Explorations of an Ecologist: March 2019

Friday, 29 March 2019

Guatemala 2019, Part 5: Reserva Natural Atitlán

Part 1: Introduction
Part 2: Thorn forest in the Motagua Valley (January 18-19, 2019)
Part 3: Los Rachitos del Quetzal (January 19-20, 2019)
Part 4: Sierra de Los Cuchumatanes (January 20-21, 2019)
Part 5: Reserva Natural Atitlán (January 21-22, 2019)
Part 6: Volcán San Pedro (January 23, 2019)
Part 7: Cerro Rostra Maya, Los Tarrales Natural Reserve (January 24, 2019)
Part 8: Los Tarrales Natural Reserve (January 25, 2019)
Part 9: Los Tarrales Natural Reserve (January 26-27, 2019)
Part 10: Parque Nacional Tikal (January 28, 2019)
Part 11: El Caoba former airstrip, Tikal former airstrip (January 29, 2019)
Part 12: Parque Nacional Tikal, Uaxactún (January 30, 2019)
Part 13: El Remate and Flores (January 31, 2019)

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January 21, 2019 (continued)

The afternoon on January 21 was eaten up by the long drive south to Lago de Atitlán, traveling through mountains and passing by countryside. Around 5:00 PM we passed through the town of Sololá, stocked up on beer, and completed the drive down the hill towards the lake. Surrounded by volcanoes, the lake is situated in a massive caldera formed by a volcanic eruption many years ago.

Earlier that day we had booked a room at Hotel San Buenaventura de Atitlán. Only a few minutes walk from the hotel was the entrance gate to Reserva Natural Atitlán, a place that we were planning on exploring the following morning. The hotel was located right on the shores of Lago de Atitlán, which provided an incredible backdrop with several volcanoes looming over the landscape. The cost of a room at Hotel San Buenaventura was a bit more compared to if we had stayed in the nearby town of Panajachel, but the peace and serenity made up for it, as did the fact that the reserve was only a three-minute walk away.

View of Lago de Atitlán - Hotel San Buenaventura de Atitlán, Sololá, Guatemala

We poked around the hotel for half an hour before dark, finding two new birds for me - Rufous Sabrewing and Yellow-winged Tanager - both of which Dan had seen before, as well as a number of trip birds (Acorn Woodpecker, Peregrine Falcon, American Coot, etc). The only nearby restaurant was in a neighbouring hotel, so we walked over in the dark to Atitlán Hotel to eat the extremely overpriced meal. Then it was back to our hotel and by 9:00 PM we were in bed.

Yellow-winged Tanager - Hotel San Buenaventura de Atitlán, Sololá, Guatemala

January 22, 2019

Now that our big loop of driving was mostly completed, the remainder of the trip would be at a more relaxed pace. We had planned for a single night near Reserva Natural Atitlán, two nights at the south end of the lake, and thee nights at Los Tarrales Natural Reserve, followed by four nights in the north at Tikal. The main reason that we wished to spend a night at Reserva Natural Atitlán was the presence of one particular hummingbird species, the woodstar-like Sparkling-tailed Hummingbird, which was seemingly more reliable at this end of the lake.

Before dawn, we were up to begin the day's exploring. A check of Reserva Natural Atitlán confirmed that the gate was closed and would only open at 8:00 AM. That was a little frustrating, but at least the road passed through nice dry forest habitat and given the abundance of flowering trees, we thought that we had a chance for the Sparkling-tailed Hummingbird.

Bush-crested Jay - near Reserva Natural Atitlán, Sololá, Guatemala

The morning started well with great views at a pair of White-faced Ground Sparrows.Only a few minutes later we caught sight of a tiny, long-tailed hummingbird zoom into the top of a flowering tree that was being feasted on by Baltimore Orioles and Tennessee Warblers. It was a Sparkling-tailed!

Sparkling-tailed Hummingbird - near Reserva Natural Atitlán, Sololá, Guatemala

We poked around for another hour and a half while we waited for the gate to open. Fortunately the roadside birding was quite good and our day list hit 50 species relatively early on. A Blue-and-white Mockingbird furtively crept around a roadside bush, a Greater Pewee perched on a dead snag, while a Rivoli's Hummingbird and Morelet's Seedeater were discovered in the garden of the hotel. Each of these species was new for me, but Dan had seem them all elsewhere, except for Blue-and-white Mockingbird.

