Post Guan Sighting Syndrome

Horned Guan - Torrey

The great looks at the Horned Guan the day before softened our disappointment when the fog returned in the afternoon. We took a little siesta and around four we got in the car and drove to a place lower in the canyon where it might be less foggy.

We drove along the narrow mountain road high above a valley. The road was bordered on both sides by fields of lettuce, spinach, various plants from the cabbage family, and lots of onions. But these fields weren’t what you might imagine. They were not flat like the fields in the Central Valley of California nor were they the iconic terraced gardens that you might see in Asia or Peru. These fields were plastered onto steep mountain sides, in some cases so steep that they seemed to hang in the balance and just one degree steeper and they might fall over and cover you in produce. I was amazed that anyone could harvest or plant on a slope so steep. I’d be doing my best just to stand.The men dressed in jeans and tee shirts moved about shifting hoses that broadcast water down the hill one hundred and eighty degrees side to side. The women and girls, all dressed in traditional Guatemalan clothing, moved about as if rappelling across a rock face. Some had baskets balanced on their heads as they walked between the rows and they seemed to move as if the baskets were not even there. Looking closely I noticed they had a small cup shaped hat on their head which accommodated the basket perfectly and made it easier to balance their loads of produce.

We parked next to one such field and on the opposite side was a rare patch of forest, albeit somewhat disturbed. Here we struck a gold vein of birds. The first was a couple of Mountain Trogons who cooperated by coming in close to investigate the mimicked calls made by Josué and Torrey. Later we had the same success with a Ruddy Foliage-gleaner . There were a few hummers like Mexican Violetear and White-eared that patrolled the roadside flowers. But the real prize was the Blue-throated Motmot who came in very close. Unfortunately the light was not so great, but that’s the way it goes in the tropics. The day was capped off nicely by seeing several beautiful and rather shy Black-throated Jays.

We were at this place for at least an hour and a half and as the time passed the women working on the hill came down to the road and waited for their ride back to the village. As they waited they spoke in Mayan and kept looking at us and talking amongst themselves. We went about phishing and whistling at birds and snapping photos with our cameras. Of course I couldn’t help but wonder what they might be saying. Maybe it was nothing. Then again they must have been puzzled. Especially since this didn’t take place at a nature reserve or national park or even someplace with some scenic value. Probably made some good stories around the dinner tables that night.

Back at the lodge cafe we decided to celebrate our Horned Guan experience with a Central American drink called “The Michelada”. I’ve enjoyed these drinks in Costa Rica so I was looking forward to having one before dinner. However the Guatemalan version of a Michilada is very different from what I had in Costa Rica. In Costa Rica it was pretty simple, just beer with ice and lime in a salt rimmed chilled glass. Yummy on a hot day. But this wasn’t a hot day, in fact with was cold and damp, so that didn’t sound as good to me as it did in CR but I thought “what the heck we gotta celebrate”. The Guatemalan version was built for cold weather. It was beer with tomato juice, lime, and chili powder. I took one sip and knew it was not for me. Torrey drank about half of his and came to the same conclusion and Josué made short work of his. After he finished it he asked if I liked it and I politely said as my mom used to say when she didn’t like something but didn’t want to offend anyone, “well, it’s different”, and it was. After a while when he saw that I was obviously not going to finish he asked if I was going to drink any more of it and I said “nah, I’m kind of worried that it will upset my stomach” which was the truth. He asked if he could finish it and I said “sure”. And he proceed to make short work on it. When we got back to the room Torrey and I built a fire and revised our top ten list. Then we hit the hay because we are scheduled for a long day tomorrow. The plan is to get up in the morning and try for a couple of birds that we missed here and then hit the road for a four hour drive to the mountains they call the Cuchamantones. These mountains are near the border with Chiapas Mexico and are inhabited almost exclusively by indigenous people. This area was heavily impacted during the Guatemalan civil war that lasted from 1962 to 1996 and is thought to have killed 300,000 people, the vast majority of them indigenous people of Mayan descent.

We are going to meet an indigenous local guide who knows of a good spot to try for the very hard to see Central American endemic Unspotted Saw-whet Owl. Another bird we are going to try for in the Cuchumatanes ( coo - chew - maw - tahn - nez ) is the Goldman’s Warbler, which is a subspecies of the Yellow-rumped Warbler. When our Audubon’s Yellow-rumped Warbler is sporting its finest duds, like in the late spring and early summer and is singing its “tuwee - tuwee - tuwee” song from a top a Western Hemlock in the early morning light, well sir/madam, my opinion is sort of Gomer Pyle like and I just want to say that it is just about the prettiest most beautiful wonderful and magnificent colorful amazingly handsome and most gorgeous super stunning warbler in the whole entire ding dong dog gone North America. And if I am lucky enough to get a good look at the Goldman’s I think that Gomer would have to throw in a few more superlatives. We’ll have to see about that. All photos that are not of birds are stock photos.

