We climbed the mountain known as Volcan Atitlan, 
and there in the wonderful forest, 
we saw the spectacular bird that we sought out to see,
 the HORNED GUAN. 
This is one of the two birds that we saw together on July 17, 2007
during our tour in Guatemala.
(Photo by Josue de Leon, one of our guides)

On July 16, 2007, during our Guatemala tour,
as we on a boat in an area of ponds, channels, and mangroves, 
close to the Pacific coast,
the 2 or 3 Black Terns that we saw were in the above plumage.
They apparently had just arrived from their northern breeding grounds.
When we've done boat-trips in that area in Guatemala previously,
during April and December, we never saw Black Terns.
The species spends the winter offshore on the Pacific Ocean.  

Link:

Birds & Other Wildlife during our Guatemala Tour in July '07   

The following narrative of our July '07 tour  was written by Armas Hill, the tour leader:

Our tour in Guatemala, July 14-23, 2007, had some extraordinary moments.

Early in the morning on July 16th, we drove to Hawaii. Now, one does not do that every day (drive to Hawaii that is!). We had spent the night near there in the town of Monterrico, on a barrier beach island by the Pacific Ocean. From where we stayed by the sea, It's about a 20-kilometer drive south to the village of Hawaii, where of course there's also beach and surf. 

And also there is a reserve for sea turtles. From July through December, female Olive Ridley Sea Turtles come onto the beach at night to dig a hole in which they deposit their eggs.
When we arrived at the buildings of the reserve early that morning, we were met by two young "volunteers" (ladies from Germany), who told us that a female turtle had come to shore the previous night and laid eggs. And so we were lucky (even though we had not been there the night before). 

In the facility, eggs from turtle nests were put in sand to hatch. That night, a number of them did, 62 of them. 
The turtle hatchlings must go to the sea within 4 hours after they hatch from the eggs.
There was one ready to go when we arrived. First, we held the little black creature in our hands. It was about the size of our palms. We stroked its back before it was put on the beach, where it immediately started to make its way toward the ocean. 
The little turtle then stroked its way along, with its small flippers, closer and closer to the surf, just as others have for centuries. We saw it for a few seconds in the water before it disappeared. 
If that baby turtle were a male, it would never again come to shore. (There's no way to know if it was a boy or a girl.) The male sea turtle, after those few minutes on land, would spend its entire life in the ocean. If that baby turtle were a female, it would come back onto the beach again, some night in the future, to dig a hole in which to lay its eggs.

Our visit to the Hawaii Reserve, and our time with the young turtle hatchling, was, yes, an extraordinary moment. 
During the season at Hawaii for the Olive Ridley Turtle, volunteers, such as those 2 German ladies, monitor and assist the turtles, every day and night, in their natural process of perpetuating the species. And so, during the past few years, thousands of baby sea turtles have made their way into the sea without predation on land by birds or mammals (including humans). Back in 2003, on the beach at Hawaii, over 13,000 sea turtle hatchlings made it into the ocean. Last year, in 2006, with the continued efforts of the volunteers, there were about twice as many as there had been 3 years earlier - with over 28,000 young turtles stroking their flippers as they did the walk on the beach to the ocean. 
When we walked together with the one hatchling on the beach, that morning in July 2007, no birds came in close to us to snatch up the little turtle. Hopefully, once it got into the ocean, it escaped predation as well.      
We'll have to go back to that place another time during a future FONT tour, to again have such an experience, maybe during the December-February season when the larger Leatherback Sea Turtles come onto that same beach to lay their eggs.

And it won't be hard for us to go back to nearby Monterrico either. We've had some truly wonderful boat-trips there, during all of our previous visits, in the vast area of lagoons, marshes, and mangroves between the barrier beach island and the mainland. During those boat-trips, we've enjoyed clouds of waterbirds. In April, for example, many Wood Storks and American White Pelicans floated on the thermals in the air above the marshes. Also, during an April visit, we had a close view there of a Guatemalan rarity, the Pinnated Bittern, a species most commonly in South America. We also saw, during that trip, Boat-billed Herons, roosting in mangroves near Mangrove Warblers. These were in addition to hundreds of egrets, herons, and other waterbirds, that we've seen during all of our tours at Monterrico.
Again, during our July '07 tour, in addition to the waterbirds, there were Lesser Yellow-headed Vultures drifting above us in the sky. "New" for us there, during the July '07 tour, were Black Terns.
Throughout the marsh, something that we never encountered there previously was the continual singing of the Ruddy-breasted Seedeater. In every patch of reeds, they appeared to be nesting, with the males perched, proclaiming territories in song.                            

Another extraordinary moment during our July '07 Guatemala tour was in the afternoon the next day, July 17th. It was when we looked up into the green-leaved canopy of the mountain forest above us and saw, one of the most spectacular of birds, the Horned Guan!

We had started that day early - very early in fact. We were driven, when it was still dark, by one of our 2 guides on the mountain, up to the dirt road until it ended. Beyond that point, it was a trail that continued to go up. The area where we were is truly a wonderful piece of Guatemalan countryside. The forest on the slopes of the volcanic mountain is pristine. During one of our previous Guatemala tours in that area where the dirt road ends, we saw, during a morning, 3 species of Hawk-Eagles fly overhead: the Black, the Black-and-white, and the Ornate. That alone says that the area is good for birds, with forest that's pristine.