Blue-and-white Mockingbird - near Reserva Natural Atitlán, Sololá, Guatemala

Azure-crowned Hummingbird - near Reserva Natural Atitlán, Sololá, Guatemala

. I even took a photo of one of the ubiquitous Great-tailed Grackles!

Great-tailed Grackle - near Reserva Natural Atitlán, Sololá, Guatemala

Several fence lizards (Sceloporus sp.) were basking on trees by the shore of Lago de Atitlán, now that the sun had crept above the rim of the caldera and was quickly warming the landscape.

Sceloporus sp. - Reserva Natural Atitlán, Sololá, Guatemala

At 8:00 AM sharp we found ourselves back at the entrance gate to Reserva Natural Atitlán. This time it was open, so we quickly paid the entrance fee and hit the trails. Much of the landscape consisted of dry, deciduous forest with a high proportion of oak (Quercus sp.). Dan and I walked a big loop, climbing up into the hills and back down again.

Oak forest at Reserva Natural Atitlán, Sololá, Guatemala

Despite the best hours of the morning being behind us, we did quite well with a number of new bird sightings. One of our most wanted birds of the trip was Blue-throated Motmot, an odd-looking species with a limited range in the highlands of southern Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras. Dan made a great find when he picked one out sitting quietly at the side of a ravine. Unfortunately, it was a little distant for good photos.

The morning's birding remained excellent and we soon added Yellowish Flycatcher, Rose-throated Becard, Ruddy-capped Nightingale-Thrush, Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet, Flame-coloured Tanager, White-throated Flycatcher and Black-vented Oriole among many other species.

Rose-throated Becard - Reserva Natural Atitlán, Sololá, Guatemala

Western Tanager - Reserva Natural Atitlán, Sololá, Guatemala

The warm, late-morning sun seemed to power up a number of butterfly species, several of which we photographed. One of the big attractions at Reserva Natural Atitlán is the butterfly garden located inside a building. I'm not sure why you would spent time inside seeing butterflies when you could walk the trail and see so much else, as well as a nice selection of butterflies. To each their own, I guess.

Pale-banded Crescent - Reserva Natural Atitlán, Sololá, Guatemala

Unidentified satyr - Reserva Natural Atitlán, Sololá, Guatemala

Metalmark (Calephelis sp.) - Reserva Natural Atitlán, Sololá, Guatemala

One last surprise was in store for us - a chipping MacGillivray's Warbler near the entrance that came in with a bit of playback. We had seen several on the previous day, high in the mountains, but this was a much better view. Photos though, not so much! The MacGillivray's Warbler was the 76th species on the morning's eBird checklist - not a bad haul.

MacGillvray's Warbler - Reserva Natural Atitlán, Sololá, Guatemala

As you could tell by now, today was not a great "photography day". Most species remained just too far away, making anything more than just a record shot impossible, and extended photoshoots with any species did not happen. But we would make up for that later in the trip, especially at Los Tarrales and Tikal.

We checked out of the hotel before noon and hit the road. Our route would take us from the Panajachel area back out of the caldera, and around the west side of the lake to San Pedro La Laguna, located halfway between #6 and #7 on the maps, below.

We made good time on the drive and arrived in the San Pedro La Laguna area by 2 PM or so. On the drive Dan searched for accommodations online and we settled on one, called Ecohotel Uxlabil. Located right on the shores of Lago de Atitlán, Ecohotel Uxlabil is located just out of town and down a steep hillside, adding to the feeling of seclusion. Right from the balcony, however, is an incredible view of the south end of Lago de Atitlán. The prominent hill across the lake is known as as Cerro Rostra de Maya, loosely translated to Indian Nose Hill. That location would be our best shot of the trip for Belted Flycatcher and we planned to hike up it in a couple of days time.

Cerro Rostra Maya - viewed from Ecohotel Uxlabil, San Pedro La Laguna, Sololá, Guatemala

Dan and I decided that we would relax for the rest of the afternoon since it had been a few busy days up to that point, and we had an arduous hike planned for the next day. It just so happened that our room was on the top floor of the Ecohotel, with the balcony providing excellent panoramic views of not only the lake, but a number of trees that were growing near the base of the Ecohotel. It was the perfect location for a "Big Sit".

