Revisiting old photos

 Getting more and more excited about March and Costa Rica, I pulled out the old memory cards I had saved from Peru (2014) and more recent trips to Costa Rica (2017, 2021) and adding some background, something I rarely did before.  So here are a few shots I treasure, not necessarily because they are great shots, (well, I think some of them are!) but because of the incredible excitement I felt upon seeing them, and being is the environment they were in. 

Red-throated Ant-tanager
Rancho Naturalista, Costa Rica
Rancho has a light that they leave on to attract moths, which in turn attracts
unusual birds such as this rarely seen Ant-tanager.

 

Barred Ant-Shrike
Asa Wright Nature Center, Trinidad
Very sadly, news has come of the closing of the Center

Rufous-vented Chachalaka
Tobago

Rufous-crested Coquette
Amazonia Lodge, Peru
We arrived after sunset, so only a few photos were possible before the light was gone. 
Someday, with the crest up, maybe.
  

Slaty Flowerpiercer
Manchu Pichu, Peru

Black-capped Flycatcher
Savegre Lodge, Costa Rica

Yellow-faced Grassquit
Savegre Lodge, Costa Rica

Hoatzin
Amazonia Lodge, Peru
I remember my jaw dropping experience, seeing this amazing "punk chicken" as
Barbara calls it.  

Red-legged Honeycreeper
La Paz Waterfalls, Costa Rica

Volcano Hummingbird
Batsu Gardens, Costa Rica
I spent hours my first trip trying to get a good photo of this tiny, and
uniquely Costa Rican hummingbird.  Then last year, at Batsu Gardens, 
they were everywhere.  The flower supporting this beauty looks like
a woman's hand.

Volcano Hummingbird
Batsu Gardens, Costa Rica

Jabiru
Madre de Dios River, Peru
Photographed from a speeding river boat, and very early in the AM, there wasn't much I
could do to improve this photo, but what a great, great opportunity to see one of
the rarest, and the largest stork in the world.  What a remarkable bill!

Rufous-tailed Jacamar
Trinidad
Jacamars are hummingbirds on steroids.  

White-necked Jacobin
Asa Wright Nature Center, Trinidad
One of the most common of hummingbirds in South America, and still one of 
the most strikingly beautiful. 

Southern Lapwing
Manu Wildlife Center, Peru

White-collared Manakin
Asa Wright Center, Trinidad
I looked at the original  photo and suddenly discovered a second(!) Manakin at the bottom of the frame, not found in the cropped photo as originally printed. 
Incredibly hard to see, these are the only ones I have ever photographed.

Black-throated Mango
Tobago
The nest, built along a power line, is about the size of a walnut.

Red-breasted Meadowlark
Trinidad

Baltimore Oriole
Batsu Gardens, Costa Rica
Probably on his way to Middleboro, in full mating plumage.

Blue-headed Parots
Clay Lick, Peru
One of the great birding experiences is to be at a blind across from a clay lick, where
thousands of parrots gather to eat clay to counter the effect of all the acid in their diet.
It is a sight one should see at least once, as a birder. 

Horned Screamer
Very rare, endangered, a huge bird and, I suspect, good eating. 

Yellow-chinned Spinetail
Trinidad

Red-collared Tanager
La Paz Waterfalls, Costa Rica
This is one of the rarer Tanagers, a lucky shot. 

Flame-colored Tanager
Batsu Gardens, Costa Rica
Not rare at all, but still a treat to see. 

Silver-throated Tanager
Asa Wright Center, Trinidad 

Inca Tern
Lima, Peru
He seems to be grinning at you.  I photographed this bird sitting across a
table in a restaurant on a pier on Lima's beach, with nephew Carl Humm.

Green Violetear
Savegre Lodge, Costa Rica
 One of my favorite birds, very common, very tame. 

Flame-throated Warbler
Savegre Lodge, Costa Rica

Spot-crowned Woodcreeper
Rancho Naturalista, Costa Rica
Amazing what Photoshop can do with almost a black photo, taken
before sunrise.

What pleasure these birds, and others, have contributed to my life. I hope and pray that
opportunities continue to present themselves to me, as there are so many more
great species to see in the world.