Gone Guan

March, 18, 2020 Gone Guan! Josué on the lookout for a Horned Guan.

Up early and the fog has disappeared! We’re hoping that this will be the day that brings us good luck and great looks at one of the most incredible birds in the world, the Horned Guan. Usually a long hike up a volcano or mountain is required to see this bird. Due to my car accident my ankle can’t take that kind of hike, so Josue suggested we try for it around the lodge. He has seen it from the lodge area before, so we are hoping to see one this morning. We started out by listening to the songs of the Brown-backed Solitaire reverberating from the walls of the canyon. Black-capped Swallows (lifer) patrolled the ravines in search of flying insects and six different species of hummingbirds fed off the flowers of a large tree. The six species were White-eared, Garnet-throated, Rivoli’s, Amethyst-throated and Green-throated Mountain-Gem, and Mexican Violetear. Pretty soon a mixed species flock came in, led by a couple of beautiful Elegant Euphonias. This species is high on my BTP list (Birds to Photograph) but today was much like every other time that I have seen them where they are high in the treetops, out in the open and in terrible light or low in the tree in great light but obscured by leaves and branches. We got some more good looks at Pink-headed Warbler and we even found the only Olive Warbler of the trip. Torrey on Guan Watch

But after about two hours of looking around the lodge we still hadn’t seen nor heard the Horned Guan. I wanted to see this bird so bad and I began to lose hope that we were going to see it. Truth be told, I didn’t even know about this amazing bird until I took a trip to Oaxaca with my friends Magnus and Rosie. They told me about their adventurous backpacking trip in Chiapas to see the Horned Guan. Ever since then it has been number one one my bucket target list. Horned Guans (Oreophasis derbianus) live in isolated populations in the highlands of Chiapas and on the highest slopes of the Guatemalan Volcanoes. Their entire range is estimated at 2,700 square miles which is about half the size of Lane County. They spend most of their life in the treetops eating the fruit of the Nectandra tree (Nectandra reticulata). It has been documented that the seeds of the tree are defecated intact and that the HOGU is vital to the reproduction of this important tree. This tree is used in the treatment of several clinical disorders in humans and is a vital food source of not only the HOGU but many other birds and mammals. Torrey and Josué decided to go up a steep trail and look for it. Josué told me that it would be too steep for me. So I decided to concentrate on photography. They set off up the trail and I set off down the canyon. I found some Unicolored Jays and a few Pink-headed Warblers and I was trying to move in on them to get a photograph when I heard someone urgently calling my name. I looked around and saw Josué waving his arms at me motioning for me to come quickly. I came as quickly as I could as I was at about 7,000 feet elevation and where I was hurrying was uphill. When I got to him he told me that he and Torrey had found the Horned Guan not too far up the trail. He thought that I might want to chance it, so he came back and got me. What a super guide! I followed him up the paved walkways of the lodge till we stepped off onto a poorly maintained trail. Josue found me a walking stick and I proceeded to limp up this trail. It was super steep, but in most places it had edges where you could get a pretty good purchase on the trail, good enough to stop what gravity would have liked to have seen happen. After about ten minutes of climbing I started to worry about coming down. To add to my nerves I couldn’t help but feel that when I got to the spot the guan would be gone, hence the title of this post, Gone Guan, you know, like the book and the movie, Gone Girl, it’s funny because it’s a play on words, sort of. We hiked on and on and up and up and I limped along only needing a hand from Josué a couple of times. Josué said “we’re almost there” and then I finally saw Torrey. I began to pick up the pace and when I reached him I was ready for him to say that the guan was gone. And either he’d be joking or he’d be serious, that was the only thing I doubted. But he didn't. He pointed up to the treetops and said “you made it pop and here’s your reward”. I looked up and was amazed to get such great looks at the guan feeding on fruit and not paying us any attention whatsoever. I could have kissed Josué for coming down all that way and then going back up with me. This was in every sense, a dream come true. Maybe the only bird to come close to this for me was the time I saw the Southern Cassowary. Or maybe when I saw the Victorian Riflebird displaying from a jungle perch, but that’s about it. Torrey and I always have a top ten list that we update each day of the trip. I turned to him and said “well I think the # one spot on the list has been decided, nothing I could see would knock the Horned Guan off the throne”. He agreed. Torrey after all had guan so well! (that's so bad)

And the star of the show. The Horned Guan! Speaking of which, the top ten for me at this point is as follows. Horned Guan Pink-headed Warbler Sparkling-tailed Hummingbird Ocellated Quail Azure-rumped Tanager Slender Sheartail Blue-and-White Mockingbird Sungrebe Fulvous Owl Rufous-and-White Wren Little did I know that in twenty-four hours this list would get totally blown apart. Stay tuned for that story.

