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.