4th March
Lake Atitlan from Rey Tepepul
We rose at 5:15 this morning and had coffee at 6. We had decided yesterday evening to go back up to the Rey Tepepul mirador this morning, due to the misty attempt on 2nd. This time it was clear but quite windy so again the birding was a little difficult. Straight away we decided to walk down a trail which took us amongst the trees for hopefully, a bit of shelter from the wind. A few birds were coming to some trees which were in fruit so we concentrated there for a while. We had nice views of a Northern Emerald Toucanet, Band-tailed Pigeon, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Pacific Parakeet, another Mountain Elaenia, a Southern House Wren, another Rufous-capped Warbler and a few familiar warblers. Whilst standing in the shade, Maynor & Fernando heard a familiar plaintive high pitched call up in the canopy. After a short playback of the call it was located, sitting out on a high thin branch, a male Blue-crowned Chlorophonia! - what a bird! We were all standing on quite a sloping path so although most got on to the bird, a few did miss it unfortunately. We then ventured back up to the mirador area where the wind has subsided a little, and birded from there. A Grey Silky-flycatcher came and perched up, and then on another tree nearby, a Cedar Waxwing, which is a scarce winter visitor to the region. Whilst watching this bird, noting the yellowish vent which distinguished it from the [Common] Waxwing which we occasionally get back home, it was suddenly joined by two smaller birds - male and female Elegant Euphonias! Much joy and excitement from Alan C as this was his most wanted bird of the trip, and very smart little birds they were too. On the other side of the road a Buffy-crowned Wood-partridge which was heard calling, and was then called in to give views as it scuttled through the scrub on the hillside. All done, we travelled back down to the Posada for breakfast at around 9, then had a while to pack before we left at 10:15 to set out on the long drive NE to our next location in the dry Motagua Valley.
En route we noted Western Cattle Egrets in a field, and a fly-by Northern Crested Caracara. Around the middle of the day we eventually reached Guatemala City and had lunch in a superb restaurant not far from the airport. It was really buzzing with local people which wasn't surprising as the service and food were excellent. After lunch we moved on to a local eco reserve - Parque Regional Cayala. We walked a short trail here, and got good views of another Buffy-crowned Wood-partridge. Another good bird we found there was MacGillivray's Warbler, and others comprised a couple of Bushy-crested Jays, Cabani's Wren, a Rufous-capped Warbler and Black-capped Swallows overhead.
We then pressed on, on the Panamerican Highway, encountering some impressive construction work on a mountain pass with the resulting long traffic queues winding up & down either side of the climb. We eventually arrived at the Hotel Camino Largo at around 5 p.m. so there was a short span of daylight to 'chill' after the journey. A quick look around the grounds before we had dinner produced a group of 5 Groove-billed Anis in a tree, a couple of Ruddy Ground-doves, a female Great Tailed Grackle by the swimming pool, White-tipped Dove, and 2 Streak-backed Orioles were new for the trip. Darkness fell so we ate, did the bird list, made sure we were packed again, and crashed!
We then pressed on, on the Panamerican Highway, encountering some impressive construction work on a mountain pass with the resulting long traffic queues winding up & down either side of the climb. We eventually arrived at the Hotel Camino Largo at around 5 p.m. so there was a short span of daylight to 'chill' after the journey. A quick look around the grounds before we had dinner produced a group of 5 Groove-billed Anis in a tree, a couple of Ruddy Ground-doves, a female Great Tailed Grackle by the swimming pool, White-tipped Dove, and 2 Streak-backed Orioles were new for the trip. Darkness fell so we ate, did the bird list, made sure we were packed again, and crashed!
