Linking sister birding clubs in the U.S. and Honduras -- Day 2

Katinka Domen (you met her in my blog from yesterday) picked me up at 6am today and drove me over to the Beaks and Peaks headquarters at Lake Yojoa.  Walter Mejia already was there, as were Luis and Winder from the Tanunas Club in Gracias.  We birded the front yard where the various sights and sounds included Rufous-backed Wren, Montezuma Oropendula and later Chestnut-headed Oropendula, White-fronted Parrots, a White-tailed Kite, and several Melodious Blackbirds.  Some of “my birds of summer” also were around, like Baltimore Orioles, Orchard Orioles, and Yellow Warblers.  We walked down to the lake and found more birds familiar to me: American Redstart, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-throated Vireo, Least Flycatcher, Willow Flycatcher, more Baltimore and Orchard Orioles, and Northern Waterthrush.  Some of the waterbirds also were familiar like Common Gallinule, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, Little Blue Heron, Green Heron, and Black-crowned Night-Heron. 

A huge abundance and diversity of waterbirds were on Lake Yojoa, Honduras this morning.  Some of the species

included Bare-throated Tiger-Heron, Northern Jacanas, both Purple and Common Gallinule, Great Blue, Little Blue, and Green Herons, Great and Snowy Egrets, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Muskovy Duck, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, and Neotropical Cormorant.  Photo credit: Jody Enck.  

Of course, some of the big highlights for me were birds I had never seen before.  Bare-throated Tiger-Heron – check.  A marsh full of Northern Jacanas – check.  Streak-headed Woodcreeper – check. Pale-vented Pigeon – check.  Snail Kite catching and feeding on snails – check.  Yellow-bellied Elaenias, with very erect crests and all the while complaining about a real, live, tooting, Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl – check.  Common Tody-Flycatcher – check.  Altogether, we recorded 65 species of birds before breakfast. 

A Turquoise-browed Motmot at Lake Yojoa, Honduras this morning.  We also saw Lesson's Motmots.  Photo credit:  William Orellana.

Then while sitting in the front yard eating pancakes and drinking coffee, William heard an Olivaceous Piculet.  We all got great views of this smallest of Central American woodpeckers (makes a Downy Woodpecker look huge).  It wasn’t easy to find in the tree, however, because a number of Neotropical warblers were flitting around, and the tree was absolutely full of Yellow-winged Tanagers.

After breakfast, William drove me back to D and D Brewery so I could pack and get ready to checkout.  I’ll be heading up to the Panacam lodge later as base of operation for the Lake Yojoa Birding Blitz.  As I sit in the outdoor café by the hummingbird feeders, a couple of random thoughts emerged from my nearly overwhelmed brain.  I want to share a little with you about people inside of cars and outside of cars in Honduras.

The people outside of cars…

Most people I have encountered in public in Honduras seem somewhat shy and reserved, but most are quick with a smile and an Hola! when you initiate contact.  When you ask for help with something, people seem very helpful and friendly even though many don’t speak English.  You’d do yourself a big favor to learn more Spanish than I did before I can down.  (OMG, a Violet Sabrewing just flew past me as I sit at an outdoor table writing this.  It is a humungous hummingbird, nearly as big as a Scarlet Tanager, with an iridescent, deep purple head and body, greenish wings and lower back, a long, curved bill, and very long tail that is half white.  It is a bird that gets your attention.)

A Violet Saberwing just visited me at D and D Brewery, Lodge and Restaurant in

Los Naranjos, Honduras:  Photo credit: Jody Enck

The people inside of cars…

Driving in Honduras is not for the faint of heart.  At one point before I came to Honduras, I thought I might rent a car to drive around and meet with some of the birding clubs.  Perish the thought.  No defensive-driving course in the U.S. could possibly prepare you for the free-for-all that is the normal way of moving vehicles, bicycles, three-wheeled motor taxis, and horse-drawn wagons up the road.  Pass when you want to, or if you dare, and expect that somebody might pass you while you are passing someone else.  I have found it much better to be picked up by a local who understands that all this is normal.  I can then sit back and enjoy the ride a bit like one enjoys the wild rides at an amusement park. 

Driving in Honduras is fun!  Photo credit: Jody Enck

I am really excited about the start of the Lake Yojoa Birding Blitz.  I am also excited that the participants will benefit in a very small way by things members of the Cayuga Bird Club and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology sent along with me.  Thanks to Wes Blauvelt and Donna Scott from the Cayuga Bird Club in Ithaca, New York, a couple of the participants (totally about 40 people from all across Honduras, plus me as the one American del norte) will have donated binoculars to use.  This afternoon, I’ll be meeting all the other participants when on-site registration for the Lake Yajoa Birding Blitz officially kicks off.  Representatives from all the bird clubs in the country will be there.  I am looking forward to sharing with them some of the other donated items I brought down with me (from the Cayuga Bird Club members and from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology). 

I am especially interested in meeting some of the kids who will be participating.  Katinka and William have made a concerted effort to personally invite some young girls to participate in an effort to build participation in a largely male-dominated, Honduras birding culture (such as it is after existing only for a couple years).  I need to sign off for now to head to the Blitz.  Can’t wait to share with you about my experiences there!  Good birding.