Sparkling-tailed to Pink-headed

Sparkling Tailed Hummingbird - FT

I forgot to mention in the last post that the night before we had a nice dinner in the restaurant and afterwards we were hanging out in the room when someone knocked on the door. It was our waiter. This man spoke Spanish super fast and with a strong accent. I think his first language was a local Mayan language. I think that I mentioned that for most people who live away from the big cities, a local Mayan language is their first language. As if the accent and the pace wasn’t enough, worse yet he was wearing a mask so it made it even harder to understand him. Anyhow, very rhymitcally he spun five or six sentences of which I understood about four words. However, he did have the bill in his hand and so I put one and one together and came up with three, which was close enough. My mama didn’t raise no fool. Turns out the problem was that we signed the check to charge the dinner to our room but they didn’t have a credit card on file. Josue had told us to sign the check to our room. I had to follow the waiter to the front desk and on the way I used the wi-fi with What’sApp to call Josue. I got a hold of him and he asked to speak to the waiter. So I handed the phone to the waiter and told him that Josue wanted to talk to him. He took the phone and I heard him say “halo” and “halo”, pronounced “alo”, He repeated the salutation again and again and I knew it was bad news. He gave me back the phone and I noticed that the wi-fi had cut out. It’s always doing that here, but now!!! Come on man! I began to go down a dark hole where I heard myself saying “ohh man I just hate it when it does that, this always %&*#$@# happens at the wrong time, why does it have to #$%@#& happen now!!!! And then I realize that my lovely wife isn’t here to remind me about starving children and homeless puppies and all of a sudden, I’m good. JK Well after I explained the situation to the front desk they called Josue and got it all worked out but it was definitely testing my Spanish comprehension. I gave myself a B minus. The plan for the morning was for Josue to meet us at the hotel and we’d walk around the grounds and search for a Sparkling-tailed Hummingbird. However, I was sitting on a bench right outside our room waiting for Josue to arrive when I noticed what looked to me like some kind of thorntail (a type of tropical hummingbird). I called to Torrey that there was a thorntail outside our door. He grabbed his bins and said that’s not possible as thorntails do not regularly occur in Guatemala. We relocated the bird and it turned out to be the Sparkling-tailed Hummingbird. Another lifer for both Torrey and me. When Jose arrived I told him that we didn’t need to spend time looking for the Sparkling-tailed Hummer. He looked at me in shock and asked why and I told him that I knew that he had placed us in that particular room so that we would feel like we found the bird on our own. I congratulated him on his strategy and he laughed and said, okie dokie let’s get breakfast and head out to find a Belted Flycatcher. The Hotel had an enormous breakfast buffet and we all had fresh fruit and omelets. Afterwards we packed up and headed off to a shade tree coffee plantation. When we got there, we parked and while waiting for Josue to pay a fee for access I noticed a Greater Pewee flycatching from an exposed perch high above the coffee plants. Once Josue was finished the three of us began to walk up the canyon and as we did we encountered a mixed flock of mostly wintering or migrating North American songbirds. We saw Blue-headed Vireo, Summer and Western Tanager, Indigo Bunting, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, a gorgeous Townsend’s and a striking Black-and-White Warbler. We heard the soft whistled “kyow, kyow, kyow, kyow, kyow, kyow, of Mountain Trogons. Cornell’s Birds of the World describes them perfectly as follows: Males are metallic green above, with red orbital skin, a black mask and throat, yellow bill, and wing panels with black and white vermiculation, appearing gray. The green upper breast is separated from the bright red belly and undertail coverts by a white breast band. But don’t take their word for it, just look at the beautiful photograph taken by Vittorio Cattelan in Northern Guatemala. Greater Pewee - FT Mountain Trogon - Vittorio CAttelan Rufous-browed Pepper-Shrike - Hudson-Bird Rio