This time, during our July '07 tour, when we were at the end of the road, it was earlier in the morning, when, as noted, it was still dark. Actually, there was well over an hour to go before the first light of dawn. We looked up, as it was still dark, at a brilliant array of stars, in a clear sky, far away from any city lights. The "W" of Cassiopeia was bright, and with a background of many stars. The Milky Way, spread across the sky, was brilliant. In the distance, we heard the call of a Mottled Owl. We had just seen a Pauraque along the road.

Shortly after we started out on the upward trail, still in darkness, the second of our two guides pointed to a hole and a mound of loose dirt on the trail. This was the guide who lives on the mountain, and, we were told, has never left it. And, we were told that he knows, better than anyone, the haunts and the habits of the rare and the (sorry to repeat myself) spectacular Horned Guan.
Anyway, the hole and the mound on the trail, he told us, was the workings of a Puma. "When it does poo", he said, "the animal covers it up". Yes, the area where we were was pristine, and wild!

As we walked, when still dark, we flushed a bird from its nest in an arcing branch by the trail. We soon began to hear some birds, as we experienced a wonderful dawn chorus - one quite different than what we would hear otherwise, nearly anywhere else. The first sound we heard was the beautiful song of the Spotted Nightingale-Thrush. A short while later, in the distance, we heard the call-note of the Spotted Wood Quail. It's funny how the two birds named "spotted" never were - by us. We only heard them. We did both hear and see, that day, the Ruddy-capped Nightingale-Thrush. It too has a beautiful song, as its name implies.

The motmots call early, as they contribute to the dawn chorus. As we walked, still upward, we heard both the Blue-crowned Motmot (that occurs in various habitats throughout Guatemala), and the Blue-throated Motmot (only in the high mountains).

There was a nice assortment of Wrens that we heard at dawn, and then later saw in the daylight: the Plain, the Gray-breasted Wood, the Spot-breasted, the Rufous-browed, and the Rufous-and-white.
Among other birds that we saw and heard in the forest that morning was a Mockingbird, called the Blue-and-white.

In addition to the Nightingale-Thrushes, others in that tribe that we encountered that morning were the White-throated Thrush and Brown-backed Solitaire.

The Rufous-browed Peppershrike was vocal, as it tends to be. We also saw a couple of its cousins that day, the Chestnut-sided Shrike-Vireo, and then later, in an area of forest on a lower slope, there was the Green Shrike-Vireo.    

In the higher forest, as we still continued upward to where we aimed to see the Horned Guan, we came across a couple brown birds of the forest, the Ruddy Foliage-gleaner, close to the ground, and the Scaly-throated Foliage-gleaner, higher in a tree. Neither stayed in view for long. Nor did the Black-throated Jay, also up in a tree. Staying around a bit longer were some Emerald Toucanets.  

The Yellowish Flycatcher, an empidonax, was easy to see along our trail, as were some other birds we encountered as they encountered some ants on which to feed. The most-common bird in that flock was the aptly-named Common Bush Tanager. But their supporting cast included the Golden-browed Warbler (a beauty), the Slate-throated Whitestart (also dapper, with whatever name - it has been called the Slate-throated Redstart), and the Tawny-throated Leaftosser, the Rufous-browed Wren, and the Chestnut-capped Brush Finch.

Also close to us, as we stopped one time for a rest, a brilliant male Violet Sabrewing sat on a low tree branch.   

A little further away, in the trees, a colorful little bird that was good to see was the Blue-crowned Chlorophonia. Larger, and also colorful, was the Collared Trogon we saw well. Also with bright red was the male White-winged Tanager that we observed.     

All of these birds were, of course, very nice, but we still had not see THE guan. We had yet seen a guan of any kind. The Highland Guan also occurs.

The Horned Guan is not the only avian rarity that lives on the Guatemalan mountain we visited that day. There's another. It's a gem called the Azure-rumped Tanager. For years, through most of the 20th Century, there were only just a few records of the bird. It has a limited range, on the Pacific slope of a handful of mountains in southern Mexico and northwestern Guatemala. We encountered the bird early in the morning, during our hike on the mountain. The species had just recently bred in the area. After nesting, the birds travel about in a group.                           

The Azure-rumped Tanager was just said to be a gem. And that it is. The bird is a mix of various blue colorations. One of those hues, the one in the bird's name, azure, is the color of the rump. The bird's crown is mauve. The bluish back is mottled with black and has a green tint. The underparts are a pale blue. The wings have turquoise.       

Something else, very blue - a bright blue, was seen during our hike along the trail. On the ground, although we did not know at first what they were, there were bird droppings. These little pieces were as brilliantly colored as the Blue Morpho butterflies that fly in the tropics. The guide who had earlier told about the puma, said that the little bright blue pieces were droppings from the bird that we sought, the Horned Guan.

