Casa Del Mundo

A retreat into Never Neverland.  A place that is both majestic and in constant weather flux, Lake Atitlan made for a cool getaway into the steep mountain sides.   We didn't need a stair master at our place since it was already naturally built into our hostel.  We climbed hundreds of stairs everyday.

The lake waters continue to rise submerging older structures beneath her depths.  It was very bizarre to witness.  Along the shores, it had the appearance of guarding lost ancient civilizations.


Grayish Saltator

We visited several areas around Lake Atitlan and searched for wildlife.  Every morning a boat would come to pick us up from our pier and take us to the various spots around the lake.

Taken at the Lake Atitlan Wildlife Refuge

Storms would roll in and there were times it was dangerous to be out on that lake.  Atitlan would appear calm and smooth until monsoon storms came crashing down all around us at various times of the day.  The mists covered the lakes and everything changed quickly. One evening I was trapped out in the storm without a life vest.  I clung to the rope as rain poured down on me.  We watched as lightning struck the lake.  There is nothing like this type of experience to make you realize how small and  unimportant you are in the whole scheme of things.

And yet, life can be quite thrilling at times.  This over packed boat of passengers was the last launch for the evening.  Had we missed it, we would have waited until morning to head back to our hostel.

Orange-billed Nightingale Thrush

There are always unexpected twists while traveling around Mexico and Central America.  Patience is the key word and remember that nothing is ever on time.  They may say seven, but what they really mean to say is nine:)  As a birder, I had to be okay giving up that control a bit while we explored on our own.

Lake Atitlan at sunset

Our searches were fun and we did find new birds almost everyday.  Several birds had become common for me and I was able to label them on the spot.

Gray Silky-flycatcher

For many of us, our lives run on a routine.  I eventually missed those things we take for granted everyday.  For example, I have my sugar out at home for my coffee and hummingbird nectar, but in Guatemala if you left the sugar packets out, the ants would attack from out of nowhere.  Some of you may not know this but in Guatemala, you are not supposed to flush your toilet paper in the toilet.  It goes into the garbage next to the toilet.  It's those little things.......

Yet with these views, who cares!

Tropical Pewee

Some days were cloudy.  Some days were sunny.  So we took advantage when we could.

I don't often enjoy drinking, but we had such amazing drinks in Guatemala!  I hate the taste of beer and yet if you put a dark ale with spicy tomato juice, I'm happy!  Micheladas.  I missed them so much that when I got home, I made a few while writing several of these posts!  So good....

There is a waterfall behind me and I was playing around with my cell phone.  We were the only ones walking around the canopy of the rain forest.  It was actually a fun walk around Reserva Atitlan.

And of course by our hostel, we had narrow paths that went around the lake.  Some cities were safe to visit while others were out of the question.  If you visit, ask your hotel, etc where it's safe to go.  There are still people who are robbed on parts of these paths.


Brown-backed Solitaire

Here are two lifebirds that I had to look at closely.  I noticed that they were just slightly different from several other birds that looked appearance-wise very similar.

Boat-billed Flycatcher

The Mayans rule this part of the world.  We were subject to their rules.  Never call a Mayan a Guatemalan.  They fought brutal years against the Guatemalan regime and won their cause. Today they still speak their own Mayan dialects around the lake and cling fiercely to their ways. They barely tolerate the tourists.

Deforestation continues around this area. It was my final trip here as I will never be returning back in this lifetime again.  I hope the Mayans and others understand the need for conservation.  It's what has brought millions of people here over the years.  But the forests are diminishing by farmers cutting further and further into the mountain sides.  I remember what I saw in 2006.  So much has changed in 7 years.

Bushtit

Humanity is slowly creeping into more and more habitat and affecting our wild friends.  Below are images that I found interesting.  A House wren(below) finds a home within human structures.

House Wren

Humans will paint their colorful birds on sides of building.  But if they aren't careful, those images will be a faded memory of what was. 

And I am reminded that I am getting older.  All those straps around my body never used to be there.  They are life support to help me exist in this type of climate.  They contain water, anti-bug weaponry, money packs, a camera.......and yes, it did take its toll on me.

My final thoughts are below.  As your host and Spanish instructor, here is a lesson I learned while on this trip;)

All my best.  Until next time.......

Con Los Ojos Abiertos

Today I'm linking up with Stewart M's Wild Bird Wednesday.

What happens when the world is turned upside down?  And the familiar....gone. Not even Spanish would be of big use on this trip.  A new and empty canvas was upon me. And everyday a new bird was added to my life list, but it was a hard fought battle as both photographer and birder alike.

White-naped Brush-finch

Along the way, I met allies who would aide me in the battle behind these long windy named birds.  Take for example the White-naped Brush-finch.  4 words and one bird!  They were always mouthfuls to say during any birding outing. My first few days in Antigua, Guatemala would be overwhelming for many reasons.  Locating and recognizing calls became super difficult.  As the sun rose around the early 5 AM time, I would jump out of bed to chase the birds outside.  And they were everywhere!!!  No need for an alarm clock.

As the photographer, I had to deal with gray skies, rainy conditions and the dark woods.  I wasn't as successful my first few days with the photography bit as it was super challenging.  Manual focus and flash were a must in the dark conditions.

