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This bird has always intrigued me with its bright colors and unique nests and because I have seen him all over the country from coast to coast, mountains, valleys and lowlands! Read about the Montezuma Oropendola on eBirds site or see my collection of photos in my Montezuma Oropendola Gallery. I tell more about this photo and the unique nests they make in my Backstory below plus links to the places I made my photos as trip galleries.
In some ways the Little Blue Heron (eBird description) is more photogenic than the Great Blue Heron, maybe because most are a solid color. See my other shots in my Little Blue Heron Gallery from 9 different locations in Costa Rica. I like bird photos with simple, solid backgrounds like this one, plus he’s flying with great aerodynamics! 🙂 But I also like traditional portraits like the one I’m including below as an extra. Both photos were made at or near Rancho Humo which you can read more about in The Backstory below.
Vultures are not all ugly as this magnificent creature attests. The King Vulture (eBird description) is hard to find and even harder to photograph without help, but possible as seen in my King Vulture Gallery from 3 locations in Costa Rica. Read the Backstory for how I got the closeups and follow the links to the three trip galleries where I found this big bird!
The Green-breasted Mango (eBird description) is a type of Hummingbird found only in Central America and northern South America. My Green-breasted Mango Gallery has photos from three locations in Costa Rica. The featured photo of a female is not particularly good photography, but I like it because I caught her looking right into the camera at my eye-level which I’m seldom ever able to do! 🙂 Read more about this shot and the places I’ve seen this bird under The Backstory below.
This “uncommon” bird is generally found only on the Caribbean or Atlantic side of Costa Rica while the more common White Ibis is on both sides, though more prevalent on the Pacific side. This particular Green Ibis (eBird link) was photographed in Tortuguero NP as one of the 5 locations in my Green Ibis Gallery. I particularly liked this photo because of the unusual flying position of his wings in an umbrella or bowl shape. Never seen this in any bird. See my Backstory below for more information about the five places I’ve photographed this bird.
Not exotic but one of the most often seen birds across Costa Rica is the Great Kiskadee (eBirds link) and I have a lot of photos of them in My Great Kiskadee Gallery, but I still can’t tell you what makes him “great.” 🙂 And be forewarned that I still get them confused with the Social Flycatcher (looks the same but is technically smaller) and some of the other flycatchers that are the same colors.
I don’t really have a “Backstory” for this bird or this photo and since the locations where found are pretty much “everywhere in Costa Rica,” I will not link to trip galleries where I have photographed them. But you might want to see in my bird galleries some of the ones that are often confused with the Great Kiskadee and hey! Some of these photos might even be mis-labeled. 🙂 I really do get them confused!:
¡Pura Vida!
Oh so many of my Great Egret (eBird link) photos are favorites, but I chose this one because it is so simple from the close-up of face to the background. My Great Egret Gallery has one as a ballet dancer and others flying, but I like this one that I photographed on the Tarcoles River within an hour of Atenas!
They are found almost anywhere in Costa Rica where there is water. Links to places where I’ve photographed them:
¡Pura Vida!
I decided to pick only one of my many hawk photos and honestly, I’m not sure why I liked this one best. The Common Black Hawk is the one I’ve photographed the most with the Road Hawk a close second and I have some good photos of both. The Gray Hawk (eBird description) is common and sure of himself and seems determined in this photo. See others I’ve photographed in my Gray Hawk Gallery from many locations. And read below The Backstory on how and where I photographed this and the other Gray Hawks in my gallery.
Beginning with this post the birds are being presented alphabetically by name and I never intended for them to be in order of my favorites, though the first two, Quetzal and Sunbittern, were chosen specifically to begin the series as maybe the two most dramatic of my bird photos! 🙂
This Crimson-collared Tanager (eBird description) was actually photographed in Nicaragua on one of my two birding trips to this next door neighbor of Costa Rica, though I do have photos of this bird made in Costa Rica with one included below, just not as strong an image as this featured photo. Read The Backstory below for where and how I photographed this seldom-seen bird in three different locations.
One of those thrilling moments of discovery was the first time I finally saw a Sunbittern, even though planned and expected but not guaranteed, there it was! And after a few shots of a plain walking bird along the stream, he finally opened his wings for this shot of spectacular color and design! Read the Backstory for more on the experience.
The Sunbittern (eBird description) is found along water in Central America and the northern half of South America. See my Sunbittern Gallery for my images made at La Mina near Rancho Naturalista, Turrialba; Macaw Lodge near Carara NP; and at Tapirus Lodge, Braulio Carillo NP. See links at bottom of post for all three of these trip galleries and links to these 3 lodges in The Backstory.