Costa Rica Birding Holiday - February 21 to March 5, 2007

March 3

Wilson Botanical Gardens

Another travel day. But first, productive time at the feeders, and a good breakfast. We saw two Fiery-billed Aracaris while boarding the bus.

Speckled Tanager	Golden-hooded Tanager

White-crowned Parrot

Talamanca Mountains

Then it was up to the Talamanca Mountains. What a road, rising all the way to 3100 m. We made several stops and short hikes. The thin air slowed us down. Our lunch spot had feeders, so we ate out on the deck, not wanting to miss anything. We were rewarded with some excellent views, including a Flame-colored Tanager.

Yellow-headed Caracara	Gray-breasted Martin

Violet Sabrewing	Violet Sabrewing

Baltimore Oriole (m)	Baltimore Oriole (f)

Flame-colored Tanager	Cherrie's Tanager (f)

Wilson's Warbler	Volcano Hummingbird

At the next stop, there were many hummingbird feeders, but photography was difficult with the strong back lighting.

Rufous-collared Sparrow	Sooty Robin

We stopped at the summit and got a brief glimpse of a Volcano Junco.

Savegre Mountain Hotel

We left the highway and descended 900 m into a valley by a tortuous road with crazy switchbacks. Frank thought he saw a Resplendent Quetzel, but we could not relocate it. We finally arrived at the Savegre Mountain Hotel – a beautiful setting. They had hummingbird feeders, with continuous action from the five species at this elevation.

Frank and Susan had one of the new rooms with fireplace – fitting, since they were celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary. As icing on the cake, they both spotted male and female Resplendent Quetzals outside their lodgings. This gave the rest of us an extreme case of quetzal envy.

We only had time to scout around the grounds a bit before dinner. They had their own trout ponds, and trout was featured in the buffet at every meal. Also, for the first time, there was a dessert buffet. Hedy & Bill enjoyed the ice cream.

	Acorn Woodpecker

Volcano Hummingbird	Magificent & Volcano Hummingbirds

Gray-tailed Mountain Gem (forground) Scintillant (right)