Further or farther up the canyon, I can never keep them straight in my head, we heard Inca Doves giving their glass half empty “nooooo hope nooooo hope nooooo hope” calls repeatedly from the hillside. On and on they bemoaned, as if we didn’t hear them the first time. Like me they must be reading the NYTs and listening to NPR . And the White-wing Doves were answering back oh yeah well “who cooks for you” “who cooks for you” “who cooks for you” calls. And then from behind us deep in a thicket I hear the melodious warblering song “do you wash every week” - - - - - - - - - - “do you wash every week” - - - - - - - - - - - - - “do you wash every week” of the Rufous-browed Peppershrike. I make fun of the doves but what a beautiful chorus. Finally we made it to the Belted Flycatcher spot and Josue played its call. After about five minutes we heard it answer back but rather far away. So after my pessimism with the Ocellated Quail, I right away took the “oh we got this bird in the bag” approach. However the bird didn’t seem to be moving and so if you can’t bring the bird to you, you bring yourself to the bird. And so at least we tried. We entered the understory on a foot trail where it was necessary to duck under some branches but otherwise wasn’t so bad. We parked ourselves in a clearing and no sooner had we stopped when we heard the swish of wings passing between us and we looked up and not twenty feet away was not the Belted Flycatcher but a beautiful Chestnut-sided Shrike-Vireo! A lifer for Torrey but not for me as I had seen them a few years ago in Oaxaca. Nevertheless this was a much better look at a really strinking and my favorite Shrike-Vireo. Chestnut-sided Shrike-Vireo - Torrey

The Belted Flycatcher proved me to be a little too optimistic as it never came any closer and we did not see it. We couldn’t wait for it any longer as we had a four hour drive ahead of us. We hiked back, jumped in the car and took off on a cross country adventure through the outback of Guatemala. Gracias a dios the drive was pretty much uneventful. That’s if you don’t count the old gigantic speeding buses and the potholes that could eat your car alive. We arrived at Fuentes Georginas in the late afternoon to find it completely socked-in with fog. Fuentes Georginas is a very rusticly developed hot spring. There are a couple of small pools and one large pool where the water comes steaming out of the side of a rock cliff that climbs as far as the eye can see and it is filled with all kinds of tropical plants. Did I mention all the beautiful plants that we have been seeing? Probably not, but I should have as we have seen lots of bromeliads, heliconias, orchids, and all manner of flowers and ferns. We ate lunch and checked into our room. Then the fog lifted a little and we took advantage of the momentary clearing and started birding on the entrance road. Walking along we heard Highland Guan and the strange science fiction sound, anyone remember “The Outer Limits”, of the Brown-backed Solitaire. It’s just incredible that that bird can make that sound.We got good looks at White-eared Hummingbird, Chestnut-capped Brush-Finch, and a troupe of Unicolored Jays which is reminiscent of our Pinyon Jays. A little ways up the road we noticed a Slate-colored Redstart singing his jolly little song while moving through the treetops. And then, there it appeared, the second most desired find on my target list, the Pink-headed Warbler. We didn’t get great looks until the next day, but I am going to post the photo that I got the next day just so you guys can appreciate why it reigns so high on my target list. What an amazing warbler, in my book probably only second to the Red Warbler of Southern Mexico, and of that I’m not really sure, the jury is still out. Pink-headed Warbler - FT

Pink-headed Warbler - FT After dinner we heard the Fulvous Owls calling from somewhere near our cabin. Josue got his light and we approached the owls. We played the tape and within a minute two of them were within twenty feet of us. It was incredible to see these powerful owls so close and to listen to their call. We snapped some quick photos and then left the owls alone so that they could get back to their business of catching large insects, small mammals, frogs, lizards, and birds. As you can see the Fulvous Owl looks a lot like the Barred Owl, however it gives a different call, is smaller and as the name suggests is rusty brown where the Barred Owl is gray. We were super stoked to get such great looks that this Northern Central American endemic owl. Little did we know what was to come. Fulvous Owl - FT

Afterwards we met at the pool and we were the only ones at the hot spring. There were no other guests whatsoever. We had the entire place to ourselves. I was feeling pretty good thinking about relaxing in the hot water but when I stepped in, it wasn’t as hot as I had hoped. Probably just a little under body temperature. But we all swam around and soaked as bats dodged in and around us. It was surreal. However, when I got out I was so cold that my teeth were chattering. I dried off and high-tailed it back to the room where I built a fire. After a while I warmed up and I was enjoying the fire when I heard the rattling of the glass in the lamps on the hanging light. I felt the bed move and the hanging light began to sway back and forth and then it was over. A small earthquake. But that is not what I was referring to when I said “little did we know what was to come”. For that, tune in next time.

