After breakfast and a little birding around Guayabo Lodge on the morning of December 12, we headed up a steep and mostly unpaved road towards Irazu Volcano. We hoped to get a view down into the volcano crater and also see some high-elevation birds. But when we reached the entrance to the national park, the cloud cover was so thick that we could barely see the road. It didn’t make sense to spend time there, so we slowly started towards Savegre Hotel Natural Reserve & Spa in the Savegre Valley.
After a couple of quick stops for birding along the way, we arrived at our hotel mid-afternoon. We were thrilled to see two Long-tailed Silky-flycatchers before we even checked in.
Long-tailed Silky-flycatcher
The accommodations on this trip were all excellent with Savegre Hotel being the best. The only other place I’ve ever stayed on a birding trip that was as nice was Tiger Camp in India. I quickly got settled in my room and then went out to meet Paul for a little pre-dinner birding.
Within minutes I had another life bird right outside my room, a Slaty Flowerpiercer. These birds live on a diet of insects and nectar. A flowerpiercer will perch on a branch or flower stalk and pierce the base of the flower with its hooked bill. It then extracts the flower’s nectar with its tongue. The bird “cheats” by obtaining sweet nectar without providing any pollination services to the plant.
Slaty Flowerpiercer
After a wonderful dinner at the hotel restaurant, we headed back towards our rooms. We were stopped in our tracks when we saw this gorgeous snake right in front of us. Paul immediately knew that it was something rare and special, but all of us could see that it was incredibly beautiful. After taking a few photos, I went on to my room. Later I learned that it was rare and special indeed – a Talamancan Palm-pitviper which was just discovered in 2016.
Talamancan palm-pitviper, Bothriechis nubestris
The following morning we met our guide, Marino, shortly after 5:00 AM to look for Resplendent Quetzal. We slowly drove down the road from the lodge and soon saw a large crowd. Many cars were parked on the side of the road and birders were watching the trees with binoculars, scopes, and cameras. Knowing that they must be watching a quetzal, we parked, too, and soon saw our target bird in the trees. Marino had me follow him as he quickly moved from one spot to another to get the best views. Over the next few minutes we saw a total of three Resplendent Quetzals – a very exciting start to the day.
We saw many birds with Marino that morning. Some of my favorites were the Golden-browed Chlorophonias we watched in a little apple orchard. We had good looks with the scope, but I wanted to get closer, so Marino climbed up the hill with me – carrying a heavy scope – and made sure that I got good looks and photos of the birds.
Golden-browed Chlorophonia
We also saw a Scintillant Hummingbird on her nest, Sulphur-winged Parakeets, Spot-crowned Woodcreeper, Black-faced Solitaire, and too many others to list. The hotel grounds were beautiful and included this lovely pond and garden.
Garden at Savegre Hotel
Lunch was at the famous Miriam’s Restaurant, a favorite with birders because of the amazing feeders behind the deck in addition to excellent food (especially the fresh mountain trout, which I had both days we ate there). The next four photos were all taken at Miriam’s that day.
Scintillant Hummingbird
Flame-colored Tanager
Acorn Woodpecker
I counted six Acorn Woodpeckers at Miriam’s that day and could easily have missed some. Everyone enjoyed watching these colorful woodpeckers with the clown face, but what really attracted attention was this little Hairy Woodpecker. It appeared much smaller and darker than the birds we see at home. There are 17 subspecies of Hairy Woodpecker with significant variation across their wide geographic range.
Hairy Woodpecker
Next we went to Batsu Gardens, a favorite spot for photographers. I shot the Silver-throated Tanager below at the area set up for photos.
Silver-throated Tanager
I also photographed this Tennessee Warbler at that spot. Although it’s a familiar bird that I see at home, this may be my favorite photo of the entire trip.
Tennessee Warbler
Tufted Flycatcher was one of the life birds that I got at Batsu Gardens. There were two individuals and they could not have been more cooperative as they returned to their favorite perches time and again after sallying out for insects.
Tufted Flycatcher
On our final full day, we started by heading to the mountain at the top of Savegre Valley, Cerro de la Muerte (“Hill of Death”). Several species of birds can only be found in the paramo at the top above the tree line. And, most of those birds are skulty and challenging to see, especially for me with my crappy vision. So, I missed a couple of species, but with persistence and Paul’s help, I did finally get a look at a Peg-billed Finch. No one has ever worked harder than Paul did to help me see difficult birds. The Volcano Juncos were more numerous and cooperative.
Volcano Junco
It was back to Miriam’s for another fabulous trout lunch and more time at the magic feeders.
Talamanca Hummingbird
This afternoon we had two toucanets, one of my favorite birds.
Northern Emerald-Toucanet
The Yellow-thighed Brushfinch kindly showed off his thighs!
Yellow-thighed Brushfinch
The most exciting moment was when a breathtaking male Resplendent Quetzal few in to the trees behind the feeder area. We shared this wonderful experience with a few other birders who were there. I enjoyed talking with Mike Canzoneri, an American living in Costa Rica, and I was standing beside him when we saw the quetzal. Mike generously shared the photo that he took that afternoon and gave me his permission to use it in this post.
Resplendent Quetzal. Photo by Mike Canzoneri.
I could have stayed at Miriam’s forever, so when the others left to go shopping at a local indigenous craft store, I stayed for more birds. I saw a few that I had not seen the previous day and also enjoyed better looks at some of the same birds. You can actually see the big feet on the Large-footed Finch in this photo.
Large-footed Finch
Finally, I had to say goodbye to Miriam’s and we started back to the hotel. We made a stop at another craft store; Paul and I birded instead of shopping. We were rewarded with great looks at two Spangle-cheeked Tanagers, a bird that I had missed earlier and very much wanted to see. This species can only be found in Costa Rica and western Panama.
Spangle-cheeked Tanager
The next morning, December 15, it was time to head to the airport for our flights home. What a trip! Incredible scenery, birds, snakes and other wildlife, wonderful food and lodging, and excellent guiding – the Epic Nature Tours trip led by Paul and Amanda was a wonderful success. I can’t wait to go back again!
Left to Right: Paul, Amanda, “Resplendent Quetzal”, Diane, Shelley
More of my photos can be seen in eBird Costa Rica 2019:
Birding for Life 