A plea to use eBird and a plea for eBird users

What is eBird?

          eBird is a scientific database of bird observations from every country on the planet.  It was conceived by a team of conservationists from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society.  From it's beginnings in 2002 as a database mostly of bird sightings in U.S., it has grown to where more than 250,000 birders have entered their cumulative observations of more than 370 million individual birds accounting for 10,313 different bird species around the globe.  With a week left to go in 2016, more than 3.75 million complete checklists were added by birders in this one year.

          The numbers listed above are huge ones, and they have been put to good use for conservation.  Conservationists around the world have used eBird data for decision making, policy analysis, and on-the-ground conservation for bird species.  You can read about the uses of the eBird database just in 2016 here.  Certainly, eBird is impressive as a conservation tool, and it is constantly being improved by a cadre of hard-working, dedicated conservationists at the Lab of Ornithology.

A Love-Hate Relationship

         I have mixed personal feelings about eBird.  I love eBird for its conservation value.  So far in 2016, I have submitted 163 checklists from a single location in the woods near my house.  Each of these checklists was for a 30-minute stationary count.  During these 81.5 hours of observation time, I recorded 67 species.  More important, eBird helps me understand the seasonal occurrence that exists among the diversity of species I observed.  The bar charts below show this seasonality for some flycatchers and vireos, while other species like crows and jays were observed throughout the year at this location.
 

A screenshot of an eBird barchart of some of the 67 species of birds I recorded in my local patch in 2016. 

The inquisitive, information-seeking birder in me loves these data.  They allow me to ask new questions and learn something about the behavior of the birds right in my local patch.

          On the other hand, this same inquisitive, information-seeking birder in me hates the idea that my very personal interactions with birds in nature is used as a measure of how "good of a birder" I am by somebody else's idea that birders use eBird to show off to each other.  eBird now has a profile page for birders (yes, you can hide it if you want) that shows all of your birding statistics.  According to eBird, my life list stands at 827 species recorded in six countries.  Apparently, I reported observing 470 bird species to date in calendar year 2016, including 387 of those in Honduras. 

          Also to date, I have submitted 460 eBird checklists this year, with 70 of those submitted in December with one week left to go in the year.  I also submitted 72 eBird checklists from Honduras during the five weeks I was there in the fall.  I can find maps on my profile page that shows what counties

eBird map showing the 10 Departments (States) in which

I birded during October and November 2016.  Darker colors

indicate more species recorded.  aption

I have birded in a particular state, all color-coded by the number of species I've reported from each. I can find life-lists of birds seen at particular locations.  I can see where I stand in terms of number of species recorded for every location in the world where I have birded.

          There is an explicit assumption on the eBird website that birders use the platform to track their life lists (at all geographic levels), find out where they can go birding to add species to their lists, and that birders use eBird to participate in competitive games surrounding birding.  Undoubtedly, many birders do these things.   But, data from a 2013 scientific study found that the vast majority of eBird users (~79%) neither participate in, nor even enjoy, these competitive aspects of birding.  For most of them, the conservation value of eBird is what motivates their participation.

A Plea for More Birders to use eBird

          As noted above, I use eBird.  I use it a lot.  I use it to satisfy my own birding curiosity, and I especially use it to add conservation value to my sightings.  If you are a birder and don't use eBird, I implore you to start using it.  Birds and bird conservation both can benefit from having more people participate in eBird.  Signing-up for a free account is easy.  You can enter your sightings via smart phone right from the field, or on your laptop in the comfort of your own home like I do.

          It took me a while, but I have entered almost all of the bird sightings I recorded in field notebooks going back to 1965 (I still have 2014 and 2015 to enter).  Also, I still keep my own excel database of my sightings by location (state/provincial level on up) because I have embedded formulas that provide me with information that eBird does not.  Plus, it contains information on plumages (by sex and age of birds observed), behaviors observed and various vocalizations heard.  At 41,047 lines and 400 columns, updating this file each year provides me with more fun than a guy should ever have.  Yes, I am a data geek with all this, but it is a private file that nobody but me ever sees.  Plus, I submit many of my sightings to eBird because I want to contribute to bird conservation that way. 

A Plea for eBird Users to up the Conservation Value of Their Sightings

          My experiences birding in Honduras in October and November really opened my eyes about how visiting birders make decisions about where to go birding and how to eBird.  This is where the competitive, listing game part of eBird gets very much in the way of conservation value of entering sightings.

          First, let's say you go birding some place you don't know very well.  That might be in your home state or in a different country.  eBirders are encouraged to use the website to locate hotspots where you can go birding.  Many of the places I birded in Honduras already were identified as eBird hotspots.  You can use the eBird website to locate hotspots where you can see the most possible species or see a particular set of target species.  That is all great if you want to do that kind of thing.

