[100BHP]

Brilliant ! Much Thanks ! I have started loving their beauty after a visit to Bharatpur bird sanctuary . Black vulture gave me creepiness :-)

[Venom_rider]

Originally Posted by 100BHP

Brilliant ! Much Thanks ! I have started loving their beauty after a visit to Bharatpur bird sanctuary . Black vulture gave me creepiness :-)

You are welcome.

Yeah... Vulture is quite a creature!!!

Cheers!

[Slick]

Originally Posted by Venom_rider

Birds of Costa Rica



A few photos from my foray into the forests of South India.

Attachment 1839991

Wow, wow, wow! too good.

What a great set of pictures, very rare to see such variety in such good quality
5 Stars all the way.

Can you tell me what is it that the Hawk is holding on to in the first picture?

- Slick

[kskthere]

Refreshing to see such a brilliant photologue. Excellent pictures. That first picture set the tone. Thanks for sharing.

[Venom_rider]

Originally Posted by Slick

Wow, wow, wow! too good.

What a great set of pictures, very rare to see such variety in such good quality
5 Stars all the way.

Can you tell me what is it that the Hawk is holding on to in the first picture?

- Slick

Thank you so much for the appreciation and the 5 starts @Slick

That's one of the more dramatic wildlife moments for me, the eagle was actually holding a large Malabar Squirrel kill!

Originally Posted by kskthere

Refreshing to see such a brilliant photologue. Excellent pictures. That first picture set the tone. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you for the appreciation... Glad you like them

[Slick]

Ohh, The malabar squirrel is not that small an anima, the bird must be big.
Thanks for the information.

- Slick

[Venom_rider]

Originally Posted by Slick

Ohh, The malabar squirrel is not that small an anima, the bird must be big.
Thanks for the information.

- Slick

Yup... Legge's Hawk Eagle.

A fairly large bird of prey.

Cheers!

[i20ian]

Thank you for sharing such wonderful pics. Excellent and spell bound. No more words to describe the photos. And admire that you have taken time to study the names of all of them. Keep them coming.

[streetfighter]

Whoa... what pics... mind blowing. Doesn't look like this hobby was started recently. Excellent pics. Keep travelling, keep wowing us

[shashanka]

Originally Posted by Venom_rider

Day 4:
My friend in Costa Rica drove us to this place called "Paraiso Quetzal Lodge", which was about 85KMS from our hotel. The lodge is admist prime Quetzal territory at an elevation of about 9......Hope to share more from our South Indian forests soon.
Cheers! Goutham

Great photologue & splendid captures, Venom rider! I remember reading (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quetzalcoatl) that Quetzalcoatl is a prominent South / Central American deity of wind, air and learning! I wonder if the bird Quetzal has some link to the deity, just as our epics (and mythologies round the world) are replete with analogies between animals and deities.

[Venom_rider]

Originally Posted by i20ian

Thank you for sharing such wonderful pics. Excellent and spell bound. No more words to describe the photos. And admire that you have taken time to study the names of all of them. Keep them coming.

Thank you i20ian... To be honest, I did enjoy learning more about these birds, just as much as I enjoyed clicking their photos.

Originally Posted by streetfighter

Whoa... what pics... mind blowing. Doesn't look like this hobby was started recently. Excellent pics. Keep travelling, keep wowing us

Thank you @Streetfighter! I have been interested in photography for a very long time now and learnt the basics in prosumer camera. This is one of the first few trips in my own serious gear

Originally Posted by shashanka

Great photologue & splendid captures, Venom rider! I remember reading (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quetzalcoatl) that Quetzalcoatl is a prominent South / Central American deity of wind, air and learning! I wonder if the bird Quetzal has some link to the deity, just as our epics (and mythologies round the world) are replete with analogies between animals and deities.

That piqued my interest... from the same link:

Animals thought to represent Quetzalcoatl include resplendent quetzals, rattlesnakes (coatl meaning serpent in Nahuatl), crows, and macaws. In his form as Ehecatl he is the wind, and is represented by spider monkeys, ducks, and the wind itself.[10] In his form as the morning star, Venus, he is also depicted as a harpy eagle.[11] In Mazatec legends, the astrologer deity Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli, who is also represented by Venus, bears a close relationship with Quetzalcoatl.

So, it looks like the deity has references from several animals and birds endemic to Central / South Americas.

Thank you for bringing up the topic!

[coolmind]

Great pics sir! Beauty at its best!!!
Can see the efforts you had put in for getting the snaps in best quality. Thanks a ton for sharing.
I just downloaded all the pics and set them as wall paper carousel.
Well deserved for 5-star.

[Miyata]

Nice photos. Thanks for sharing. I can see a very perceptible difference in nature of the images going going from day 1 to day 4, particularly the depth information!

[Stryker]

Very good photos, Venom_rider. Costa Rica is indeed a great place for birding. Some of my friends have been there and returned with some really amazing images. It is up there on my bucket list and I hope to visit some day.

Were you part of a group of people on the birding tour together or were you on your own? How about the logistics for this trip, planning, identifying places to stay, etc.? Some details on this would be welcome.

[Venom_rider]

Originally Posted by coolmind

Great pics sir! Beauty at its best!!!
Can see the efforts you had put in for getting the snaps in best quality. Thanks a ton for sharing.
I just downloaded all the pics and set them as wall paper carousel.
Well deserved for 5-star.

Thank you for the appreciation and the 5-stars.

Originally Posted by Miyata

Nice photos. Thanks for sharing. I can see a very perceptible difference in nature of the images going going from day 1 to day 4, particularly the depth information!

Thank you Miyata!

Originally Posted by Stryker

Very good photos, Venom_rider. Costa Rica is indeed a great place for birding. Some of my friends have been there and returned with some really amazing images. It is up there on my bucket list and I hope to visit some day.

Were you part of a group of people on the birding tour together or were you on your own? How about the logistics for this trip, planning, identifying places to stay, etc.? Some details on this would be welcome.

Hey Stryker... Nice to see your reply. Absolutely loved your narrative of the Masai Mara trip and the photos from your trips to Kabini.

Like I mentioned in the opening post, I travel to Costa Rica for work. These birding trips were during the weekends in between (lucky me, huh?). I went along with a birder named Randal Ortega because the feedback on tripadvisor was great for him and it turned out to be true. If you are interested, I can pass his contact information.

I stayed in a place called La Selva Biological Station, this is primarily a reasearch centre and there are several guides so you don't really need to take someone along with you.

For the Quetzals, we went on a day trip to a place called: "Paraiso Quetzal Lodge". The guide there took us to a place where the birds are known to frequent.

Cheers!