The second in my featured mountain hummingbirds is the Talamanca Hummingbird (eBird article) as one I’ve seen in 2 other locations and of course have a Talamanca Hummingbird Gallery! 🙂 The name “Talamanca” is the name of the major mountain range through the center of Costa Rica where this bird lives only in Costa Rica and the western edge of Panama.
Talamanca Hummingbird at Batsú Gardens near Hotel Savegre, San Gerardo de Dota.
I am down to the hummingbirds in my photos from San Gerardo de Dota, the most difficult to identify for me. But I am sure of this first one, Lesser Violetear (eBird Description) and like many of our mountain birds, found only in the mountains of Costa Rica and Western Panama with a former name of “Green Violetear.” (“They” are always changing names which is frustrating for us birders!) There is a larger version of this bird called the “Mexican Violetear” found only in the countries north of us. There is also a Brown Violetear found all across Central America, but less seen by me.
Unlike most hummingbirds, this one’s “ears” actually stick out a little and are very purple or violet. Here’s a few shots from the Batsú Gardens across the road from Hotel Savegre. The hotel no longer uses any feeders of any kinds with only natural plants to attract birds in the forest and gardens, thus some birds are easier to see across the road. 🙂 Though I did get two other hummingbirds in the hotel gardens.
Lesser Violetear
Lesser Violetear
Lesser Violetear
Lesser Violetear
Photos made at the Batsú Gardens near Hotel Savegre, San Gerardo de Dota.
A tiny bird sometimes difficult to see in a thick Cloud Forest even with the bright colors, found only above 1,500 meters in the highlands of Costa Rica and across the border in Western Panama. I’ve seen and photographed only 2 other times, once in San Gerardo de Dota at the Trogon Lodge and later on a Monteverde trip in the Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve. You can see those photos (better) in my Collared Redstart Gallery to which I will eventually add these. CLICK an image below to enlarge:
Collared Redstart
Collared Redstart
Collared Redstart
Above photos made on the Robles Trail at Hotel Savegre, San Gerardo de Dota.
Large-footed Finch is the “official” English common name for this cloud forest bird that my excellent guide, Marino, found for me this morning. This “lifer” for me (1st time seen) is one of several we found near the top of our mountain on the Robles Trail this morning. The feature photo above is the only one to show his feet, which don’t seem that large to me, but maybe to a finch? 🙂
I will share more birds from today later. CLICK image to see larger . . .
Large-footed Finch
Flight Initiated!
Large-footed Finch
Large-footed Finch
Large-footed Finch
Large-footed Finch at Hotel Savegre, San Gerardo de Dota, Costa Rica
It would be hard to praise Hotel Savegre too much with virtually everything perfect here from the food to the rooms, trails, birds and vistas! 🙂 Though the birds of this trip haven’t been added yet, you can see all my others in Costa Rica Birds Gallery, 350 species!
On one of my walks on the nearby “Country Lane,” I found this simple little tree covered in yellow blooms, like many Costa Rica trees now, and liked it!
The Feature Photo is the broad view of the landscape with the little solo tree, while below I include a closer view from another angle, all from behind a fence, and I never cross fences! 🙂
Country Lane Yellow Tree
“Nature is pleased with simplicity. And nature is no dummy.”
~Isaac Newton
¡Pura Vida!
Tonight or tomorrow I will begin reporting on the Cloud Forests of San Gerardo de Dota in Savegre Hotel. It is a lot different from my Central Valley coffee farming town of Atenas! 🙂
The several swinging bridges at Arenal Observatory Lodge connecting the many trails are a lot more secure than those rope bridges we made in Boy Scouts, but just as thrilling! 🙂 Here’s some shots of two of the hanging bridges I hiked over during my Arenal Visit Christmas Week. CLICK an image to see larger . . .
Danta Bridge
Danta Bridge
Danta Bridge
Approach to Spider Bridge
Spider Bridge
Spider Bridge
Crossing Rivers & Canyons on Arenal Conservatory Trails
“I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be.”
― Douglas Adams
Tomorrow Begins Another Adventure . . .
I don’t plan or intend to have trips just 3 weeks apart! It takes me longer than that to process the photos! 🙂
But because I had to reschedule this next trip, originally set for a March-April overlap week, just as the Pandemic was taking over . . . Soooo I told them to “reschedule it around the middle of January, not thinking about my Christmas trip – But anyway . . . I’m shifting gears from a rainforest at the base of a volcano to a cooler Cloud Forest in San Gerardo de Dota, starting tomorrow at the Savegre Hotel and Nature Reserve. (NOTE: their website is under reconstruction and only the home page shows for now.
This is one of the lodges I stayed in on my first trip to Costa Rica in 2009. It’s the best place in the world to see and photograph the Resplendent Quetzal bird. And the coldest place I’ve been in Costa Rica with fireplaces used at night. Since no rain in January, it is a little warmer at 13° C or 54° F average low to high of 27°C or 81°F, but hey guys! I freeze to death here in Atenas when it gets down in the 60’s F. 🙂
The new lodge website linked above is under construction, so instead of their photos, you can see my photo galleries of 3 previous visits, all a very long time ago 🙂 . . .
Here’s a few views of the big lake below Arenal Volcano. There is a boat taxi that will take you across the lake to a car taxi that will take you up that mountain to Monteverde. The lake is also a favorite for local fishermen. My May 2018 trip here gave me better sunset photos of the lake – time of year does make a difference!
I thought I had more different views than this but it is no longer new to me, so didn’t take as many photos and the one I took from the butterfly garden didn’t take so here’s 2 from my room, one from a hotel garden and one from the road in front of the Butterfly Conservatory.
I arrived at Arenal Observatory Lodge in time for lunch with my driver and my first afternoon of looking for birds with 11 species photographed including the above Emerald Tanager (link to eBird description) which is a “Lifer” or first-time-seen bird for me! And a colorful one found only in Central America plus Columbia & Ecuador.
I did lots of walking including to the top of the 28 meters or 92 ft. tall observation tower with 146 steps on stairs. I’ve gotten lots of birds and monkeys from this tower in the past, but not today with it being overcast and very windy when I went up today, but I got several landscape shots including this one I call “A Sea of Treetops.”
My “Sea of Treetops” shot today from the top of Arenal Observatory’s observation tower.
“For in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver.”
December 24, 2020 is my 6 year anniversary here! But the first Christmas Card was sent before I left on Christmas Eve 2014 as a combination Christmas Greeting & Change of Address Card, thus 7 cards+ since I’ve designed two for some years. In fact, this is the second one for this year! 🙂
