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! 

 

  

Smith Woods Rookery Morning

The boardwalks at Smith Oaks are well positioned to observe the amazing rookery of Roseate Spoonbills, Great and Snowy Egrets, Tricolored Herons, and Neo-tropic Cormorants. I spent the entire morning just watching and photographing the birds. It was so cool being here basically alone with the birds after the place was so packed with people yesterday. Very interesting to see how they interact cross species. 

Every now and then a large alligator would mosey up close to the shore and make like a log. I know he was thinking that a non-suspecting spoonbill or egret would amble by looking for a stick or a crawdad and Mr. Gator would have a nice feathery breakfast. After a while he would give up and try the same thing at another location and so on and so forth. I never saw that it paid off for him. 

Later on we drove down to Rollover Pass and Bolivar Flats where we found lots of cool shorebirds and terns. It was pretty funny because in the middle of all this birding Torrey had an exam and took it on the beach in the back of the truck. That's not the way we done it when I was in school. 

Afterwards we drove back to High Island and hooked up the trailer (which has taken on the name of Pooh, cause it's called a Micro-MINNIE and made by Winnebago) and we took off for Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge. 

                                                                    Snowy Egret

                                                                    Roseate Spoonbill

                                                                        Great Egret

                                                                    Roseate Spoonbill

                                                                Tricolored Heron

                                                                        Royal Terns

                                                Laughing Gulls (not laughing at the terns)

                                                                    Black Skimmers 

                                                                                Willet

                                                        Torrey in the middle of an exam! 

Smith Woods and Anahuac NWR

 4-25-21

I'm running on empty so I'm going to make this short. We were very busy birding the woods for warblers and Anahuac for ducks and shorebirds. Both locations didn't lived up to expectations. Although we didn't have a fallout and numbers of birds were low, we still had a good variety of species, Torrey has become a monster birder as he pulled out 82 species from Smith Oaks in less than four hours. His best birds were Canada Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, and Yellow-billed Cuckoo. Mim and I birded together and we managed fifty something in the same amount of time. But a great time was had by all. Here are some photos for the day. 

                                                                Common Nighthawk

                                                                         Glossy Ibis

                                                           Fulvous Whistling Ducks

                                                            Chestnut-sided Warbler

                                                                  Blackpoll Warbler

                                                                Pronthonotary Warbler

                                                        Black-throated Green Warble

                                                                   Magnolia Warbler

                                                                   Least Flycatcher

                                                                       Scarlet Tanager

                                                                   Purple Gallinule

Neo-tropic Cormorant 

Skillern Tract to Houston International Airport

 4-24

I spent the morning getting everything situated so that Mim and Torrey could move in. Before going to the airport to pick them up I stopped off for a bird walk at the Skillern Tract of the Anahuac NWR. I had never birded this area before and by the looks of the hotspot on eBird it didn't look that promising but I like to bird new areas so I thought that I'd give it a try. It's a nice area with some great habitat for migrating passerines. And I was the only one there which after the big crowds at High Island was a nice change. 

Things started out pretty slow but got a lot better when I heard the sweet rambling song of a Painted Bunting. I moved slowly and as quietly as possible toward him and soon I spotted him at the top of a small tree. He was hidden a little by twigs and leaves but after a while he went for center stage at the very top of the tree. Oh yes! I had my camera all ready for this moment and I snapped a shot or twenty. Here's the best one. 

                                                                        Painted Bunting

Farther up the trail I came across a very nice looking Summer Tanager, White-eyed Vireo, several Baltimore Orioles, Gray-cheeked Thrush, Kentucky Warbler, Tennessee Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat and a stunning dragonfly. I'm sure my friends John, Ibis, or Junco will tell me that I have misidentified this dragonfly but I think not, 

                                                                    Summer Tanager

                                                                Somekindof Dragonfly

Just when I got back to my truck I noticed several passerines flitting around in a nearby tree. I had already put my camera away and didn't want to get it back out so I just walked over with my binoculars. I knew for sure that was a mistake but I went on ahead. And wouldn't you know it! I was right! Because an eye-popping male Baltimore Oriole flew up and perched right in front of me. I just decided that instead of running back and getting my camera, hoping that he would stay there, I would just slow everything down and appreciate this magic moment, and I did and was so very touched by the beauty of the earth. 

