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.