Bird Watching Guatemala Blog

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Black-throated Green-warbler Bird pictures have always different rewarding moments, but the opportunity to show a portrait is simply indescribable. These two pictures are a sample of migrant bird images I’ve taken during my birding trips in Guatemalan highlands in the last three years. Blue-headed Vireo Photo by Maynor Ovando 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/

A troop of birders in Peten lowlands Photo by Maynor Ovando As many of you already know there are more than 710 bird species from which about 200 are neartic migrants. The question many people is rounding their minds is: What are the best ticks I can expect to add in Guatemala during a birding trip? I like to have a top ten bird list in mind for these occasions: 1. Horned Guan 2. Pink-headed Warbler 3. Azure-rumped Tanager 4. Belted Flycatcher 5. Blue-throated Motmot 6. Resplendent Quetzal 7. Bushy-crested Jay 8. Bar-winged Oriole 9. Green-throated Mountain-gem 10. Rufous-browed Wren Blue-throated Motmot Bushy-crested Jay Rufous-browed Wren And there are like 25 more with almost the same restricted distribution that can be seen in Western and Central highlands.But if you are visiting Northern lowland of Petén the bird list should be: 1. Gray-throated Chat 2. Ocellated Turkey 3. Green-backed Sparrow 4. Orange-breasted Falcon 5. Yucatan Jay 6. Lovely Cotinga 7. White-fronted Parrot 8...

A typical handicrafts store Photo by Maynor Ovando Guatemala is a unique place in the world; diversity is easily observed in our landscape, nature and people. With 23 ethnic groups and languages we have so many different ways to express ourselves and find the answer to our problems as birds do in a mixed foraging flock in the rainforest. Textiles Photo by Maynor Ovando Something extraordinary about how we see life is the way craftsman use colors. Textiles and handicrafts are the best examples and birds are common motive of inspiration. Bird motives in textiles Photo by Maynor Ovando It’s not hard to understand why if you have the chance to walk in a forest trail and enjoy the sight of amazing colorful birds like Ocellated Turkey, Scarlet Macaw, Keel-billed Toucan or Resplendent Quetzal. Scarlet Macaw Photo by Benedicto Grijalva Keel-billed Toucan Ocellated Turkey Resplendent Quetzal Even if you are not a birder you can’t miss them! Posted by Maynor Ovando http://www.birdwatchingguatem...

Bronzed Cowbird Taking bird pictures from nature is a real challenge. Most of us want to have a sharp and perfect image but it is hard to get because circumstances are changing always. Hundreds of shots are not good, even are not good enough to recognize the bird and we usually delete them, but many of them have a story behind or can be seen in a different perspective, artistic or funny… I took this image of a Bronzed Cowbird in a birding walk around Uaxactun, a Pre Classic Maya City, the weather was stormy and the light conditions were incredibly poor, but looking at the bird trying to dry its feathers made me remember those days when I watched birds just in cartoons. It’s just like a funny bird in a cartoon. Posted by Maynor Ovando www.birdwatchingguatemala.com is a registered trademark of Martsam Tour & Travel Copyright® 2,008 www.birdwatchingguatemala.com www.martsam.com

Do you see any bird? Photo by Maynor Ovando When do you realize you are a keen birder? There is no an easy answer, but if you are really looking birds everywhere, even if they are not present, you should have a little suspicious… Working in a MoSI station in Sierra de Las Minas last winter I took a lot of pictures but my favorite is this with a pelican form… Do you see another bird form? 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/

Herons and Egrets are representative from wetlands, rivers, lagoons and ponds. In a typical birding trip along La Pasión River you can find at least ten species perched in marsh vegetation. Vegetation along La Pasión River Photo by Maynor Ovando A very common member of this kind is the Green Heron, when you observe it while hunting, you can notice how spoils the neck and slings it to catch a prey so fast that the human eye can’t follow the movement. Green Heron Another numerous bird is the Cattle Egret, an African species widespread along the World. Most times observed in pastures following insects, but it’s not a strange near water bodies too. Cattle Egret Guatemala, with its great variety of ecosystems, it’s always an invitation to visit any corner and enjoy a complete bunch of birds. 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/

