I loved this shot of him that shows both eyes.
Here he is busily preening his feathers.
We spotted this clown-faced Acorn woodpecker on the grounds of the Savegre Mountain Lodge. It had been many years since I've seen one of these.
Al loved the woodpeckers and was quite good at spotting them.
As we walked down the road of the La Selva Biological Station we had a plethora of woodpeckers in a very short time. Black-cheeked, Hairy, the stunning Chestnut-colored Woodpecker, a grand Lineated Woodpecker shown below and one more..
Now this beautiful bird landed in such a way as to not reveal himself much. I was so thankful for an incredible guide who not only was a great birder, but fun to be with. Had I had to look every bird up in a guide as I saw it, I would have missed so much! Thanks Alex for doing such a great job. This is a Rufous-winged Woodpecker.
Now showing me that lovely head.
Our last woodpecker of the trip was a Hoffmann's Woodpecker, near the Mangrove Forest just of Playa Azul. He gave us some great looks.
Here is a nice photo of the lovely female. Such beautiful subtle hues. These birds were quite relaxed and didn't seem to mind our presence at all. Such a sweet chunky bird!
Here is her partner, very attentive to me photographing him, but not showing any signs of wanting to leave. Both he and the Mrs. stayed viewable for quite sometime, even while the hoards of hummingbirds buzzed about. You just can't get more beautiful than this.
Or can you? The Long-tailed Silky Flycatchers took your breath away in small gasps, so you hardly knew you were breathing, they were so gorgeous. Below is an immature bird feeding upside down on one of the abundant fruit bearing trees.
Trying to describe this adult bird in words while you can't breathe for the beauty of it - delicate, seemingly fine painted porcelain, with a dash of chivalry; stunning.
Both of these species are endemic to Costa Rica and Panama, so you won't find them anywhere else. They love the mountainous areas.
of Swarovski brought on the trip and my little Canon Powershot SD1000. I love this little camera, but there is no easy way to adapt it to a scope. At least I haven't looked hard for one. So in order to digiscope with it I had to delicately balance and prop it to the scope at a just-right angle and distance all the while holding it perfectly still and hoping the bird would do the same. I think I'll work on getting a camera and adapter that will work for my set up. I know with that and practice I can get much better pictures. I know for sure my optics were the best!
A bit better here, but still dark. 
I'm pretty happy with this one. The lighting is extremely tough in a shady rainforest anyway, but this is a respectable voucher picture. But I want better.
A couple of tries of an Acorn woodpecker. Focusing issues here.
A bit better here I think.
Trying this shot of a Violet-crowned Woodnymph in deep forest shadow just did not work for me.. maybe with a camera mount and timed shots it could have been better. 
Ewww, yuck. Way too dark on this Black-throated Trogan. 
Much better, but still not great quality, or great light. 
I obviously have focussing issues too! This would have been a great shot of a Rufous-winged Woodpecker and I still like it. Gee can I blame it all on bad lighting? I'm sure not. Especially if I get a chance to see all the pictures Clay took. 
I think I focused better on this immature Northern Barred Woodcreeper, but I'm not holding the camera evenly to the scope. See the transition from light to dark as you go down the photo?
Ok, if you've stayed with me this far, well the torture is nearing a close. I loved this bird, a Pale-billed Woodpecker. He stayed put long enough for me to get lots of mediocre photos, but I was encouraged that maybe good digiscoping - for me - is possible!
We've had so much rain here in North Central Colorado lately it feels like Seattle! While out bike riding in our neighborhood the other day, I came upon a gorgeous 4.5 food Gopher Snake that I brought home in my bike basket for Maggie to see - and hold. 1/2 hour later we saw the snake making it's way back to where it was caught and later that afternoon showed back up in the yard I found it near.
Things are growing like they never have before!
Here is a picture of a new bird pond in my back yard. Needs plants and finishing, but the birds love it already.
This lovely Columbine is over 3 feet tall.
Some of my garden beds. The lettuce, spinach and chard look bad after the hail storm. This photo shows them the day before.
My "meadow" on the right is nearly 4 feet tall with lots of cool wildflowers making their way to blooming.
Two in-velvet bull elk in the neighborhood. I took this shot from the end of our driveway.
Okay, so most of you know we are leaving for my Birder Of The Year Costa Rica trip tonight! Needless to say this week has been birding focused. Our itinerary is fantastic - Sarapiqui, Selva Verde, La Selva, Cerro de la Muerte, Savegre, and Carara National Park. I'm not bringing my computer, so it may be quiet here until I return. Here is my suitcase.. am I missing anything? 
Speaking of suitcases every time we turned around one of our mini dachshunds snuck their way into the suitcase and snuggled in. They know something's up! They are going to my sisters (with Maggie) as the daughter watching our house will be too busy for them.