A couple hours after we saw those droppings on the trail, and after we had started our downward trek, the guides, once again, asked us to stay still on the trail, and wandered off into the forest. They had done that a few times. But this time, the man who's never left the mountain, signaled to us all to enter the forest. We followed him, and then looked up into the trees branches. At first, it was rather obscured by leaves, but then we could see the form of a large turkey-like bird. Yes, it was the Horned Guan.  Actually, there were two them there. And. as they moved gently and quietly along the branches, we had wonderful looks, first by eye, then in our binoculars, and then in a telescope.
There wasn't a feature of the bird that we didn't see from the beak to the tail-tip, including the long red horn, the light-colored eye with a black eyespot, the pink legs, the white breast, and the bluish-black back.
The birds were both generally silent. One did emit a call, once, as it flew a short distance from one tree to another.

The Horned Guan is very rare. Its total population may not be much more than a thousand individuals, if that. Like the Azure-crowned Tanager, it has a very limited range on only a handful of volcanic mountains in southern Mexico and in northwestern Guatemala.  

After our extraordinary moments with the Horned Guans, we resumed our walk along the trail down the slope of the mountain. Before too long, we came across yet another guan. This time, it was the other guan species in the area, the Highland Guan, mostly black, with a bright red throat wattle and legs. So, we were 2 for 2 with the species of guan on that part of the mountain. During a previous tour, on a lower portion of the same mountain, we had seen Crested Guans.   

And there was something else bright blue that we found on the trail as we descended the mountain that afternoon on July 17, '07. Fruits, they were, the size and same of olives. The guide who lives on the mountain told us they were the favored food of the Horned Guan. He called it "acetuna", which is the Spanish word for "olive". But they were not green or black. Rather, they were as a bright a blue as the Horned Guan droppings we had seen earlier that day on the trail. Their color, really, was the same.      

There was still another nice blue item for us, later that day, in the forest on the lower slope of the mountain. It was a bird with blue, the Long-tailed Manakin. There's no one who doesn't like seeing manakins, and this was a particularly good one to watch.  

Long-tailed Manakin

These were some other notable birds during our July 2007 Guatemala tour. A couple species, elsewhere in the highlands, are also worth a mention. 
There was a flock of Hooded Grosbeaks. That bird is a Central American relative of the Evening Grosbeak, and in similar fashion, it tends to wander about. Therefore, when such a flock is found, it's a good find.
Another colorful character that's not often been found during our Guatemala tours is the White-eared Ground Sparrow. We found a few of them, at a few spots. They were always on the ground (as the name suggests it would be). In addition to the white ear (also in the name), the birds have black throats, crowns, and breast-spots, and a back rim around the white ear, with yellow on the other side of that rim, and some yellowish wash on the lower belly. The back is brown, and the breast is gray and white. yes, it's a colorful character that seems to have been designed by a committee.       

In the Peten region of northern Guatemala, the birding is always good during every FONT tour. The setting, of course, at Tikal makes it a tremendous place to enjoy birding. And one of the Mayan temples is always better when an Orange-breasted Falcon occurs, as happened again, as it has during a number of our previous tours.
Of course, Tikal has been, and continues to be quite a place to see assortments of parrots, trogons and other tropical birds, such as Keel-billed Toucan, Collared Aracari, Rufous-tailed Jacamar, White-whiskered Puffbird, Pale-billed Woodpecker, and Montezuma Oropendola. All of these are either large birds that can be obvious, or, in the case of the puffbird and jacamar, birds that can be readily seen well as they often sit still.
But a bird that was seen at Tikal, during our July '07 tour, even though it's large, and can sit very still indeed, has not been seen there until this tour. It was a Northern Potoo that gave us a great sighting during the day!

We look forward to more great sightings of birds, and more extraordinary moments, during our future Guatemala tours. 

Recently, there was an article in a birding magazine that described Guatemala as a "birding mecca". But we've known that for a while. There have been 14 FONT birding & nature tours in Guatemala since 1991, during which, cumulatively, with this tour, 550 different birds have been found. 

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December 2006 /January 2007 Our Holiday Tour, Guatemala in the "Highlands & Lowlands"

The following account was written by Armas Hill, leader of the tour:

At the end of our Dec 26, '06 to Jan 4, '07 Guatemala Tour, as we sat in a hotel restaurant, we each wrote on pieces of paper what it was we liked the most about our just-finished trip. We usually do such a thing listing the "top 10 birds" or so, but this time we opted to include also the over-all experiences, the places, and whatever else, in addition, of course, to the birds.

Number #1 was one of us was "seeing so much of a very different country - starting with the VOLCANOES". Yes, those lofty, high volcanoes were hard to ignore when we were there, and equally hard later to forget.
The beautiful Lake Atitlan and vicinity was also high on that list, followed by Antigua, the old capital city of Guatemala, with its colonial architecture, pastel colors, and cobblestone streets.

Then, in his list, there was a bird. Highest-ranking in that category, for him, was the colorful VIOLACEOUS TROGON that sat tamely in a fruiting tree above us. TOUCANS and yet other colorful birds came and went. But the TROGON stayed still. (I remember , too, my first encounter with a tropical trogon years ago.)

