Hawks, Kites and Falcons

Roadside Hawk
Hawks are the most common raptors in Guatemala, not including vultures of course. The local name for hawks, kites and falcons is “Gavilán” and most people think they are all the same because they just look at them when flying.



During migrations thousand of hawks fly over the country and most Guatemalans talk about “Azacuanes” but nobody say that they are different species traveling and looking for winter territories. Azacuanes are very important in culture because it is a sign that rainy season is short to start in April-May or near to end in October-November.
Plumbeous Kite
No matter what name you use birding and observe these magnificent birds of prey, is just captivating, hawks are perfect symbols of strength, freedom and power.
Laughing Falcon

Posted by Maynor Ovando
http://www.birdwatchingguatemala.com/ is a registered trademark of Martsam Tour & Travel Copyright® 2,008
http://www.birdwatchingguatemala.com/
http://www.martsam.com/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A trip looking for motmot species

Image
A trip looking for motmot species by  L Some days ago I was traveling with some colleagues in the Guatemalan thorn forest and we had a lucky day. We got pictures from the Russet-crowned motmot (which was a lifer for one of us) and we got pictures of many cuculidae from the country and of course we got a good game of bird data to our research. Well, we started to dream the ideal schedule to watch all the motmot species in the country. There are nine motmot species and more of them are easy to watch in Guatemala. For those who are not familiarized with motmots they have the unique characteristic to develop a racket-like rectris feathers. This family can be watched only in America and they originated in Mesoamerica in some recent point no more than 30 million years. Turquoise-browed Motmot tail. All motmot tail feathers have different blue tones. Early in the 20 century there was scientific observations which wrongly lead to the conclusion that motmots work out in sha
Read more

Birding around Flores, Peten

Image
Peten Itza Lake Photo by Maynor Ovando Flores is the capital of the northernmost department of Guatemala, Peten. If you travel to visit any Maya city like Tikal or Yaxhá, you can’t miss this small and beautiful town. Flores is an island, bordered by Petén Itzá Lake and there’s a lot of options to take a tour on the lake or have a ride in a car to visit neighbor towns. Last Wednesday I decided to go birding around Flores Island, so I tried to have the two sides of the coin birding in water and land. I started in a boat at 6:00 am to look for wading birds for 3 hours, this is my bird list: Pied-billed Greebe Neotropic Cormorant Northern Jacana Purple Gallinule Limpkin Green Heron Little Blue Heron Ringed Kingfisher Snail Kite Mangrove Swallow Great-tailed Grackle Laughing Gull Amazon Kingfisher Great Egret Bat Falcon Social Flycatcher Rock Dove Common Moorhen Black Vulture Turkey Vulture Olive-throated Parakeet Yellow-throated Euphonia Blue-gray Tanager Juvenile Little Blue Heron and No
Read more
Martsam Travel Alternative Tourism & Adventure Bird watching Guatemala The project Bird Watching Guatemala is an encounter with the wonderful world of birds of Guatemala, involving rural communities, national parks, private reserves and Martsam Tour and Travel as the operator in the circuits and destinations that are blended to take you to the fascinating world of Birds of Guatemala. Taking into consideration the privileged natural and cultural environment that Guatemala has like 19 ecosystems, 300 microclimates, more than 37 volcanoes, rivers, lakes and beaches that are united in our ethnic diversity forming a destination of mystical magic and adventure. Biological diversity has enabled Guatemala to stand among the 25 countries with the most variety of natural resources in the world. Millions of species living in its varied ecosystems, more than 700 species of birds, mammals like the jaguar, tapir and a variety of reptiles an
Read more