Blue-and-white Mockingbird

My ears would locate a call in the vast green and dark canopy.  Birds were skittish and moved off quickly.  Sometimes they would be staring right at me which brings up my 3rd issue........eyes adjusting to the greens instead of the browns of my desert.  By the time we left, I had gotten better at finding the birds, but I'm still not great at it yet.  If it weren't for my ears and patience, most of these birds would have escaped my radar!

The other issue was timing.  During our travels, I calculated staying over a several day period at each place so that I could sweep the areas properly. I'd go 4 or 5 times over the same route during a one day period. Again the birds would move around according to their own time tables......I just had to be ready for them. The unique part about this trip wasn't seeing as many places as we could but rather staying in one place and finding as much as we could in one area.   Each place had a different and common group of birds that hung around our cabins or hotel rooms. I just had to find them!

Our cabin

Many of the birds didn't respond to my pishing attempts which made me change my tune....literally.  After several weeks in Guatemala, my whistling would finally attract a few birds. Knowing the general body types would help me quickly locate a bird from my ID ap in the area. The nice thing about their long names is that they usually will include their prominent and physical features. My IPHONE, with the spotty Wifi service, helped out.  Towards the end of the trip, I began to play the calls electronically and pull the birds out.  I played the recordings only twice and never again. At that point, I had become physically and mentally exhausted searching for birds everyday. For most of them, it worked, but for some, I had to wait and return again the next day around the same time to get a photo.

Sometimes I hid in outdoor showers or toilets around light sources during the early morning.  Bugs were everywhere!!!  And so were the birds.......

White-eared Ground-sparrow

Some birds would cooperate while others fled at the slightest movement or sound.

Rufous-collared Sparrow

The early morning skies were many times gray.  On those first excursions, I would see so many birds but never be ready to capture them on film.  One such species was the Squirrel Cuckoo.  It avoided my lens 3 times!!!  The Cuckoos in general can be a secretive bunch.  Once, I had found them in the trees but they flew off into the dark canopy while I tried to focus my lens.  The second time, I was eating breakfast when one flew into a leafless tree.  I didn't have my camera with me.  And the last sighting came to me while swimming in a pool!  And I will admit, those are some of the most frustrating bits about birding. Sometimes it doesn't always work out and I had to be okay with that happening once and awhile.

Gray Silky-flycatcher

But with time and practice, the birds would begin to focus better.

Is it thrilling?  Yes.  It's like finding diamonds in a hidden treasure chest.  The difficult part about Guatemala came from the general public's lack of knowledge about birds in their area.  Generally in Panama or Costa Rica, I found people knowing much more about their local wildlife.  In Guatemala, it was patchy.  Sometimes I would luck out and find a fellow birder.  When I told others that I came to bird, they looked at me funny.  I changed my story to "wildlife photographer" and it was better received.

The shot from this post that made me happiest?  The Blue-throated Motmot.  It took me several days to finally get a picture that made me happy.  We stayed at Earth Lodge for 4 days.  It was a great place and difficult to leave because there were so many great birds.  But on my shower treks every morning at 5 AM, the Blue-throated Motmot would come to visit me.  It became semi-comfortable with my visits and allowed me to get closer.  Each day I tried getting pictures of this bird but they would turn out terrible due to the lack of lighting.  And then on my last day, I took the sports setting off and used the single picture option with flash.  Voila!

Blue-throated Motmot

And so it would go for the first week of photography practice.  As my posts will continue, you'll see an improvement in the shots.  It was definitely a learning curve.  In Arizona, we have to watch out for overexposure from the sun.  In the rain forest, it was all about lighting and quick camera focus.

Spot-crowned  Woodcreeper

The loudest calls came from these wrens below.  A lot of practice went into this one singular shot.  They flew over our cabin every morning with their loud "RATTLE RATTLE RATTLE!"  Imagine shaking an aluminum can full of pennies that owners use to shut poodles up and you've got their call:)

Band-backed Wren

When they flew, they called.  When they landed on a branch, they were silent.  These birds were difficult to capture until one morning I figured out their schedule and waited in our cabin to capture them out on top of the canopy of the trees.  My friend was very patient with me but she could also see that I had gone crazy over the years from the birds.

Meanwhile the views were stunning everyday as we drank micheladas(tomato juice and dark beer). You may say to yourself, "Nasty."  So did I until I took a sip of my friend's drink and then......Oh. My. Gods. I became a fan.

Female Rose-throated Becard

And while we were drinking, the Rose-throated Becard sat upon the bare tree.  It was my first introduction to the Becard family.  Hopefully I'll get a chance to see the male one day but it was still a cool encounter.

Bronzed Cowbird

I was always grateful for the birds I knew.  They were like gifts to me. While my friend did yoga on the hillside, I roamed around the property and searched for birds.

And when it was time to leave, I was saddened to go because I felt like I had become friends with these now familiar birds.  But there were so many more birds to discover. So many more challenges to be had.  Yet I am proud of my accomplishments as I have done all of this alone.  Many people hire guides to help them out, but I used the resources around me to help ID what I was observing out in the field.  As a quick learner into this exciting world, my advice to beginners is to just go out and explore and see what you see.  As time goes on, I am sure I will need to hire people to help me find those elusive birds around the world.   But for now, everything is new and exciting.  More posts to come......