Treetopia

Monteverde is in the cloud forest region of the country. Cloud forests are mountainous forests that are almost permanently shrouded in a heavy fog or mist. The elevation cools the humid tropical air making trekking a little easier but the steep mountainous terrain negates this. Costa Rica is rough hiking anywhere for the uninitiated. These areas are unique habitats for huge varieties of birds butterflies monkeys and plants. Many of the birds and butterflies are endemic (only found in one place). Our goal today was hike through the mountains across huge bridges to find some cool birds and butterflies. We grabbed a cab and went out to Treetopia. Jorge had mentioned the night before that he had heard there was a quetzal nest at Treetopia but he hadn’t seen it for himself. Good enough for me. We got there right as they opened and bought two tickets to walk the bridges.

To take out my wallet I had to put down the giant 400mm f2.8 lens. So I placed the lens with the d5 attached onto the countertop in front of the cashier. His eyes grew wide as he looked at the lens and then at me and then back at the lens. I guess the average tourist doesn’t bring this with them to the bridges? Just as we were about to walk away he said “if you’re here to see birds, there is a resplendent quetzal nest at bridge 5.” He explained where to find it. We trudged up the paved path into the mountain. We got to the first bridge and it was clouded in mist, but the sun was coming up and the mist broke and enveloped us several times. We watched swallow-tailed kites dance as silhouettes in the mist above us and we listened to the howler monkeys calls reverberate through the valleys and peaks around us. We were all alone. The quiet wouldn’t last long as this was a popular tourist spot. Along with the bridges the park offered ziplines and other hikes. We knew we should keep moving. Small birds flitted around us in the dense underbrush giving us small glimpses but never stopping long enough for a good shot. We reached bridge 5 and began looking for the fabled nest.

Just off to one side there was a dead branchless tree with a baseball sized hole in it. That could be it but no birds around so maybe? We went a little further up saw nothing and when we came back to it we noticed a motion activated trail cam on the tree opposite. Ok that MUST be it. I set up the tripod and we began to wait. A female appeared in the branches behind the dead tree. She regurgitated some kind of a seed and let it fall to the forest floor. Appetizing. We began to hear and see people as the morning wore on. Groups could be heard crossing the other bridges some crossed bridge 5 without stopping. Then the male appeared. Glorious deep greens and a beautiful long tail. He landed on the nest and went in. Came out a few moments later and flew off into the jungle. We spent more than an hour with them watching the male and female come and go, and in and out of the nest.

Once we even got the tiniest peek at a baby who poked his head out for just a moment. After taking a zillion pictures we decided to move on when another male came in. The male from the nest did not appreciate this interloper’s presence and fought him off. Now the quetzal was even closer. I couldn’t resist grabbing a few more shots. The rest of the hike was fairly mundane after that. We finished up, found lunch, bought some souvenirs, and went back to the hotel to explore the grounds before bed.

The next morning after packing we took one more trip through the grounds and suddenly we were surrounded by a troop of coatis 20-40 strong. We sat down on the path and they were in every direction scratching at the leaf litter for tasty morsels of bugs, grubs, and fruits. A few of them got real curious about us and got close but not too close. We followed them down the path out to the parking lot and back up again. The babies were the cutest running alongside their moms and making squeaks and chirps as they traveled. They moved off the path and into the jungle. We said goodbye to the coatis and we said goodbye to Costa Rica as we left the hotel and headed back to San Jose and ultimately home. A fitting end to a wild trip through the jungles.

Santa Maria Night Hike

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