          Another benefit of birding at, and submitting your observations from, hotspots is that multiple observations from the same location over time provides a long-term data set that is quite valuable for conservation purposes.  So, by all means, find out where the eBird hotspots are, bird there, and record your observations.  Those sightings will be very useful.

          However, please know that the eBird hotspots are identified and labeled as such by birders, not ornithologists or conservationists.  Indeed, most of the hotspots I birded in Honduras were identified as hotspots by the people with whom I birded.  Thus, I found out without any doubt that these areas were selected out of convenience or tradition, rather than for their conservation value.  There is nothing wrong with that, especially for visitors who want to go birding in places where they know what to expect in terms of species diversity and abundance.  All you have to do is check the species list for that hotspot in eBird, or search on particular species and find a hotspot to bird.

         But, my plea to eBird users is to consider habitat when deciding where to go birding as much as going where others have gone before and found a bunch of neat birds.  This is particularly true when you go birding in the tropics, like I did this past fall. 

          I had the pleasure of making several trips to the north coast of Honduras, and birding around the Lodge and Spa at Pico Bonito.  This is in Atlántida Department, shown in darkest red on the map above because I reported the greatest number of species there (243) compared to the other nine Departments from which I submitted eBird lists.  The Lodge and Spa property is adjacent to Pico Bonito National Park. 

Satellite map showing eBird hotspots near Pico Bonito Lodge and Spa in
Atlántida Department, Honduras.  The Lodge and Spa is a great place to stay
and to bird. It is designated as the orange hotspot pin on this map.  Images are
from maps with eBird.

  In the picture to the right, the National Park occurs in the lower right quadrant.  It is steep, mostly primary rain forest, and largely inaccessible except for intrepid hikers who are willing and able to bushwack up steep slopes under less than ideal hiking conditions. 

A closer view of the satellite image above, providing more detail about the habitat at the Lodge and Spa at Pico Bonito (labelled orange pin), at lower elevation along the entrance road (yellow pin near top center), and higher elevation on Lodge and Spa property (white pin near center of image).  Habitat disturbance decreases notably from top to bottom in the image.  The pin in the lower right quadrant is a trail within Pico Bonito National Park which traverses mostly primary rain forest.  Images are from maps within eBird. 

          I was fortunate to go birding at all four eBird hotspots near to and including the lodge area (orange pin on map above).  The hotspot designated with a white pin above the orange pin nearly always was quite birdy.  This hotspot is a transect along the entrance road,   

This is the  planted palm habitat one can find at the top, white pin on eBird

map above.  Pico Bonito National Park is in the background.  This view is

standing at the white pin and essentially looking in the direction of the bottom

of the map above.

and is dominated by disturbed habitats due to various agricultural and forestry practices.  This hotspot was easy to get to and travel along. 

     I've written a lot about the area around the lodge in a previous

blog post.  As you might guess, it also is disturbed habitat although it has substantial forested habitat, too.  There are ample trails near the cabins, reception area, restaurant, and other buildings.  There

Looking from the reception area toward the restaurant at the Lodge and Spa

at Pico Bonito.  Note the abundance of flowering plants maintained

along the walkway to attract birds and other wildlife.  Photo credit

Jody Enck.

are also open lawn areas, a plethora of well-maintained flowering and fruiting plants, and bird feeders containing fruit and other tropical delights. 

          The habitat just upslope from the main compound is less disturbed as you can just make out in the more detailed satellite image above.  Still, it is not primary forest.  It contains well-used and maintained trails, observation platforms, and a water filtration plant.  When standing in the forest here, you can tell that it is not particularly old.  Still, there is a multi-story forest here.  The bird list from this part of the property reflects the change in habitat.  

View from the observation tower above the Rio Corinto.

Photo Credit:  Jody Enck.  

         One starts to pick up more forest species here and observes fewer species that either are obligate open land species or are robust enough to use highly disturbed habitats.  For a first-time visitor to this part of the world, it is heady stuff.  You can see Lovely Cotinga, Common Black-Hawk, Greater Potoo, Purple-crowned Fairy, Collared Aracari, Tawny-crowned Greenlet, and White-collared Manakins along this trail that corresponds to the hotspot.  But, this part of the property still does not reveal the deep-forest birds.

Go where the Wild Things are.