Birding in Guatemala is always a delightful activity. Walk through the forest in the mountains or in the lowlands jungle is a single different experience each time and the memories you are getting every minute last forever. Lemuel spotting a woodcreper in Corazón del Bosque Photo by Maynor Ovando Benedicto birding in Yaxha Photo by Maynor Ovando Taking a bird picture became a treasure you can have always with you and can show different things: A proof that you saw a rare bird Pink-headed Warbler The beauty of a nature scene Blue-winged Teal Or an artistic way to look a bird Eastern Bluebird It doesn’t matter how you can take a picture, the main goal is to have a moment freeze in time ready to share with friends… 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/

Happy Father's Day Today in Guatemala we celebrate Father’s Day and I want to tribute to all men in this special occasion considering that birds are extraordinary parents, as we are. During a birding trip to Ceibal Archaeological Site I got this picture of a Black-cheeked Woodpecker male in its nest built in a dead tree or “tocon” as we said in Spanish. Woodpecker male and female take care of the little chicks, helpless, blind and featherless creatures, and work usually for three weeks until they leave the nest. Finally when they decide to move the nest to a better place, other birds take the “free space” and use it to grow their own families, like Toucans and Trogons. 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/

Yucatan Poorwill Yucatan Poorwill… that’s what Guatemalan Ornithological Society (Sociedad Guatemalteca de Ornitología SGO) said about my report of a Tawny-collared Nightjar. The id key was the white fore collar and white spots on the primaries. Even though it is an important sighting, not all the time an endemic bird from Yucatan Peninsula is observed so well. I tried hard looking for an image of this bird but nobody had one, just a couple of paintings but the colors are not accurate, really a shame. So here I’m posting two images to compare if you need in the future. The white fore collar is well shown here... Posted by Maynor Ovando www.birdwatchingguatemala.com is a registered trademark of Martsam Tour & Travel Copyright® 2,008 http://www.birdwatchingguatemala.com/ http://www.martsam.com/

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/

Juvenile King Vulture Sometimes during a birding trip I’ve found what most people think are common situations, but many times the result is extraordinary. I visited Ceibal this Tuesday and when I was in the entrance road my friend David saw some vultures on the ground, he told me they were Turkey Vultures but I noticed one really different to the others, immediately I thought “That’s a Juvenile King Vulture!” David took his camera and got some nice pictures and I armed my scope and digiscoped some like this one. I haven’t had a chance to see one like this and it is great to observe the big differences between a juvenile and an adult. It means that if an older one is a King Vulture a young one is a Prince Vulture, isn’t it? 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/

Vermillion Flycatcher's Nest Photo by Maynor Ovando Rainy season in Guatemala is always a nice occasion to birding, the biology in the whole expression in surrounding you everywhere and the perfect example is bird breeding. During my last visit to Flores Petén, I had the wonderful opportunity to observe a breeding couple of Vermillion Flycatcher. I got the nest and took a picture but this time I went directly to the tree and found a couple of chicks. The female and male were flying around to protect their descendant. Two little chicks Photo by Maynor Ovando I’ll try to have a record of the chicks development and share with you the experience. Feed me! Photo by Maynor Ovando 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/

Highlands Photo by Maynor Ovando Guatemala has a lot of good reasons to travel along. The diversity of landscapes is one of them. The size of the country allows taking a car and visiting a thorn scrub area in one hour ride and enjoying a perfect cloud forest two hours later. I’ve been traveling and working in lowlands of Petén in the north of Guatemala but I live in Guatemala City in the middle of central highlands so I usually go birding and look for the regional endemic birds of northern Central America. There’s like 35 five species you can find between Southern Mexico, Guatemala, Western Honduras and Western El Salvador and more than 30 are found in the highlands, birds like Blue-throated Motmot, Black-capped Swallow, Bushy-crested Jay, Pink-headed Warbler, Green-throated Mountain-gem, Bar-winged Oriole, Black-throated Jay, Rufous-collared Thrush or the mythical Horned Guan. I will go birding in Alta Verapaz area in a few days to meet these jewels and I will post some pictures in a...

Tawny-collared Nightjar I’m posting these comments just after send a message to Guatemalan Ornithological Society to validate my identification of this bird: Tawny-collared Nightjar… I saw the bird in El Zotz Biotope on May 18th 2008 with my friends Benedicto and Lemuel, I digiscoped this picture and some other with a Vortex 20-60x80 scope and a Canon Powershot A430 and Benedicto took some more with a Canon EOS Rebel. I can’t wait for the confirmation… meanwhile I will gather all the info to complete this report. Posted by Maynor Ovando www.birdwatchingguatemala.com is a registered trademark of Martsam Tour & Travel Copyright® 2,008 http://www.birdwatchingguatemala.com/ http://www.martsam.com/

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