Big Day (Bird Race)
22 October 2000
by Peter Kaestner
This is the first attempt at a Serious Big Day in Highlands /South Coast of Guatemala. There are more to come.
For some time, I have believed that the record Big Day for Guatemala set in April 1998 in the Peten was vulnerable. Even though it is hard to find a place where you can get good lowland forest and coastal habitat in a day's drive, the magnificent topography of this mountainous country presents many life-zones in easy each. Taking advantage of two visiting birders from Costa Rica, I decided to take a first stab at a serious Big Day to see what the potential was. October is a fair time for the effort, as many migrants are in town, but it is also the rainy season--a slow time for the local species. Most of the route was fairly well known, but I had just found some good high elevation forest that I had never birded. Since my regular high altitude forest patch could only be relied upon for 20 or so species, I decided to take a chance on the new area.
The new area paid off with over 60 species, and we were able to improve the previous Big Day record by almost 30 species. In the dry season (March-April) with a bit of tinkering, we should be able to get as many as 175 species along this route. If we can do better in the mid levels and find a good low-level humid forest on the Pacific slope, we may just be able to crack 200 for the country. The blow-by blow follows:
At four o'clock in the morning on October 22, 2000, Dennis Rogers (a birder from Costa Rica), Dave Klauber (a visitor from the USA), and I roared out of Guatemala City, bound for a stretch of road NE of San Jose Pinula about an hour out of town. With no traffic, we arrived in the habitat at about 4:30 to be greeted with an extraordinary starry sky. At about 7000', the air was cool, but not as cold as we had feared. At our first stop, I thought I heard a Bearded Screech Owl, but when we focused on the sound, it never called again. A similarly ephemeral Stygian Owl called once. Dennis thought that he heard a Fulvous Owl, but the rest of us could not get on it. Yikes! Three strikes! Since we did not use tapes, and it was not the breeding season, we were stuck. As we continued to work our way along the mountain road, a pale rose color grew in the East. All of a sudden (Mexican) Whip-poor-wills started calling all around us. A full 45 minutes of birding had passed before we scored our first countable species!
The dawn chorus started in earnest, and we were soon twitching off Brown-backed Solitaire, Mountain Trogon, Blue-throated Motmot, Rufous-bowed Wren, and other representatives of the Guatemalan highlands. We could see many warblers flitting overhead, but had to wait until the sun came up to put names on them. Green Violet-Ears were chirping all over the place. We walked up around a bend where the sun was shining and the birding really picked up. Quickly, we got White-eared Hummingbird, MacGillivray's and Red-faced Warblers, and Painted Redstart. Soon, we had added Townsend's and Hermit Warblers, and Black-headed Siskin. A mixed flock of Steller's and Unicolored Jays made their presence felt and overhead a Western Pewee and Hammond's Flycatcher filled in the list. Our mountain habitat was really paying off. As it was approaching 7:30AM, however, we needed to start down.
In the lower part of the forest, we stopped a couple of times and added several more warblers (Black-throated Green, Black-and-White, Golden-browed), Bushy-crested Jay, Spot-crowned Woodcreeper, Rose-throated Becard, Wine-throated Hummingbird, and a very cooperative couple of Chestnut-sided Shrike-Vireos. By the time we dropped out of the forest, we had almost 60 species on our list, a super start. As we drove towards the Parque Ecologio at San Jose Pinula, we stopped a pasture with a nice hedgerow. In a couple of minutes, we added Buff-bellied Flycatcher, Yellow-bellied Elaenia, Rufous-browed Peppershrike, Rusty Sparrow, White-collared Seedeater, and what would be the bird of the day, a Prairie Warbler (probably only Guatemala's second record, frantically flicking its tail in a bush). Another quick stop along some scrubby cultivation yielded Tennessee and Grace's Warblers, and a Cinnamon-bellied Flowerpiercer that only Dennis saw.