          If you are a birder who really wants to see rainforest species, you have to go into the rainforest proper.  When I birded the rough Tango Trail in Pico Bonito National Park, I got to see species that I saw nowhere else in Honduras because I did not bird in the deep forest anywhere else.  Species like Plain Antvireo, Cocoa Woodcreeper, Buff-throated Foliage-gleaner, Nightingale Wren, Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher, and Golden-crowned Warbler crossed my path in the deep forest and nowhere else.

Big trees, big mountain, and big adventure in Pico Bonito

National Park, Honduras.  Photo Credit: Jody Enck.

          I previously wrote about a morning hiking in the deep, dark forest with my friend and guide Katinka Domen from Beaks and Peaks Birding and Adventure Tours (here).  The main point is that I spent 33 days in Honduras, and only spent a relatively few hours birding in deep forest.  (Luckily, I had time on a couple other days to bird deep in two other National Parks).  Not only is this the only kind of habitat where you can find a whole host of specific bird species, but it is the type of habitat under the gravest threat in Honduras and throughout Central America.             

              If you are going to go birding in a place you don't know very well -- especially if that place is in the tropics -- my plea is for you to bird in under-birded habitats.  Don't just look for hotspots chosen for their convenience, or maybe because you can see a bunch of species there.  Go where the Wild Things are.  Ask the locals to take you to places that others don't bird much, but which will get you looks at birds you simply can't find elsewhere. 

          I'll leave you with one last reason to choose carefully where to go birding and to report birds from habitats that are birded less frequently.  When I went on my hike with Katinka in the deep rainforest, we made another important ornithological discovery.  We saw at least three Fan-tailed Warblers.  These are not particularly rare forest birds, but they had never been recorded from this part of Honduras before we found them.  You never know what you'll find when you go birding in places that are off the beaten path, and in habitats that are not birded very frequently.

How do you find these under-birded places?

          One way to find a place to find habitat-specific birds in places that are not part of existing hot spots is to enlist the help of local birders.  I already mentioned Beaks and Peaks Birding and Adventure Tours.  William Orellana and Katinka Domen are ready and willing to help you out.  Another option is to contact any of the local bird clubs in Honduras.  Each club has several birders who are ready to help visiting birders. 

Here are some clubs for you to contact.

Club Las Tanunas (named for the Lesser Roadrunner) in the western town of Gracias.

Club Hummingbirds, which is a group of high school students associated with Las Tanunas.


Club Cotinga (named for the Lovey Cotinga) in the north coast city of La Ceiba.

Club Clorofonia (named for Blue-crowned Chlorophonia) in the Lake Yojoa area.

Club Los Jigueros (named for the Slate-colored Solitaire) in the southwestern town of Marcala.

Club Los Zorzales (named after Clay-colored Thrush) in the northwestern city of San Pedro Sula.

Club Los Alzacuanes (named for Swainson Hawks) in the capital city of Tegucigalpa.

Club Las Aguilas in Catacamas in eastern Honduras.

          All of these clubs are part of a network of sister bird clubs between the U.S. and Honduras.  Beaks and Peaks can put you in touch with any of these clubs.  All you have to do is ask for help.

Throw-back Thursday-- a Story about Discovering the Unexpected in 2015

          I am the kind of birder who likes to discover birds on my own without “chasing” birds others have already found.  Don’t get me wrong – I am all for sharing sightings with others and spreading the joy of birding with others.  But sometimes I just like that feeling that comes from discovering something totally unexpected.  Something like that happened on Sunday February 15^th 2015.

          I was in California for work and had a couple hours to bird around Monterrey before meeting colleagues in the afternoon. 

Surf breaking on the south side of Monterrey Bay, California.

Photo Credit: Jody Enck

From about 7am to 8:30 or so, I had the good fortune to bird with a couple of acquaintances at Point Pinos in Monterrey.  We could see many hundreds of birds in the Bay, along with several Gray Whales not far off-shore.  I enjoyed learning how to identify the relatively dainty Black-vented Shearwaters, the small, loose groups of Common Murres, and the usually-single, darkish, chunky flying footballs that were Rhinoceros Auklets.  We also had fun distinguishing between Double-crested, Pelagic, and Brandt’s Cormorants, as well as a half-dozen species of Gulls.

          At the end of our time together, my friend Brian asked if there were any bird species that I’d really like to see.  I let on that I had never seen a Surfbird.  Quickly looking in my field notebook, I also noted that my next bird would be #500 for the U.S. for me.  Brian smiled that wry smile that a knowing birder smiles and said that we surely could locate a Surfbird just down the rocky shoreline.  Ten minutes later we were enjoying close, long views through a scope of a Surfbird about 30 yards away.  Number 500 in the U.S. left me feeling very happy.  After watching it for a few minutes, Brian and parted ways and I continued exploring for birds.