Big Sit at Ecohotel Uxlabil - San Pedro La Laguna, Sololá, Guatemala

A Big Sit, for those wondering, is an attempt by birders to see as many bird species as possible over a certain time period (whether it be an hour, an afternoon, a 24-hour period, etc), from a certain location. During a Big Day attempt you can travel around to search for birds, but during a Big Sit, you are confined to one small area. As our eBird checklist grew to 20 species and then to 30 species, we decided that this would be a good a time as any to see how high we could get the list!

On the lake were a number of waterbirds - Pied-billed Grebe, American Coot, Lesser Scaup, Common Gallinule, while various wading birds and even an Osprey perched near the shoreline.

Common Gallinule - Ecohotel Uxlabil, San Pedro La Laguna, Sololá, Guatemala

As the afternoon wore on and evening approached, we began to notice an uptick in the local movement of birds along the lakeshore, whether it was a Red-billed Pigeon returning from a feeding area, several Orchard Orioles moving through in the trees below us, or massive flocks of grackles heading to the reed beds to roost. The trees around the Ecohotel often were loaded down with birds whenever a local flock passed by, and we ticked new species like Magnolia Warbler, Painted Bunting, Red-legged Honeycreeper and Grayish Saltator this way. Even a male Sparkling-tailed Hummingbird showed up and perched for a few minutes!

Dusky-capped Flycatcher - Ecohotel Uxlabil, San Pedro La Laguna, Sololá, Guatemala

Morelet's Seedeater - Ecohotel Uxlabil, San Pedro La Laguna, Sololá, Guatemala

Blue-gray Tanager - Ecohotel Uxlabil, San Pedro La Laguna, Sololá, Guatemala

Some non-birds were noted too, such as this basking Green Iguana at the edge of the lake.

Green Iguana - Ecohotel Uxlabil, San Pedro La Laguna, Sololá, Guatemala

An hour prior to dusk, Dan and I decided we would go for a short walk around the shoreline near the Ecohotel to try to pad our list. Three hours on the balcony had produced 51 species! In the photo below, the Ecohotel is the green building on the right.

Ecohotel Uxlabil (on right) - San Pedro La Laguna, Sololá, Guatemala

In the last hour of daylight we added fifteen more species, including our first ever Rusty Sparrow. I even took my first decent-ish photo of a Rufous-collared Sparrow. This species is abundant in much of Central and South America and easy to overlook, but they are quite attractive.

Rufous-collared Sparrow - Ecohotel Uxlabil, San Pedro La Laguna, Sololá, Guatemala

We went to bed at a reasonable time since the following morning would be an early start. Our plan was to climb Volcán San Pedro, where on its highest slopes, Horned Guans still roamed.

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Tuesday, 26 March 2019

Guatemala 2019, Part 4 : Sierra de Los Cuchumatanes

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January 20, 2019 (continued)

La Sierra de Los Cuchumatanes is the highest non-volcanic mountain range in Central America. With 1,500 square kilometres of mountains situated above 3000 masl, it is the largest highland region in Central America. We were interested in visiting this area due to the presence of one special bird: the Goldman's Warbler. Currently considered a subspecies of Yellow-rumped Warbler, the Goldman's Warbler is a beautiful boldly-patterned bird that is a year-round resident of the chilly highlands of western Guatemala, particularly in the Sierra de Los Cuchumatanes.

We debated whether it would be worth our time to drive all the way out to the Cuchumatanes. However, by completing a big loop it was only a few extra hours out of the way, which made our decision easier. We had booked a place on AirBnB that we found in the town of Todos Santos Cuchumatan for the reasonable price of 13$ for the night.

To obtain access to the national park above Todos Santos Cuchumatan, one must be accompanied by a local guide. We asked the manager at Los Ranchitos if he knew how to arrange this, and he provided us with the contact information of a woman who does research in the area. We called her and she passed on the name and phone number of a local guide. Via Whatsapp the local guide confirmed that a friend would be available the next day and could accompany us for a reasonable price. We were all set as we hit the road.

