Resplendent Quetzal

Mouthful

Birder2011

On a recent Costa Rica trip with 5 of my birding buddies, we stopped at a farm that was a known place to have Resplendent Quetzals around. This farm has a huge Avocado Tree that the Quetzals frequented. We spent a few hours on the farm, most of the time spent around the tree. The Quetzals would fly in, eat some Avocados, then leave. Most of the time the Quetzals were towards the center of the tree, with branches around. This particular shot is what we call being at the right spot at the right time. There was a small group of birders/ photographers on the other side of the tree taking photos of a Quetzal. I decided I should go there to get some shots in. Just as I was about to walk around the tree, the Quetzal everyone was looking at flew from one branch to a branch right in front of me, with an Avocado in its mouth. I couldn’t ask for a better view of a Quetzal. The best part was that the Quetzal stayed on the branch so everyone in our group got great views and photos of it.