In early February 2024 I went on an extremely difficult trek in the remote mountains of Santa Marta Colombia to find the Blue-bearded Helmetcrest, a hummingbird thought to be extinct for nearly 70 years. It requires a multi-day hike up to nearly 13,000 ft, several days up top, and two days of hiking back down. This was a bucket list trip and I wasn't disappointed. Here are some photos of the helmetcrest, plus other fun birds along the way.
I've started to enjoy making videos of my birding trips. I'm by no means a professional videographer and this is purely for my own enjoyment. If you want to see what the trip was like, you can check it out:
Blue-bearded Helmetcrest
ILCE-1FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS lens600mmf/6.31/500s1000 ISO+0.3 EV
Blue-bearded Helmetcrest
ILCE-1FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS lens600mmf/6.31/500s1250 ISO+0.3 EV
Blue-bearded Helmetcrest
Blue-bearded Helmetcrest
ILCE-1FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS lens600mmf/6.31/500s1600 ISO+0.3 EV
Blue-bearded Helmetcrest, juvenile male
ILCE-1FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS lens600mmf/6.31/1600s10000 ISO0.0 EV
White-tailed Starfrontlet
ILCE-1FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS lens600mmf/6.31/200s2500 ISO0.0 EV
Lesser Violetear
ILCE-1FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS lens600mmf/6.31/60s640 ISO+1.0 EV
Black-backed Thornbill, female
ILCE-1FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS lens600mmf/6.31/500s1000 ISO0.0 EV
Santa Marta Antpitta
ILCE-1FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS lens600mmf/6.31/160s10000 ISO0.0 EV
Red-rumped Bush-Tyrant
ILCE-1FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS lens559mmf/6.31/320s2000 ISO0.0 EV
Great photos ! I started watching your video but didn't have time to finish. I'll definitely come back to see the rest. From what I saw you're selling yourself short The first few minutes were very well done IMO and look really interesting.
Gary
I am glad you got your reward and were kind enough to share it here for me to see. The hike is an amazing accomplishment, congrats on all efforts went into this adventure!
What a beautiful bird to be lost for so many years, the pictures are wonderful treasures
Congrats on an amazing trip!!! And before I even read your text, I was thinking I'd name that fella a blue bearded something or another, so all I can say is that is named perfectly. You got some great shots, and I've bookmarked the video for later. TFS.
Eric
Wow, thank you all for the kind words! This was a bucket list trip I had wanted to do since the bird was rediscovered. Really glad I was able to survive the hike and spend so much time with these special birds.
Congratulations David... It looks like it was worth the effort. The helmet crest is such a unique looking hummingbird with that small bill. I really like pictures 2 and 3.
The first few minutes were very well done IMO and look really interesting. 