To celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary, we joined Holbrook and the Tropical Audubon Society on their August 2022 Costa Rica Birding Trip. It was full of wonder and beauty. Our trip’s success owes a lot to the excellence of our guide, Gilberth “Chito” Molina. He brought a great deal of local knowledge about habitats, calls, and behaviors to the 11-day adventure, and by the end he helped us see over 300 species of birds. One of those was the Collared Trogon, seen here framed by a roadside bougainvillea. The day had begun with an early morning start from the Savegre Lodge with a mission to see Resplendent Quetzals. Having spent time with the Quetzals, we walked the road which Chito said could be quite productive. It was! There was a bottle brush that seemed to be erupting birds and then this fella, whose surrounding color palette really fit the bill.

Another early morning marvel was this spider monkey (below). The photo was taken from the deck at the Cerro Lodge. A small troop was moving through on their way to their feeding grounds. With their extraordinarily long arms and tail they are quite adept at swinging through the canopy and a marvel to watch. This member paused in its travels to check us out. The density of the surrounding bromeliads serve a fond memory of this special habitat.

Photo and story by Charles Robshaw
Costa Rica | Birder's Paradise with Tropical Audubon Society