Our rental truck, between Coban and Huehuetenango, Guatemala

The drive west to Todos Santos Cuchumatan was a long one, and the road conditions made us happy that we had rented a Toyota Hilux with 4WD. Most of the drive traversed mountainous terrain and the first three hours consisted of a windy, pot-holed gravel road. We slowly made progress and by mid-afternoon were only a few hours away.

Unfortunately, our good luck stopped there. We tried to confirm our reservation with the Airbnb host but he would promptly hang up on us shortly after answering our call, this happened several times. We grew frustrated and began looking at other options. Fortunately Dan knew of a ranch called Unicornio Azul, located in a nearby part of the mountains. A quick check of eBird confirmed that there were records of Goldman's Warbler from the ranch, too. As a bonus, it was an hour closer than Todos Santos Cuchumatan. We decided to change course and attempted to arrange a night's accommodation at the ranch since we did not want to risk trying to sort out the Airbnb location. Fortunately, they had one room remaining, so we confirmed. Reluctantly I cancelled our plans with the guide for the next morning since we would not be making it all the way to Todos Santos Cuchumatan. In hindsight, we should have just stayed at the ranch and made the drive to Todos Santos Cuchumatan to look for the Goldman's Warbler and everything else.

The afternoon had been eaten up by the drive but we had added a few birds here and there. Species new for me included Band-backed Wren, while Black-capped Swallow and Brown-backed Solitaire were lifers for both Dan and I.

It was shortly after dark by the time that we pulled into the ranch. We enjoyed a delicious dinner and checked out our room. Somewhere in the distance an Unspotted Saw-whet Owl called - an added bonus that we were not really expecting. We decided that we would head out on foot in search of more owls.

The air was cold but the day's breeze was dwindling as we huffed and puffed up a hillside, moonlight illuminating the path. It would take us a few days to get used to the elevation, that was for sure! At the viewpoint, a Mexican Whip-poor-will fired up but we also heard another Unspotted Saw-whet Owl, in a copse beyond a fence that delineated the property boundary of the ranch. A brief snippet of playback from my iPhone did not entice the owl closer, but it did instigate a second owl to fire up not far from where we were standing! Below is a video I recorded of one of the owls singing.

We attempted to triangulate its location and eventually I spotted the owl, perched above us in an oak. No sooner had I noticed the bird that it flew, and that would be the last we would see of it. Dan and I were pretty thrilled with our luck anyways, since Unspotted Saw-whet Owls have a small range and can be tricky to find.

As we walked back down the hillside to the lodge, we happened to glance up at the sky. Wait a minute, something was wrong with the moon. Was that an eclipse?

It was a surreal moment, watching the total lunar eclipse unfold while we stood there in the darkness, somewhere in the vast Guatemalan highlands. Of course if we had been plugged into social media this would not have been a surprise, but it caught us off guard. Definitely an interesting way to end the day!

The temperatures dropped down to the freezing mark that night, making us thankful for the hot water bottles that the staff had kindly provided to us. As we slept, dreams of Goldman's Warbler and Pink-headed Warbler were in our heads.

January 21, 2019

It was difficult to work up the courage to leave our beds in the morning, but the ardent calls of Steller's Jays provided all the motivation we needed.

Despite the cold temperatures birds were quite active in the morning. Hardly five minutes after stepping outside we had seen our first Pink-headed Warbler! This species is one of four "holy grail" birds targeted by birders visiting the highlands of Guatemala, the others being Horned Guan, Belted Flycatcher and Azure-rumped Tanager. All four of these species are limited to the mountains of southern Mexico and western Guatemala. The Pink-headed Warbler is spectacular to see, with a silvery-pink head contrasted by a deep red body. We did not know this at the time, but these would be the only Pink-headed Warblers we would see all trip.

Pink-headed Warbler - Posada Rural y Ecuestre Unicornio Azul, Chiantla, Huehuetenango, Guatemala

Over the course of the morning we explored a few trails throughout the ranch's property. The viewpoint was absolutely spectacular, and the excellent visibility ensured that we could see for miles across the mountains. We enjoyed hanging out here with the sun shining down as we attempted to warm up. A Black-capped Siskin, one of our main targets, flew over calling but that would be the only sighting of the day. Rufous-collared Robins were quite conspicuous here, as were Guatemalan Yellow-eyed Juncos, a Guatemalan Flicker (Northern Flicker) and a White-eared Hummingbird. A small flock of Bushtits wandered through, while Eastern Meadowlarks sang from a grassy field down the hillside.

