There really are Quetzals in Costa Rica!

July 2nd -
We packed up, ate breakfast and headed out from the Savegre Mountain Lodge this morning - but made one more attempt at seeing the Resplendent Quetzal. We hiked up the mountain one more time, and had to wait for a backhoe doing road work and blocking our way. We persevered and got around him to continue our trek into the cloud forest to search for the illusive Quetzal that we were beginning to think was only a myth.
But then...
an iridescent blue-green tail was hanging out of a hole in a tree 20 feet high.

The male was taking care of the babies while the female was out getting their breakfast. We waited at least 30 minutes, staring at that tail sticking out of the hole in the tree. Then total silence as the female showed up with a small avocado (not the kind we eat).

It probably took 5 minutes for the female to gradually move toward the nest. Then the male stuck his head out to see if it was okay to leave.

The shift change occurred quickly. Too fast for my camera skills. I caught him flying, but the light wasn't right for his color in flight. They are beautiful birds, and well worth the wait to see them.

We drove back to San Jose, stopping at a coffee plantation on the way. Faron was in heaven. He had to taste 5 different blends of coffee before deciding what to bring home. The plantation was nearly 200 years old, owned by the same family, and using the oldest wet mill in Costa Rica. It was a nice tour and we learned more about coffee than we ever knew was possible.

Now it's time to repack to fit the goodies in the suitcases, and then back home tomorrow. Goodbye Costa Rica, and ...

No fish, no Quetzal, but tired, tired feet

July 1st -
Today's hike included a 4-wheel drive Toyota Land Cruiser to take us up to 8500 feet, where we walked some muddy, slippery trails.

 The birds were too high in the trees for me to take any decent photos of them. But it was interesting being in the highest forest on the mountain. Lots of lichens, ferns, bromeliads, and mosses growing on the trees, rocks, and anything stationary.

After lunch, we decided to go rainbow trout fishing (not catching) in the Rio Savegre. We saw some fish. They were not hungry. But a nice hike and beautiful scenery. Plus we had a little chocolate lab puppy that followed us the whole way and stayed with us while we fished. Then she followed us back to the lodge after fishing.

While I was standing outside the dining room, I found a bird eating a bug. Our guide does not know what kind of bird it is. None of the birders in our group can identify him. So he is the "unknown bird".

Since we had quite a bit of hiking done already today, we opted to not go on another hike to find the illusive Quetzal. And guess what! They saw 2 - close enough to get great photos!
But tomorrow morning, we will try again.
Then it is back to San Jose for our last full day in Costa Rica.

Birds and Flowers and Rain, Rain, Rain

Short bird walk in the morning. We saw a Quetzal, but it was too high for a photo and flew off before we even got a good look with binoculars.
The hike for the day was straight up a mud trail, so Faron and I opted for a flatter walk by the river.

The rest of the morning was spent lazily walking around the grounds of the hotel, looking at the flowers and the birds that come here.

There was a cute little Collared Redstart that kept coming up under the cover of the balcony. Once he even came into the open area of the lounge and hopped from chair to chair.

 

Other birds seen today:

Acorn Woodpecker

Flame-colored Tanager

Green Violet-eared Hummingbird

The outstanding flower of the day:  a Fuchsia flower on the grounds of the hotel - 

 

and then it rained...

from Mangroves to Mountains

June 29 -
Interesting storm came through - enough rain that the sewage system got overloaded and the toilet in our room overflowed. Then a main water pipe broke in town somewhere and there was no water at all. Coconuts bombing the roof during the night, geckos clicking (sounds like someone is tapping on the window), and a 'possum running to hide under the roof tiles next to our room.
Then it all ended and we went on a boat ride through a mangrove swamp. It reminded us of the Atchafalaya swamp, only with different plants and animals.

We did see a baby crocodile on some mangrove roots - perfect coloration - he was tough to pick out. Can you find him in the picture?

There was a tree boa in a tree near the shore, and our crazy (but very knowledgeable) guide took the boat right into the mangroves almost under the snake.

When we saw some white-faced monkeys, the guide really got us close to them. Close enough that one got on the boat! They look cute, but when one bared his teeth, I could see they were not going to be very cuddly.

After a wonderful lunch of red snapper prepared and served beside the mangroves, we started our drive up to the cloud forests in the mountains. Or I should say, up and down and up some more, then down and up and up some more.   We went from sea level to 10,000 feet high.

Then we went down a little to get to our hotel for the next 2 nights. We descended 3000 feet in 5 miles. Switchbacks that reminded me of the Massawa Road in Eritrea.
 But it's a nice lodge on the Savegre River, where we are supposed to be able to see the Resplendent Quetzal. There are lots of hummingbirds around the feeders and plenty of beautiful flowers. And it's COLD! Like wear your socks to bed and cover up with a blanket and bedspread - cold. Such a change from where we have been.

Monkeys on the Beach

June 28 - We went to the beach!
We had a choice of hiking through the rain forest for 2 hours or sitting on this beautiful beach on the Pacific. Guess which one we chose.

On the hike to the beach, there was a three-toed sloth that was actually moving around in a tree fairly close to the ground. At least it was closer than any of the others we've seen.

Our guide kept warning us to guard our belongings at the beach. We thought maybe we were in a bad part of town. But the thieves turned out to be the white-faced (capuchin) monkeys. Cute little guys, but they are fast, and they like to run in, pick up people's bags and run off with them.

A birding treat on this outing was sighting several Fiery-billed Aracaris near their nest in a tree.
Beautiful birds!

This afternoon we are relaxing in our rooms...not lazy, but it has been raining and thundering for 3 hours now. Nap time!

to the beach!

Today we left Arenal and drove to Manual Antonio, on the Pacific coast.

The day included riding on the bus, looking out at beautiful cloud forests, farms, and some birds (notably - a gray hawk). One stop for lunch with a shopping spree for souvenirs. Not my favorite type of activity, but a welcome break from the physical exertion of the last couple of days.
Below is a picture of where your Dracaenas at Houston Garden Center really started.

Oh no! There are more bridges!

I am posting this in the morning, because I was just too tired and sore last night. Yesterday was a full day. We started with our leisurely bird walk before breakfast, when we saw the Social Flycatcher and the Melodious Blackbird (I love their bird names in Costa Rica!).

After breakfast, we went to the EcoCentro Danaus Ecological Reserve - a butterfly farm and educational center. It was a pleasant and slow hike through a secondary forest with examples of the trees, flowers, and some animals of Costa Rica. Here we could get close to many of the butterflies and even an Agouti.

Calligo laying eggs

Agouti

Next we visited an education farm - all organic - with a botanical garden. Their cooking gas was provided by 1 cow and 1 pig - biodigestion of the wastes to produce methane. We had sugar cane juice for a snack, after we pressed the sugar cane. Then the guide added some sugar cane liquor (moonshine) - very strong!

Faron pressing the sugar cane

After lunch in La Fortuna, we went on a 3 hour hike up a mountain, crossing 6 suspension bridges in the canopy of the rainforest. All was going well, until the highest one. I saw it from below before we got to it, and it was not inviting! The only other option was about a 2 hour hike back the way we came, so I gritted my teeth (literally), and crossed a hanging bridge 50 meters above the river. I'm sure the scenery was beautiful, but I was focused on where my feet were going.

the view from one of the bridges (not the highest)

At the end of the highest bridge, there was an Eyelash Pit Viper waiting for us. That helped to calm me down.

After dinner, we really needed the mineral hot springs pools at our hotel. The only saving grace is that the 2 twenty-something girls were just as sore and tired as we were!