Resplendent Quetzal

Cool bird and action, Jim! I'm glad you had a good trip.

Hey Jim

Great shot of a bird that can be very difficult to photograph. What's in the bird's mouth?

Looking forward to seeing more of your trip.

Thanks again for the help in Florida.

All the best.

Ron

Jim,

Jerry having you hide locations doesn't really do him any good. The best locations for Quetzals are very well known, as Costa Rica gets immense coverage from birders. It isn't exactly hard to go find them. I could have told you the best spots in the country pretty easily off the top of my head, along with pretty much anything else in the country you'd have wanted to photograph. There are some splendid places to go in Costa Rica, and definitely some places i'd go ahead of other more well known "tourist traps"...

Yum Yum....looks like Lizard for lunch Jim!! Shame about the clipped tail but it must be hard to get it all in. Nice capture of this ragged looking find!!

Such cool birds in Central America. I would try to work on this some to have the bird stand out from the background a bit more.

Cool capture. Beautiful bird.

What a cool bird- just look at that super long tail! I also love the little morsel in the bird's mouth.

Very nice capture, congratulations.

Jim,
Few people even see a Quetzal no less with a lizard in its mouth. Very cool

How cool that you got to see one of these! Agree with E.J.'s comment. Am looking forward to seeing more images from your trip Jim!

Welcome back and what an awsome image to announce your return!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hugh

Sweet shot Jim. 2 minor nits are the barely cut tail and the oof log on right.

What a magnificent creature! Glad I have already eaten lunch.

Jim,

Very nice shot. The lizzard is an added bonus. My initial thought was to crop some off the left side, but now I'm not sure that would improve the composition.

Oh, wow - what a bird this is! (...just a minute, I'm not quite to the end of the tail yet...) Sounds like you really enjoyed your trip. I do look forward to your "finds" -

A wonderful capture, Jim!
Too bad on the clipped tail ...

Jim
Glad that you got back safe and sound. Looks like your images are off to a good start with this one. When I opened I thought I was scrolling for an eternity with the tail....just wish it was all there. Lunch is the bonus with this one.

great shot. Beautiful bird

Wonderful shot Jim. Glad you arrived home safely and thanks for a very enjoyable week.

I would like to make a few comments about sharing information. I have always been glad to share site info with anyone who contacted me and have shared information about Costa Rica with many people in this forum and the photography discussion forum. Having said that, many Quetzal nests are not accessible to the general public (we had special permission to photograph one nest in Monte Verde) and I think some information about endangered animals is better handled as personal messages and not dessimated widely over the internet. Also, as far as leading a trip is concerned, I do not plan to quit my day job and start leading photo tours. I would however be very interested in visiting CR with a small group of serious photographers who would be interested in splitting costs. Jim and I were photographing birds from 5:30 am until dusk on most days. Contact me or Jim if you would be interested in such a trip.

One last comment, it took me several trips to get a good adult male Quetzal image and Jim was working on Quetzal flight shots after less than a week. I look forward to seeing more of these images.

Jerry