Then, in the list of favorites, there were the MONKEYS, both HOWLER MONKEYS and SPIDER MONKEYS. One afternoon, as we were traveling along a river by a remote Mayan site up above a cliff, the boatman, as we requested, turned off the motor. There was quiet, except for the song of birds (wrens were singing, others were calling), and the roaring, yes, ROARING, of the HOWLER MONKEY. If people traveling up such a river, whenever, did not know the source of that loud sound, what did they ever imagine?

Next on the list was the ARACARI, another colorful culprit in that fruiting tree. A small toucan, it's a bird that exemplifies the tropics.

Then, on the list, Tikal, with its temples in the jungle. What a place it is to visit, and what a place to bird.

Early in the tour we took a boat-trip in an area of extensive marshes near the Pacific Ocean. There were birds, many of them. Late in the afternoon, it was a good time for that boat-ride. Against the sky, in the good light that afternoon, as looked inland, away from the Pacific, there were those Guatemalan volcanoes. Simply put, they were impressive. It was a beautiful afternoon. As dusk ensued, the sky, for a while, was filled with flying NIGHTHAWKS - dozens of them - LESSER NIGHTHAWKS they were.

Often as we walked in the area of Tikal, there were birds in the trees. Many were small; some were large. Among the biggest was a single CRESTED GUAN that stayed there, somewhat clumsily moving about, above us. 

Not as large as a guan, but big enough, another bird was a bit more adept as it moved about in a tree. It was the SQUIRREL CUCKOO, moving a bit as it did rather like a squirrel.

And last on that first list was the CROCODILE. It was big, very big, across the way on the bank of a pond. Its mouth was wide open, and let me say, we didn't need our binoculars to see its teeth.   

On another person's list, number #1 was the PINK-HEADED WARBLER. And deservedly so. It's a brilliant bird, mostly red, with a frosty head, living in the pines and oaks of the Guatemalan mountains.

Number #2 was the ORNATE HAWK-EAGLE. One morning as we were on a high slope of a volcano, 2 of them flew by above us, one after the other. The species was the second Hawk-Eagle of the morning for us. We had just seen the BLACK-AND-WHITE. We were just about to see the BLACK. Incredible it was to encounter 3 species of HAWK-EAGLES in just a couple hours.

Another morning as we were traveling in the northern Guatemalan region called the Peten, not really near anything, there was in the sky ahead of us, a large kettle of big birds lifting up in a thermal. We stopped and looked up. They were WOOD STORKS, about a hundred of them, soaring in circles. It was a truly nice sight.     

Next on the was the BLACK-AND-WHITE HAWK-EAGLE mentioned a moment ago. We had such a good look at that marvelous raptor.

During the tour we were never along the seacoast, the haunt of the BROWN PELICAN. So we didn't really expect to see them. But twice we did in the remote Peten. Once, along a river, where it widened into almost a lake, they sat on the water, 6 of them. Another day, by the edge of what was a large lake, we saw a bigger group of those large birds, in flight. There were 17 of them, like a squadron, as they passed by. Also in that area, by the way, was another bird usually by the sea, a ROYAL TERN. And interesting also, there was a single LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL with the LAUGHING GULLS on pilings. During the FONT tour there, 2 years ago, we saw one LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL.

Did I mention that when we were on that slope of the volcano, where we saw the HAWK-EAGLES, there was an EARTHQUAKE? Well, there was. It was a mild one, but it made the list of favorite things of the trip.

The SQUIRREL CUCKOO got another vote. Also getting votes were the KEEL-BILLED TOUCAN and the MONTEZUMA OROPENDOLA. It's not hard to understand why. Both were fun to watch, and the oropendola, also, fun to hear. 

Then there was the pair of ORANGE-BREASTED FALCONS at Tikal. One perched high in a tree. Another called nearby. ORANGE-BREASTED FALCONS have been seen during FONT tours at Tikal in 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, and now, 2007. Probably no where can they more readily seen than at Tikal.

Another trogon got a vote, the MOUNTAIN TROGON. Yes, it's a bird of the mountains, and a nice one at that.

The MONKEYS got another vote. The IGUANA was not forgotten. And the OWL BUTTERFLY that we saw so nicely along a forest trail was not only not forgotten. It was very well remembered. Photos of it, and a number of the other vote-getters that we've mentioned here, are elsewhere in this website (the link precedes this narrative).

Let me, if I may, give my "Top Ten" of the tour, before concluding. All of them, of course, are birds:
* the 3 species of HAWK-EAGLES during 1 morning 
* the ORANGE-BREASTED FALCON
* an ANT SWARM with a frenzy of birds including: various WOODCREEPERS, GRAY-HEADED TANAGER, GRAY-THROATED CHAT, and others
* the PINK-HEADED WARBLER
* the BLUE-THROATED SAPPHIRE (a nice hummingbird in the forest; during the tour there were over 15 species of hummingbirds)
* the PREVOST'S GROUND-SPARROW (a truly dapper bird!)
* the CHESTNUT-COLORED WOODPECKER (we saw it so well; it was so nice to see)
* HOODED WARBLERS (even though they're in our North American woodlands in the summer, they're always nice to see! - as were the many WOOD THRUSHES we saw at Tikal)
* the WOOD STORKS in the large kettle already mentioned
and lastly, 
* the VERMILION FLYCATCHER. In a Spanish-speaking country, I like to call the brilliantly-red male the "brazito de fuego", "that little ball of fire".
Also in terms of color, it's deserves mentioning that we saw 7 bright species of ORIOLES during the tour. 
There were 260 species of other birds, as the total for the trip was 267.

