I love this photo. Serious birders with some serious concentration. L to R Rich, Martin and Gordon. It reminds me of Charlie's Angels but with birders. |
Overlooking the majestic Sumidero Canyon |
Erodyle Checkerspot/Guatemalan Patch |
Black Vulture |
A Katydid |
Blue Seedeater |
White-patched Skipper (Chiomara asychis) Thank you to Doug Taron for the ID |
Northern Bentbill sans tail |
Olive Sparrow |
Grasshopper Species-a nymph of the very diverse genus Melanoplus(thanks Rich and Ricardo Marño-Perez for the ID) |
Flammulated Flycatcer |
Blue Morphos Caterpillar-ID thanks to Michael Retter |
Belted Flycatcher |
I know it's not safe, but I wanted to jump. It probably would've killed me, but have you ever wanted to fly for just for a moment? |
Sexy Barred Antshrike |
Bye bye birdie!
The birders then changed into butterfliers. Yeah, the butterflies stole the show at one point and people were goo goo and gah gah over them. I learned that if you pee, they will come. I think it also works with "number two" as well since I could smell something nasty and familiar. Definitely human and definitely a favorite with the smaller butterflies. I deleted those pictures:)
This would be the last trek with a full crew before the plague hit the group. It would take many innocent lives which included my buddy Gordon. Here we smile one last time together. It was the final time I would see my British friend Helen(on the left). Ernie, to my right, would be spared.
On our next journey, I will take you all to some of my absolute favorite birding spots while in Chiapas. El Ocote took my breathe away. I wanted to stay there longer, but could we? Thanks in part to the plague, it appeared butterflies would have much to dine on:) Until next time friends....
Forget "flying" ... even for an instant!! THAT is a long way down!
ReplyDeleteI love the little Antshrike too... and, can definitely live without the caterpillars.... ick......
Awesome post and birds, Chris! The Antshrike is cool. And I love the gorgeous views. The last butterfly shot is awesome. Happy Birding!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you got your bird. I love all the bug wings.
ReplyDeleteAnother brilliant post Chris. A real Hitchcock tale and a fantastic list of birds this time. I don't know why some folk don't rate sparrows when they are often such a challenge to birding skilss in both calls and appearance - maybe that's the reason? I reckon that Barred Antshrike was the bird of the trip though even if it wasn't especially rare.
ReplyDeleteSorry about the plague taking hold but if you will go birding to these exotic location what do you expect?
The dangers of international birding! Pretty exciting stuff actually. For some it was their first time and unfortunately their bodies hadn't built an immunity to bacteria. I felt so bad for them. Nasty stuff!
DeleteI saw a lot in your post today that I have never seen or heard of. It has been a wonderful education. Thank you Chris and your photography was a joy to see.
ReplyDeleteSumidero Canyon, don´t think I have heard of it and it surprise me. Such a great place to explore! Thanks for sharing all the great things :)
ReplyDeleteThe black, white and red butterfles are awesome, they kind of steal the show for me, with the pattern on their wings that looks to me like a three-fingered hand and short thumb. The Antshrike has amazing feathers too, the white bands on the tail really catch the light. It's too bad that while beautiful country, especially the view of the green rollng hills and meandering stream, danger lurks there in the form of Plague. I'm sorry for your loss of friends there.
ReplyDeleteGlad you have built up an immunity to the 'plague', what a terrible thing to happen on such a wonderful journey. Those butterflies are gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful shots Chris and so glad you found your target species. For me though the butterfly shots are the most amazing - what a lovely species :)
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to hear about the loss of your friends.
great post.
ReplyDeleteThe scenery is fantastic and all those birds and butterflies are like the icing on the cake! Perfect! I'm glad you found the two birds that you especially wanted but the little sparrow is rather nice too.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a brilliant trip and some amazing birds and wildlife captured too. Great images.
ReplyDeletethanks for the fun report! what a fantastic trip and congrats on the flycatcher. the butterflies are gorgeous as well.
ReplyDeleteLove the butterflies, and the belted antshrike! What an amazing trip! So happy you had such well-known birders with you, though I have to admit the first photo and the idea of all of you searching so hard for your target birds reminded me a bit of that movie, Life Bird! :-) Sorry. Great photos! Can't wait to see more of your amazing birding venture!
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