Secret Treasures

Guatemala is a real treat for any birder or wildlife aficionado.  The country has over 732 bird species alone!.  And there certainly are birds hidden everywhere.  My advice about when to bird in Guatemala?  Winter.  The bird population doubles as most of our North American birds migrate back down into Central America for the winter.

While there, I found 130 different species. Some I had already seen, but most were all new.  

Take for example, the Dusky-capped Flycatcher(above).  It's call makes this bird easy to identify.  It has a "meeee-ooooo" sound that stands out in the crowd.  It was fun seeing birds we have in Arizona down in Guatemala. Each bird species found was worth one imaginary birder point.  If you are going to bird a place, you challenge yourself to find as many bird species as you can. 

 And while I had seen this Yellow-winged Tanager (below) back in Antigua, I hadn't seen it in this county.  So another challenge for me was to find as many birds as I could in each place! So while the Tanager wasn't a lifebird, it was still an important find during my observations.

 Now I have to say this.  The views in this country are out of this world.  This particular post is set around Lake Atitlan.

 While we were there, I witnessed massive flocks of Lesser Goldfinches.

Something as common as American Coots were hard to find.  Only at the end of our journey, did we encounter them in very small areas around Lake Atitlan.  I was actually excited to find these birds.  Something so common back home was special here.  And it made me look at them differently when I returned back to Tucson.  I appreciate them even more.......if that's even possible. 

BUT!  I had been hearing birds that I did not recognize.  For this particular stay, I studied my birds well because there were some strange ones found here.  Take for example the Provost's Ground Sparrow.  I was coming back from dinner and caught the bird near our terrace. The bird quickly vanished.  By this point in my trip, I was exhausted.  I knew this bird from my studies and pulled out my cell phone to play the call.  When I did........Mr. Provosts came out to visit with me. 

But the hardest trial for me was the last bird.  I heard the call and instinctively knew I couldn't let this one get away.  And I pished!  AND PISHED!  My friend continued on her walk while I chased this warbler through the trees. 

 There was an intense urgency with me that I didn't understand.  But something inside my head made me instinctively recall this sound. 

I made contact with the bird and then realized why this one was special. It was a real treasure for it was the one and only Rufous-capped Warbler.  A bird found south of Tucson in the Santa Rita mountains.  However to get to them, one must make a tricky hike up a waterfall full of grasses and cactus. These warblers follow the stream up and down the canyon.  My friend Kathie almost fell off the rocks, but thankfully I blocked much of her fall. She still got some nasty bruises though!  I've searched for this bird 3 times on that dangerous trail, memorized it's call, filled my water pack for the hot trek and have plenty of stories to go with those adventures.  I remember once an old woman sitting on a stone moving her feet back and forth like a little kid.  She asked us, "Did you find the warbler?"  

"No.", we replied.

"I won't go up that rock.  It's too dangerous."

She reminded me that time is indeed ticking.  I won't always be able to do these treks. So this warbler is for all those people who can't see them on their own. After all, an adventure is best shared, isn't it? Below is a video I took to show you the kinds of habitats we explore to find those birds.  Life is truly wondrous. 

The adventure continues.....

Check out Wild Bird Wednesday for other worldly discoveries!

Guatemala

San PedroThe Coban RiverSemuc ChampeyRio DulceTikal...notice the humidity risingLivingstonTikal

Divine design. Living in the desert is a wonderful thing, but sometimes I need to get my "green" on and leave for awhile.  Guatemala is the land of green...the color is everywhere.  This country is also one of the most colorful in the world with the Mayan Indians contributing to most of the design in this very special and spiritual place.  As a Spanish teacher, I travel to a lot of different countries every year. However, this year  I had to stay home due to a major home repair....air conditioning!!!  We needed a new unit...oh the cost:)  I find that the garden keeps my mind off of my would be travel for the summer.   There is next year and I look forward to planning another adventure.

These places inspire me with their unique designs and gardens.  The desert, while a hostile place for many tropicals, can have a variety of these beautiful plants amongst our native trees and bushes.  The key to growing tropical here is obviously proper watering, bright shade or a little shade, and protection from the winter nights.  Wind also can play a factor on such plants like the musa or banana plant.  This plant loves the sun...but hates the wind...and in Tucson, this plant can be tricky to grow.   With that said,  I have seen it done and done well.  Phoenix seems to have the better results....again water is an important factor for your tropicals.

This topic came up yesterday as I was outside talking to my neighbors and they asked me if I had any big trips planned for the summer and I had to say no. Well I am going to Wisconsin for a little over a week, but that's not a major trip...that's a family trip.:)  However, I will be going to the Milwaukee gardens and taking a lot of pics.  Apparently, they have a saguaro cactus in one of their domes....I'll be snapping pics for proof:)

I have had success with a variety of tropicals here, but with the property being so large, I've had to make sure that my natives were established first and that the tree canopies are there to protect their tender leaves from the hot summer sun.  Bird of paradise, philodendron, fatsia are some of the few that do well here with some afternoon shade. Cannas need light and do well in the sun.  Most of these guys can be planted in the ground, but do extremely well in containers.  I would recommend putting them in pots first to verify that they can handle the sun.  Sometimes I think they will burn and I plant them in too shady of an area and they don't do well....so experiment first.

Finally,  people ask me....what is the one plant that "popped" out at you in Guatemala?  There were a lot, but the one that I noticed was the castor plant along Lake Atitlan.  I have been experimenting with this plant this summer and have seen great results on the North Side of our building where it gets the right amount of sun.  I tried this tropical "weed" on the south side and it burned and in the courtyard where there is a lot of shade....and it needed more sun as it grew spindly from not enough light.  Again tricky, these tropicals are, but when in the right spot, they will add flare and beauty to your home and garden.  It's well worth the effort. Happy gardening!!