SAVEGRE HOTEL, NATURAL RESERVE &SPA

Saturday, February 13, 2016

Savegre Hotel, Natural Reserve & Spa

Edie and I arrived at our fourth and final lodge, Savegre, Thursday afternoon after a 6 hour drive from Rancho Margot.  As we climbed out of the rain and fog the cool clear mountain air felt wonderful after four days of rain and damp clothes.  We laid out damp clothing in front of the space heater and began to explore.

Savegre is a little over 50 miles south of San Jose in a private reserve of almost 1000 acres and only a few miles from Los Quetzales National Park.   They offer 41 rooms, bar and restaurant, conference room, laundry and shuttle service, and beautiful grounds.  Edie and I stayed in a junior suite which was very comfortable.

There were two hummingbird feeders near the restaurant which attracted several species but offered no way to set up for multi-flash.

Green Violetear

Green-crowned Brilliant

White-throated Mountain-gem

Green Violetear

Purple-throated Mountain-gem

Even hummingbirds need a little rest sometimes.

A walk around the grounds gave me several other species.

Flame-colored Tanager

This male Yellow-bellied Siskin appeared to be eating leaves.

Collared Redstarts have a cuteness factor.

Rufous-collared Sparrows are very common around the lodge.

Saturday morning we hired a guide to try and find the most sought after species in these parts of Costa Rica - the Resplendent Quetzel.  This bird has been called the most beautiful bird in the world and is on every birder's list.  The male sports 3 foot long tail feathers during the mating season and was revered by the Maya and Aztec peoples.  The tail feathers were only allowed to be worn by priests and royalty during ceremonies.  Today it is protected and is the national bird of Guatemala. Our search began at 5:30 with our guide and John and Sharon from England.  I was quite encouraged by the small group as we stopped along a mountain road in the semi-darkness and began our "Quetzal Quest".  Within 15 minutes we were inundated with other searchers and it became a little less fun.

Birders in front of us...

while more birders flew in from behind.

There is a Quetzel up there somewhere.

Did we see any ?  Yes, actually two females and a male.  Did we get good close looks?  No.  Did I get any good photographs?  Not even close.

Our guide was happy we had seen the Quetzals and suggested we drive back to the lodge for breakfast.  He would then drive us farther into the cloud forest for more birds.

Our new British friends, John and Sharon, follow our guide through the cloud forest above the lodge.

The cloud forest was very quiet and we got very poor looks at the birds that did make an appearance. My best and closest shot was a parent Yellow-winged Vireo feeding a youngster.

The Yellow-winged Vireo can only be found in Costa Rica and western Panama.

Edie makes a new friend of our bird guide.