Euphonias and Honeycreepers and Tanagers, oh my!

March 20, 2008

This report is about the 2 places in the Mexican state of Chiapas, Palenque and Bonampak. The 2 locations are some of the best birding spots I’ve been to on our trip. Both spots have a huge diversity of pajáros including honeycreepers, euphonias, tanagers, toucans, parrots, hawks, and lots more. I have had a great time exploring around Bonampak and Palenque with our friends from Oaxaca, Esteban and Susan.

Palenque

Palenque is famous for its Mayan ruins and jungle. Most people go to Palenque for the ruins but some people (like me for instance) go for Howler Monkeys, birds and other fauna. Palenque is in the state of Chiapas, in the southeastern jungle next to the border with Guatemala. That is partly why there are so many different species of birds and mammals. I didn’t see too many mammals, but Sue and I did see some large animals lumbering around in the brush just out of view. We could hear Howler Monkeys in the distance and saw them across the road from where we were camping. The Groove-billed Anis also made a racket in the underbrush and were almost as loud as the lizards and other beasts! There are also lots of interesting flora, butterflies, and insects.
On our first night in Palenque, Sue showed me the birds around the campground we were staying at (the Mayabell hotel). I was amazed how many birds there were just in the campground! Right at Sue’s camper we saw Red-capped Manakins, Black-headed Trogons, Yellow-winged Tanagers, Red-legged Honeycreepers, as well as Long-tailed Hermits, and Violet Sabrewings (hummingbirds). Each morning the Brown Jays woke me up at five-thirty and wouldn’t stop making a racket until evening! They were probably the noisiest birds in the place and the most annoying! They mimicked parrots and other birds so that it was confusing to figure out which was a Brown Jay and what was another bird!
Other then birds, Palenque has an interesting history. The area had its first inhabitants around 100 B.C. and it flourished from 600 to 700 A.D. One of the most famous rulers of the area was Pakal. The city grew under Pakal and stayed strong for a long time. During Pakal’s time, many plazas and other buildings were built, including Pakal’s own mausoleum. Most of the buildings from 600 A.D. are still intact and you can look at them in town (I didn’t) or go to the old ruins in the jungle. Palenque is also a great birding spot. On any given day, you could probably record more then 25 species and a lot of endemics. I saw 19 life birds in Palenque and 22 species in all. Overall, in Bonampak I saw more species then in Palenque.

Bonampak

Like Palenque, Bonampak is an ancient town (although, not as old as Palenque) and has a Mayan history. Outsiders did not discover Bonampak until 1946 (not including the Mayans who lived there) because the town lay in the middle of the jungle and not many people wanted to venture into the unknown forest (I probably would have risked it and explored the rain forest). The ruins there are very interesting (I went myself) and have good birds too. We (me, dad, mom, Teslin, and our friends Steve and Susan) walked up the steps to the top of the ruins and Susan and I birded around the top area. We didn’t see much there so we all went on a hike off a plane airstrip and I saw tons of new birds on that walk. Of the birds I saw, my favorite was the noisy Barred Antshrikes who wiggled their whole body when they called and made a weird noise at the end like a whining baby! I also saw Yellow-bellied Elaenia, Grey-collared Becard, Sulphur-rumped Flycatcher, and several other new birds.
There is also great birding on the road next to the campground we are staying at. Susan and I go out almost every morning on the road and we have had together, more than 30 new birds! For instance, this morning we went out and saw 4 new birds, the Great Antshrike (in Spanish, Batará Grande), Grey-breasted Martin (Martín Pechigrís), Smoky-brown Woodpecker (Carpintero Café), and a Bananaquit (Platanero; Reinita Mielera)! I also saw a migrant: a Blue-winged Warbler (Chipe Aliazul). In all, I have seen 78 species in Bonampak and about 30 life birds!!!

¡Adiós mis amigos!

¡Hasta luego!

¡Todavía soy pajarísto!

And for people who don’t have the faintest idea what I’m talking about, I just wrote: good-bye my friends, see you later, I am still a birder.

