The Resplendent Quetzal is a bird watcher’s dream. To “tick” one requires near superhuman persistence. Since persistence is one of my strongest traits, this should be a walk in the park. The first issue is that they only live in the mountainous tropical forests (cloud forest) of Central America, requiring a bit of travel. Travel is something we are very used to doing, so no problem. Second issue is that we will be at a minimum of 8,500 feet of elevation. There is not much oxygen at this height. My walk in the park just went strait uphill. Now I am dubious.
We make it to the cloud forest with the typical altitude sickness symptoms of shortness of breath, loss of appetite, tiredness, and dizziness. Sounds like fun, doesn’t it? We had better get over this as we are quetzal hunting in a few hours. It’s now 1:30 and time to visit the quetzals. Adding to our altitude sickness is the weather. It is raining, bordering on a downpour. These birds like the rain, told to me by our hired guide. I don’t think he wanted to give up his guide fee. Downpour on top altitude sickness, I’m more dubious.
We arrive at the viewing area, the property of a local elderly Costa Rican. He has the good fortune of owning a large avocado tree, the quetzals’ favorite food. They fly into the tree looking for avocados to eat. These avocados are small, perhaps the size of an acorn. Once they find one, they leave the tree and sit on a perch and dine. This is the time to watch and photograph them. This lucky Costa Rican now has a steady supplementary income just because he has an avocado tree in his backyard.
His house looks nice, and the property is beautiful except it is on a severe slope. Isn’t 8500 feet high enough? We are informed that we must hike up to the viewing area. Normally hiking is not a worry but it is still raining hard with a full camera pack on our backs slogging through the mud at 8,500 feet. Not a recipe for fun with the quetzal. Dubious is now an understatement.
The 300-meter hike took what seemed like an hour, arriving at a covered structure perfectly situated in front of the massive avocado tree. Success might be in the air, along with copious amount of rain. We set up our gear and waited for their grand arrival. 30 minutes pass, then another 30 minutes, and another 30 minutes after that. No quetzal. Did it not read the memo? Our guide noted that this is quite a rare event, being shut out by the quetzals. I gave him a look that could kill, New York style. Good thing he was looking the other way. Did I mention I was dubious?
As the light of the day began to fade, the rain going from a downpour to a light rain, a quetzal flew into the tree looking to pick off an avocado for dinner. All discomfort vanished immediately – a quetzal has been spotted. A few moments later it hopped out of the tree and landed on a perch where it likes to dine. I think I would pick a different place, but I am not a quetzal. My first photo below is of a drenched quetzal, the only one we saw.
Notice all the rain in the photo – supposedly the quetzal likes it. He is so drenched that his tail is clumped.
The next day we did this all over again. What is the definition of insanity? This time the weather was slightly better – it was only a steady drizzle. After a slow start, quetzals made their appearance. All became right in the world.
This quetzal sat on its perch for a couple of minutes giving me plenty of time to compose a nice shot.
The adult quetzal has a very long tail making vertical shots the only way to go. The tail can be very difficult to see so I had to leave room at the bottom of the image to make sure I caught the entire tail.
Eating an avocado, its version of guacamole.
The back of the quetzal, quite pretty too.
Why would we want to go through this? It’s just a bird, and we are not birders. The Resplendent Quetzal is beautiful, often considered one of the ten most beautiful birds in the world. I wasn’t dubious at all! Tick.
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Background: The Resplendent Quetzal was a sacred bird in both Aztec and Mayan cultures, where priests and royalty wore quetzal feathers during ceremonial events. It is culturally associated with the “snake god,” Quetzalcoatl. In Mayan culture, it was forbidden to kill a quetzal. (From Wikipedia). Today the resplendent quetzal is the national emblem of Guatemala (whose monetary unit is the quetzal). (from Britannica)
All of the colors are amazing, but in particular, that red belly coat that ranges from bright to dark red adjacent to the green — I can only imagine how dazzling it must have been with movement!
You two are incredible. Beautiful pics and interesting story.
Wow. I hope you came away with a feather for your cap! I am glad you caption these photos. I thought the Quetzal eating the avocado was a juvenile with it’s mouth open, waiting to be fed! I never would have guessed that was an avocado.