Into the Mists

About an hours trek south of Coban, we found the wonderful Biotopo Del Quetzal.  It's a reserve that has its roots connected to Mario Dary Rivera.  It was established in 1977 to protect Guatemala's quickly vanishing cloud forests.  He was murdered for his efforts and by his death, kept the logging companies out.  Today several of these reserves are run by a local university attracting birders from all around the world.  It's a wonderful park full of fantastic surprises.....and home to the rare Resplendent Quetzal.

My first trek to Guatemala back in 2006 didn't allow for a stay in Coban.  We had seen the city, but skipped it for the trip to Semuc Champey. I had wanted to visit the Biotopo Quetzal but I have to admit, I didn't like the area too much.  Many travelers will skip this spot and head straight to the much more popular Semuc.  As a birder, this was no longer an option.  The Resplendent Quetzal was found in this area and we had to stop. In fact, the Quetzal can be found in Coban, Semuc Champey, etc, but they are much more reliably seen near the Biotopo del Quetzal.


Rufous-collared Sparrow

Coban is still developing its tourism sensibilities and can be seen by some as "rough" compared to the much more accommodating services provided in Antigua or nearby Flores.  Many times birders are told that it's much easier to spot the Resplendent Quetzal in Costa Rica or Panama, but I was in Guatemala and wanted to try my hand again at this bird.


Fern Frond

The Biotopo is truly an exciting place full of botanical finds.  The paths are clear and steep but many times, we took it slow and stopped often to look at all the incredible vegetation found in the area.


Yellow and Red Thorn Spider

My friend asked me to go forward.  I quickly realized why.....spider webs!:)

Sneaky sneaky.  We had been the first ones to arrive at the reserve and I cleared the paths for all those who would hike later:)


Heliconia

It's also amazing how fast most people will walk up the trails.  We took our good natured time.  There was so much to see including a lovely waterfall and beautiful overlook!

Overall, the birds were very difficult to spot in this reserve.  There were a lot of birds here that were calling but overall, it was super difficult to find them.  I've heard and read several reports similar to this from other birders.  But it doesn't make the trek any less beautiful.  We still made unexpected discoveries....

A strange thing happened.  I believe that the bird I present today is probably our strangest find on this entire trip.  Not much information can be found on Unicolored Jays except that they live in the cloud forests.  And it was only by accident that we actually got a picture of this bird. A Montezuma Oropendula was moving around and caught my eye.  This is probably the most basic Jay I have seen. Apparently there are about 5 subspecies of this Jay resembling our Pinyon Jay in Northern Arizona. I enjoy reading about the birds discovered, but this one continues to make me raise an eyebrow! Fascinating!


Unicolored Jay

Of course, we spotted the bird below at Ranchitos Del Quetzal next door to the park.  While the birds actually live in the Biotopo del Quetzal, they are super difficult to find inside the canopy of the trees. Open from 6 AM to 4 PM, the Biotopo del Quetzal does not disappoint.  60 Q(around 8 US dollars) is the entrance fee. 

The Resplendent Quetzal

We had a successful day finding the target birds and the trip to Coban was well worth the stop.  We stayed at Hostal Luna and enjoyed our visit there.  The owner knows quite a bit about birds and has a list of them hanging on the wall.  There is a fantastic restaurant right across the street from the place.  And there are many more places to bird around the area.  We just hit the target spots as we were only there for a brief two nights. The journey to and from the Biotopo del Quetzal was an exhausting one.  There's nothing like finishing up a long hike and getting stuck on a crowded tiny bus back to Coban.  It's difficult to stay patient when I see a girl almost strangle a poor dog in a box(that has also gone to the bathroom) while trying to stand holding onto the bars with my neck crooked at an unnatural 90 degree angle because there were no seats available, and still keep an eye on my camera while sweating up a storm. Yeah it's a run on sentence.  What are you going to do about it?:)  That's exactly how we both felt.  When we arrived back at our hostel, we crashed onto our beds and took a nap! What we do to see these rare birds!!!  They certainly make for great stories, but at this point, I began to miss birding back home.  It seemed so much easier.  Our trip would only become much more difficult in the days that followed. 