Guatemala has been the destination for a number of years now for our annual December/January Holiday Tour. Years ago, we went, for a number of years, over the holidays, to Costa Rica. We've also done Dec/Jan Holiday Tours in southern Spain and in the Caribbean, in the Dominican Republic. Next time, in December 2007/January 2008 we'll be going to the Caribbean again, to the Lesser Antilles - to the islands of Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, and Domincia, for parrots and more.

However, as to Guatemala, we'll be going there again this year - in 2007, at a time more convenient for teachers & others too, July 12 -22,- and a time that will also be good there for the birds!   

Links:

 A Photographic Sampling of Guatemalan Nature & Scenery (from our Dec '06/Jan'07 Holiday Tour)      

An article in a  Washington DC newspaper  about our Dec 06/Jan 07  Holiday Tour in Guatemala 
(with text & photos by our tour participants) 

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March 2006 Tour, Guatemala in the "Highlands & Lowlands"

The following account written by Armas Hill, leader of the tours:

During our March 7-19, 2006, birding & nature tour in the highlands & lowlands of Guatemala, 326 species of birds were seen.

One of the most interesting aspects of the tour was how many of those bird species were seen from boats. In all, we did a record-setting 6 boat-trips during the tour.
Notable among them were those we took in an area of mangroves and marshes along the Pacific coast. During one of those trips, on a small boat without a motor, going from the mangroves to the marsh early in the morning, we were treated to quite a surprise, a Pinnated Bittern, by reeds at the water's edge. At first, from a distance, we expected the bird to be an immature Bare-throated Tiger-Heron. But it was not, as we could see when we got closer to it, as, in its frozen posture, it pointed it bill toward the sky.
The Pinnated Bittern was unexpected as, according to Steve Howell's "Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America", there had only been 1 previous Guatemalan record, and that was on the Caribbean side of the country. There is a population in northern Belize and the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, isolated from where the species mostly occurs, in South America.

That bird was actually just one of the nice ones we saw that beautiful morning in the Guatemalan marsh. We had just seen, in the mangroves, Boat-billed Herons (always nice to see), and an attractive adult Gray-headed Kite flying by close to us at eye-level. The morning sunlight and being on the small silent boat, paddled by our young boatman, added to the sightings.               

We went initially on the boat into the marsh hoping to see a Jabiru, a huge stork that's rare in Guatemala. We didn't, so went back, in the afternoon, further into the marsh, on a slightly larger boat with a motor. There were thousands of birds. Among them, there were a few hundred American White Pelicans and Wood Storks. These were in addition to many egrets and herons, thousands. Lesser Yellow-headed Vultures were common, gliding in their distinctive way low over the marsh. The groups of large White Pelicans and Wood Storks drifted higher into the clear sky. There was no Jabiru among them, but that was fine. Going there, looking for it, got us to a place where it was wonderful to be.

In all, we were to take 3 boat-trips in that "birdy" area. The last was on a small ferry (only large enough to hold our vehicle), winding its way in channels, going from the town on the barrier coastal island where we had stayed a couple days and nights, and toward the mainland. We continued to look in the sky for the Jabiru.   

Birds that we had seen in the large area of mangrove and marsh, however, in addition to the already-mentioned Pinnated Bittern, Boat-billed Herons, White Pelicans, Wood Storks, Lesser Yellow-headed Vultures, and Gray-headed Kite, included these:
Least Grebe, Brown Pelican, Anhinga, Great Blue Heron, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Green Herons (more than could be imagined), Black-crowned Night-Heron and Bare-throated Tiger-Heron, White Ibis, Blue-winged Teal, Osprey, Mangrove Black Hawk, Moorhens, Purple Gallinules, Northern Jacanas, Spotted Sandpipers, Laughing Gull, an assortment of Terns including Caspian and Gull-billed, White-fronted and Yellow-naped Parrots, Violaceous Trogon, Great Kiskadee, Mangrove Swallow, Mangrove Vireo, Prothonotary Warbler, Northern Waterthrush, and White-collared Seedeaters.     
Those boat-rides were certainly worth doing!

We did another, on the other side of the country, in a remote region of part of Guatemala called the Peten. It was along a river, called the Rio de la Pasion. We've traveled by boat along that river a number of times during our previous tours in Guatemala. We've seen many birds there in the past, but during our March '06 tour, we saw there for the first time, on a mudbank along the river's edge, an Agami Heron. It was slowly stalking, with its long bill ready to make a catch.  
We spent a night at a lodge by that river, about 3 hours from where our boat-ride began, so we had a second trip by boat the next day as we traveled back.
Birds that we saw along the Rio de la Pasion, in addition to the Agami, included:
Neotropic Cormorant, Anhinga, Great Blue and Little Blue Herons, Great and Snowy Egrets, Green Heron, Boat-billed Heron, Plumbeous Kite, Short-tailed Hawk, Bat Falcon, Limpkin, Gray-necked Wood-Rail (many), Sungrebe, Spotted Sandpiper, Aztec Parakeet, Short-tailed Nighthawk, and all 5 of the species of Kingfishers that occur in Guatemala: Ringed, Belted, Amazon, Green, and American Pygmy.
Again, these were boat-rides worth doing!

