Hotspots

White-fronted Parrot

Eventually all good things must come to an end. With one day left and physical exhaustion finally catching up with me, we decided to dedicate our lives to creating a new hotspot for Tuxtla Gutierrez.  And find those blasted parrots flying around our hotel!

Tropical Kingbird

For days, we observed possibly hundreds of these birds flying from our hotel to the park across the street. There were at least two species that kept squawking over our heads as we slipped our hotel card into the door.   It drove us nuts! By the time we'd get back, the sun would be setting or we'd be exhausted from our daily treks out into the field. We'd see their shadows fly above our heads and try to find the field marks with our binos. So after our tour, the hunt began.  And we walked our neighborhood and scoured every building and tree out there. Here's what we discovered. 

Caña Hueca Park

There was indeed a park next to our hotel.  It was safe for us to carry our cameras, at least during the day. This park was a place for people to mainly exercise.  But from within it, there were a great number of bird species flying around!  To make it even more enticing, a canal flowed through a part of the area attracting several water birds like Snowy Egrets and Neotropical Cormorants. When I looked on ebird, I realized that this park was not an ebird hotspot.  It's within a green area of the city and a perfect spot for local and visiting/migrating birds.  The park is known as Caña Hueca. 

juvenile Social Flycatchers

Around the park area, we visited several shopping centers to observe which birds intermingled among the humans.  It was a bit strange for shoppers to watch us snap photos of birds in the parking garage area:)  Beyond caring anymore:)  

Grey-breasted Martin

Anyhow, back to the parking garage.  I saw a bunch of these swallows flying into the shade and I thought they were Northern Rough-winged Swallows. Thanks to Michael Retter, he said, "HEY!  Those are Grey-breasted Martins!"  Mother of pearls, he is right.  I have only seen this species once in Antigua, Guatemala.  Instinctively, I knew I had to take a picture of this bird.  But I had Northern Rough-winged Swallow in my brain.....not a Martin:)  Thank you Michael for catching the ID!   

The park itself is lovely for people who love to run.  They had this soft padding throughout the area and I have to admit that I didn't mind walking on it:)

Along the way, we found our parrots in large numbers around the park feeding on the various fruit trees.  

There were several times when a large seed or fruit almost knocked me out!  White-fronted Parrots hid everywhere in the foliage.  Sometimes they could be seen out in the open.  AND they were ALWAYS heard:)

Groove-billed Ani

We had several Groove-billed Ani hanging out in the trees!  And then there were Scrub Euphonias darting around the branches. Some even hung out at our hotel!

Scrub Euphonia

The place was amazing! We had 27 species in this park alone!  It just proves that you don't have to go far sometimes to find amazing birds. 

Looks just like the leaves

Parrots and Parakeets have always been a fascination for me.  To be honest, I hate their chatter.  Their squawking hurts my ears too much BUT I love everything else about them.  They are social.  They are highly entertaining in the wild once you spot them. And they have a VERY set routine.  They get up early in the morning and make a lot of noise to wake up the hotel birders.  No need for an alarm.  Then they head over to the park or Marriott hotel and feed off the trees around the property.  By 5:00 PM, it's time to head back to their "sleep" area and snuggle in together on top of the Marriott hotel roof or other man made structures. By observing their daily routine, we were able to track them to their food sources and get great pics. 

Green Parakeets

It is my hope that this park will become a hotspot for future birders visiting Tuxtla Gutierrez.  There aren't many hotspots at all within the city and yet I know the city is full of surprises. If people ebirded like they did in Tucson, I can only imagine what would be found!  I wouldn't mind living there for a year and exploring the various watering holes, etc around town. 

Green Salsa Chilaquiles

 Every chapter in our life must close.  And for me, this trip to Mexico was healing.  I still had a torrid love affair with chilaquiles.  Perhaps the best breakfast or hangover cure out there. But I was so sad. I wasn't ready to go home.  I sat looking at my food not wanting to eat.  Because it meant that once I ate it, I would not have a decent plate of chilaquiles for a LONG time after.  So I took a picture.  It's refried black beans, green or red salsa over fried tortilla strips with shredded chicken and topped with delicious Mexican cheese that just screams, "OH YEAH!"  And so on my last bite, my affair ended.  Oh love can be so cruel!

But then something perked me up.  A cow. The cow is a symbol of my Wisconsin roots.  It reminded me of where I grew up. The coffee was Mexican and I remembered why I pursued Spanish as my passion.  When I mixed the two together, I remembered why I chose Tucson as my home.  I will be back Mexico.  I have missed you. 

