Gaining Another Sister (Bird Club)

          Each day the dream becomes more real.  When I left the U.S. a little more than three weeks ago on an uncertain journey to a country I had never visited before, I had a very small dream.  My dream was to try to develop a sister relationship between my bird club in Ithaca, New York -- the Cayuga Bird Club -- and one or more birding clubs in Honduras.  

I've traveled all over the western half of Honduras, from Sa Pedro Sula in the northwest to Lake Yojoa in
the west-central part, up to the La Ceiba area of the central north coast, down to Zamorano University
south-east of Tegucigalpa, then west to La Esperanza and on to Gracias in Lempira Department,
then back to Lake Yojoa and back up to the north coast by La Ceiba.  I will still travel to Copan Ruinas
in the far west of the country, and then back once more to the Lake Yojoa area before flying home
from San Pedro Sula where my travels all started. 

          I didn't know what this sister relationship would look like or what it would entail.  Still, I knew that birders in the northeastern U.S and in Honduras shared some important commonalities.  We share well over 100 species of Neotropical migratory birds that come north in the spring to breed and raise young, and that return south again in the fall to spend the winter feasting on the insect, fruit, and nectar riches of the tropics.  

Ruby-throated Hummingbird -- one of "our" birds of summer

in Ithaca, NY, but a bird that spends most of the year much

farther south on its non-breeding grounds. 

          Now, twenty-two days into my Honduran travels I realize that my dream is turning into a much bigger endeavor than I could have ever imagined.  I have met with members of a half dozen birding clubs here in Honduras.  I have gone birding with them, eaten meals with them, and slept in their homes.  I have shared stories with them about birds, birding, and bird conservation.  I have experienced the exciting, passionate, and reverent bonds that link birders to one another through these feathered creatures.  Even when we haven't spoken the same human language, we've shared the language of a deep connection to birds.
          What is it about birds that lead to these bonds between

We birders don't just watch birds like a bunch of voyeurs. 

We experience birds.  Photo credit: Jody Enck. 

birders from different parts of the hemisphere?  Sure, we like to look at birds, to figure out how to identify them, and even marvel at their ability to fly thousands of miles twice a year for their entire lives.  But, it is more than just birds -- outside of their specific contexts -- that link birders across those thousands of miles.  Context matters because birds interacting with their habitats and with each other is what we birders experience.  Experiencing birds in their lived environments is one of the most important aspects that bond together birders.  We don't just watch birds, or count birds.  We experience them. 
          That whole idea was really driven home for me today.  I had the great pleasure of meeting with Jafeth Jablah (President) and Isis Ica (Vice President) of Club Continga, a bird club from La Ceiba.  We talked for several hours about what a sister relationship between our clubs might entail.  As Isis told me, "of course we want to do the obvious things like sharing information about what activities each of our clubs has been doing, but more than that, we want to know what the birds we share are doing when they are in each other's area.  What habitats are they using, what trees are they feeding on, what are their behaviors?"

Having lunch with Club Cotinga members Jafeth Jablah (President, right) and

Isis Ica (Vice President, left) at Pico Bonito Lodge. 

Photo Credit: Pico Bonito Lodge.

          She really got me thinking about how I have noticed substantial differences between my experiences with birds around my home in New York and those same species of birds as I have experienced them here in Honduras.  When the birds migrate north in the spring, there are a few days each year when you can experience mixed flocks of species using a broad array of habitats.  But, those days are few and far between.  Mostly, the birds arrive and very quickly disperse into fairly specific habitat patches that certain species need for breeding.  Even species that will travel even farther north don't often accumulate in large numbers or great diversity in many habitats around where I live.
          Here in Honduras, I have been consistently encountering a great diversity and abundance of warblers, vireos, orioles, tanagers, and other Neotropical migrants mixed in with lots of residents birds.  The way the migrants use habitat here, and the behaviors of those birds, is really different in Honduras compared to the U.S.  For obvious reasons, this has a big influence on how one goes about looking for birds, identifying birds, and experiencing birds in the specific context of their daily lives.  
          Birders in Honduras and New York share a bond through these birds and with these birds.  We share a way of experiencing the birds that transcends simply watching them or putting a name on them.  But, what do we know of how the other clubs experience these birds?  Probably not as much as we think.  
          To that end, Isis and Jafeth suggested that our clubs might engage in some kind of joint project surrounding the idea of helping each other really understand what the birds are up to.  We might choose one or two of our favorite migrant species as focal birds, and to share with the other club what our in-depth experiences are with those birds.  
          Another idea they mentioned was to invite a group of birders from New York down to Honduras next February when Club Cotinga will be holding its own version of a birding blitz.

Wouldn't you want to go to Honduras to help Club

Cotinga learn more about their namesake bird?

Photo Credit: Pico Bonito Lodge.

  At that time of year, the Club Cotinga's namesake bird -- the Lovely Cotinga -- is especially abundant and easy to see as it feeds on fruiting ficus trees and other plants that flower at that time of year.  It turns out that Club Cotinga knows relatively little about this bird.  They would love to work with members of our club to find out more about it.  Who's in for a trip to Honduras when the cold and snow have a tight grip on Ithaca?
         We have much to learn and much to gain through relationships with sister bird clubs.  The ideas of what we might do and why we might do those things are constrained only by our imaginations.  I know that my own imagination has been expanded greatly by my travels here.  I want others to have the same kinds of mind-blowing experiences as I have had.