I and the Volcano

Recently, I promised more stories of adventures gone by, and with the rigorous migration season behind me I have both time and subject matter to blog about. Here is one of my favorite recent adventures... flashback to March in Guatemala.

As with any great bird trip we started at o'dark-thirty and made our way toward the hotel dining area for coffee. The unusually silent streets of Panajachel (a colorful lake side community which is usually bustling) were interrupted only by the distant song of a whip-poor-will and the quiet "mews" Clay-colored Robins roosting nearby. After coffee and breakfast we packed lunch and extra drinks into our purposely light day packs and loaded into the van for our first leg of the journey, a short drive to the boat launch.

Volcan Toliman looms in the distance

It was a bit brighter here as we found our way to our launch. A Tropical Mockingbird greeted the morning light, with the typical host of Great-tailed Grackles. As we shuttled across Lago Atitlan for an anxious half hour or so, Barn Swallows and Laughing Gulls dipped over the water but there was little more in the way of birds over the lake. The steep sided cones of Volcan San Pedro and Toliman loomed ominously in the morning mist as a reminder of the day's task. Today we would tackle the steep sided Volcan San Pedro and climb some 3500' vertical in hopes of seeing one of the strangest, yet coolest birds in all of Guatemala, the elusive Horned Guan!

early morning landing in San Pedro La Laguna

Upon landing in San Pedro La Laguna, we awaited our next vehicle. A truck that would carry us up the steep slopes of town and deliver us safely to the trail head at the reserve. It promised to be a beautiful day with hardly a cloud in the sky, but from all I'd spoken to who had been here before me, I knew I was in for a workout! Living at ~8 feet above sea level, with an extra 20 pounds that I refer to as my "winter weight", I was probably not ideally prepared for the task ahead. However, I knew I'd make it even if carried by adrenaline alone. To the delight of my fellow birders I don't go any where without my trusty spotting scope!

At the trail head there were birds everywhere! The hillside was absolutely thick with bird activity. The bulk of these were neotropical migrants that spend half their lives (winter) in the tropics and then migrate north to breed in the United States and Canada. Western Tanagers were thick as were Black-throated Green Warblers, but as the flocks passed we added other species as well. A handful of Flame-colored Tanagers mixed with Westerns, and a large rusty sparrow popped up briefly. Our incredible guide Hugo, informed me the one was aptly named "Rusty Sparrow"... go figure, some birds are named well! ;p

Lesser Roadrunner, digiscoped Volcan San Pedro, 3/7/08

There were loads of birds along the way but I didn't stop to photograph many of these. Doing so would have cost me my time to study these birds and slowed the group as a whole. So we continued our slow crawl uphill adding new birds as we did. In the lower, more open areas I spotted a cooperative Prevost's Ground-Sparrow at trail side, and we heard and finally saw 2 Lesser Roadrunners. Flowering hillside shrubs attracted White-eared and Ruby-throated Humingbirds. Mountain Trogons called from nearby brush, and Black-headed Siskins perched prominently in a low treetop to our left. A cooperative perched Blue-throated Motmot offered a welcomed break from our march so I could suck up some of the thin mountain air. (Coming from Florida I prefer my air like my beer, with a bit more body than this light mountain stuff!)

Once again we pushed on, and the crowd began to separate once again. I was spending more time staring at my feet than up hill, but I did manage to glance up at just the right time on one occasion. I think I sensed a bird more than seeing it (as odd as that sounds) but I brought my head up to find myself eye to eye with a stunning stocky songbird. Not 6 feet away we stared at each other as I gave him the once over: stocky and short-tailed, green-backed... it reminded me of a Pepper-shrike... "Huff, Puff" I knew this bird I'd seen it countless times thumbing through the guide... think "Huff, Puff". As I wracked my brain I called up to Jim to get back down here. The bird's white iris gleamed, split by black eyeline below and bright yellow, supercilliary stripe above... what was this bird? I stared at its plain white undersides accentuated by a chestnut breast band that extended down its sides... neurons suddenly flickered, smoke was in the air... "Huff, Puff... of course, Chestnut-sides...This was a Chestnut-sided Shrike-Vireo, and a stunning male at that! All got to see this bird except the two most energetic individuals leading the charge uphill. I wasn't slow, I just didn't want to miss anything that's all (or so I told myself).

Lesser Roadrunner, digiscoped with Leica APO Televid 62 scope & C-Lux 2 camera

I kept an eye on swifts streaming overhead in hopes of adding a Chestnut-collared Swift but every group that passed gave me a familiar chattering laugh, letting me know they were old friends; White-throated Swifts that breed along the mountainous cliffs throughout much of the western US come summer. A stunning hummingbird, the Sparkling-tailed Woodstar fed in a flowered clearing, and a Chestnut-capped Brush-Finch was seen. The warbler list took on a more resident/tropical flair with the additions of Golden-browed and Crescent-chested Warblers as we reached our first "rest stop".

