day by far, but certainly the slowest! A large flock of Scarlet Macaws are attracted to the Beach Almond trees along the waterfront in Playa Blanca, not far from Danta Corcovado lodge here on the Osa Peninsula. We saw maybe a 8-10 there last year, but this year there were more than two dozen, maybe more, feeding in almost the same trees (between rain storms). It was a treat to watch and photograph these large spectacular…and very noisy…birds. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 250 @ f4 @ 1/500th. Plus .3EV.

Red-lored Parrot: Playa Blanca, Costa Rica (Osa Peninsula) — The Macaws, of course, were not alone in enjoying the fruiting fig trees behind the beach at Playa Blanca. Parrots are gregarious opportunists and where you find one species there are likely more. There were a few Red-lored Parrots feeding with the Macaws, and again, they were so busy with the fruit that it was easy to get relatively close shots. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 400 @ f4 @ 1/500th.

Scarlet Macaw: Playa Blanca, Costa Rica (Osa Peninsula) — This is my second post of the Macaws of Playa Blanca, Costa Rica, on the Osa Peninsula near Danta Corcovado Lodge. I posted just after we visited in December, but as I work back through my photos from the trip, they deserve another post. Especially as our guide, Edwin, worked so hard to find them for us. It is fairly certain that they will be in some fig tree behind a stretch of beach along the Gulf of Deluce, but where exactly varies from day to day and year to year. It turned out we parked the bus at the wrong end of the beach and it was a good hike up to where the birds actually were. Most of us had given up long before Edwin appeared in the far distance and beckoned us on. Worth it though. We found a large flock in the back yard of a vacation home (unoccupied at the moment) and were able to get pretty much as close as we could want to the actively feeding parrots. Only one of these shots is at 600mm equivalent. Macaws really are as spectacular as the Resplendent Quetzal of the mountains, but being so much more common, both in the wild and in captivity, they do not get the photographic love they deserve. Sony Rx10iv at various focal lengths. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. (My two Costa Rica trips are scheduled for next December. Search for Stephen Ingraham on the Holbrook Travel site 🙂