Viewpoint at Posada Rural y Ecuestre Unicornio Azul, Chiantla, Huehuetenango, Guatemala

Rufous-collared Robin - Posada Rural y Ecuestre Unicornio Azul, Chiantla, Huehuetenango, Guatemala

Unfortunately the Goldman's Warblers were not playing ball. We hypothesized that during the winter they are likely flocking together with other birds, whereas if we had visited in April they would be singing on territory. We crisscrossed the property and saw quite a few birds and a few mixed flocks, but none contained any Goldman's Warblers.

Posada Rural y Ecuestre Unicornio Azul, Chiantla, Huehuetenango, Guatemala

Hammond's Flycatchers on the other hand were quite common, providing a nice study.

Hammond's Flycatcher - Posada Rural y Ecuestre Unicornio Azul, Chiantla, Huehuetenango, Guatemala

Townsend's Warblers were one of the most common warblers here, but we also found a nice mixed flock that contained a pair of Pink-headed Warblers and a couple of Hermit Warblers (a long overdue lifer for me!).

Hermit Warbler - Posada Rural y Ecuestre Unicornio Azul, Chiantla, Huehuetenango, Guatemala

The bright sunlight caused several butterflies and moths to take to the wing.

Cyanopepla bella - Posada Rural y Ecuestre Unicornio Azul, Chiantla, Huehuetenango, Guatemala

Phyciodes sp. - Posada Rural y Ecuestre Unicornio Azul, Chiantla, Huehuetenango, Guatemala

Soon, it was time to depart the highlands and make our way down to Lago de Atitlán. We reluctantly cut our losses with the Goldman's Warbler, but at least we had found some spectacular species and had had an enjoyable time at Unicornio Azul.

On the drive out, I noticed this hairstreak on the road which I have tentatively identified as Arizona Hairstreak. It reminded me of an Early Hairstreak from North America; turns out, they are very closely related to each other.

Arizona Hairstreak - Posada Rural y Ecuestre Unicornio Azul, Chiantla, Huehuetenango, Guatemala

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Friday, 22 March 2019

Guatemala 2019, Part 3 : Los Ranchitos del Quetzal

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January 19, 2019 (continued)

Los Ranchitos del Quetzal is a private nature reserve located south of Coban, represented by #3 on the map. Situated in humid forest right beside the main road, Los Ranchitos is an excellent place to explore. A trail system on the property includes one which follows a stream to a waterfall, while a second short trail climbs into the hills above the lodge. Lodging here was a little bit more expensive here compared to a hostel or hotel, but the advantage of staying at Los Ranchitos is that you are surrounded by pristine forest that is just outside your cabin.

We pulled into the driveway by early afternoon, having made good time on the drive from the Motagua Valley. Right away we had an excellent sighting. A Long-tailed Weasel darted across the driveway, pausing to look back at us before scurrying away. It was the first Long-tailed Weasel that either of us had seen in Central America.

We checked in, were shown to our rooms, and tried to not get too distracted by the Violet Sabrewing and Green-throated Mountain-Gem periodically visiting the feeders. A walk was in order; Dan and I were excited to explore a new area. We headed straight for the trail leading to the waterfall.

Los Ranchitos del Quetzal, Baja Verapaz, Guatemala

Several bird species are found in this part of Guatemala that we would not have another chance at on this trip. Of particular interest to us was Slate-colored Solitaire and Unicolored Jay, two species with somewhat limited ranges. A few other birds of interest included Black-headed Nightingale-Thrush and Great Swallow-tailed Swift, though these species are not commonly seen at Los Ranchitos. Resplendent Quetzal was another target of mine since I had never birded in their range before. We were in the right place, given the name of the reserve and the photos of quetzals everywhere around the lodge.

Slate-throated Redstart - Los Ranchitos del Quetzal, Baja Verapaz, Guatemala

Birding was very quiet during the afternoon, though I did get on a Slate-colored Solitaire and Dan later found one as well. We sifted through one mixed flock but there were few others mixed in with the Common Chlorospinguses (Chlorospingi?). A pair of Golden-browed Warblers was a life bird for both of us but otherwise it was slim pickings.

