On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
It looks to be a great week on On the Road. Albatrossity Monday!
Parades! Ducks! italian food! Gorgeous photos from Africa!
Albatrossity
This will be the last round of pics from my recent trip to Costa Rica, but I’ve saved some of the most striking and iconic species for last. After the events of the last couple of weeks, a spot of beauty, and a deep breath before facing the week, might be just what the doctor ordered!
As before, birds that were lifers for me are designated with an asterisk.
The goal for many birders who visit Central America is the *Resplendent Quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno). Limited to evergreen montane cloud forest habitat, and preferring areas that have both large old-growth trees and an abundance of fruiting trees, these spectacular trogons generally require persistence and a bit of luck to see. We had the luck, as a pair of these birds was nesting near one of the resort hotels in San Gerardo de Dota, a short walk from where we were housed at the Quetzal Education and Research Center (QERC). All we needed to do was wake up early, walk down to the hotel to meet the guide, and half an hour later pick up our jaws from the ground when a female and male quetzal came to eat the small wild avocados in a tree less than 200 ft from the hotel lobby. This is a female, swallowing an avocado, after which she sat for 15 minutes or so to digest the fruit and spit out the seed before she gobbled down another one. Click here for larger image.
The male soon followed, and perched even closer to the crowd of high-fiving birders and photographers who had gathered at this remote site to see him. Resplendent, indeed. He was in the shade, and it was still early morning light, but if he had been in full sunlight it probably would have voided the warranty on our retinas. Click here for larger image.
In another kind of fruiting tree about 25 ft. from the quetzals was a flock of *Gray Silky Flycatchers (Ptiliogonys cinereus). These are not in the flycatcher family, but rather are related to the Phainopepla, a bird that is familiar to birders in the southwest US. This is another species that favors montane habitats, and it was on my wish-list prior to the trip. Click here for larger image.
You have to go even further uphill to find this species, but when you do, you will find them to be quite abundant. The *Sooty Thrush (Turdus nigrescens) is the size of an American Robin, and it reminds you of that species as it hops around on the ground, or chatters and sings from exposed perches. This is almost a Costa Rican endemic, but it can also be found in the mountains of neighboring Panama. Click here for larger image.
Another wish-list species, the *Volcano Junco (Junco vulcani), is found in the same limited range as the Sooty Thrush. It has the distinction of being the southernmost species of junco, and that bright yellow eye in the dark face mask gives it a particularly demonic look. Click here for larger image.
The song of this species was everywhere we went in the cloud forest, but it proved to be hard to see. So I was very happy to see this *Black-billed Nightingale Thrush (Catharus gracilirostris) perched in the open for a few seconds, allowing me to get its picture. The song has the fluting quality of the song of the Hermit Thrush, and was particularly ethereal as it echoed through the fog and giant trees of the cloud forest cathedral. Click here for larger image.
The final upland bird of this batch was completely unexpected, although I knew what it was the second that it popped into view. A male Wilson’s Warbler (Cardellina pusilla) should have been in North America at the time I took this picture, but this guy had not read the manual, apparently. Click here for larger image.
The Blue-gray Tanager (Thraupis episcopus) is a common and familiar species in central America and northern South America. They seem to be tolerant of people, and are often seen in urban parks and gardens. Click here for larger image.
On our last day at the Osa Conservation Center, Elizabeth found a pair of another wish-list species, male and female *Great Curassows (Crax rubra), strolling sedately along the edge of the campus. This turkey-sized bird has been eliminated from most its historic range because of hunting, and typically it is a very shy species, untrusting of humans. This is the female, distinguished by her rusty-red plumage and semi-permed hairdo. It is estimated that the total population of this species is around 40,000 individuals, so we were very lucky (and happy) to see this pair. Click here for larger image.
It’s the end of the road, but here is one more male Resplendent Quetzal before we go back to Flyover Country next week. Click here for larger image.
SiubhanDuinne
These are spectacular!
eclare
Amazing photos of amazing birds!
Donatellonerd
just wow!
HinTN
Resplendent, indeed. Warranty on retinas, you betcha. What a bird, what a trip! Thanks for the vicarious journey through Birdland down south.
SteveinPHX
Amazing photographs & subjects! Thank you.
Paul in Jacksonville
As always, a marvelous collection. Why was my first thought when I saw the Wilson’s Warbler tfg?
stinger
That’s an avocado? I was trying to imagine how she managed to eat that “berry” until I read the text. Glad they breed them bigger now!
I’m glad you saw so many lifers on that trip. How many are left on your list?
“voided the warranty on our retinas” LOL
“was particularly ethereal as it echoed through the fog and giant trees of the cloud forest cathedral” — so evocative.
I’m glad to see that Elizabeth is good for something. //jk
Midwest US birds are going to seem so boring after this!
stinger
@Paul in Jacksonville: LOL The orange face? The fake-looking oddly-colored “rug”?
J.
Wow! Awesome photos (as usual). I love the expressions. When I was a kid, I was obsessed with Quetzals. So exciting that you saw a pair!
cope
Beautiful and exotic, thank you.
BigJimSlade
Great photos 😀
I would have guessed that avocado was an açaí berry!
BeautifulPlumage
I love these trips through birdland, thank you!
Mike S. (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!)
Beautiful and they bring back memories of all these birds that I also saw on our January 2018 trip to Southern Costa Rica! In the mountains we stayed at a lodge called Mirador de Quetzales and the first morning when we got up we had a pair of Resplendant Quetzals feeding jus 20 feet behind our cabin! The lodge has a conservation arrangement to take guests to visit local farms (Fincas) to see Quetzals and other birds. The farmers get a fee per person and in turn they keep wild avocado trees with fruit like in your picture growing on their farm. (I believe there are something like 50 species of wild avacados in Central America so the Quetzals aren’t dependent on one species.) We had a great time at the finca and saw both species of silky flycatches and many more species of birds too! We also stayed near the Osa Penninsula but on the mainland side of the bay at an eco -called Playa Nicuesa and had a great time there too. Every morning when we looked west across the Golfo Dolce we could see huge rain clouds over there. The clouds would work east towards us all morning and finally pour on us by mid-afternoon. Playa Nicuesa can only be reached by boat from the town of Golfito and one morning we took a boat down the golfo to a place called Casa Orquedeas Botanical Gardin where we saw a pair of Great Currasows nesting and also my first King Vulture soaring overhead and our best look at Scarlet Macaws. The Macaws were feeding in a fruiting palm tree and we could watch them for along time rather that the usual sighting of a pair flying fast overhead and going quickly away. Thanks for the memories!
arrieve
These are wonderful. I was lucky enough to see several resplendent quetzals in Costa Rica but three of them were in flight and the only one who condescended to be photographed had her back turned to us. I hadn’t realized how adorable their faces are!
Rob
So nice!! Thank you, Albatrossity!
A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)
@Mike S. (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!): On my trip in January to CR when I saw a pair of Quetzals, the set-up was the same: a visit to a local farm where they keep the avocado trees to have a reliable local population to show visitors. The local guide told me the saying was “A Quetzal is better than a cow”, in regards to producing money for the farming family. Win-win for all :-)
Don
Just spectacular. Now that Peter King is retired from Monday Morning Quarterback, (I’m old school), I look forward to seeing beautiful, exotic birds. Not my greatest trade, but certainly good. Thanks for all the great pictures.