Monthly Archives: December 2018
Brown Violetear
In going through some pics from early in the ZEISS Birding trip to Costa Rica, I came across this set of unprocessed shots of the Brown Violetear Hummingbird from La Paz Waterfall Gardens on the continental divide north of San Jose. Given the Polarr treatment, and assembled for viewing in ImgPlay, here they are. The Bird Name Gods have renamed the Green Violetear to Lesser Violetear. Can it be long before the Brown Violetear is the Greater Violetear? Not that they are not distinctly Green and Brown as well as Violeteared, but when has that ever mattered? Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode. Processed in Polarr.
Prong-billed Barbet
Soon after La Paz Waterfall Gardens, just over the continental divide in the Central Volcanic Range, on the way from San Jose, Costa Rica to the lowland rainforest on the Caribbean side, there is a little Soda, a mom and pop restaurant, perched on the sheer drop-off where they have feeders out back on a high deck that overlooks the San Francisco Waterfall. It is often a good place for Tanagers, Hummingbirds, Barbets, and the occasional Emerald Toucanet, plus they serve coffee and snacks. I have never seen the Toucanet there, but this year there were a few Prong-billed Barbets hanging out…a life-bird for me…and everyone else on both the back-to-back ZEISS Birding and Point and Shoot Nature Photography trips (except for the local guides, of course 🙂 As Barbets go, the Prong-billed is not spectacular…with its olive and brown color pattern, and its large silver bill, but it is a good bird none-the-less. Sony RX10iv at 600mm. Anti-motion Blur mode (to compensate for the low light under the heavy tree cover and cloudy sky). Processed in Polarr.
Popular Plant, Batsu Gardens, Costa Rica
Whenever I stay at the Savegre Mountain Hotel (it might be the Savegre Mountain Resort now), in San Gerardo de Dota, Costa Rica, I try to arrange an afternoon at Batsu Gardens, high on the mountain-side across the Savegre River and overlooking the hotel grounds. One of the younger members of the founding pioneers’ family has established a garden with viewing shelters and feeders where you can sit and watch and photograph many species of mountain hummingbirds, tanagers, and the occasional Emerald Toucanet to your hearts content…all while sipping the supplied coffee. There is a restroom provided. All mod cons, and hummingbirds to boot! There are flowering and fruiting plants all around the viewing platform, so it is often possible to capture the hummingbirds away from the feeders, in a more natural setting. This plant attracted both the White-throated Mountain Gem (formerly the Grey-tailed Mountain Gem) and the Lesser Violet-ear (formerly the Green Violet-ear). Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent. My birds and wildlife modifications to Program Mode. Processed in Polarr.
Long-tailed Silky Flycatcher
The Long-tailed Silky Flycatcher is not a “flycatcher”…and does not have a particularly long tail…but, hey, who’s counting? It is, in some opinions, the second most beautiful bird in the Talamanca Mountains of Costa Rica (after the Resplendent Quetzal…quite a ways after, but in second place by most accounts). Personally I think both the Talamanca Hummingbird and the Fire-throated Hummingbird give it a run for the money…but maybe those who favor the Silky Flycatcher have a thing about hummingbirds being “real” birds. Hard to say. I do agree that the Long-tailed Silky Flycatcher is a handsome bird. Last year in October when I visited San Gerardo de Dota and Savegre Mountain Hotel, we had trouble finding a Silky, but this year crowds of them were right on the Hotel Grounds every morning, and they were hard to miss. These photos are the last birds I shot in Costa Rica this year, taken while waiting for the bus to arrive to take us back to the airport. For that reason alone they have a bitter-sweet flavor. Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode. Processed in Polarr and assembled to a GIF in ImgPlay.
Talamanca Hummingbird
The Magnificent Hummingbird was split a few years ago into two species. The Rivoli’s Hummingbird from the north portion of its range, including Southeast Arizona in the US, and the Talamanca Hummingbird from the mountains of Costa Rica and Panama. We spent the last days of both the ZEISS Birding trip and my Point and Shoot Nature Photography adventure in the Talamanca Mountains at Savegre Mountain Hotel in San Gerardo de Dota, Costa Rica where, of course, the Talamanca Hummingbird is common. This shot was taken at Miriam’s Quetzals, a small restaurant overlooking an Avocado tree where Resplendent Quetzals come in fruiting season. Miriam has built a small business out of the tree, serving coffee and hot chocolate and the occasional meal to birders who stop to see the Quetzals, and the other mountain birds that come to her feeders off the back deck of the restaurant. Miriam’s is a “required” stop for any birder on his or her way in to San Gerardo de Dota. Whatever they call this bird, it is still a magnificent hummingbird! Sony RX10iv at 600mm. My custom modifications of Program for birds and wildlife. Processed in Polarr. And, once more, you can join me on another Point and Shoot adventure in Costa Rica next December. Contact me.
Green Hermit, Costa Rica
I am back from 15 days in Costa Rica. I will, maybe, do a make up post in the next few days with some of the images I posted to Facebook and Instagram while on the trip. This is the Green Hermit, caught in the act at a little Soda (mom and pop restaurant) just over the continental divide in the Central Volcanic Range on the way from San Jose to Selva Verde Lodge. For $2.00 you get a cup of coffee, a slice of cheese quesadilla, and the privilege of watching birds coming into their feeders from the deck overlooking the San Francisco waterfall. Such a deal! Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode. Processed in Polarr.
Red-wings murmuration
When I saw this flock of birds murmurating (which is what that swirling motion of a flock of birds is called…it is a murmuration of birds) I assumed they were Starlings, or at least mostly Starlings with a few Brewer’s and Red-winged Blackbirds mixed in. Starlings are the famous murmuraters. However, when I got the image up on my iPad’s larger screen and zoomed in, I realized that they were all Red-winged Blackbirds, males and females. That makes the image just that much more interesting to me. Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode. Processed in Polarr.