          Just a few minutes later, I was having fun watching a large

Sanderlings roosting on rocks just offshore from Monterrey,

California.  Photo Credit: Jody Enck.

flock of Sanderlings asleep with heads tucked onto their backs while roosting with dozens of Black-bellied Plovers on a large rock sticking up above the crashing surf.  I had never seen Sanderlings anywhere other than running just ahead of the incoming surf on a sandy beach, so the new experience was thrilling to me.  I was feeling more and more confident in picking out different species, including a few diminutive Mew Gulls from the more common Ring-billed and California Gulls.         

          Suddenly, my scope settled on a bird that I knew I had never

Part of the drawing I made in my field notebook of the mystery bird.

Photo Credit: Jody Enck.  

seen before.  In fact, the sighting left me really perplexed as my brain scrambled to make sense out of this part Surfbird, part Mourning Dove, part who-knows-what bird I was seeing.  In the field, I like to just t carry a field notebook to record my sightings.  So, I drew a picture in my notebook that any kindergartner would be proud of, and took copious notes.  I even managed a diagnostic picture through my scope with a point and shoot camera of this bird standing near a Surfbird and Black-bellied Plover.

Mystery bird on left, Surfbird in center, and Black-bellied Plover on right.  Photo Credit: Jody Enck. 

          My confused brain made sense of it in this way in my field notebook:
   "Medium-small shorebird.  Smaller and slimmer than Surfbird.  Medium dark gray virtually all over on head, neck, back, wings and tail, and on breast and flanks.  Whitish chin.  Longish bill -- 2x as long as Surfbird.  Bill Grayish but darker toward tip.  Yellow legs and feet like Surfbird.  Head all gray, but with dark line from bill through eye.  White above this dark line as well as below eye.  Wings longer than tail.  Folded primaries appear to be darker gray or black tipped.  Belly and vent lighter gray than rest of body."

          It wasn’t until later that night after I met with colleagues for the afternoon work program that I had time to look more closely at my pictures and field notes and study my field guide.  I still remember the surprise on my face – complete with wide open mouth – when I realized that I had discovered a Wandering Tattler

A Wandering Tattler discovered by a wandering birder. 

Photo Credit: Jody Enck.

on my own.  These birds are rare but certainly expected in winter along the California Coast.  How rare or common it was didn’t really matter to me, though.  What mattered was that I discovered a bird on my own that had not even been on my radar screen.  It was completely unexpected and the experience left me feeling like I had just discovered a whole new world.

Calling all Bird Clubs to join a network of Sister Bird Clubs stretching throughout the Americas

             Neeotropical migratory birds connect our clubs.  For many of the bird clubs in Canada and the U.S., our "birds of summer" are

Members of the Cayuga Bird Club in Ithaca, NY enjoying our

"birds of summer."  Photo credit: Jody Enck

the "birds of winter" for Clubs in Central and South America.  We know these birds.  We enjoy seeing them and being thrilled by their songs.  We anticipate their arrival and lament their departure. 

          These birds course through our veins, and fill us with life.  If

One of our declining Neotropical migratory warblers -

Black-throated Green Warbler.  Photo Credit: Greg Lavaty.

bird migration is the heartbeat of healthy ecosystems and habitats stretching the length of the Americas, then birds are like the blood cells flowing along those migration pathways.  In spring, their arrival brings a breath of fresh air to those of who have been holding our breath all winter waiting for their return.  Just like a blood cell carrying oxygen, they nourish us in so many ways.

It’s a little different in the Fall.  We do get excited about s

Holding on to another Neotropical migrant for just a little

while longer.  A Northern Parula being banded at the 

National Audubon Society's Hog Island Camp.   

Photo Credit: Jody Enck.

eeing bird species that pass by twice a year on migration.  But this also is a melancholy time as we know many of our breeding "birds of summer" will be joining those other migrants on their annual pulse.  Winter will be coming soon again for those of us in the north, and we want to hold on to our "birds of summer" just a little while longer.

But, our loss as birders in the northern part of the hemisphere is a gain for birders in clubs father south.  I know that

Members of Las Tanunas Club de observaciones de aves

from Gracias, Honduras birding one of their favorite hotspots

looking for their "birds of winter."  Photo credit: Jody Enck.

birders on the wintering grounds look forward to their "birds of winter" just as much as we northerners look forward to the arrival of our "birds of summer."  These same birds nourish birders in the south, too.

Yes, Neotropical migratory birds nourish all parts of our birding community regardless of where we live in the Hemisphere.  We know a fair amount about those birds – their ecology, behaviors, and migration pathways.  But, what do we know of other birders along those migratory pathways?  Wouldn’t it be great to connect with them through a network of sister bird clubs?

