Tim Hough Art: The Cloud Forest, Quetzal National Park

Parque Nacional Los Quetzales

I am staying in a place called The Trogon Lodge, high up in the mountains of the central valley. It is late afternoon and the rains have stopped. The elevation is around 2300 Metres or 7,000 ft. I have quite ill over the last few days and unfortunately missed the early morning bird tour of the cloud forest.

The weather is cloudy and cool. Nights can be quite chilly. I have seen a number of species in the last couple of days in and around the hotel. Hummingbirds, such as the Purple Throated Mountain Gem and Green Hermit. I've seen the Rufous Collared Sparrow here and all over Costa Rica. I went for a walk later in the morning and saw a family of Spotted Wood-Quail chattering away in front of me.

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On my last morning in the cloud forest I was fortunate enough to see the Resplendent Quetzal. This is as close as I could get, and the conditions were rather poor for photography. None-the-less I feel both privileged and honoured to have seen one. Both the male and female were seen, taking turns guarding their nest from Toucanets and Squirrels who prey on the eggs and young.