Along the backside of the ecological park we birded a stream and picked up several new species, including Rufous-collared Robin and Sparrow. Unfortunately, only Dennis got a Mountain Elaenia on call and I saw a female Common Yellowthroat that eluded the others. (Oddly, she did not even call when we tried to spish her out of the bushes.) From San Jose Pinula, where we heard a local House Sparrow, we drove 40 minutes (with a one-minute stop at a gas station for a morning snack) to Lake Amatitlan, 4000 feet below the mountain forest where we started. Our first stop, a beautiful overlook above this attractive volcanic lake, has completely devoid of birds. Continuing down to the lake, we picked up a couple of roadside species -- Social and Boat-billed Flycatchers. Scoping the lake got the expected Spotted Sandpiper, Black Phoebe, and Coots. Another rarity was an Eared Grebe. We were too early to see any of the wintering ducks, however.
Disappointed in the land birds near the lake, we headed up a rough dirt road that skirts Pacaya Volcano and then drops down towards Palin. At a ridge, we stopped and saw Vaux's and White-throated Swifts and the Red-shafted Flicker. A tiny volcanic lake yielded a surprise flock of Ruddy Ducks. As it was getting towards midday, I pushed on towards the tropical Pacific lowlands. With about 80 birds under our belts, we were doing well.
We passed Esquintla and took the old road towards the coast. In the searing midday heat, everything was quiet. Roadside species, like Kiskadee and Baltimore Oriole obliged, but I was concerned that we were not getting more. At one stop, I noticed several large flocks of Turkey Vultures, apparently migrating south over the flat coastal plain. On closer inspection, there were other hawks mixed in. The birds were very high, however, and with just one scope, we were not able to get them all. We did add Osprey, Swainson's, Broad-winged, and Red-tailed Hawks to the total. Interestingly, we began to come upon large areas that had been recently flooded. In the residual lakes and ponds, herons abounded. We soon had respectable list of big waders and had ticked off Ringed, Belted, and Green Kingfishers. A kettle of 50 or so Wood Storks helped. In one shallow pond, there were a dozen species of shore birds, and we filled in all the expected sandpipers. As we hit Puerto San Jose, we turned to stop briefly for a cold drink. Next to the convenience store was another pond, filled with birds. We added Violet-Green Swallow, Least and Pied-billed Grebe, a couple more shorebirds, and finally a Great Blue Heron. The highlight, however, was a group of three Wilson's Phalaropes, which Dave spotted, doing their dizzying dance in the pond.
Our next stop was Puerto Ixtapa, best known the base for a superb Pacific Sailfish fishery. We hired a small boat to go across the river to the beach and look for gulls and terns. We only saw a Royal Tern and Brown Pelican on the beach, but the exposed mudflats of the river yielded Wilson's and Semipalmated Plovers, Semipalmated Sandpiper (close enough to see the toe webbing!), Willet, and Whimbrel. We then drove down to the end of the road beyond Puerto Ixtapa and hired another boat to finish the day. Along the river were dozens of egrets and herons, and flocks Orange-fronted Parakeets and White-winged Doves flew over. The trip up the river was absolutely extraordinary, as literally thousands of egrets and herons flew fed along the river or flew over our heads. White-fronted Parrots flew over in pairs and large groups of migrating Scissor-tailed Flycatchers glowed pink in the evening light.
As it got darker, hoards of Lesser Nighthawks left their perches in the mangroves and started hawking insects of the river. Pauraques called in the distance, and a Sungrebe disappeared in the mangrove roots before we could all get on him. Our last birds of the day were Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl and Boat-billed Heron. In keeping with the plethora of herons, we saw almost 20 of the odd nocturnal beasts. Finally, we spotlighted a opossum and saw many Fishing Bats. The super abundance of wildlife along the river was an extraordinary ending to a fantastic day. We headed for a restaurant in Esquintla and finished the paperwork. Out final total was 164 species, but the 95 per cent rule brought the group's total down to 157. We arrived at Guatemala City at 10:00PM, 18 hours and 204 miles after we began.