Members of Los Jilgueros club de observaciones de aves from

Mancala, Honduras work with school kids to learn about birds.

Photo Credit: David Andres Hernandez Vasquez.

If you’ve been following this blog for the last couple of months, then you know that one of my dreams is to help develop such a network.  To start bringing this dream to reality, I spend about a month in Honduras from mid-October to mid-November meeting with members of six of the seven bird clubs in the country.  The response to the idea of establishing a network of sister bird clubs between North and Central America was remarkable.  I returned to the U.S. more excited and energized than I have felt in a long time.

Now, I want to build some momentum.  The clubs in Honduras generated some great ideas about why they want to be part of a sister club network and how they see that playing out.  The club to which I belong – the Cayuga Bird Club in Ithaca, NY – has some ideas, too.  What about the rest of you?  Surely there is interest among other clubs in North America to be part of a network of sister bird clubs.  Here is your chance to get on the bandwagon while it’s still moving slowly. 

Please join me in working with my new friends, Hector Moncada (left, from

Club Los Zorzales in San Pedro Sula, Honduras) and Francisco Rovelo (right, from

Club Las Tanunas in Gracias, Honduras) to build a network of sister bird clubs

throughout the hemisphere.  Photo credit: Jody Enck.

Are you interested in joining?  What would you want to get out of this network?  What would you like to help facilitate through the network?  Please help us bring this dream to reality by leaving ideas and your contact info in the comments section below.  I’ll be in touch!

What Good is a Sister (Bird Club)? - Re-learning Everything You Thought You Knew About Bird Behavior

          Those of us who grew up with sisters know that they are smart -- really smart.  Even if you think you know a lot, you can always learn something from your sisters.  I know this is true because my two brothers and I have five sisters.  Growing up, we boys had to learn, re-learn, and re-re-learn things over and over again -- mostly things like not taking advantage of their fear of snakes or not forgetting their propensity to stab first and ask "who's there" later.  All kidding aside, I am still learning so much from my sisters, and I hope to for a long, long time to come.

          I think the same can be true for the idea of sister bird clubs.  I recently returned from an extended visit to Honduras where I was exploring the idea of establishing sister bird clubs between the U.S. and that Central American country.  When I came back, some of my birder friends asked, "what good is it to develop a network of sister bird clubs?" I think the simple answer is that we can learn a lot from each other about the birds we think we know pretty well, but maybe don't know as much as we think we do.

          Consider the Neotropical migratory birds that we northerners wait all winter to see in spring.  When migration starts, we don't just go looking for these birds in random places.  We know where to look for them because we know their habitat preferences and their behaviors.  Want to find migrating Bay-breasted Warblers or

Look in the forest canopy if you want to find one of

these Bay-breasted Warbler in breeding plumage

during spring migration.  Photo credit: Bill Majoros.

Black-throated Green Warblers in central New York?  Check out the forest canopy.  Looking for Common Yellowthroats or Gray Catbirds?  Head to brushy areas and edge habitats.  What about Golden-winged or Blue-winged Warblers?  Early-successional habitats and brushy habitats are the places to look. 

          Most of these birds are fairly specific in their habitat use and foraging behaviors when migrating through our area and when staking out breeding territories.  The authoritative website All About Birds hosted by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology provides useful summary icons to help birders know what habitats to look in (e.g., forest, scrub) and foraging habits to look for (e.g., foliage gleaner, ground forager) to help searching birders encounter specific birds.     

          Indeed, at the northern end of the migratory pathways, these Neotropical migrants are such creatures of habit that one can generalize about the particular part of a tree in which they are mostly likely to be found!  In an article in the summer 2016 issue of Living Bird magazine (also produced by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology), distinguished ornithologist Irby Lovette penned an article about how a young graduate student named Robert MacArthur discovered in the 1950s that some warblers nesting in the spruce forests of Maine partitioned individual spruce trees as a way of dealing with stiff competition from other species with similar food requirements and foraging strategies.  Dr. Lovette wrote that nearly 70 years later, another young graduate student found that some of the species of bird had changed from the 1950s, but that birds still generally spent most of their time foraging in particular parts of trees.  You can read about that on Cornell Lab of Ornithology website. 

 

Drawing from the summer issue of the Cornell Lab of

Ornithology's Living Bird magazine showing how

some warbler species generally forage in certain parts

of spruce trees to reduce inter-specific competition.

Drawing was done by: Deborah Kaspari.