Cassidy

Birding at the Tuxtla Gutiérrez Zoológica

We went to the Tuxtla zoo on Tuesday. Actually it was more of a preserve then a zoo. I saw lots of birds and 2 life birds! I saw lots of Guans and Curassows walking around the zoo everywhere! They were very tame and you could walk within 5 yards of one and the darn bird wouldn't move! They also tried to rob your dinner plate! Especially the Plain Chachalacas. They would jump up on your table and then wait until you started eating and then you had to watch out! If you didn't pay enough attention to the birds under your table they'd walk right next to your chair and start begging for tacos!
There were also Motmots (we saw 1 next to the path), and these little weird creatures called Agoutis. Agoutis are rodents that look like miniature Capybaras. They seemed to fancy bananas and were sitting on their hind feet devouring bananas! Of course there were some caged animals like jaguars and warthogs in large natural enclosures, and a big aviary. In the aviary there were lots of colorful birds like Crimson-collared Grosbeak, Yellow-winged Cacique, and 2 very noisy Double-striped Thick-knees that stood on the path and shrieked as loud as they could! They got annoying after a while so we (my dad and I) left the aviary and went around the rest of the zoo in search of a Crested Guan. It took us a while to find one but at last we saw one, although it wasn't how we expected to see one. We rounded a bend in the path and saw a guan being chased by Agoutis! Boy, it was a funny sight; the guan running as fast as it's legs would carry it and the 2 Agoutis right on its tail! The guan eventually grew tired and flew up into a tree and was left in peace. My dad and I admired it for awhile and then moved on to look at other parts of the zoo.
There was a whole area of big enclosures for Birds of Prey from around the Chiapas area. Black Vultures perched on top of the cages looking bored and very hungry. Besides Crested Caracaras and Grey Hawks, they had a Collared Forest Falcon and a King Vulture. The vultures continued to look very hungry and were moving over the Caracara cage. The male or female Caracara (I think it was the male) brought over a piece of meat from the edge of their enclosure and started eating it with the female/male. The vultures didn't miss any of it. A group of about 5 birds came right up to the edge of the cage and tried to steal the caracara's precious piece of meat. Unfortunately for the vultures, the two hawks didn't miss anything either. The moment the vultures got too close he quickly jumped off their little branch, ran to the other side of the enclosure and buried the piece of meat in the ground at the foot of a tree. Then he came back and groomed the female.
Of all the animals in the zoo my favorite were the Spider Monkeys. The people who work at the zoo had put up a big enclosure with tall trees for the monkeys and the monkeys seemed very happy. My favorite was a young monkey who was very feisty and goal was to annoy all the adults and make the limbs of trees fall off! I stayed at the primate cage for a long time and only left when my dad said he had seen a guan on the path. Later, as we were walking through the zoo I saw some movement in the treetops and thought that a vulture had landed in the top. I was wrong. A monkey seemed to have escaped from it's enclosure and was happily swinging in the trees making a huge commotion as it passed. I still wonder how it got out of it's enclosure but I can only guess. I think it might have somehow swung from a tree in the enclosure to another tree on the other side of the fence. Then it probably swung around the zoo, scaring all the birds in the vicinity away as it went!
Besides the birds I have already mentioned, I also saw a flock of Green Jays, 1 Bare-throated Tiger Heron, a Brown Pelican, White Ibises, White-winged Doves, 1 Russet-crowned Motmot, the ever present House Sparrow, Great-tailed Grackle and a dove species I couldn't identify.
I also saw lots of birds that were in enclosures including Scarlet Macaws, Keel-billed Toucan, Green Parakeets and numerous types of chachalacas.
There was also a jaguar who roared very loudly as we were leaving and made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. We were planning on going to a forested canyon nearby called Sumidero Canyon but we didn't have time. Instead we decided to head back to our pop-op trailer that was waiting for us at home in Ocozocoatla at Hogar Infantil. On the way to Ocozocoatla I saw a flock of White-fronted Parrots by the road! I only got a quick look at them though and I was a little disappointed. But it was the first parrot I had ever seen so I am pretty contented (for the moment).
When we got home we all had a quick dinner (hot dogs and noodles), brushed our teeth and all went to bed. That night I dreamed of curassows, guans, and chachalacas all chasing me into a pool. It must have been from seeing so many of them and taking pictures. Then I think they wanted revenge! Uh-oh, gotta run! Keep watch for curassows!

Llano Grande Bird Walk-March 4th 2008

Llano Grande March 4th 2008

We (the Ruges) took a hike in Llano Grande with some friends of ours-Courtney, Jake, and Jake’s mom and dad, Jan and Marty. It was a 14 km hike (8-9 miles) with a guide from Llano Grande named Jose. It was a great hike! We started off in pine forest at around 10,000 feet and ended up at about 10,500 feet in mixed pine forest.
There was pretty good birding along the hike. We saw about 13 species including Bushtits, Mexican Chickadees, Warbler, Slate-throated Redstart, Red, Cresent-chested and Hermit Warblers, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawks, Steller’s Jays, Yellow-eyed Juncos, and Common Raven. And best of all I lured in a Mountain Trogon with my iPod and Jake and Courtney’s speaker! Jose heard the trogon calling and told it to all of us. I whipped out my iPod and played the call of the Mountain Trogon. A male came almost instantly. First, it flew right next to the trail and then flew over us to another tree on the other side of the trail. We all got great looks at it as it showed off to us and donned its black and white outer tail feathers. That trogon was the first trogon I had ever seen-it was all very exciting!!!
We hiked to a peak and looked for raptors but there wasn’t many. On the way down we saw more warblers and heard the mountain trogon. We were all very tired when we got back to our little cabanas (cabins) and we all took a long siesta. The cabins were pretty small but comfy and we all liked our little haven a lot. Jake, Courtney, and Jake’s mom and dad were staying right across from us (Ruges) in a 2 room cabin. I was pretty sore from the 6 hour hike (I threw out my back) and Jan (Jake’s mom) gave me some arnica and an aspirin-like liquid. We ate dinner at a restaurant with trout. It was delicious! We even got to watch the owners of the place catch the trout! There was a little concrete pool filled with about 15 trout that they got the trout from. They also had great quesadillas filled with Oaxacan string cheese. Tasty! It was the best meal I had had in a long time.
The next day we all packed up and headed back to Oaxaca to our posadas in separate cars.