But when it's all said and done, the bad things seem to be forgotten with the positive standing out.

And as you can see, we had some fun photo shoots to let the eyes relax a bit before searching for more birds. That's also a part of what birding is all about....enjoying the moment. Stay tuned for more.....

Prologue-A Paraque's Dream

As promised, I begin my journals today on Guatemala.  This blog post is about getting ready for these big trips.  They always start with an idea. Then they are followed by a financial plan.  Doubt and anxiety are followed.  Most of us call this a vacation.  For me, it's escaping into a new world full of unknowns.  I find that the older I get, the more anxious I become about those unknowns.  I've been on enough of these trips to prepare for those feelings.  And yet.......

Sun rising over the Avocado farms

I fall in between the lines of young and old. Many times on these trips, I'll come across the younglings who have just graduated from high school or are in the middle of college.  It's grand being a young person.  You know everything and everything is soooooo.....you know......cool!  It's like......spiritual.  To prepare for these "free spirited" people, I now try to remove myself from the kinds of places they stay. It doesn't always work. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not antisocial.  But I've been there and done that in my life.  Sadly, for many young people, it's their last big international party before settling down, getting married and having kids.  They have opinions about everything and of course will list off all the places they've traveled in this world to make themselves appear much more intelligent.  Later at night, they will drink lots, speak loudly, and have plenty of free love.  This is the way of the dirty hostels:)  And I admit that when I was their age, it was pretty damned exciting.  But one grows older........

Rufous-collared Sparrow

I avoid these places as much as I can, but as you can imagine, some towns don't always offer these accommodations.  And then you're stuck.  Such was the case in Panama several years ago.  The drunk young ones declared they would be rafting in the morning. We've heard a thing about drinking and driving or texting and driving, etc.  I'd like to add to that list, "Drinking and Rafting".   Needless to say, I did not go on their raft as they had flipped it several times.  I don't know how many panicked kids we pulled out of the water, but it was fun utilizing our safety procedures until I went in trying to help someone out of the water in the middle of the rapids!  It was an adventurous day.

Howler Monkey

So this time, I planned for some quiet and magical places where my thoughts were my own. The night before my trip, I dreamed of birds. I sat at the internet and researched all the birds asking myself, "Can I find all these birds?  Will I be able to enjoy this stay without birds taking over my mind? I dreamed that I was a Paraque.  I flew everywhere.  Seeing everything. Nothing could hide from my night vision.  I knew where to find them all.  As I flew back at dawn, I saw Red Crossbills drinking from a fountain!  Since I've begun this birding quest, I find myself fighting to keep sane. On this trip, I brought my first ever hummingbird feeder.  Would I remember to look up and breathe?

Groove-billed Ani

It was a strange dream.  You know the ones that make you cry?  In this dream, my mother gave me a wooden bug cage that I used once to capture butterflies, spiders and flies.  The gift came from my deceased Grandmother a long long time ago.  But the cage was now open and I remember my Grandmother smiling. I held the item in my hands and began to weep.  I woke up with tears staining my pillow case.  It was one of those intense dreams that kept me up for the remainder of the early morning hours.

Black Vulture

How many times have I gone to so many countries and never really watched birds? I've spent my entire life learning about people and their habits. But now it's different.  I'm finding myself  pulled in the opposite direction.....away from people.  It is precisely why I returned to Guatemala a second time.  I remember birds everywhere while we were on this trip and yet I was only focused on photography.  As of 2011, much of my work was photography based on cultural trends or themes. My friend Lynda reminded me to expand my views and hopefully, I'll present something new and fresh beyond birds. Over the next several months, I'll weave in these adventures and reports with my current AZ treks. There is a lot to share! More to come....