         Bay-breasted and Black-throated Green Warblers are mentioned in that article as two of these tree-partitioning species.  In general, these two species tend to forage much lower in the branches of spruce trees than Yellow-rumped or Blackburnian Warblers (mid-tree foragers) or Cape May Warblers (tree-top foragers).  Knowledge of such specific behavior can be especially useful for birders who may only get partial glimpses of quickly moving birds trying to gorge themselves on insects.

          What does any of this have to do with sister bird clubs?  Well, like any smart sister, our sister bird clubs in Honduras could help us learn that almost none of this specificity applies to habitat use or foraging habits of these very same species in Central America.  I had this lesson driven home time and time again on my trip to Honduras.  Yeah, everything I thought I knew about the behavior of these birds that could help me locate and identify these species had to be re-calibrated on the migration and wintering grounds. 

          I'll never forget the rapid-fire birding late on the fourth day of competition during the Honduras Birding for Conservation Tour.  Our team of 10 birders, which we named The Ant Swarm, was led by Jeff Gordon, president of the American Birding Association, and Esdras Lopez, a highly-skilled, Honduran bird guide.  We had just returned via a several-hour bus ride from the dry Aguan Valley to the north coast after successfully tallying dry forest species such as the endemic Honduran Emerald, Lesser Roadrunner, White-bellied Wren, and Lesser Ground-Cuckoo.  In La Ceiba, we were birding around some sewage lagoons close by where the Cangrejal River empties into the Caribbean Sea. 

          After spending hours on a bus, we were in serious need of adding more bird species to our tally during the fading hour of daylight.  Between the lagoons and a few small houses of some

Members of The Ant Swarm birding along waste water lagoons

in La Ceiba, Honduras.  Does this look like Bay-breasted

Warbler habitat?  We found them feeding on the ground here.

Photo caption: Jody Enck.

local residents was an open, dirt-and-grass area backed by some brushy habitat.  We found a number of species using this general area.  Some birds were on the ground.  Members of The Ant Swarm sorted through the birds and called out the species.  I recall seeing a Bay-breasted warbler in that dirt-and-grass area, and calling out its name.  "No way!" barked Jeff Gordon.  "I've never seen a Bay-breasted Warbler foraging on the ground."  But, there it was in all its glory acting more like a sparrow than a forest warbler.  We found numerous other individuals on the open ground during the Tour, too.

          Oh, but we also found them deep in the forest.  Early in my travels in Honduras, I was fortunate enough to spend a couple days on the north coast at the Lodge and Spa at Pico Bonito.  The lodge property abuts the largely inaccessible Pico Bonito National Park. 

Another habitat where we found Bay-breasted

Warblers, this time feeding high in the canopy.

Photo credit: Jody Enck.  

One morning, Katinka Domen from Beaks and Peaks Birding and Adventure Tours and I trekked off in the dark for an hour of hiking uphill just so we could access a sort-of trail into the National Park at daylight.  As we hiked our way through an amazingly pristine Rainforest on the lower slopes of the namesake mountain, we came across a number of deep-forest species.  These included Plain Antvireo, Tawny-crowned Greenlet, Nightingale Wren, and Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher.  We also repeated saw these birds that for all the world acted like some deep-woods Oriole, gleaning for insects high in the canopy of Rainforest.  You guessed it -- Bay-breasted Warblers were really quite common in the deep Rainforest.

          This very idea was raised by birders from a couple of the bird clubs with whom I met in Honduras.  Their experiences with Neotropical migratory birds as well as resident Central American species let them to realize that these species seem to use habitat differently and that their foraging habitats likely differ as well.  The Honduran birders pointed out that they would like to know more from us about habitat use and behaviors of migrant birds when they are here on their breeding grounds, and that they could help us learn more about habitat use and behaviors of those birds on their wintering grounds.

          Sharing information about the bird species we share is a great idea.  It goes well beyond just helping birders know where to look for these species, however.  A big part of what we can learn from our sister bird clubs has to do with long-term conservation of bird species. 

Non-breeding plumaged Bay-breasted Warbler.  When foraging

high in the canopy of the Rainforest, these relatively large

warblers can be confused with female or immature orioles.

Photo Credit: Jame Hurt.

          Data from the Canadian breeding grounds for both Bay-breasted Warbler and Black-throated Green Warbler show that these species have been experiencing slow, but long-term declines in population size.  Habitat loss on breeding grounds, along migration routes, and on wintering grounds is a key factor influencing population trends for both species.  Consider, however, that these species seem to be able to use a great variety of habitat types during migration and on their wintering grounds than some of the more habitat-specific resident birds in Central and South America. 

