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 31, 2019
Our flight was not scheduled until the evening of January 31, giving us almost an entire day to explore. We decided that we would spend the morning at the former airstrip, aka the trail to the Crocodile Pond, since it had been so birdy on our previous visits.
Surprisingly, we had fewer birds on this visit than when we were here for an afternoon earlier in the trip. Our only new addition was Carolina Wren, but as always there were many things to look at. A small group of Ocellated Turkeys strutted by, enabling us to improve our photo collections. The patterns and iridescence of their feathers is outrageous!
We enjoyed listening to a Pheasant Cuckoo, watching the numerous Buff-bellied Hummingbirds buzzing above our heads, and observing the bird activity at the ponds, while Morelet's Crocodiles lurked mostly under the surface.
Soon it was time to go. We had a number of spots that we wanted to visit outside of Tikal and wanted to maximize our time at these spots.
First up was a wetland near El Caoba that we had visited two days earlier. We were hoping that our second visit would prove fruitful with either rails or bitterns, but once again we struck out.
It was nearing 2 PM when we arrived at our next location, the marshes of El Remate. Several dirt roads lead to the waterfront, providing access to several kilometers of productive shoreline. We had a blast here since many of the common marsh birds were new for us, and our trip list shot upwards.
I think this is a Couch's Kingbird, but Couch's and Tropical Kingbirds are difficult to tell apart by sight. Generally, Couch's Kingbirds are brighter overall with smaller bills, but these features are subtle.
The marshes of El Remate were alive with birds, with nearly 50 species showing themselves in the hour and a half that we were present. All the expected herons were accounted for, Purple Gallinules were particularly abundant, a Ruddy Crake was heard calling, several Mangrove Swallows flew by offshore, and even our first Red-winged Blackbird of the trip was located.
Northern Jacanas are an interesting species to watch. This shorebird has very long toes, an adaptation that enables it to walk on top of lily pads without toppling them.. The young ones look very different with their brown and white plumage!
Several Limpkins were easily seen as well, our first of the trip.
Our last stop was Playa del Pueblo within the town of Flores, located only a few minutes from the airport. While we had no luck with several of our targets, 52 species were found including four new trip birds: Anhinga, Green Jay, Vermilion Flycatcher and Eurasian Collared-Dove. From Playa del Pueblo I could see a number of gulls roosting further along the shoreline so we drove over to check them out. As expected most were Laughing Gulls, but an adult Franklin's Gull mixed in was a nice surprise! We also saw our first Sandwich Tern of the trip here as well.
And with that, it was time to head over to the airport with the trip effectively finished. That night we made the quick flight back to Guatemala City, grabbed a hotel near the airport, and had a few celebratory beers while reminiscing about the trip. The next morning we flew out. I can't say enough good things about Guatemala and would love to visit again one day.
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)
Our flight was not scheduled until the evening of January 31, giving us almost an entire day to explore. We decided that we would spend the morning at the former airstrip, aka the trail to the Crocodile Pond, since it had been so birdy on our previous visits.
Surprisingly, we had fewer birds on this visit than when we were here for an afternoon earlier in the trip. Our only new addition was Carolina Wren, but as always there were many things to look at. A small group of Ocellated Turkeys strutted by, enabling us to improve our photo collections. The patterns and iridescence of their feathers is outrageous!
 |
| Ocellated Turkey - Tikal, Petén, Guatemala |
We enjoyed listening to a Pheasant Cuckoo, watching the numerous Buff-bellied Hummingbirds buzzing above our heads, and observing the bird activity at the ponds, while Morelet's Crocodiles lurked mostly under the surface.
 |
| Crocodile Pond - Tikal, Petén, Guatemala |
Soon it was time to go. We had a number of spots that we wanted to visit outside of Tikal and wanted to maximize our time at these spots.
First up was a wetland near El Caoba that we had visited two days earlier. We were hoping that our second visit would prove fruitful with either rails or bitterns, but once again we struck out.
 |
| Snowy Egret - El Remate, Petén, Guatemala |
It was nearing 2 PM when we arrived at our next location, the marshes of El Remate. Several dirt roads lead to the waterfront, providing access to several kilometers of productive shoreline. We had a blast here since many of the common marsh birds were new for us, and our trip list shot upwards.
 |
| Dan photographing a Purple Gallinule - El Remate, Petén, Guatemala |
I think this is a Couch's Kingbird, but Couch's and Tropical Kingbirds are difficult to tell apart by sight. Generally, Couch's Kingbirds are brighter overall with smaller bills, but these features are subtle.
 |
| presumed Couch's Kingbird - El Remate, Petén, Guatemala |
The marshes of El Remate were alive with birds, with nearly 50 species showing themselves in the hour and a half that we were present. All the expected herons were accounted for, Purple Gallinules were particularly abundant, a Ruddy Crake was heard calling, several Mangrove Swallows flew by offshore, and even our first Red-winged Blackbird of the trip was located.
 |
| Purple Gallinule - El Remate, Petén, Guatemala |
 |
| Tricolored Heron - El Remate, Petén, Guatemala |
 |
| Red-winged Blackbird - El Remate, Petén, Guatemala |
Northern Jacanas are an interesting species to watch. This shorebird has very long toes, an adaptation that enables it to walk on top of lily pads without toppling them.. The young ones look very different with their brown and white plumage!
 |
| Northern Jacana - El Remate, Petén, Guatemala |
 |
| Northern Jacana - El Remate, Petén, Guatemala |
Several Limpkins were easily seen as well, our first of the trip.
 |
| Limpkin - El Remate, Petén, Guatemala |
Our last stop was Playa del Pueblo within the town of Flores, located only a few minutes from the airport. While we had no luck with several of our targets, 52 species were found including four new trip birds: Anhinga, Green Jay, Vermilion Flycatcher and Eurasian Collared-Dove. From Playa del Pueblo I could see a number of gulls roosting further along the shoreline so we drove over to check them out. As expected most were Laughing Gulls, but an adult Franklin's Gull mixed in was a nice surprise! We also saw our first Sandwich Tern of the trip here as well.
 |
| Laughing Gull - Playa del Pueblo, Flores, Petén, Guatemala |
 |
| Franklin's Gull - Playa del Pueblo, Flores, Petén, Guatemala |
And with that, it was time to head over to the airport with the trip effectively finished. That night we made the quick flight back to Guatemala City, grabbed a hotel near the airport, and had a few celebratory beers while reminiscing about the trip. The next morning we flew out. I can't say enough good things about Guatemala and would love to visit again one day.
----------
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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