Azure Afternoon

 March, 16, 2022 Afternoon

                  Azure-rumped Tanager -Dubi Shapio

After leaving the Slender Sheartail location we drove into the town of San Lucas Tolimán and had lunch at a restaurant that overlooked Lago Atitlan. It was a beautiful setting as we were sitting in an open area that was surrounded by a beautiful tropical garden with Black-vented Orioles and Azure-crowned Hummingbirds flying all around. As we sat sipping our tropical juice we noticed a group of Wood Storks flying out over the lake. Josué was super excited about seeing these birds as it was the first time that he had seen them in this department (state).  

Azure-crowned Hummingbird - FT

After lunch we drove up a steep mountain road and parked the car. We hiked down a narrow path through the forest passing small groves of coffee plants and fruit trees. We hiked down to the bottom of this side canyon and a little ways up the other side and we stopped at a place where you could see the top of this enormous fruiting tree. Sitting out in the open was a beautiful Azure-rumped Tanager (lifer). It was busy feeding on the fruit and although it was a very good scope look, the light and distance made it difficult to get a good photo. I took a screenshot of a nice photo taken by Dubi Shapiro just so you could get a look at this bird. It has a very limited range, only found in Northwestern Guatemala and Southern Chiapas Mexico. 

 Black-eared Bushtit - TGT

        

Josue lives on the way to the next location and he stopped by his house to pick up a few things. We met his children who were really excited to see him. He had just come off of a 10 day tour the night before. I felt kind of bad taking their daddy away again for another week but he said they’d have plenty of time next week. Afterwards we made a stop not more than 300 yards from his house. I looked around and saw pretty much destruction all around. There was a quarry behind us and in front was a clear-cut where either the land was barren or there were scattered trees (avocado I think). All all around this clear cut were houses and terraced gardens.

Nashville Warbler - TGT

I looked at Josue and he read my mind. He said “no te preocupes mi amigo vamos a tratar de encontrar Ocellated Quail”. Translated it is “don’t you worry my friend we are going to try for Ocellated Quail”. I must admit that I was feeling a bit let down as in my mind I had imagined seeing this bird on a nice outcropping in a beautiful canyon. But this bird too has a small range and is very hard to see so I wasn’t about to tell Josue that we had to find it in a more pristine location. This bird is a “threatened species” due to habitat destruction and degradation. Uncontrolled grazing and the burning of forests to make way for "improved" grazing lands for livestock and agriculture are chief among the threats facing this species. Currently, according to BirdLIfe, there are no significant portions of its range under official protection. 

He played a tape of its rather sweet descending whistle and sure enough one called back from very far away. I thought to myself “no way are we going to see that bird, it’s just too far away”. But Josue was persistent and while he played the tape and watched for the bird, Torrey and I enjoyed a passing group of Black-eared Bushtits, a beautiful Spotted Towhee (nice to see a yard bird), a troupe of Acorn Woodpeckers, a Nashville Warbler and a great lifer look at Rusty Sparrow. When we turned our attention back to the quail much to my surprise the distance had been cut in half. I began to brighten up a bit. 

This is one time I must say that I am glad Miriam was not there. She would have been unhappy to say the least. Even for me this was a hard wait. It was right beside a road, albeit not a busy one, but there were trucks that came by and bathed us in diesel fumes and deafening noise. Also my ankle bothers me more when I’m just standing and not walking. But the quail was definitely making its way in our direction and the chances of ever seeing this bird at some other place some other time was not good so I decided to get a hold of myself and make the best of it.

And closer and closer it came but it sure was taking its good sweet time in doing so. Finally Torrey saw it fly across this open area and disappear into one of the nearby trees. The tree was not more than fifteen feet high, but the foliage was dense. We searched for this beautiful quail with its Harlequin face but we couldn’t find it. Or so I thought. Josue said “I got it in the scope” and after what I had seen his brother do with the scope I didn’t doubt it for a second. I looked through his scope and all you could see was the eye and the area around it. It was a really cool look but not quite satisfying. So we continued to wait for the bird to show and show he did, although it was a very brief but a very good look as he took off on foot across the orchard. Nice lifer! 

                         Ocellated Quail - Estaban Mathais

 Next we took off and had a refreshing cold Fresca, anyone remember Fresca? Afterwards we headed to Hotel Atitlan (very nice and fancy) and I thought oh man we are getting put up in style. More on that later. 

 

Slender Sheartail Morning

 Wednesday, March, 16, 2022

    

                                                                    Lake Atitlan

Josué met us at Los Tarrales at six in the morning and we took off heading to a spot where the Slender Sheartail has recently been found. We stopped in at a gas station/coffee bar and I had a very good latte. 

