The Resplendent Quetzal is the reason many birders visit San Gerardo de Dota and the Savegre River Valley in the Talamanca Mountains of Costa Rica. It is sometimes called the Valley of the Quetzal. The Resplendent Quetzal has to rate among the most beautiful birds in the world, and certainly one of the most beautiful birds of the Americas, but it is not an easy bird to photograph. The only time it is seen in the open is early in the morning, before the sun has cleared the mountain tops to bring full daylight to the deep valley. During the day it feeds under the dense canopy of the cloud forest. There is never enough light. This was the first of three Quetzals we saw on our Point and Shoot Nature Photography Adventure in Costa Rica in December 2019. To get an angle on its perch we had to position ourselves at an distance that was not ideal. Still, it is a Resplendent Quetzal! You take whatever view you can get. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed and heavily cropped in Polarr and Apple Photos.

Another bird in the rain. There are many bright tanagers in Central America. The Flame-colored Tanager is the most common tanager at cloud-forest elevations. This one was at Miriam’s Quetzals in San Gerardo de Dota, Costa Rica when we visited with the Point and Shoot Nature Photography Adventure. Flame-colored Tanagers are somewhat variable in plumage…ranging from yellow-orange to this bright orange, and we saw individuals of all shades here at Miriam’s. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.

The Yellow-thighed Bushfinch is a sight to see, always. This one was another of the birds we encountered at Miriam’s Quetzals in San Gerardo de Dota, Costa Rica on our stop with the Point and Shoot Nature Photography Adventure. This Bushfinch is a very active bird. It does not pose for photos. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.

This female Slaty Flowerpiercer shows off her piercing tool at Miriam’s Quetzals in San Gerardo de Dota, Costa Rica, during our stop on the Point and Shoot Nature Photography Adventure. In the rain again. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.

Acorn Woodpecker in the rain. On our yearly Point and Shoot Nature Photography Adventure in Costa Rica, we always plan a stop at Miriam’s Quetzals, a small coffee shop and cafe, half way down the twisting mountain road from the Pan American Highway to the Savegre Mountain Hotel, in San Gerardo de Dota, It gets its name from a tree in the backyard which attracts Resplendent Quetzals when it is in fruit, but it is a great spot for a variety of cloud forest birds. You get great views from Miriam’s partially covered back deck. I was shooting from under an umbrella, juggling a cup of Miriam’s excellent coffee, and attempting to keep my camera dry. Still the birds are too good to miss. This bird, a female, was less than 6 feet away. Acorn Woodpeckers are pretty much limited to mixed oak forest, from west coast of the US south of the Canadian border, all the way down to Columbia in South America. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.

Not a wonderful shot, but our only sighting of a King Vulture on this year’s Point and Shoot Nature Photography Adventure to Costa Rica, and an immature bird at that. We were on our way from Selva Verde Lodge to Savegre Mountain Hotel, still in lowlands near the Sucio River and the junction of routes 4 and 32. That is a Black Vulture next to it. This is an extreme shot for the Sony Rx10iv. It was taken at 1200mm using 2x Clear Image Zoom, in relatively dim light, and then heavily cropped to get the bird this large in the frame. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.

On our way from Selva Verde Lodge in Costa Rica back to San Jose and then south to the Talamancas, we always stop where the road crosses the Sucio River in Limon to see if we might see a Sun Bittern. We never have yet, but there are generally Fasciated Tiger-Herons and Kingfishers along this stretch of river as compensation. This Tiger-Heron posed nicely for us. Fasciated Tiger-Herons frequent the rocky streams of the foothills and mid-elevations. Sony Rx10iv at 1200mm equivalent (2x Clear Image Zoom). Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.