On our flight into Mexico City, we flew over the volcano known as Popocateptl near the beautiful colonial city of Puebla.  I suffered from a bit of nostalgia. I hiked those mountains. I lived there.  I became "me" there.  While I saw many birds on this wonderful trip, I couldn't help but think of all of my human experiences in this country.  While the guided tours were awesome (as were the people), I won't do them again. Part of the reason I love to bird abroad so much is that I get to know the local people in the area. And that comes from my Spanish training. It enriches the whole experience.  Plus when I find a bird, I earn it.  No one found it but ME. And that's a life bird earned in my book. I know there will be times when I need to call on someone for help.  The Nava's Wren is a perfect example of THE bird I could not find on my own. This trip was amazing and it better defined who I am as a birder. For that I am grateful.  And to people like Laurie Foss and Michael Retter(and everyone else!) who put this trip together, THANK YOU!  It was flawless.  You guys did a great job!  

A Giant Swallowtail greets me on my return home to Tucson.  This butterfly was laying eggs on my citrus plants in our garden. We all live in an amazing world!

As Las Aventuras leaves the neotropical world behind, we return back to Madera Canyon and begin the third chapter of "Americano". Until next time friends.........

The Test of Time

Roads go ever ever on,

Over rock and under tree,

By caves where never sun has shone,

By streams that never find the sea;

Over snow by winter sown,

And through the merry flowers of June,

Over grass and over stone,

And under mountains in the moon.

    J.R.R. Tolkien-Lord of the Rings

As I explore the life around me, I begin to understand those innermost feelings tucked away deep inside.  Tikal National Park will do that to a person.

Slaty-tailed Trogon

Among the ancient trees with their dark shadows, I began to see.   Every drop of water, moving leaf....every vibration.  By this time on our trip, we were onto the secretive critters!

Spider Monkey.  As he put his back lazily on the branch, his tongue caught of drop of water from the leaves.  Incredible!

I was reminded of my own mortality as I walked among the great Mayan pyramids.  And it kept me present. How many people over the course of time have walked these trails and thought these same things?

Red-brocket Deer

We walked gently on the paths before us under the overcast skies.  So many things crept before our eyes. We were not alone.

Emerald Toucanet

The tour groups were still far off.  "Would we like a tour guide?", they asked. Never.  I am now trained in the way of scouting for wildlife thanks to birding.  We silently walked the ancient paths. And we saw life everywhere!  Will humanity ever learn from the mistakes of past civilizations?  The Mayan civilization collapsed under its own weight.  They didn't just disappear.  Overpopulation was the main reason for their downfall in Tikal.  The rain forest couldn't sustain this large city. It makes me think of today's increasing world population.

Montezuma Oropendula

But my mind was constantly distracted by all the life around us.....hidden in the dark canopy.  It was there!  My friend Lynda did some amazing spotting.  Together we found so many critters.  Meanwhile the tour groups were getting louder in the early morning hours. They were coming our way!

Howler Monkey

Above or below, the creatures of Tikal roamed about us silently.  This wasn't a zoo.  This was wild. And it felt real.

We are so fortunate to have these places preserved so that future generations may witness a piece of history with both its current and former inhabitants.

Golden-fronted Woodpecker

We continued our treks into an area known as the "Lost World" or as we say in Spanish, "El Mundo Perdido"

The ruins were covered for centuries and today, archaeologists from around the world continue to excavate new areas.

The incredible part?  Every niche had a different group of birds and mammals!  As the tourists began to filter in more with their loud voices, we countered opposite into the silent corners of the park.

Crested Guan

Some birds silently stalked us like this Collared Aracari.  But a massive group of tourists came by with their loud voices and scared this bird away.  While viewing a Trogon only meters away, a woman and her posse spotted both Lynda and myself observing the birds up close.  She thought it would be fun to "CAW CAW!" at the male and communicate with the pair.  They flew away immediately and I threw the lady a look that could kill.

Collared Aracari

We headed towards the exit after a wonderful morning and afternoon at the park.  The pic below made me smile.

This is one of my favorite National Parks of the world. And it's Guatemala's number one tourist destination.

White-collared Seedeater

I had too many pics from our outing here and so I will break this up into two posts. The second will include a rare falcon sighting!

Social Flycatcher

In so many ways, the ancient Mayan culture was not so different from our own.  It certainly made for an exciting outing.   My friend Lynda introduced me to a new program on my cell phone known as Momentsia.

Ocellated Turkey

Here is a collage using that program with some of the work from Tikal.  My mother told me when I was young that I was the storyteller of the family.  I didn't know what she meant, but while in college, she did a crochet of me and framed it with the word "Storyteller" below. Today it hangs in our humble home. While I review Guatemala, I'll be continuing my adventures in Colorado, Arizona and Wisconsin. With migration happening this month and next, things will become very busy around Southern Arizona. So there's much more to report:)  Birders rarely get to sleep in these days:)

Today's post is linked with Wild Bird Wednesday!