After about an hour of weaving along the winding mountain roads passing several coffee plantations (both shade and sun) and then making our way through a maze of streets in the town of San Lucas Tolimán we came to the trail head. We parked the car, gathered our equipment and set off up the trail. It wasn't long before we began to be passed up by people, men and women, young and old, girl and boy, and even some had dogs. One by one they passed us heading up the trail. I began to wonder what all these people were doing out here. They certainly were not in it for the hike or exercise. There were signs stating that this was a protected area and soon I realized that word can mean different things to different people because right behind the sign was an avocado orchard.  More on that later. 

As we walked we stopped for a pair of Elegant Euphonias. Got some good looks but they were too high up in the tree for a good photo. Dusky and Boat-billed Flycatchers were calling from the canyon side as were Band-back Wrens and the ever present Clay-colored Thrushes. Not too much farther up the trail we came across a singing Blue-and-White Mockingbird. Josué imitated its call and it came straight-away to investigate. We got some pretty good, albeit brief looks at what is so far my favorite mockingbird and lifer #1 for the morning. 

From the same spot lifer #2 called from across the canyon. Josué played its call and it obligingly flew towards us and showed off its black face and throat, yellow body, and black wings. This Yellow-backed Oriole was associating with a couple of Baltimore Orioles and a Western Tanager. We heard a Rufous-and-White Wren singing its flute-like song which I have fallen in love with. If you’d like to hear it click this link Rufous-and White Wren and scroll down to the “Top Audio” section of the page. 

After several hundred meters of hiking we came upon a couple of large hummingbirds feeding off flowers high up in a tree. They were Rufous Sabrewings. From the same location we had a migrant mixed flock move through the oaks above us. Tennessee Warblers hung upside down gleaning insects from the leaves along with several Townsend’s, MacGillivary’s, Nashville, Black-and White, Black-throated Green, and Wilson’s and a Cinnamon Hummingbird.

                                                            Cinnamon Hummingbird

Moving up higher into the canyon we heard Red-billed Pigeon and White-tipped doves calling. After a while we came to a grassy hillside with several flowering shrubs and sure enough here comes the Slender Sheartail. Of course we had the briefest of looks at it as it flew rather nervously from shrub to shrub and then we lost it completely. We waited and waited and waited some more. As we were waiting we were pleasantly distracted by a beautiful White-faced Ground Sparrow (lifer #3). We also saw a few Gray Silky-flycatchers fly over. 

Josué walked all through the area looking for the Sheartail as Torrey and I hung out near a spot where Josué said it used as a perch. As we waited we saw several Indigo Buntings, a Common Tody-flycatcher and Cabanis's Wren. After about twenty minutes or so Josué came back and asked if we got to see it. We told him that  it hadn’t come around. It was then that he sadly informed us that he had looked over from a distance and saw it on the perch. Oh well. After about another twenty minutes Josué amazingly spotted the male perched at the base of a shrub. He put it in the scope and we got great long looks but unfortunately the light was not so great. Do I have to tell you how many bad photos of Slender Sheartail are resting in my trash bin? Since we didn’t get any photos worth sharing, here is one in case you would like to have a look. Slender Sheartail

Common Tody-flycatcher

After appreciating the nice scope views of the Sheartail we began to hike back to the car. Along the way I picked up another lifer when Josué pointed out a Cinnamon-bellied Saltator.Torrey spotted a Broad-winged Hawk and a little later we spied a Sharp-shinned Hawk, but unfortunately not the Guatemala subspecies (White-breasted Sharp-shinned Hawk). We also got very nice looks at a Golden-olive Woodpecker. It called and Josué said that if you hear that call you are bound to have some bad luck. No thanks. I've had my share lately. 

As we hiked out we were passed by people going up and coming down out of the canyon. There were women and girls with baskets for harvesting coffee beans, men with huge stacks of firewood tied to their backs, others with large sacks of avocados. I asked Josué if the area was a reserve and he said “yeah. I asked if it was protected and again he said yeah. Later on he explained that all around Atitlan are large farms growing all kinds of things like mangos, coffee, avocados, etc.. etc.. And also activities like wildcrafting plants and cutting of firewood. However each farm or finca as they are known in Spanish are required to set aside large tracts of land that are supposed to remain undisturbed. When you think about it, it’s not really that different from the way we do it at home where on public lands (national forest, BLM land etc.) we allow the clear-cut harvesting of timber, gathering of firewood, rocks, and plants and last but not least the grazing of livestock. 

Just before we got back to the trailhead we came upon an area of slickrock that had a small pool of standing and rather rancid water. Which is perfect for butterflies! And butterflies there were by the dozens. I was on cloud nine snapping photos of this one and that one. I knew that we had to leave so I wasn’t taking the time to get the best shots but here are a few. I’ve got losts of work to do when I get home! 