Day List:
Least
Grebe
Tachybaptus dominicus
Pied-billed
Grebe
Podilymbus podiceps
Eared
Grebe
Podiceps nigricollis
Brown
Pelican
Pelecanus occidentalis
Great Blue
Heron
Ardea herodias
Great
Egret
Ardea alba
Tricolored
Heron
Egretta tricolor
Little Blue
Heron
Egretta caerulea
Snowy
Egret
Egretta thula
Cattle
Egret
Bubulcus ibis
Green
Heron
Butorides virescens
Black-crowned
Night-Heron
Nycticorax nycticorax
Boat-billed
Heron
Cochlearius cochlearius
Wood
Stork
Mycteria americana
White
Ibis
Eudocimus albus
Black-bellied
Whistling-Duck
Dendrocygna
autumnalis
Blue-winged
Teal
Anas discors
Ruddy
Duck
Oxyura jamaicensis
Black
Vulture
Coragyps atratus
Turkey
Vulture
Cathartes aura
Osprey
Pandion haliaetus
White-tailed
Kite
Elanus leucurus
Plumbeous
Kite
Ictinia plumbea
Cooper's
Hawk
Accipiter cooperii
Gray
Hawk
Asturina nitida
Roadside
Hawk
Buteo magnirostris
Broad-winged
Hawk
Buteo platypterus
Swainson's
Hawk
Buteo swainsoni
Red-tailed
Hawk
Buteo jamaicensis
American
Kestrel
Falco sparverius
American
Coot
Fulica americana
Sungrebe
Heliornis fulica
Northern
Jacana
Jacana spinosa
Black-necked
Stilt
Himantopus mexicanus
Black-bellied
Plover
Pluvialis squatarola
Semipalmated
Plover
Charadrius semipalmatus
Wilson's
Plover
Charadrius wilsonia
Long-billed
Dowitcher
Limnodromus scolopaceus
Whimbrel
Numenius phaeopus
Greater
Yellowlegs
Tringa melanoleuca
Lesser
Yellowlegs
Tringa flavipes
Solitary
Sandpiper
Tringa solitaria
Spotted
Sandpiper
Actitis macularia
Willet
Catoptrophorus semipalmatus
Ruddy
Turnstone
Arenaria interpres
Sanderling
Calidris alba
Semipalmated
Sandpiper
Calidris pusilla
Western
Sandpiper
Calidris mauri
Least
Sandpiper
Calidris minutilla
Pectoral
Sandpiper
Calidris melanotos
Wilson's
Phalarope
Phalaropus tricolor
Royal
Tern
Sterna maxima
Rock
Dove
Columba livia
Band-tailed
Pigeon
Columba fasciata
White-winged
Dove
Zenaida asiatica
Common
Ground-Dove
Columbina passerina
Ruddy
Ground-Dove
Columbina talpacoti
Inca
Dove
Columbina inca
White-tipped
Dove
Leptotila verreauxi
Orange-fronted
Parakeet
Aratinga canicularis
White-fronted
Parrot
Amazona albifrons
Groove-billed
Ani
Crotophaga sulcirostris
Ferruginous
Pygmy-Owl
Glaucidium brasilianum
Lesser
Nighthawk
Chordeiles acutipennis
Pauraque
Nyctidromus albicollis
Whip-poor-will
Caprimulgus vociferus
Vaux's
Swift
Chaetura vauxi
White-throated
Swift
Aeronautes saxatalis
Green
Violet-ear
Colibri thalassinus
White-eared
Hummingbird
Hylocharis leucotis
Cinnamon
Hummingbird
Amazilia rutila
Berylline
Hummingbird
Saucerottia beryllina
Green-throated
Mountain-gem
Lampornis viridipallens
Ruby-throated
Hummingbird
Archilochus colubris
Wine-throated
Hummingbird
Atthis ellioti
Mountain
Trogon
Trogon mexicanus
Belted
Kingfisher
Ceryle alcyon
Ringed
Kingfisher
Ceryle torquata
Green
Kingfisher
Chloroceryle americana
Blue-throated
Motmot
Aspatha gularis
Acorn
Woodpecker
Melanerpes formicivorus
Golden-fronted
Woodpecker
Melanerpes aurifrons
Hairy
Woodpecker
Picoides villosus
Northern
Flicker
Colaptes auratus
Spot-crowned
Woodcreeper
Lepidocolaptes affinis
Yellow-bellied
Elaenia
Elaenia flavogaster
Mountain
Elaenia