          Loss of habitat for those resident species has an even great

In the buffer zone of Santa Barbara National Park, Honduras,

clearing for small-scale agriculture negatively impacts habitat

availability for birds.  Photo Credit: Jody Enck.

impact because they are unable to utilize as wide of a range of habitats.  I witnessed loss of forest habitat on a frequent basis when I was in Honduras.  Each day, more forest was lost to wood cutting and clearing for agriculture.  Loss of mature forest is having a devastating effect on populations of resident birds in Central America.

          Even week-to-week changes in habitat structure in areas cleared for agriculture affect distribution, and ultimately, abundance of Neotropical migratory species.  In mid-October, I

A farmer using a machete to cut weeds and remnants of

agricultural plants to prepare the hillside for the next crop.

Even small-scale farmers can have large-scale impacts on

habitat for both resident and Neotropical migratory birds.

Photo Credit: Jody Enck.

observed many species of Neotropical migratory species and some resident birds that utilize weedy and early-successional woody habitats in areas where small-scale farmers recently had harvested corn and other crops.  When I was back in the same area four weeks later, agricultural habitats where I had encountered Mourning and McGillivray's Warblers, Variable Seedeater, Prevost's Ground-Sparrow, Green-throated Mountain-Gem, and Rufous-capped Warbler had been hacked to the ground in preparation for planting a new crop of corn and beans. 

          These are the kinds of things that our sister bird clubs can help us learn: habitat use and habits of birds with which we are familiar in North America are not the same farther south in migration or on the wintering grounds.  Habitat types and short-term changes to those habitats are not the same as what we are used to in North America.  At the very least, our sister bird clubs can share these stories, pictures, videos, and bird population information with us to help us re-learn what we might have thought that we know.  We also might engage in exchange visits to learn some of these things firsthand. 

          Yes, our sister bird clubs can help us learn and re-learn a lot.  Gaining that kind of knowledge is important.  Even more important is connecting the dots between the various pieces of knowledge to increase our understanding about the world around us, especially the conservation implications.  Most important then will be to work with our sister bird clubs to use that understanding to achieve conservation outcomes for the birds we share and that we love so much.

A Simple Guy Enjoys Unimaginable Creature Comforts While Experiencing Nature

I think of myself as a relatively simple guy who doesn’t need a lot of creature comforts.  I grew up on a farm in southcentral Pennsylvania.  We lived in an old farm house that was built in the 1790s.  What it lacked in terms of comfort – no insulation to keep it warm in winter, heated by a woodstove in the dining room, and no indoor bathroom – it more than made up for in character and character-building opportunities for a kid with seven siblings. 

The only plumbing in the house was a kitchen sink.  In winter, we often had to carry water from that sink out to the barn where 50 thirsty steers didn’t care that the water line to the barn was frozen.  We had an outhouse – right up through the 1980s – that we affectionately called “the blue room.” 

My bathroom growing up on the farm- way too hot in the

summer and way too cold in winter.  Photo Credit:

One of the Enck Siblings.

In summer, our shower was a garden hose draped over the clothes line.  In winter, we bathed in a metal tub placed beside the dining room woodstove.  Saturday night bath time lasted for hours as each sibling took their turn. 

Considering that all my same-age friends were actually living in the 20^th century while I was growing up in my own personal version of “Little House on the Prairie,” I learned that I didn’t need a lot modern comforts to thrive as a sibling in a big family, or as a human being in a fast-paced society.  Still, I recognized that experiencing some creature comforts can be a really good thing, too.  That was true when I was a kid, and it’s still true today.  I had a fantastic chance to learn that lesson again when I was in Honduras to start establishing a network of sister birding clubs between the U.S. and Honduras.

Honduras is a land of contrasts.  It has unbelievable natural beauty, landscapes, and wildlife.  It also is experiencing ever-increasing human pressures on habitats leading to serious threats to the sustainability of its awe-inspiring wildlife.  By many measures, Hondurans live in one of the poorest nations in the Western Hemisphere.  But, there also are major exceptions to that generality, including some amazing ecotourism infrastructure that can provide you with creature comforts well beyond your wildest dreams about what birding in paradise might be like.  During my time in Honduras, I was fortunate enough to have a couple of chances to experience birding in paradise at the Lodge and Spa at Pico Bonito.

Anyone used to the simple things in life can experience incredible sophistication at the Lodge and Spa at Pico Bonito.

The reception/lobby area at Pico Bonito.  Photo Credit: Lodge and Spa at Pico Bonito.  

          The Lodge and Spa at Pico Bonito is located in the rainforest of the north coast near the city of La Ceiba in Atlantida Department.  Its 400+ acre property abuts the unsurpassed Pico

Nightingale Wren -- one of the humid, evergreen forest birds

I only encountered while staying at Pico Bonito.