To look for a species that we did not encounter along the Rio de la Pasion, we took yet another boat-trip in the Peten region. It was in a small boat along little rivers that flowed into a big lake known as Lago de Peten Itza. It was the first time that we did such a boat-ride, and it enabled us to find the bird we were aiming for, the Ruddy Crake. Those two small rivers were each with clear water filled with small fish. First, in the morning mist, and then in the early day's sunlight, it was for us yet another wonderful experience. Along the edges of the small rivers, in addition to the crake in the grass, there were, in the foliage, jacanas and gallinules. In the nearby trees, that morning, the passerine birds were active. Among those that were colorful were Orioles including Black-cowled and Yellow-tailed.  

Of course, a premier place to visit in the Peten region for birding, and for its own right, is Tikal. In a national park, it's the site of a Mayan city that flourished over a thousand years ago. Among the structures of the place that remain, and in the nearby forest, Neotropical birding is superb.
Again, in March '06, as during previous FONT tours, we saw an Orange-breasted Falcon by one of the Tikal temples.  Seeing that bird, even though we have during 5 recent tours, is not something to be taken for granted. The species has a wide range in the American tropics but it not readily seen at many places.

We had another sighting at Tikal that was quite special, when we saw a Pheasant Cuckoo near us, on the ground, doing a display, with its wing, and making a buzz. We've seen and heard that display before, but, as always, it was good to see it again.

Years ago, there was a runway at Tikal for small planes. Now, it's been overtaken by foliage, brush and trees that continue to grow. But the middle of the runway is still a trail that can be walked and should be birded. We did, in the morning, and late in the day. At dusk, it was great there to see and hear the Yucatan Poorwills and Pauraques as they flew about and called. The Guatemalan, or Vermiculated, Screech-Owl also called in the background, as did a pair of Laughing Falcons dueting at the day's end - a day during which we had seen the fine assortment of Tikal birds, such as toucans, parrots, trogons, oropendolas, aracaris, antbirds, manakins, woodcreepers, flycatchers, tanagers, and warblers. Among the last of these we saw some that spend their non-breeding months at Tikal, and, when there, they are especially nice to see in numbers. These Warblers included Hooded, Kentucky, Worm-eating, Blue-winged, Golden-winged, and Magnolia.

A number of the birds at Tikal are larger than warblers. Obvious among them are the colorful Ocellated Turkeys that walk about, as well as Great Curassows, Crested Guans, and Plain Chachalacas.   

In the forest at Tikal, it was fun to find mixed flocks as they moved about. In them, there were birds such as the Black-throated Shrike-Tanager and the Royal Flycatcher. There were others too, of course. Buntings included the Painted, that visits the area, and the bright Blue Bunting that stays. And there was a warbler, not yet mentioned, that also stays. Its the Gray-throated Chat, and we saw it well.

In the Guatemalan mountains, where the Mayans of today live, there's another cast of Warblers. Again, some come from North America where they nest. Those in that group that we saw included: Townsend's, Black-throated Green, Hermit, Nashville and Tennessee, and the Red-faced. These were in addition to the those that are resident. The "top attraction" among them is the Pink-headed Warbler, but there's also the Crescent-chested, the Golden-browed and the Rufous-capped, and the Slate-throated Redstart.                               

Other birds that we saw in the Guatemalan highlands included the Rufous-collared Robin, the Blue-and-white Mockingbird, the Elegant (or Blue-hooded) Euphonia, the Gray Silky-Flycatcher, Brown-backed Solitaire, and the Hooded Grosbeak.
And, of course, there were the hummingbirds. In Guatemala, there are some nice ones to be seen. Those we saw included: the Rufous Sabrewing (a large one), the Emerald-chinned (a tiny one), the Sparkling-tailed Woodstar, and the White-eared, Berylline, Azure-crowned, and Blue-tailed, just to name a few of the 20 species of hummingbirds we saw during the tour.

And with, that we've mentioned a few of the birds that we saw during our March 2006 tour in Guatemala. But still there were others that were notable, such as the Scissor-tailed and Fork-tailed Flycatchers, the Gray-collared and the Rose-throated Becards, and the many orioles, including the Spot-breasted, Altamira, and Black-vented, in addition to the Baltimore and Orchards that were so common. And certainly added to the mix would be the Blue-crowned Motmot, Rufous-tailed Jacamar, and White-whiskered Puffbird, as each of these is always a pleasure to see. 
And there was the Pale-billed Woodpecker and the Ivory-billed Woodcreeper (yes, that nomenclature is right, although the Pale-billed Woodpecker is related to the "infamous one").

