SAN GERARDO DE DOTA, Costa Rica – It’s 5:30 in the morning, and the sun has yet to reach this remote corner of the country’s mountainous interior. But already more than 70 birders, loaded down with cameras, binoculars and scopes, are bunched together staring at a spot 30 yards off the road. Barely visible through the mist is the faint outline of a Resplendent Quetzal.
Within minutes, the bird takes off and disappears before allowing more than a glimpse. A collective sigh sweeps the crowd that’s come in search of the most sought-after bird in Central America and one of the most exotic in the world.
This is the guessing game that plays out every day in the little town of 250 built around the unpredictable comings and goings of the Quetzal. If you can find him, the bird is a breathtaking sight: magnificent greenish blue with a bright cherry-red breast and a sweeping tail up to a yard long that floats along behind him in flight. It’s hard to say exactly what color the Quetzal is because its tint changes with the sun.
“A little crazy”
We’ve come in mid February when Quetzals are seeking mates and building nest cavities for the breeding season, making their routines all the more unpredictable. “You just never know where they’ll be,’’ said Raul Fernandez, one of the dozens of guides who make a living helping visitors look for the bird. “They’re acting a little crazy.’’
The same could be said of the steady stream of people – most of them hard-core birders from all parts of the world, some 50,000 visitors over the course of a year. As soon as we arrive in Costa Rica’s capital of San Jose we’re greeted by a picture of the Resplendent Quetzal on a giant airport welcoming banner. The birds can be found in other parts of Central America, but one of the best places to find them is this remote part of Costa Rica, a sprawling region known as Savegre, a three-hour drive south of the capital of San Jose. Here the bird’s likeness is on everything from window decals to restaurant walls.
This is part of our year-end series drawing from the most popular past post. This originally ran on March of 2024 after a birding trip across Costa Rica this spring. Watch for just a few more of these posts before we head into the new year — and a trip south to follow birds down the coast, into Florida and on to a trip to Belize. Thank you for reading Flying Lessons. We wish you the best as the year winds down and a bird-rich year ahead.
We would spend all day hoping to get a good look at the real thing. But as it turned out, this visit wasn’t only about the Quetzal; over parts of three days, our quest would lead us to a full array of Costa Rica’s birds, including toucans with giant bills, tanagers the color of lollipops, a dozen varieties of hummingbirds, even a few secretive rails. Some of the best parts of the day came as we searched the forest and got to know a unique place where birds of all kinds are the center of attention.
Minutes after the Quetzal flew off at dawn, a toucanet appeared not far away, sort of like a stand-in for the vanished starring attraction. The toucanet perched on a lower branch 20 feet above our heads – and it turned this way and that, showing off its oversized beak that defines the species. We were soon off, making our way up the mountains that tower above the town and fill its streams with clear, rushing water that helps make this a good place for birds.
Within minutes, Fernandez was identifying the first of a nearly endless string of Costa Rica’s flycatchers. Along the way, he told us the story of how this town became a haven for the Quetzal – and how the bird in return makes the community a healthy, booming avian mecca.
A homeplace for the Quetzal
Raul Fernandez is the perfect guide for a visit to San Gerardo de Dota. He’s part of a large family whose patriarch moved into these mountains three generations ago, homesteading the land when the country needed to expand its coffee farming. Over the years, the family gradually realized they had something magical in the Quetzals. They gave up farming, restored the rainforest with native trees and plants that support the bird, and built a 1,000-acre hotel complex that caters to birders.
Fernandez grew up helping his father in his guide business and so he knows every inch of the rainforest that’s home to many of the Quetzals. He picks up on their songs we can’t even make out – and he answers them as if having a conversation that echoes through the trees. Despite its occasional calls, the Quetzals disappear for much of the morning, which gives us a chance to take in the dozens of other beautiful species along a mile-long wooded trail.
We see tanagers, woodpeckers, sparrows and a Giant Guan. On our way up the mountain, a Collared Trogan lands a few yards away and peers down at us as we stare back in wonder at its deep green-and-red plumage and striped tail. We see all sorts of hummingbirds, some that zip by close enough to hear their high-octane buzz. But there are no signs of a Quetzal.
Check out our post on Costa Rica’s wealth of hummingbirds
“I hear one”
Finally, Fernandez decides we should walk deeper into the rainforest near a place where he knows a pair is building a nest. This part of the forest is an enchanting place with or without birds: monstrous trees loom overhead and the ground is blanketed in underbrush. We take a path that follows along a rushing stream, staying as quiet as we can to listen as we reach the last hour of our hike.
Then, a half hour down the path, Fernandez stops. “I hear one,’’ he says, and we begin to hustle along until he halts and listens again, his hands cupped around his ears and his eyes closed. Suddenly, he looks straight up, perhaps 50 feet into the high canopy where he sees a spot of red and blue: It’s the female Quetzal, perching on a branch, her head moving back and forth. Though not as colorful as the male and without the tail, she’s a striking bird even at an odd angle in the distance.
After a while, it’s time to end our search and return to the lodge. We make our way back along the path when we get the gift the day. Suddenly, both a male and female Quetzal, their calls clear and insistent, are skittering together across the canopy. He’s in the lead with his tail drifting behind and she follows. They are too far away for a photo, but we got the sighting we’d been hoping for.
The most beautiful bird
The Quetzal lived up to its unpredictability that day. Later that afternoon, both a male and female came down from the mountain and parked themselves in a tree right next to the lodge, while a crowd of birders filled the porch just a few feet away. We weren’t among them, but a friend shared these photos of our spectacular bird.
The Quetzal is what brings all the visitors, but we left with more than just a memory of this franchise bird. The entire population is thriving around its singular species, in a habitat that supports all kinds of wildlife. As Fernandez put it:
“The Quetzal is one of the most beautiful birds in the world. And it has feathers that change color with the sun. Sometimes you see them and they’re green. But then they turn around and they’re purple. While you’re looking for them, you get to see all these other birds. They introduce you to everything that’s out here.’’
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