"About halfway there now", Hugo told us. I removed my back pack, already drenched with perspiration and decided to both lighten my load and replenish some of that lost winter weight by sucking down some juice and water! "Huff, Puff, Huff..." My back chilled dramatically as moisture began to evaporate from my soaked back.

An Emerald Toucanet rocketed by from overhead and disappeared into the treetops below, then a close Whip-poor-will sang. It served as the all call and we loaded up again to continue our ascent! Gray Silky Flycatchers were abundant and had been passing in groups of 4 & 5 almost continuously as we climbed. Soon after beginning the second half of our ascent, Hugo's radio crackled. The reserve guides had located Guans about 1,000 feet above us! We all took off as fast as we could. Those with better conditioning quickly pulled away from the pack though. I stayed in the middle of the pack far behind the leaders.... Not that I couldn't keep up mind you... uhhh... I just wanted to make sure those in the rear were doing alright!....Yeah that's it! ;p

I could no longer see the lead three and my incessant puffing had grown to a dull roar, my heart rate sped, and I found I had to regularly stop and bend over to catch my breath. Reminiscent of the "Tortoise and the Hare", Jim would pass me each time I stopped and and vice versa. Although, in reality we would likely rename this tale "The Two Tortoises" given our pace.

At long last, I could see the leaders stopped ahead. Tim called back, '..no need to hurry...' They'd flown up slope even before these speed demons arrived. Slightly disappointed and decidedly ragged from the rapid ascent over the past 1,000 feet, we trudged slowly upward. Eventually, reaching the top of the bird's preferred habitat. Now it was a simple matter of working up and down the trail in this area. I hated the thought of giving up altitude, but the thought of not seeing this spectacular bird was a stronger drive than mere limitations of flesh and man (despite what my lungs, heart, and legs had to say about it)!

first glimpse of Guan

At least, the pace was more leisurely now so I could soak up the birds here as I scoured the dark tree tops in search of this enormous bird. There was one particular tree here in full bloom that was absolutely chock full of birds, easily hundreds of them. We counted as many as a dozen Gray-silkies on one little snag in the expansive crown of this tree, along with countless warbler, bushtits, hummingbirds, etc. We found a gap where we could look down on the tree top from above with the scope and add numerous birds to our growing day list. An amazing spectacle! (I'm sure someone can remind me of the name of the tree which now escapes me, a tall tree with broad canopy, with VERY distinctive flowers that resemble bright yellow & red chicken's feet!)

Another pleasant distraction was seeing the tiny Wine-throated Hummingbird, once conspecific with Bumblebee Hummingbird, "Howell & Webb" list the length at a mere 2.7 inches making it the tiniest hummingbird in the Americas and perhaps the world! (Bumblebee listed@ 2.8") Despite being tired, these wonderful avian distractions had all but taken the sting out of missing the Guan (and my legs for that matter), when a whistled note from below came up. I asked the reserve guide, "is that our sign?" and he nodded. "Eagle-eyed Jim" had found the Horned Guans, and this time they were close by and downhill to boot! At first I couldn't spot them but when one finally moved it couldn't be missed. A huge dark shape in the shadows with a white band through the tail, definitely our bird but not the view one hopes for.

Horned Guan digiscoped on Volcan San Pedro, Guatemala 3/7/08

As the birds moved slowly through the canopy one finally gave the view we all hoped for. It was a bit distant but not far above eye level as the tree was rooted below our elevation here. Positively prehistoric, the bird posed for brief moments in this hole so all could see the sky blue iris set on the black feathered face, accentuating the bird's vacuous stare! The ivory-bill was also gleamed compared to the glossy black head and neck as I snapped my first few images. We were absolutely thrilled at the views we had of this little "guan-a-bee" with its lack luster horn, but before long the birds continued out of sight down slope and around the steep edge of the cone. Smiles couldn't have been bigger on the faces that surrounded me now. It was near 2:00 though and we still had to climb back down, meet our truck, and catch the launch. We happily and wearily turned our toes toward the lake shore and began downhill perfectly content.

Horned Guan digiscoped through Leica APO Televid 65 scope with C-Lux 2 camera

As I said we were perfectly content and really didn't need the much closer views of the bird above when it crash landed right over our heads. But hey... you can't look a gift horn in the mouth... or something like that. Views of this bird, who I affectionately dubbed "Don Guan" was just the icing on the cake, an absolutely astounding end to a spectacular birding day a in a VERY bird rich location. Should you ever get the chance to bird here, by all means do. Of course, if you have time for a bit of cardiovascular training in advance I'd also recommend this (I did not heed this advice). This is perhaps the most physically demanding (and as such one of the most rewarding) bird hikes I've taken to date! For those who have seen Bristle-thighed Curlew in Nome, this makes Coffee Dome seem like a walk in the park! ;)