Also, during the tour, along with the birds, there were the places that were great to visit, both in the highlands and the lowlands, including, as mentioned, Tikal, and the rivers and marshes through which we took the boat-rides. We end this narrative, now, however, in a truly wonderful forest that we visited on the Pacific Slope. As we walked the trails through the green woods in the afternoon, we were surrounded with the sounds of the calling manakins. The  bird, nice to hear, was also nice to see. It was the beautiful red, black, and bright blue Long-tailed Manakin. As they called, they displayed. We watched them perform that afternoon, and their antics were among the many avian acts during our March 2006 Guatemala Tour that we would nicely remember.   

Two of the five species of kingfishers that we saw
during a boat-ride along a river
during our March '06 Guatemala Tour.
The Pygmy Kingfisher (above)
and the Green Kingfisher (below).

The following account written by Armas Hill, leader of the tour:

We enjoyed again our annual Holiday Birding & Nature Tour in Guatemala from just after Christmas to just after New Year's. It's a wonderful place to see birds and experience nature that time of year.

Two Guatemalan volcanoes in the early morning.
(Photographed during our Dec/Jan '05-'06 Guatemala tour
by participant Marie Z. Gardner) 

A number of birds seem to like being there that time of year as well. In the scenic highlands of the country, in many a tree we would see many a TENNESSEE WARBLER. Birds from both eastern and western North America winter in the area. Not only are there eastern BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLERS, there are western TOWNSEND'S and HERMIT WARBLERS. Not only are there eastern SUMMER TANAGERS, there are also WESTERN TANAGERS. 

Our tour in Guatemala goes firstly to the highlands, and then to the lowlands of the Peten Region, where we visit the famed Mayan ruins of Tikal. Now that site is in an extensive national park that's well-preserved with forest and its accompanying birds and animals. About a thousand years ago, there were many people living at Tikal. A civilization is said to have flourished there about 900 A.D. Today, Tikal and other Mayan ruins that we visit in the Peten are places of visitors. Many come & go each day. Of course, we're visitors also, but the paths that we follow in the area are not those that most do. We thus had the opportunity, again, to see close-at-hand the magnificent forest and the creatures that reside there. Among them, during our recent tour, there were the animals such as MONKEYS, the AGOUTI and COATI, and even, with good fortune, the JAGUARUNDI.

There were, during a wonderful afternoon boat-ride in a more remote region of Peten (that's not on the beat of most Tikal visitors), CROCODILES and turtles known as SLIDERS at the river's edge, and, as dusk enveloped us, BATS and NIGHTHAWKS catching insects as they flew in the beautiful twilight sky.     

On the ground in the forest, there were ANTS (LEAF-CUTTERS and others). BUTTERFLIES included an assortment of SWALLOWTAILS, MOZAICS, ZEBRAS, and CRACKERS, just to name a few.

And of course, there were BIRDS. There were TROGONS and TOUCANS. There were WOODPECKERS and WOODCREEPERS (a nice variety of the latter). And there were MOTMOTS and MANAKINS.

The MANAKINS were among the favorites of the tour. Brilliantly colorful were the males that we saw so well of the RED-CAPPED and WHITE-COLLARED MANAKINS. If people like birds, they love MANAKINS, especially when they see them so well.

As we walked in the Peten forest, we were fortunate to have some good experiences with the birds. It's always good to encounter a FLOCK composed of a few species as they make their way feeding in the trees. That we did. At one such time, the colorful "leader of the pack", the BLACK-THROATED SHRIKE-TANAGER was hard to ignore, as it kept giving its call. But we certainly had to look at the other birds in the group too, including the FLYCATCHERS, WOODCREEPERS and WARBLERS, and even the GREENLETS. Some of the FLYCATCHERS were something to see, notably the NORTHERN ROYAL. Others that we encountered during the tour included a SPADEBILL and BENTBILL.      

Late one afternoon, at one place in the forest, we come upon a lot of ANTS. We stood still, and the BIRDS came too. Not only the WOOD THRUSH and the THRUSH-LIKE MANAKIN did we watch closely, but the SHRIKE-TANAGER came in very close, and the ANT-TANAGERS simply ignored us, as at our feet, they were more concerned with the ants.

We actually, during our stay in the Peten, watched many WOOD THRUSHES on the ground. That's good, as we like for there to be many, particularly when they'd return to North America in the spring, and fill the forest with their beautiful song. Also the HOODED WARBLERS we liked seeing as well as we did, and knowing too that they would be adding their beauty to North American forests later in the year.      

Outside the Peten forests, in an open area of fields, we stopped at a place where in the past, we'd seen some FLYCATCHERS of the open, including the brilliantly-red VERMILION and the exquisite FORK-TAILED. They were there. The FORK-TAILED, the Central American subspecies that's resident, is always nice to see with its very long tail. But there was another long-tailed FLYCATCHER at that place that was unexpected, as it's not normally there. On the fence posts and tree stumps there were at least 2 SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHERS, along with the FORK-TAILED. The also-exquisite SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER is normally on the Pacific side of Guatemala. In the Peten region of northeast Guatemala, it has only occurred historically as a vagrant. This past year, with the strong storm in Guatemala in October (the disastrous Hurricane Stan), it may have been that some migrating birds, such as the SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER, were blown off-course.

