Resplendent Quetzal: San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica — The Resplendent Quetzal has become my Christmas bird. For no reason except maybe for the colors, and the over the top ornamentalism, and the fact that I generally see one in the weeks coming up to Christmas, if I get to Costa Rica, and I have for at least most of the past 10 years. So, my Christmas bird. I have yet to get my perfect photo of a Quetzal, which keeps me coming back for more. They are predictably active only in the early morning, before the sun works its way down to stream level in the deep Savegre River Valley…Valley of the Quetzals…and there is never enough light to do full justice to the glorious, resplendent, plumage. There are worse ways to celebrate Christmas, so if it becomes a tradition, that’s okay with me. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications (with ISO shutter speed limits reset for the low light). Processed in Photomator and Photo Quality. And a very Merry Christmas to you and yours.

Crimson-collared Tanager: Mirador y Soda Cinchona, Costa Rica, December 2023 — We stopped for the waterfall where the road crosses the La Paz River, but Mirador y Soda Cinchona was our first stop for birds, and it did not disappoint. All the foothills specialties stopped by the Soda’s redesigned deck and gave us such a good show that even the excellent lunch menu had trouble getting us to the table. The was the best look we got the whole trip of the Crimson-collard Tanager…such a vivid and contrasty bird that it is actually quite hard to photograph. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.

Prong-billed Barbet: Mirador y Soda Cinchona, Costa Rica, December 2023 — There is a story that during the 2009 earthquake that destroyed much of the Cinchona region in Costa Rica, the Soda (shop or cafe) was full of customers. At the first rumble the owner yelled for them all to come to the kitchen, where they watched as the rest of the building collapsed down the mountain side. What we visited on our second day in Costa Rica is the rebuilt Mirador y Soda Cinchona. The Prong-billed Barbet, also a regular visitor to the Soda, does not care. It is all about bananas and their ownership for Barbets. This banana is obviously owned by this Barbet. Barbets exist, not only in the tropics of Central and South America, but also in the tropics of Africa and Asia…some are lowland rainforest birds and some have ranges, like the Prong-billed, in the foothills and even mountains. All have the typical heavy bill and stout body. They are cavity nesters and most excavate holes the same way woodpeckers do. Fun facts from my morning reading on Barbets 🙂 OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.