A B-day present for BT3

Tawny-winged Woodcreeper, digiscoped in Peten, Guatemala, 03/03/08

We spent a glorious morning birding the Cerro Cahuí reserve in Peten, Guatemala. It was a wonderful place and we enjoyed views of tropical specialties like Red-throated Ant-Tanagers, Gray-headed Tanagers, Royal Flycatchers, Sepia-capped Flycatchers, and Golden-crowned Warblers, occurring side-by-side with more familiar neotropical migrants like Magnolia, Worm-eating, & Kentucky Warblers, and Yellow-bellied & Great Crested Flycatchers. At one point we ran into an amazing feeding flock and we were picking out new birds left and right. "Sulphur-rumped Flycatcher over the path.... Smoky-brown Woodpecker over here... Tawny-crowned Greenlet 2 feet off the ground... Tawny-winged Woodcreeper behind..." Whenever you see lots of bird activity like this you always suspect there might be an ant swarm nearby. Every small invertebrate in the leaf litter will break from cover when the Army Ants come through, and many birds will follow the ants and take advantage of the easy pickings. The Tawny-crowned Greenlet and Tawny-winged Woodcreeper are two specialists that are known to always follow these swarms in this area, so even though we couldn't see them it was a better than fair bet the ants were there.

shuttling across Lago Peten Itza, on a sunny day 3/3/08

Of course, this isn't a post about the great birding this morning. This is a post about how my good buddy, Bill Thompson (affectionately known as BT3), got another year older on this sunny day in Guatemala. After lunch, Bill and others enjoyed a quick dip in the crystalline waters of the lake (Lago Peten Itza), then we all boarded various launches and took a ride back across the water to meet our buses.

There was a quiet murmur going through the group about this being Bill's birthday and all. I felt bad that I didn't know in advance or I would have gotten him something special. Bill's shuttle was the first back to terra firma and while we tooled along serpentine looking at Ring-necked Ducks, Grebes, and Black-necked Stilts. One of the keen-eyed birders on our boat picked out a tiny compact raptor perched atop a radio tower on an island. Distant view, but given the compact falcon shaped body, big head, and overall darkness, we all agreed this was a Bat Falcon. "Oh man, Bill needs that!" someone on the boat commented.

Cell phones were produced and finally someone was able to get a hold of Bill. There was a series of calls back and forth to get more details, but try that they might Bill and the others on shore were not able to see the tiny falcon on the back side of the very distant tower.

Bat Falcon, digiscoped w/Leica APO Televid scope & C-Lux 2 camera, Peten, Guatemala

As our boat pulled in and I prepared to hop ashore with scope in hand, I noticed a curious dark shape over the heads of those looking for the falcon. I raised my binoculars to confirm and then quickly stated, "Heck, forget that one here's a Bat Falcon teed up right behind you!" It sat as bold as can be on a TV aerial on the building immediately adjacent to the cantina where those ashore were enjoying celebratory libations. Bill enjoyed the view through my scope that I captured above and we shared a "high-five".

BT3 takes some images of his birthday falcon!

Then one of the locals showed us we could get at eye level with the bird on the balcony above the cantina. So we all climbed up and enjoyed even better views.

Shutter releases and motor drives whirred as Bill soaked up his birthday present properly. he only stopped to take advantage of his celebratory ice-cream cone!.... All the good birders celebrate with ice cream. Roger Tory Peterson loved to stop for ice cream while birding (that's RTP BTW)!

Did you write about that Bill?!?...

Bat Falcon at eye level, digiscoped w/ Leica APO spottting scope & C-Lux 2 camera 3/3/08

But like all good things this too had to come to an end and we reluctantly left our prize and shuffled back to the bus. En route, I jokingly told Bill that he was perhaps the only birder I knew to have seen the rare, localized Orange-breasted Falcon (I bird I desperately hoped to see) on 2 occasions without running into the more wide spread Bat Falcon. However, that had now been straightened out, and he promised that we'd try hard to see an Orange-breasted Falcon (or OBF) when we visited Tikal. "I only wish!", I thought as we boarded the bus.