Photo Credit: David Rodriguez Arias.

Bonito National Park.  About 420 bird species have been recorded on and near the Lodge property, including some of the most sought-after birds that can be found in Honduras.   I haven’t tallied all the bird species I saw while at the Lodge and surrounding areas, but it must be close to 200.  This includes many deep-forest species that I recorded nowhere else on my travels in Honduras. 

Miles of trails await anyone with a modicum of adventurous spirit.  Some trails are fairly easy walking, and one can access a wonderful, multi-story observation tower with a minimum of effort (only 5-10 minutes from the Lodge).  Other, longer trails require more effort, but the pay-off is well worth the effort.  Not too far from the Lodge, one can walk a trail along the top of a Rainforest-clad ridge where it is easy to imagine that humans have hiked this very ridge overlooking two watercourses for more than a thousand years.  Hikers can visit “Unbelievable Falls” and other

Those willing to hike a bit can be rewarded with a swim below

"Unbelievable Fall".  Photo Credit: Lodge and Spa at Pico Bonito.

unbelievable sights on the property.  The steep slopes and imposing presence of namesake Pico Bonito add to the amazing natural beauty of the landscape.

Obviously, birds are not the only denizens of the Rainforest here.  This area provides important habitat for an incredible diversity of mammalian species, from the ever-present Central American Agouti, to Kinkajous, Coatis, at least three species of Monkeys (which I saw frequently), and several species of feline predators.  Trail cams showing pictures on a screen in the lobby

An Ocelot prowls the forest at Pico Bonito.  Photo Credit:

James Adams and the Lodge and Spa at Pico Bonito. 

area of the Lodge provide evidence that the property has suitable habitat for Jaguar, Puma, Ocelot, Jaguarondi, Margay, and more.  The diversity of butterflies, moths, and other insects will stun any insect-loving visitor.  If you are lucky, you also can encounter many species of frogs and toads, as well as an assortment of lizards and snakes.

OK, so the wildlife, habitats, and landscapes, and the experiences you can have in them are world-class.  What about the facility itself?  Fear not.  If you want to experience unimaginable creature comforts, total relaxation, and have friendly staff want to attend to all your interests, then the Lodge and Spa at Pico Bonito is for you.

The first thing you will notice upon arrival is the beautiful, open-air reception/lobby building and several knowledgeable,

Walkway connecting the Reception/Lobby are to the

Restaurant.  Photo Credit: Lodge and Spa at Pico Bonito.

friendly staff waiting to check you in and provide you with a great experience from your first minute on-site.  There is an array of luxuriously appointed cabins, each with private bathroom, awaiting your visit.  The restaurant serves a wide variety of

Outdoor and indoor options are available at the restaurant.

Photo Credit: Lodge and Spa at Pico Bonito.

wonderful dishes, including fresh salads, various steak, seafood, and vegetarian dishes.  The desert menu is as wonderful as you’d expect after a meal fit for royalty.  All of that is topped off by a staff whose main raison d’etre seems to be to please you. 

View of a "Standard Cabin" at Pico Bonito.  Photo-credit: Lodge and Spa

at Pico Bonito.

For those who are looking for an opportunity to relax and unwind, you can take advantage of the full-service spa.  If you want some pampering, you can find it on the Spa menu.  Massage,

Quiet relaxation in the Spa surrounded by humid, evergreen

forest.  Photo Credit: Lodge and Spa at Pico Bonito.

aromatherapy, yoga, and more are available.  Visitors who want to experience some nature without having to hike much to find it can make an appointment to visit both the Butterfly House and the Serpentarium.  Despite spending a fairly extensive amount of time in the field while there, the only place I saw any venomous snakes was in their glass-encased habitats in the Serpentarium. 

One can relax with Yoga surrounded by nature.

Photo credit: Jody Enck.

The Lodge has available a number of great, local guides who can lead you around the grounds and on the trail

s to observe birds and other wildlife.  They also can help you sign up for some adventures farther afield, including day trips to nearby mangrove wetlands, Botanical Gardens, dry forest where you can see Honduras’ only endemic bird – the Honduran Emerald (hummingbird), and more.  You also can sign up for multiple-day adventures, including white-water rafting and snorkeling. 

I was impressed every day during my visits to Pico Bonito by the commitment of the staff to ensure my visit was as wonderful as possible.  Like I said at the beginning of this post, I think of myself as a relatively simple guy who does not need to experience creature comforts to have a great time.  But, being provided with unexpected creature comforts while in a tropical Rainforest landscape provided me with an experience I will never forget.