Hummingbirds, Costa Rica. 1/9-1/19/2024.

Living in Massachusetts, I get to see one species of hummingbird during the spring and summer, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird. While I absolutely love these little birds and enjoy photographing them in my garden, I was blown away by the number of different types of hummingbirds that I saw among the flowers and feeders in Costa Rica! Apparently, there are over 50 different species in this country, and I was able to see at least 15 of them while on a birding trip with Costa Rica Focus. I was able to photograph around 12 and often saw both the male and female as our trip brought us from the mountains and cloud forest down to sea level. While I loved and enjoyed seeing them all, a clear favorite was the little Thorntail as it defended its turf and kept landing back on the same little stem in the Verbena bush at Arenal Lodge. Left to right: Thorntail, female Black-crested Coquette, male Black-crested Coquette, Brown Violetear, Coppery-headed Emerald, Green-crowned Brilliant, Long-billed Hermit, Magenta-throated Woodstar, Purple-throated Mountain gem, Rufous-tailed, Stripe-tailed, Violet Sabrewing, and White-necked Jacobin.