On February 8th we left the region of San Jose to travel to Quetzal's Paradise which is located in the Masizo de La Muerte Talamanca Mountain Range.  This is a conservation area of Costa Rica surrounded by Los Quetzales National Park, Los Santos Forest Reserve, Tapanti National Park and Masizo de La Muerte.  The Quetzal is considered one of the most beautiful birds of the world and we hoped to find them in the forest and also photograph some hummingbirds.  

When I arrived at Quetzal's Paradise I took a few landscape photos.  This shot shows the beautiful countryside of Costa Rica.  I haven't talked much about the weather in these blogs but it sunny every day and warm but not humid as we were in mountains.  In the early morning it was actually quite cold so I needed to wear a ski jacket.  

You can see the houses and farms in the distance.

When I arrived I joined a guided hike of the area.  The plan was to look for the Quetzal(s).  I am ashamed to admit that the guide was nice enough to carry my camera with the 300mm heavy lens attached.   One thing I found on this trip and my other trip to Costa Rica is that the people are so friendly and helpful.   I would have been too slow had I carried the heavy equipment  as we hiked up and down hills  looking for the bird.  These birds sing with distincly smooth, deep, melodious calls that echo throughout the forest.  Our  guide imitated  the calls hoping that wherever the birds were they would answer back (he sounded just like the bird).  Well we hiked all over and finally came to a nest.    The photo is heavily cropped as we were quite far away from the birds.  The guides were very good at spotting these birds with their binoculars.  Had I been on my own I would not have seen them. 

The Resplendent Quetzal is found from southern Mexico to western Panama.  It is well known for its colourful plumage.  The Quetzal is named for its beauty.  The Aztec word, quetzalli was used to describe these birds'  tail feathers and means precious or beautiful.  This bird is classified as near threatened because the rain forest it depends on has been extensively destroyed.    We watched and photographed the birds until they finally flew off.  

After lunch  at the lodge  we stayed and took pictures of the  hummingbirds in the area.  The Magnificent Hummingbird is a large hummingbird that breeds in the mountains from the southwestern United Stated to western Panama.  This species can range from 11-14 cm (4.3-5.5 inches) in length and can weigh from 6 to 10 grams (.21 to .35 oz).  

A Fiery-throated Hummingbird.

We actually came back to this place the next morning to see if  the Quetzals had been spotted again but the guides had not been successful so we ended up photographing the hummingbirds.  The above bird is a  Fiery-throated Hummingbird in flight.

The Green Violetear is a medium-sized, metallic green hummingbird species.  These birds average around 9.7 to 12 cm (3.8 to 4.7 in).  This species have small feet and their legs are short and relatively weak. 

 The Green Violetear belongs to the order Apodiformes.   These birds  cannot walk and thus rarely if ever land on the ground since quick escape from predators is almost impossible.  For this reason members of this order spend most of their time in the air.  

These Fiery- throated Hummingbirds are so colourful.  

Magnificent Hummingbird in flight.

A perched Green Violet-ear Hummingbird.

A perched Magnificent Hummingbird.