Be sure to enter the Bird Photography Contest on GreatBirdPics (deadline for submission is June 24, 2024). Win $100 for the best Reflection shot. CLICK HERE for more details.
The last three springs we’ve taken a Birding Buddies birding trip – two years ago we went to Arizona, last year we went to Texas, and this year we went to Costa Rica. Karen and I along with MuskyMike, Birder2011, and Emil Baumbach spent a busy 10 days birding in a variety of habitats to see a wide variety of birds – over 300 species, in fact (eBird lists 925 species observed in Costa Rica).
MuskyMike took the lead and worked with Costa Rica Focus to create an itineray based on the list of birds the group wanted to see. Our guide for the trip was Mayer Barrantes, an experienced birder who drove us around in his comfortable van and knew everyone we met. He learned of many rare birds from local guides he met up with in each area.
I usually write a day-by-day description of the tours I go on, but this time I thought I would try something different. MuskyMike, Birder2011, and Emil Baumbach (and I) are all avid bird photographers so I am going to share pictures taken by all of us according to broad families of birds. This way you’ll get to see the variety of species within these families we saw in Costa Rica. First, I’ll focus on the Tanager family, which is the second largest family of birds (after Tyrant Flycatchers), with approximately 240 species. According to Wikipedia, molecular testing has found that some species of Tanagers actually belong in other families – most notably three residents of the United States: Summer Tanager, Crimson Tanager, and Western Tanager are now classified in the Cardinal Family. Tanagers are brightly colored and were found in every habitat we visited in Costa Rica, but the species varied by habitat.
Let’s take a look at some of the Tanagers we saw in Costa Rica:
We start out with one of Emil Baumbach’s shots of a Silver-throated Tanager. A simple, but striking bird found in several places we visited.
You want colorful? How about this shot of a Golden-crowned Tanager from Emil.
One of the most common Tanagers in the region is the Blue-gray Tanager. Often overlooked because it is not as “flashy” as its cousins, Emil certainly made it look beautiful.
I took the rest of Tanager images shown below. First, a Hepatic Tanager perched low.
The appearance of these Dusky-faced Tanagers excited our guide Mayer because he doesn’t see them very often.
The Scarlet-rumped Tanager is a crowd pleaser with bright-red feathers covering its backside.
One of my favorite Tanagers is the Emerald Tanager. Although the picture below isn’t that sharp, it shows an adult feeding berries to an immature bird.
Our final Tanager of the day is another show-stopper, the Crimson-collared Tanager. Bright red around the head and on the rump.
More colorful Costa Rican birds coming soon.
If you enjoy seeing beautiful pictures of birds from around the world and reading about them Click Here to sign up for our mailing list. Members can post their own GreatBirdPics and learn more about bird photography techniques.