Next post will be the second half of this day.  

Eighty-eight Butterfly

La Rinconada Trail

We got up this morning at 5:30 and took off with our guide's brother Lester who helps out Josue when he is busy with other clients. As we left the grounds of the lodge we saw three pairs of parrots flying by us. They were Yellow-naped Parrots which are endemic to Northern Central America and also critically endangered. The area around Volcan Atitlan is one of their last strongholds. 

Walking a little farther up the trail we noticed three Groove-billed Anis flying right over our heads. A few hundred feet later we came upon a White-throated Thrush calling from the understory. Lester had to work for it but he finally came up with it sitting on an exposed root giving a single note call. How he got the scope on it I'll never know. 

On the opposite side of the trail was a White-eared Ground Sparrow calling. It was very secretive and we never got good looks at it. As we walked along we picked up some North American birds like Magnolia, Tennessee, and Black-and-White Warbler. 

As we got a little higher up the birds got a little more interesting. We heard a closeby Highland Guan but couldn't find it and also some very hard to find Long-tailed Manakins. And then we heard the call of a Crested Guan. All of these birds were within 20 meters of us and we couldn't find them. I thought "man this rainforest birding can be pretty frustrating at times". Seems like all the birds are very calculating and they devise specific flight plans including just where to land where they'll be behind some goddamn leaf or branch. Then they'll pop up for a spilt second and you think okay I gotcha now you little fucker, and you raise your bins to your eyes and all you see is a goddamn empty branch. Bout this time I started thinking that the hammock on the porch of our room at the lodge sounded pretty good. 

Just as I was about to throw in the towel we heard a Crested Guan and we looked up and to my amazement it was right out in the open. It was in terrible light, as is the case most of the time in the tropics, but at least we did get to see the bird and watch it give its call, which was really cool. So I was feeling a little better about our prospects and lo and behold five minutes later we got really poor scope looks at a Highland Guan. Again I can't for the life of me understand how these guides can pick these birds out of the tangled mess of vines, leaves, branches, termite nests, epiphytes, flowers, ferns, heliconias, and whole bunch of other shit that I don't know what the fuck it is, but I'm here to tell you they can. 

Up the trail aways we heard a really cool call coming from the understory which is a euphemism for all that crap I just described for you. Lester said it was a Rufous-and-White Wren. Again he was able to put the bird in the scope and we watched it sing its heart out. Super Cool!  

We started back to the lodge and I was thinking about what they might be serving up for breakfast. Did I mention the food here is excellent. Every morning they have really sweet melons and tasty pineapple to go with eggs, potatoes, beans, and great coffee. Well I was kind of thinking okay it hasn't been that great of a morning birding but at least we are sure to have a great breakfast. Well wouldn't you freaking know it, the birding picked up!!! Crap!! 

I was walking behind Lester and we heard a chipping coming from the behind us. Lester stopped in his tracks did an immediate about face and whispered excitedly "Rufous Sabrewing", which is another special Central American endemic bird with a very limited range. We marched back up the steep hill that we'd just come down and stopped at a clearing in the forest. Again we heard the bird several times but couldn't see it. What we could see was its shadow. It was above the canopy of this tree with broad light green leaves and the sun was shinning through the leaves and in the leaves you could see the shadow of this special hummingbird. I thought, that's good enough for me, let's go eat! Just kidding. Of course we waited and maneuvered and contorted our bodies in a vain attempt to achieve an angle that would afford a clear view of the bird. Not a chance. But we did hang on and we got to see it oh so briefly as it was hovering and feeding on a flower up in the canopy that was visible through a break in the you know what. While trying to find the Rufous Sabrewing we did happen upon a Canivet's Emerald, which was in some bad light but at least out in the open. Also I got my FOS Wilson's Warbler. 

Making our way down we did get some pretty good scope looks at two male Long-tailed Manakins. I like to think of these birds as the Western Hemisphere's version of a Bird of Paradise. And the calls they give are like straight out of a bad science fiction movie. 

Other highlights that we saw on this hike was Berylline Hummingbird, Blue-throated Goldentail, Blue-tailed Hummingbird, Collard and Gartered Trogons, Lesson's and Turquoise-browed Motmots, and a pair of Ruddy Treerunners. 

A nice thunderstorm came up in the afternoon and we sat around the lodge, played a little guitar, read some, took a few photos or birds near the lodge and took a nap. All in all I"d say it was a good day. 

Sorry for no photos today. The internet runs lukewarm and cold here and not strong enough today to upload photos. 

