Birds of San Gerardo de Dota, Costa Rica

[Bob Kaufman]

We stayed for 5 days at the Savegre Hotel and Nature Reserve in the cloud forests of Costa Rica. Aside from the Resplendent Quetzal, we also saw quite a number of birds around the area. Here are some of those.

Rufous-collared Sparrow (Zonotrichia capensis) - this is one of the common birds in Savegre, basically their version of our Eurasian Tree Sparrow. They prefer the areas close to human habitation and are so used to people you could almost step on them sometimes. Photo by Cynthia.
Canon 5DMkII, 300mm+1.4X
ISO-1600, f5.6, 1/125



Clay-colored Thrush (Turdus grayi) - another common bird, that can be seen everywhere: near human habitation, in the garden, in the forest, etc. Perhaps because of its abundance that it was declared the national bird of Costa Rica.
Canon 5DMkIII, Tamron 150-600 @600mm
ISO-4000, f8, 1/500



Collared Whitestart (Myioborus torquatus) - a colorful bird of the warbler family, they prefer the forest edges to hunt for insects.
Canon 5DMKIII, Tamron 150-600 @600mm
ISO-3200, f6.3, 1/200



Long-tailed Silky Flycatcher (Ptiliogonys caudatus) - another "friendly" and colorful bird. This bird can be seen around the restaurant/garden area and is completely unafraid of humans and in one occassion I had to change my zoom setting from 600 to 350mm to get a full body shot.
Canon 5DMKIII, Tamron 150-600 @350
ISO 1600, f8, 1/400

[Ramon Quisumbing]

Excellent set, Bob.

[Bob Kaufman]

Thanks, Ramon.

[Bobby Kintanar]

Wow, Tukayo, I can't decide which one is the best in this set - all of them are top notch shots and the PP is perfect! Wish I can bird that place too! Hmmm, after a fourth look, I think the last bird is the most gorgeous :-)