Sumidero Canyon

We woke up the next day.  No tour bus.  No guide.  Just us. And it felt good.  We could go and explore on our own and at our own pace. The 5 days of tours were brutally intense.  Now it was time to slow down. Or at least that's what my body was telling me. 

We kept it local and returned back to Sumidero Canyon.  Once again, we strapped on our water packs and began the hike into the clouds and canyon. 

Lesser Roadrunner

 One of the target birds that we missed from our treks was the Lesser Roadrunner.  Here in Arizona, we have the Greater Roadrunner.  We couldn't leave Chiapas without spotting one of the "Lessers".  As we walked further up the road, the mist let up some.  It was enough to allow us a brief glance at a "hazy-what-looked-like-a-roadrunner on the road" creature.  Gordon became excited and said, "That's a roadrunner!  I know it is!"  

I'm like, "Yeah right Gordon. And monkeys fly out of my butt.":)  Note to self.  I need a shave badly!"

And me?  I was skeptical.  I had heard that this bird was real but I didn't believe it.  When I saw the bird, I thought, "It can't be. Therefore, it isn't:)" We hurriedly moved forward.  The heavy mist took over and the bird disappeared. WHAT IS IT WITH THIS WEATHER AND NEW BIRDS!!!???? There are no such things as Unicorns.  And there are no such things as Lesser Roadrunners. Then the cloud lifted and all was revealed.  

In true Mexican fashion, it was like witnessing the Virgin of Guadalupe opening her cape with hundreds of roses falling about her.  But in our case, this was real! I do believe in Roadrunners!  I do believe in Roadrunners!  Beep beep!

juvenile Rusty Sparrow

 Then we had a visit from a Rusty Sparrow!  This made us scratch our heads because it wasn't like the ones we had observed on our trips.  Come to find out.  This was a juvenile.  Awesome!

Gray-crowned Yellowthroat

 And the clouds got thicker and thicker making the birding a real challenge!

This Ent almost pulled Gordon under:)  But in reality, it's a beautiful Amate Fig tree with a nice looking root system

I never miss home while I'm traveling, but I guess if I did miss something it would have to be the lighting conditions.  Everyday is practically a nice day in Arizona.  And the birds seem much more cooperative than these neotropical ones. 

Streak-backed Oriole

Take for example this Streak-backed Oriole.  Why in the world does it only pop out for pics in cloudy conditions?  Don't they know we are only there for a short amount of time?  Apparently they didn't get the memo:) 

This pic above is really great.*cough*cough* Some of my best work.  Ever.  We finally have the Oriole sitting on a branch in full cloud "lighting" and I know the pictures will not turn out very well.  In my mind just like my father does during those trying moments, I begin humming that tune by Colbie Caillat, "All you have to do is try try try....."  

As we continued our walk, Plain Chachalacas flew or hopped from branch to branch.  The jays were active.  And so was the Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl calling. 

White-throated Magpie Jay

As we ended our trek, I noticed something positive happening near the roadside of Sumidero Canyon. 

Along the way, we noticed how many homes were built close to the road of this "protected" area. It was definitely a poor neighborhood. And it got me thinking a random thought.  In the US, most people with money want their places along the edges of parks etc.  But here in Mexico, it's usually the opposite. Why?  Poverty.  Cut wood for fuel.  Poach animals for food. Raise crops on the areas you just cut down, etc etc.  Most of the hill was bare thanks to obvious clear cutting. 

It is unclear to me whether this happened before the park was put into a protective status or after, but we did witness something positive.  I will end here on this note.  As a teacher, I am happy to report that there was a program teaching kids about planting trees. Good for them! And great for the park! Hopefully in 10 years, the hillside will have a new forest instead of grass. If we don't teach our young about protecting our planet now, we will be in very bad shape down the road. 

So while I was writing this post, I thought about what people might be asking as they read it.  And I think I have it figured out.  The question that came to me was....."What is the difference between a Greater and Lesser Roadrunner?"  Here's a pic comparing the two species. 

Top: Greater Roadrunner Bottom: Lesser Roadrunner

And finally.  This month you can find my work in the latest August edition of Watching Backyard Birds. This is from the publishers of Bird Watcher's Digest.  It was a fun experience putting everything together.  So a big THANK YOU to Dawn Hewitt and team.  If you are paperless, you will find that they have a free online preview of this edition to check out. 

Until next time friends.....

Greener Pastures

Through the pastures I walk.  Each new sound pulls me closer to new birds.  I watch carefully to make sure I am not chased down by a grunting territorial bull.  I move carefully over a rickety bridge making sure I do not fall into the mosquito infested waters.  I keep an eye open for anyone who may be hiding behind a tree wanting to cause me ill will.

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird

I marvel at the diversity found in this stretch of grassy pasture.  It sits next to untouched rain forest. I slowly move along the path keeping my eyes on the smaller movements jumping all around the vegetation.  What I see makes me scratch my head.

A hummingbird I understand, but these little tiny birds are everywhere!  And not one of them are the same!

Do I spy a warbler on the far branch?  I research warblers after my observations.  This bird is no warbler!

Look carefully to your right.......the tiny Yellow-faced Grassquit

The hummingbird reminds me that I have entered new territory and not all birds will be recognizable.  It was perhaps the most dizzying display of birds I had seen on my trip so far.  So many tiny birds and all of them lifebirds.  Now if I could only get my eye on each one......

 

The pastures were fascinating.  Situated along the Río Dulce behind a swamp area along a rain forest, these grassy hills had quite a number of birds visiting.....

Cattle Egret

No matter the time. In the mists of the morning.  During the warm breezes before a dark storm approached.  Or the scalding rays of the sun as they burned forcefully onto the pastures...........I found birds.

Tropical Kingbird

I discovered not warblers nor finches......but grassquits.

Blue-black Grassquit(male)

They lined fence posts and open branches. When they weren't sitting, they were buzzing up and down from the grasses.  Their strange movements looked as if they were a hybrid of hummingbirds and warblers. They were a lot of fun to observe. 

White-collared Seedeater(female)

The pebble paths exposed Ruddy Ground Doves.  Their constant twitching caught my attention.  If I got too close, they'd fly off in a quick burst from the ground. 

Plain-breasted ground dove

But it was the grasses that held the greatest mysteries....

For there were strange birds that took me a long time to identify such as the one below.

Gray-crowned Yellowthroat

One distraction led to the next.....allowing me better observations of the Golden-fronted Woodpecker feeding a juvenile.

Golden-fronted Woodpecker

My body at this point of the trip was exhausted.  I had mapped this area out for 3 days because I was seeing a lot of different birds at different times of the day.  I went once in the morning, again in the afternoon and a final walk at night. I was able to find 20 new species in this area alone plus add another 30 birds to my Guatemala list from the Río Dulce sector!



And then this strange and cool looking number happened by me.  I barely saw the bird, but I repeated its calls and watched it look at me from the branches for about 4 minutes. Finally, it flew off.

Common Tody-Flycatcher

But it was the evening that allowed me to capture these brilliant parrots flying back to their roost for the night. 

Red-lored Parrot

This was the first true pasture I've birded. Well one that had real water running through the area.  We don't have many of them around the Tucson area:) And there would be many more discoveries in the days ahead on this memorable trip to Guatemala.  Life is but a dream. The words to this song are beautiful and what's on my radio lately. PS. I hear a Jay at the end of this video.  Just saying:)

  I'm linking up to Wild Bird Wednesday.