Posts in Category: San Gerardo de Dota
Costa Rica! Scintillant Hummingbird
Scintillant Hummingbird: Batsu Gardens, San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2022 — I have known Marino, the son of one of the original brothers who settled the Savegre Valley, for several years. He was our guide at Savegre the on our vary first trip, when just I an one other couple extended our trip for a visit to the mountains, and I have seen him there every trip since. He met my daughter on one of those trips and never fails to ask after her. We bumped into him while looking for Quetzals on the road above Trogon Lodge on our first morning in the valley, and he said he would see us at Batsu later in the week. Sure enough he had arranged to be our guide (though Batsu belongs to his son), driving us up the gardens and spending the whole afternoon with us. Marino is one of those people who is never happier than when showing folks birds and when he was not chasing down hummers for us in the larger gardens, he was setting up flower feeders where we could sit comfortably and watch hummers come and go. It was one of my best afternoons ever at Batsu, and that is saying quite a lot! This male Scintillant Hummer was one he chased down in the rain. We took turns following him out to its perch for photographs, doing our best to keep our gear dry. The Scintillant is one of two small hummers endemic to the high volcanos and the Talamanca Mountains of Costa Rica and Panama. The other is the Volcano, but in the Talamancas at least, the Volcano has a bright purple gorget. When their gorgets are not lit, or with female birds, they are very difficult to tell apart. Sony Rx10iv at 580mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 320 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Costa Rica! Chestnut-capped Brushfinch
Chestnut-capped Brushfinch: Batsu Gardens, San Gerardo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2022 — Batsu Gardens, high on the mountainside above San Gerardo de Dota and the Savegre Mountain Resort, is one of my favorite places to spend an afternoon when visiting Costa Rica. It is a great place for photography…designed specifically for photographing the local seed and fruit eaters and the mountain hummingbirds…in comfort, with all the amenities right there. For the bird and wildlife photographer, it honestly does not get much better! This is Chestnut-capped Bushfinch, a common ground finch of the Talamancas. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixomator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 400 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Costa Rica! White-throated Mountain Gem, female
Female White-throated Mountain Gem: San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2022 — The White-throated Mountain Gems, especially the females, like to feed at the flowers where the Flowerpiercers have been busy. They use the holes the Flowerpiercers have already made, which gives them access to nectar they would not otherwise be able to reach. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 250 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Costa Rica! Torrent Tyrannulet
Torrent Tryannulet: San Gerardo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2022 — The Savegre River has carved a sharp steep valley out of the Pacific side of the Talamanca Mountains which has become a major birding destination for it relaiabe population of Resplendent Quetzels. But of course it it rich in other mountain and cloud forest species as well. The Torrent Trannulet is one of the most specialized flycatchers in the world. It needs fast flowing, tumbling, rocky river beds with the cleanest water…just what the Savegre provides. You can generally find a few between the lodges at the end of the road where it runs next to the stream. They are not always as cooperative as this one which we found right under a bridge. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/1000th and 1/640th. Minus .7EV Wide shot, iPhone SE2.
Costa Rica! Back for more Quetzal
Resplendent Quetzal: San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2022 — Though I am back from India now and have a lot of photos from India to share, I never finished working through my Costa Rica photos, so I will be posting random second helpings of the Pic for today to finish up that adventure. And what better bird to return to than the Resplendent Quetzal? These again from our second early morning session with the Quetzals. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications and multi-frame noise reduction. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. Equivalent ISO 6400 and 2000 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Resplendent!
Resplendent Quetzal: San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2022 — As I mentioned, you arrive just at first light to wherever you hope to see the Quetzals in the valley around San Geraldo de Dota, and the first birds come when it is still very dark for photos. The longer you wait, the brighter it gets, but the sun never seldom reaches the shelves where the Quetzals are before they finish feeding for the morning. These are two “early” shots, when I was still shooting using multi-frame noise reduction to get any kind of shot at all. Still the colors of the Quetzal can no be surprised! (or surpassed). Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications and multi-frame noise reduction. Equivalent ISO 6400 @ f4 @ 1/400th.
Female Resplendent Quetzal
Female Resplendent Quetzal: San Geraldo de Dota: Costa Rica, December 2022 — In any other company, the female Resplendent Quetzal would be a brilliant bird…as it is, the male is over-the-top brilliant and puts her a bit in the shade. These shots are from the “more secret” of the Quetzal locations in the valley in December…a bit harder to get to, and a bit more exclusive (and you have to pay)…but generally an excellent Quetzal show. When we visited both the male and female were showing well. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications and multi-frame noise reduction. You have to get to the spot at first light, so it is never bright enough. Equivalent ISO 6400 @ f4 @ 1/200th and 1/400th.
Return to the Emerald Toucanet
Emerald Toucanet: Miriam’s Quetzals, San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2022 — We return to images from my trip to Costa Rica last December and to the Emerald Toucanet…one of the highlights of our lunch stop at Miriam’s Quetzals up the mountain from our lodge. With birds like this off the back deck…who needs food! Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 320 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Emerald Toucanet
Emerald Toucanet: Miriam’s Quetzals, San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2022 — We all jumped up from our delicious lunches at Miriams when this Emerald Toucanet visited the feeders out back. The feeder pole is about 12 feet from the deck rail, so this was a real treat. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Acorn Woodpecker
Acorn Woodpecker: Miriam’s Quetzals, San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica — The Acorn Woodpecker is a common woodpecker of the western regions of North America, all through Central America, and down into the north west corner of South America. It is found a higher and higher elevations the further south you go. As you might guess from the name it is closely associated with mixed oak forest and is famous for two things…stashing acorns in telephone poles and tree trunks, and drilling holes in house siding and shingles. They are always active around Miriam’s feeders. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/1000th.