In search of the Resplendent Quetzal

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One of the main attractions in Monteverde Cloud Forest is the possibility of seeing the Resplendant Quetzal - a spectacularly beautiful bird which once was common throughout Central America. It is in fact the national bird of Guatemala and their currency is the quetzal but they are very difficult to see there now due to loss of habitat and hunting for their feathers so we were very hopeful that we would be lucky. There are lots of other animals, birds, reptiles and insects to be seen in the area as well and we expected to have some excellent viewings.

The first evening we took a guided nightwalk in a small reserve on the edge of town and saw a range of small insects and birds, including an orange kneed tarantula, a tiny frog which the guide could not identify, a number of lizards, a couple of tiny sleeping birds and a snail eating snake.

Unfortunately wildlife gets up early so on the first of many early mornings the next day we went to Monteverde Reserve for a 3 hour guided walk. We didn't travel very far from the entrance in the first half hour, watching a family of howler monkeys eating their breakfast. Elsewhere on the walk we saw too many birds to mention (some of which John might like to identify!), spider monkeys, some lizards and some fantastic views. The guide had a powerful telescope which brought them amazingly close up and enabled some of the better pictures.

And yes, as you can see from the pictures we did see quetzals, in fact we saw 4. We didn't get such a good picture of the male who is the most resplendent but we did see him which was fantastic.

Hope you've all been having resplendent times - do tell us about them sometime?

Lots of love

S + H xx

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