We only saw a few of the 17 species of parrots and parakeets that live in Costa Rica on our Point and Shoot Nature Photography Adventure. This is the White-crowned Parrot, common in the Central Valley in the foothills around San Jose. At dawn they generally fly over the hotel where we spend our first night in Costa Rica, and often settle for a moment in the top of tall trees just off the hotel grounds. They are, parrot like, very noisy in flight and you can often hear them coming before you see them. The tree they favor is not close, but using Clear Image Zoom to extend the Sony Rx10iv’s range out to 1200mm equivalent, it is possible to get a decent shot. The colors are intense in the fresh morning sun. This is program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.

So here I am, stuck at the Newark Airport on my way back from the Point and Shoot Nature Photography Adventure in Costa Rica…canceled flight…and not rebooked until 10 PM…so what better to do than to to remember this amazing bird. The Golden-browed Chlorophonia from Batsu Gardens above the Savegre Mountain Hotel and Resort in the Savegre Valley of the Talamanca Mountains. Certainly a stunning little finch (or at least finch-like bird). This is a male in full plumage. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications, plus Multi-frame Noise Reduction, as it was getting late in the day. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.

The Collared Redstart is called, here in Costa Rica, “friend of man” because it often approaches humans, This one was right outside my cabin at Savegre Mountain Hotel and Resort. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr.

Coming back from the Point and Shoot Nature Photography Adventure in Costa Rica’s visit to the paramo (the area above tree-line at 11,000 feet, where we unsuccessfully chased Volcano Junco and Timberline Wren) we decided to walk a section of the road down to Savegre Mountain Hotel and Resort that is known to be good habitat for Quetzels and other birds. We were not 50 yards and 5 minutes from the bus when Edwin shushed us all and pointed up. There was a male Resplendent Quetzel closer and in better light than I have ever seen before, sitting right over the road. We took way too many photos and collected several cars and bus load of tourists on their way into one of the lodges in the valley. I say better light, but I was still using Multi-frame Noise Reduction to compensate for the high ISOs required under the canopy. Sony Rx10iv at about 500mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.

The Point and Shoot Nature Adventure in Costa Rica is at the Savegre Mountain Hotel and Resort for our annual search for the Resplendent Quetzel. For the past 5 trips we have found it in the same tree on the mountainside above the road, but this year the wild avocado fruit is already gone from that tree. We had to find another tree. We were blessed to find the birds right along road, in the next tree up the mountain. Such a spectacular bird! The long streamers are actually the tail coverts…not the tail itself, and you can clearly see that in this photo. Sony Rx10iv at around 800mm equivalent (using a little Clear Image Zoom to fill the frame. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications plus Multi-frame Noise Reduction since we were out before the sun worked its way this deep into the valley (taken at the equivalent of ISO 6400 but using 3 stacked exposures for better image quality.) Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.

It was a travel day today, from Selva Verde Lodge in the lowland rain-forest to Savegre Lodge in the Talamanca Mountains. Still we arrived in the highlands in time to make a stop at Miriam’s Quetzels…a small coffee shop on the mountainside with a Quetzel tree out back…and feeders for when the Quetzels are elseware…as in today. We did have a number of great birds around the feeders, including this Slaty Flowerpiercer. You can see in this shot were the bird gets its name. They feed from the bottom of blossoms by poking a hole in the base and extracting nectar and insects. This bird was busy only about 4 feet from the deck. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.