For my birthday gift late last year, Craig hired a birding guide for a full day of birding when we were to be in Costa Rica on vacation. Jorge, our guide, was a great guide. He loved birds and wanted to make sure I saw as many different species as possible. We traipsed through dry, lowland forest and then drove over an hour on a bumpy dirt road to the foothills of the rain forest. In all, we saw well over fifty species with at least half of them being "life" birds for me. Not too shabby.
The day was coming to a close and we were headed back. We were slowly coming out of the rain forest and headed toward farm land when it happened. I spotted a keel billed toucan in a tree on the side of the road. I sputtered the words "stop! Back up, back up, back up! Toucan!" Our driver slammed on the brakes and threw the van into reverse like we were backing out of an alley after a bank robbery. Jorge and Craig jumped out of the van like a swat team to see the bird and take photos. I, however, could see perfectly through my window. There he was, a keel billed toucan sitting in a tree eating berries. The colors of his feathers were so brilliant nothing could match them. Then after we got our fill (in bird terms that means the bird flew in a direction we couldn't follow) we moved on. Not two minutes later we spotted chestnut billed toucans in another tree. Again, we all jumped out of the van and swarmed the area to get a good look.
Photos can never do justice to the beauty that our eyes beheld that day. But do not be mistaken. We got photos! A few of the best ones are posted here. But the best pictures are the ones in my memories of the day that I shared the air with these beautiful birds.
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| Chestnut Billed Toucan |
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| Keel Billed Toucan |
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