Elaenia frantzii
Paltry
Tyrannulet
Zimmerius vilissimus
Greater
Pewee
Contopus pertinax
Western
Wood-Pewee
Contopus sordidulus
Tropical
Pewee
Contopus cinereus
Hammond's
Flycatcher
Empidonax hammondii
Yellowish
Flycatcher
Empidonax flavescens
Buff-breasted
Flycatcher
Empidonax fulvifrons
Black
Phoebe
Sayornis nigricans
Great
Kiskadee
Pitangus sulphuratus
Boat-billed
Flycatcher
Megarynchus pitangua
Social
Flycatcher
Myiozetetes similis
Tropical
Kingbird
Tyrannus melancholicus
Western
Kingbird
Tyrannus verticalis
Scissor-tailed
Flycatcher
Tyrannus forficatus
Rose-throated
Becard
Pachyramphus aglaiae
Gray-breasted
Martin
Progne chalybea
Mangrove
Swallow
Tachycineta albilinea
Violet-green
Swallow
Tachycineta thalassina
Northern
Rough-winged
Swallow Stelgidopteryx
serripennis
Barn
Swallow
Hirundo rustica
Gray
Silky-flycatcher
Ptilogonys cinereus
Band-backed
Wren
Campylorhynchus zonatus
Rufous-naped
Wren
Campylorhynchus rufinucha
Plain
Wren
Thryothorus modestus
House
Wren
Troglodytes aedon
Rufous-browed
Wren
Troglodytes rufociliatus
Gray-breasted
Wood-Wren
Henicorhina leucophrys
Brown-backed
Solitaire
Myadestes occidentalis
Orange-billed
Nightingale-Thrush Catharus
aurantiirostris
Ruddy-capped
Nightingale-Thrush Catharus frantzii
Clay-colored
Robin
Turdus grayi
Rufous-collared
Robin
Turdus rufitorques
Steller's
Jay
Cyanocitta stelleri
White-throated
Magpie-Jay
Calocitta formosa
Bushy-crested
Jay
Cyanocorax melanocyaneus
Unicolored
Jay
Aphelocoma unicolor
House
Sparrow
Passer domesticus
Plumbeous
Vireo
Vireo plumbeus
Brown-capped
Vireo
Vireo leucophrys
Chestnut-sided
Shrike-Vireo
Vireolanius melitophrys
Rufous-browed
Peppershrike
Cyclarhis gujanensis
Black-headed
Siskin
Carduelis notata
Olive
Warbler
Peucedramus taeniatus
Tennessee
Warbler
Vermivora peregrina
Crescent-chested
Warbler
Parula superciliosa
Yellow
Warbler
Dendroica petechia
Magnolia
Warbler
Dendroica magnolia
Black-throated
Green Warbler
Dendroica
virens
Townsend's
Warbler
Dendroica townsendi
Hermit
Warbler
Dendroica occidentalis
Grace's
Warbler
Dendroica graciae
Prairie
Warbler
Dendroica discolor
Black-and-white
Warbler
Mniotilta varia
Northern
Waterthrush
Seiurus noveboracensis
MacGillivray's
Warbler
Oporornis tolmiei
Common
Yellowthroat
Geothlypis trichas
Wilson's
Warbler
Wilsonia pusilla
Red-faced
Warbler
Cardellina rubrifrons
Painted
Redstart
Myioborus pictus
Slate-throated
Redstart
Myioborus miniatus
Rufous-capped
Warbler
Basileuterus rufifrons
Golden-browed
Warbler
Basileuterus belli
Common
Bush-Tanager
Chlorospingus ophthalmicus
Blue-gray
Tanager
Thraupis episcopus
White-collared
Seedeater
Sporophila torqueola
Yellow-faced
Grassquit
Tiaris olivacea
Cinnamon-bellied
Flowerpiercer Diglossa
baritula
White-naped
Brush-Finch
Atlapetes albinucha
Rusty
Sparrow
Aimophila rufescens
Lincoln's
Sparrow
Melospiza lincolnii
Rufous-collared
Sparrow
Zonotrichia capensis
Indigo
Bunting
Passerina cyanea
Melodious
Blackbird
Dives dives
Great-tailed
Grackle
Quiscalus mexicanus
Spot-breasted
Oriole
Icterus pectoralis
Baltimore
Oriole
Icterus galbula
Orchard
Oriole
Icterus spurius
164 Species total