2/18/2026 - Birding day 2 Costa Rica

We had a very early morning again this morning with Jason. We had a togo breakfast from the coffee shop and met him outside. We were driving into the mountains to meet a friend of his, Michael who had a farm where the Resplendent Quetzal's nested. The drive was along steep mountain roads and it was so foggy we could barely see the front of the car. To make matters worse there were trucks and construction happening on the road. Somehow we made it safely to a small roadside cafe that wasn't open where we waited for Michael to meet us. We then proceeded to a rural area where we parked and walked onto a beautiful farm. The sun was rising by that point and as we walked above the main farmhouse we found a small structure that Michael had built where we could use the restroom and have coffee and wait for the Quetzal's to come in. Michael had befriended the original owners of the farm and had purchased some of the land and built paths, and small structures to allow he and other guides to bring guests. They also did a lot of landscaping and improvement so that it was a gorgeous setting even without the birds. Initially we were along with Jason and Michael but eventually another guided group joined us. Michael and Jason made sure that we got views of the birds including the Quetzal when it arrived. Eventually the other group left and we had some quiet time again to enjoy the scenery and a few more birds at the farm.

After we finished at the farm Jason drover us through the mountains to another little town and we stopped for breakfast at a little roadside restaurant that he knew. We walked through the restaurant to the back porch and found bird feeders and humming bird feeders which were busy with birds and we were able to take pictures while waiting for our meal.

We had a great breakfast and had the chance to talk with Jason about his life in Costa Rica and his family. He has one son and a wife who is currently battling breast cancer. which has metastecized. He was very upbeat about the healthcare system in Costa Rica and their access to new treatments. After we left the breakfast spot we started the hours long journey back to San Jose but on the way Jason couldn't help stopping to show us the Los Quetzales National Park, which as it turns out, has no Quetzals.

We made our way back to San Jose and the hotel through really bad traffic. It took us hours. When we arrived we invited Jason in to have a late lunch at the bar in the resort before he hit the road again to go back home, which was going to be several more hours in traffic. He accepted and we sat at the pub overlooking the grounds and shared a nice meal and recapped the days of birding. We really enjoyed Jason and the places that he took us. We saw many more birds than we would have seen on our own and he was extremely knowledgeable, knowing every bird that we saw or even heard. It was a great end to our trip. We head home tomorrow after having some really nice warm days in quite a few diverse places. We had a lot of fun.