After he flew off I noticed several other birds which turned out to be a Canada Warbler, a couple of Black-throated Green Warblers, and a Great-crested Flycatcher.  

                                                                Great-crested Flycatcher

During this walk Mim texted me that due to fog in Denver, she would be three hours late arriving. So I picked up Torrey and we randomly chose a hotspot close to the airport and headed off for some afternoon birding. Boy did he choose the right spot. I'll steal a line from Brad Pitt's character in Inglorious Bastards, "Wez in the bird watchin' business and business is a booming!" Well not exactly but you get the picture. We found not one not two but three Golden-winged Warblers, a Blue-winged, Chestnut-sided, Black and White, Nashville and a Blackburian Warbler. Very nice afternoon topped off with a Little Blue Heron and an empid that we're not sure of but think that it could be a Willow or Alder Flycatcher. If you love pain and misery, feel free to offer up an opinion. 

                                                                    Little Blue Heron

                                                      Maybe a Willow or Alder Flycatcher

 

Smith Woods at High Island

 4-23-21

I spent the morning birding Boy Scout Woods and it was pretty slow going. The mosquitos outnumbered the birds by around a million to one. I was wearing shorts because I left my clothes bag lying on the bedroom floor (Mim is bringing with her today). I was lucky because the Houston Audubon Society has a little booth at the woods and they sell the juice the mosquitoes hate. Best eight dollars I ever spent. 

After I spayed myself down, I took another walk around the woods and this time I was able to find a Kentucky Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Baltimore Oriole, and Magnolia Warbler. On the walk back to my home base I was blessed with good looks at several Scarlet Tanagers and Indigo Buntings. 

At Smith Woods it was pretty slow going as well. By far the most exciting thing was walking up to within ten feet of a six foot American Alligator. Luckily for me he was somehow afraid that I was going to pick him up and throw him down and to avoid this fate he jumped up and scurried off into the water. Needless to say  I almost had a stroke! As soon as he got in the water he went under but I found him poking his eyes up about ten minutes later and his got a photo (see below). 

There was a small flock in this area so I hung around and found a Prothonotary Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Black and White Warbler, Eastern Kingbird, Orchard Oriole, and Tennessee Warbler. But the really big show was at the rookery. I'll let the photos speak for that experience. 

                                                               Tennessee Warbler

                                                                        Great Egret

                                                                    Roseate Spoonbill

                                                                    Tricolored Heron

                                                                        Great Egret 

                                                                           Snowy Egret 

                                                                    Summer Tanager

                                                                    Boat-tailed Grackle

                                                            American Alligator (The One)

                                                            Yellow-bellied Water Snake

                                                        American Alligator (not the one)

                                                                Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Going Back on Down to Texas

 Hello Folks, 

I'm down in Texas with our new MicroMinnie Travel Trailer.  I'm picking up Torrey and Miriam in Houston on Saturday and we'll be spending time birding the usual hotspots of the Gulf Coast, Rio Grande Valley, and the Texas Hill Country. If you'd like to follow along you can subscribe to this Blog and you'll receive a notice when I have posted something. My intent is to update everyday.  

Cheers, Forest 

 Campsite along the way 

4-22-21

I pulled into High Island about 4:30 today and I dropped off the truck and trailer and hustled over to Boy Scouts Woods on foot. Along the way I got great looks at a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak. No photos as it was on a feeder in someone's yard right in front of a window. I hear they have things called guns in Texas so I figured that's a photo that I'll have to get somewhere else. 

There's a pretty strong south wind so the migrating birds are not stopping over to fuel up. They get while the getting is good and ride the wind on up into the Mid-West. The ones that were around were pretty shy as they had all day to feed and thus noticed when you came near them. There's a north wind forecast for Sunday and if that holds we should have a bunch of hungry birds (isn't that a game?). And when the birds are hungry they could care less about you. And with a north wind there should be a whole passel of them around. 

Here are a few highlights from today's bird-walk. 

                                                                     Wood Thrush

                                                                          Veery

                                                                   Scarlet Tanager