Once in a while, I stare out the window of my Denver apartment and wonder why there are so many birders willing to travel vast distances, spend a ton of money and expend huge amounts of time in search of finding new birds. When I wake to my senses, I know the reasons why and the answer is not a far stretch. We want to see amazing birds we can’t see outside of our windows. We want to experience intense nature and culture different from our own. We want to see lifers that thrill us, that make us expend natural endorphins. In other words, we want an experience of a lifetime. Recently, I took a trip with a group of women to the Amazon Rainforest and had the pleasure of observing and photographing several birds that gave me that thrilling feeling. Yes, we are going back if you are interested in seeing this wondrous place, but since we’re on the topic of this recent excursion, let me tell you about a special hummingbird we saw that really stood out.
The Butterfly Coquette is a smallish bird, stunningly beautiful in metallic green with a tinge of red in its crownish-like crest. Thought to be a sub-species of the Festive Coquette, It was recently classified as a species in its own right in 2019 by the South American Classification Committee (SACC) of the American Ornithological Society. Like the Festive Coquette, it has long pointed whiskers but it also has a small black mask that reminds me of Bandit from Jonny Quest. I was fortunate enough to get a photo of a female but the male really stands out. Courtesy of hummingbird expert Jarbas Mattos, I am also including a beautiful photo of a male. This is only one of over 300 incredible species we saw on this adventure. I must say, between the camaraderie, food, wildlife and fun, I can’t decide what was my favorite part of the trip. Why don’t you come along on the next adventure and let me know for yourself!
If you like this blog you might like the upcoming hummingbird tour, 2025. Check it out:
Comments