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.