Stuart's Anole was a species we were really hoping to connect with. Limited to a small geographical area and narrow elevation range in these central highlands, Stuart's Anole was certainly one of the more range-restricted species we would search for during our trip. At Los Ranchitos they are exceedingly abundant; perhaps fifteen or twenty of them appeared on mist-soaked branches, under crumbling logs, or among the thick-leaf litter in the humid environment during our time here. A distinctive characteristic of anoles is the presence of a colourful dewlap which males possess and use to express their dominance to each other. Anole species can often be told apart by the colour and pattern of their dewlaps. Stuart's Anole has an attractive dewlap that is royal blue in the center, gradually fading to purple, pink, orange and peach.

Stuart's Anole - Los Ranchitos del Quetzal, Baja Verapaz, Guatemala

For dinner that evening we decided to stay in and enjoy the wonderful Cafe Guarumo. We were both starving; our caloric intake that day had consisted of a Clif bar and a few handfuls of peanuts each.

Dinner at Cafe Guaramo - Los Ranchitos del Quetzal, Baja Verapaz, Guatemala

That evening we strapped on our headlamps and headed back out to the trails to see what sort of nocturnal creatures we could scare up. As we walked we paused occasionally to inspect the abundant orthopteran, lepidopteran, phasmid or arthropod life.

Orophus sp. - Los Ranchitos del Quetzal, Baja Verapaz, Guatemala

We noticed several moths, like this one pictured below, that had been attacked by a parasitic fungi in the genus Cordyceps (as far as I can tell). When the fungi attacks the host, the mycelium invades and replaces the host's tissues, while the elongated fruit bodies (ascocarps) grow outwards. It is on these ascocarps that the spores reside, eventually breaking into fragments and presumably becoming infective. Pretty wild stuff!

Moth invaded by Cordyceps sp. fungus - Los Ranchitos del Quetzal, Baja Verapaz, Guatemala

Unfortunately the temperatures had steadily dropped all afternoon and were now several degrees below normal, which we worried would put a damper on reptile activity. This, unfortunately, turned out to be the case. While snakes remained out of sight, at least we had the opportunity to study many Stuart's Anoles, a species that did not seem too bothered by the cold temperatures.

Stuart's Anole - Los Ranchitos del Quetzal, Baja Verapaz, Guatemala

A few frogs were also noted, though we observed fewer than expected given that we were walking beside a rushing stream.

Ptychohyla hypomykter - Los Ranchitos del Quetzal, Baja Verapaz, Guatemala

Unidentified treefrog - Los Ranchitos del Quetzal, Baja Verapaz, Guatemala

January 20, 2019

The following morning dawned gray and misty while a chill hung in the air. We walked from our cabin to the main lodge building and waited for the sky to lighten with the onset of a new day. Eventually the first birds appeared as the morning brightened, including Northern Emerald-Toucanet, a flyover flock of Barred Parakeets and the usual hummingbird species. The lodge feeds Unicolored Jays daily, putting out pieces of fresh tortillas for the birds. Some distinctive calls drew our attention and soon we were looking at a quartet of Unicolored Jays, silhouetted against the steely gray sky. They worked up sufficient courage and flew down to the tray feeder.

We cranked our ISOs on our cameras to combat the low light but it was tricky obtaining a nice photo of the jays due to their propensity to perch out of sight after stuffing their beaks with tortillas.

Unicolored Jay - Los Ranchitos del Quetzal, Baja Verapaz, Guatemala

The rest of the morning consisted of some casual birding on a different trail that climbs up into the hills as well as an excellent breakfast at Cafe Guarumo. The cold temperatures made birding difficult and a dawn chorus never really materialized. New birds included a Resplendent Quetzal (heard only, unfortunately), Rufous-browed Wren, Spot-crowned Woodcreeper and Azure-crowned Hummingbird.

Soon, it was time to hit the road. Our destination would be the high-elevation mountains further west of us and north of Huehuetenango. The Goldman's Warbler, a distinctive subspecies of Yellow-rumped Warbler, is found only in a few mountains in western Guatemala and would be our target for the following morning.

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