  

  

Sungrebe Aqui

We kind of slept in today. Didn't make it to the trail till about 7:30. When we finally started we were blessed with good looks at Yellow-winged Tanagers, Cinnamon Hummingbirds, Yellow-throated and Scrub Euphonias, and the first lifer of the trip for me, White-bellied Chachalacas. 

We took a break for breakfast, yummy fruit and pancakes. Afterwards we took a walk down to the laguna and found the Sungrebe skulking through some vegetation hanging over the banks of the laguna. We waited but it wouldn't come in to the open. So se decided to walk down the trail and come back later. 

On the trail we found lots of butterflies, none of which I can identify but hopefully when I get home I'll get a little help from the internet and a lot help from my friend Neil and I'll be able to relieve them of these stupid names. 

                                                            Labowski's Notacomma

                                                        White-winged Flyontheback

                                                                  Orange Beauty

                                                                   AyeAye Skipper

                                                                 Bangal Bad Ass

When we got back to the laguna the Sungrebe was out in the open and we snapped a few photos before he tootled over to the other side of the laguna. We sat for a while hoping he would swim back but he didn't. So Torrey decided to creep up on him. When he did and the Sungrebe tootled back over looking like he hadn't a care in the world. We got super good looks at him or her and just to prove it here's a photo. 

                                                                      Sungrebe

                                                                  Sliderritehere

                                                        Common Tody-Flycatcher

We came back and had some lunch and finished off the day with a walk up near the Atitlan Volcano. There we found a Pacific Parakeet nest with at least nine adult parakeets, another lifer for me and Torrey. Back to the room for showers and dinner. After dinner we heard a Mottled Owl. Now time for some shut eye, we have an early morning date with our guide Lester. Hasta Mañana. 

El Premer Día en Guatemala

After a #%&@load of trouble, I finally arrived at the airport in Guatemala City. I was met by my guide's brothers Eddy and Ivan. We piled into his Honda CRV and off we went. 

Ever since my accident I have been very skittish about being in a car. Well not to mention the obvious, but I was a little, okay maybe a lot, okay maybe a real lot, okay maybe a fucking lot, to be setting off on a two and a half hour drive, at night in Guatemala. Turns out my concerns were well founded.

After getting out of the city, which was pretty hairy at times, we drove on these narrow two lane highways that would sometimes go to four lanes, then down to three, and then back to two, and yes you guessed it, down to one. ALL WITHOUT ONE WARNING SIGN. Oh and did I mention the old school buses that may have carted my ass off to class a few times? There were two or three per mile heading in the opposite direction, literally inches away from a head on. I just had to hope and pray that they didn't sway. And after my experience in December, I was thinking that may be a lot for God to grant. 

At one point in the drive we came to a toll both that looked like it was straight out of the New Jersey Turnpike. Eddy explained to me that this was a road that was called the Pacific Autopista (freeway) and it was built and is maintained and managed by a Mexican Company. After paying out 15 quetzales (about a nickel) we got on to a beautifully maintained four lane road and to my surprise I thought "there is a God that listens to my prayers". I thought, I'm set, God is Great! But my faith was short-lived as after about 10 miles we were back to the 4 no 3 no 2 no OMG 1 lane roads. 

Eddy and Ivan would speak to me in Spanish but when they talked to each other they spoke a local Mayan language. Eddy told me that it is the language that he speaks in his house with his wife and his family. He told me that each region in Guatemala has a particular dialect just as each region has a different style and color of dress. He said his mom speaks a different dialect than his father did (his father having already passed). Interesting enough he said that his son and daughter, ages 7 and 9 do not speak the native language.  

We got off the autopista and came to this one place where the road had been destroyed, by what I do not know, but it turned into a football size stretch of dirt track with big rocks and ruts and I'm not kidding when I tell you there were about 30 cars going each way with nothing to manage where each car was supposed to go. It was a literal free for all and I thought it was going to be a literal demolition derby. But to my surprise Eddy swerved and dodged around oncoming cars and trucks and bumps and rocks like he was Steve McQueen and in no time flat were were on the other side of hell and on smooth road, relatively speaking. 

We made it to the lodge about nine o'clock and I thought no way I'm getting any dinner tonight. Torrey had already arrived and it was great to get a big welcoming hug from my boy. Super Guia Josue, who has helped me arrange this trip and when I say "helped me", I mean I tell him what I'd like to do and where I'd like to stay and he says "No problem Amigo, don't worry". So I should have known that he had called the lodge and they had saved me some yummy enchiladas, corn on the cob, and fresh veggies! After dinner I took a very nice hot shower and slept like a baby. Can't wait for tomorrow!