In Guatemala's Peten, as just noted, some unforeseen birds can be found. But, one species that one can count on if one goes to Tikal is a large bird now nearly restricted to national parks, the OCELLATED TURKEY. It's easy at Tikal to walk among them. In the forest there at Tikal, also large, were the walking GREAT CURASSOWS that we encountered as we were doing the same.

CURASSOWS and TURKEYS, as just noted, are big. On the other hand, among the best of our smaller birds in Guatemala were the HUMMINGBIRDS. We saw a number of them with wonderful names that relate to their plumages. Most of them were in the Guatemalan highlands, where, among those we saw, there were these: the GARNET-THROATED and AZURE-CROWNED HUMMINGBIRDS, and, as if garnet were not enough, also the AMETHYST-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD. But probably the best was the SPARKLING-TAILED WOODSTAR, with the male having a long tail. By Lake Atitlan, said to be one of the most beautiful places anywhere, that nice little hummingbird is able to even add to the beauty.

Another hummingbird, among the 15 or so species during our tour, was one also visiting the area as we were. After RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRDS, from eastern North America, cross the Gulf of Mexico, a good number of them winter in the Guatemalan hills.

Another group of birds well-represented during our Guatemala Tour were the ORIOLES. We saw 8 species: BLACK-COWLED, BALTIMORE, BULLOCK'S, ORCHARD, BLACK-VENTED, YELLOW-BACKED, YELLOW-TAILED, and ALTAMIRA. Now that's a lot of bright color.

And there were other colorful birds, of various kinds, during the tour. In the mountains, there was the ELEGANT EUPHONIA on treetops, and the WHITE-WINGED TANAGER. The name of that bird does not indicate how brightly red the bird is overall. More subdued with its redness is the PINK-HEADED WARBLER. Red on its breast is the SLATE-THROATED REDSTART. Very red on its legs were the RED-LEGGED HONEYCREEPERS. The body of that bird, is a very bright blue.

Also bright blue were the male BLUE BUNTINGS at Tikal. Both in the highlands and lowlands, there were colorful birds.

And, there was another bird that we saw well and enjoyed, that even though it lacked red or blue, it was still great to see. It was one of the most distinctly-patterned birds of the tour, the PREVOST'S GROUND-SPARROW. Not your ordinary sparrow, that bird appears to have a costume.

And with that, as well as all the color just referred to, birds during our annual Holiday Tour in Guatemala really were festive!

Birds during FONT Dec '05 - Jan '06 Guatemala Tour

Birds & Other Wildlife found during our Guatemala Tours.

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 1 - RESPLENDENT QUETZAL
 2 - Garnet-throated Hummingbird
 3 - Lesser Roadrunner
 4 - Great Curassow
 5 - Pink-headed Warbler
 6 - Prevost's Ground-Sparrow
 7 - Northern Bentbill
 8 - Chestnut-sided Shrike-Vireo
 9 - Crescent-chested Warbler
10 - Black-vented Oriole
11 - Purple-crowned Fairy
12 - Orange-breasted Falcon
13 - Fan-tailed Warbler
14 - Hooded Grosbeak
15 - Ocellated Turkey 

Birds during FONT March/April '05 Guatemala Tour

Birds & Other Wildlife found during our Guatemala Tours.

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December 2003/January 2004, in the Guatemalan "Highlands & Lowlands"

A pair of Orange-breasted Falcons (one in photo above) were seen again during our '03-04 Guatemala Holiday Tour, at a temple at the Mayan ruins of Tikal. This was the 3rd FONT Guatemala tour during which the species has been seen, once previously also in January, and another time in April.
Other notable birds at Tikal included a Pheasant Cuckoo (seen on the ground just a few feet from us) and a Black Hawk-Eagle (perched in a tree outside the front door of our room).
The Resplendent Quetzal, one of the most beautiful of world's birds and the national symbol of Guatemala, was also seen well during our tour. A male is in the photo below.          

 1. Orange-breasted Falcon
 2. Pheasant Cuckoo
 3. Resplendent Quetzal
 4. Pink-headed Warbler
 5. Ocellated Turkey
 6. Black Hawk-Eagle
 7. Sungrebe
 8. Prevost’s Ground-Sparrow
 9. Crimson-collared Tanager
10. Gray-headed Piprites

Over 300 species of birds have been seen during our Guatemala Holiday Tour. And other wildlife too, in a beautiful and culturally interesting country. We'll be going again next year. 

Birds during FONT Dec '03 - Jan '04 Guatemala Tour

Birds & Other Wildlife found during our Guatemala Tours.

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Guatemala, Dec 26, 2001 - Jan 5, 2002,
in the "Highlands & Lowlands"

with:
Ornate Hawk-Eagle
a pair of Orange-breasted Falcons
Pheasant Cuckoo
Resplendent Quetzal
Hummingbirds
and a number of other "good birds"

Resplendent Quetzal (male)

Ocellated Turkey