We got up and dressed and started out the door. There on the path were the two tinamous, adult and youngster, we had seen the day before. This time they were more cooperative. We got very good looks and could see by the size they were not Little Tinamous at all, but Greats. They were not intimidated by us in the least. I snapped a few photos in the dark, not sure if I was getting anything at all. The pictures are pretty bad, but they do show enough to get the idea of what they area. We walked down to the path, and they just strolled along in front of us. I was afraid to breathe! Finally, they hopped over the edging of the path and slipped into the woods. It was a great way to start our last morning!
We were a bit early, so I ran down to the moth light to check out what might be there. The lodge had a white sheet with a light set up at night for moths. I was hoping for some big silk moths, but all of the bugs were fairly small. A few were really lovely. One white moth had a silver sheen and looked kind of furry. I took a few photos, then headed back to the lodge, where we met Esdras. We decided to do a walk before breakfast.
We found a number of birds we had already seen, like Red-capped Manakin and Chestnut-collared Woodpecker. We walked down to the tower and said goodbye to the Lovely Cotingas. We were very excited to find a Slate-colored Solitaire. They are normally found at a higher elevation, but were moving down slope for the winter. Esdras found a young roosting Great Potoo, probably "Ginger", a young bird that was rescued, and then released by the lodge. We went back and ate breakfast with Esdras. I had the pecan encrusted french toast one last time. Seriously, if you go there, order this! It is amazing!
We finished breakfast and went back out to look for Vermiculated Screech-Owl. We worked the low forest in front of the lodge, with no success. They are fairly common there, but difficult to see when roosting. None responded to Esdras' tape. We did get one more life bird for me, Yellow-winged Tanager. We should have had this bird long before our last day; they are really common, but they had eluded us. Finally, Esdras spotted a couple in a tree by the parking lot. They aren't fancy looking birds at all, mostly blue gray with a little yellow flash on the wing, but I was still happy to see them. We had a Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl near the parking lot, too.
It was getting close to time to leave, so we bid Esdras goodbye and went and finished packing. Esdras was a really good guide and I recommend him highly. We went up to the lodge and I did a bit of last minute shopping. Our bags were brought up and the van was out front. I settled up our bill and the desk agent gave me a gift from Alex Alverado, one of the guides, who I am friends with on Facebook. It was a lovely hand embroidered tote bag his wife had made for us. I was really touched!
Just as we were about to get on the van, Alex and another guide came up and asked us if we wanted to see a Vermiculated Screech-Owl. It would only take about ten minutes and the van driver was happy to wait. Of course we did! We followed them through the woods where we had looked earlier. I have no idea how they spotted it, but tucked up in the leaves was a little round ball of an owl. Alex took my phone and digiscoped the bird for me. I am horrible at digiscoping, but he did a great job! It was a wonderful bird to end our time at Pico Bonito.
We got in the van and got on our way. The driver made several stops, where we saw more Yellow-winged Tanagers, Solitary Sandpiper, Blue-gray Tanagers and a very interesting swift that Martin is still working on. We finally arrived at the Metrotel, where we began our trip. We arranged for a cab to pick us up at the unbearably early time of 3:30 AM for our 6:30 AM flight. Part of me felt like we should have just gone to the airport.
I have one more quick story to relate. Our flight to Miami when without a hitch. We went through immigration and went to re-check our bag. When they X-rayed the bag they saw a small jar of mango marmalade that I had forgotten about. They pulled the bag to check it more carefully. The agent opened the suitcase and pulled out a burlap bag of organic cocoa I had bought. I said, "Oh, that is just a bag of organic coca." Martin said "NO! COCOA! Not coca!" The agent laughed, but still did a little test to make sure. He then reached in and pulled out a paper wrapped small pottery bowl I had bought. I said "Oh, that is just a little pot!" He and Martin doubled over laughing. I must have turned five shades of red! He said "Lady, you made my week." I am so lucky I am not in jail! Thank goodness I got a TSA agent with a sense of humor.
Honduras was great. I think it would be a great introduction to tropical birding. Pico Bonito is beautiful, more than comfortable and the food is great. I will be very happy to answer any questions and put you in touch with the right people. Thanks for reading along.
Photos for the day:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sngcanary/sets/72157649882411151
Bird list for the day:
Tinamidae Great Tinamou
Cracidae Plain Chachalaca
Ardeidae Cattle Egret
Cathartidae Black Vulture
Cathartidae Turkey Vulture
Accipitridae Roadside Hawk
Scolopacidae Solitary Sandpiper
Columbidae Red-billed Pigeon
Columbidae Gray-headed Dove
Cuculidae Squirrel Cuckoo
Cuculidae Groove-billed Ani
Strigidae Vermiculated Screech-Owl
Strigidae Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl
Nyctibiidae Great Potoo
Apodidae White-collared Swift
Apodidae Vaux's Swift
Trochilidae Long-billed Hermit
Trochilidae Stripe-throated Hermit
Trochilidae Purple-crowned Fairy
Trochilidae Violet Sabrewing
Trochilidae Crowned Woodnymph
Trochilidae Stripe-tailed Hummingbird
Trochilidae Rufous-tailed Hummingbird
Trogonidae Black-headed Trogon
Momotidae Blue-crowned Motmot
Alcedinidae Amazon Kingfisher
Ramphastidae Collared Aracari
Ramphastidae Keel-billed Toucan
Picidae Black-cheeked Woodpecker
Picidae Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Picidae Chestnut-colored Woodpecker
Psittacidae Olive-throated Parakeet
Psittacidae White-crowned Parrot
Furnariidae Wedge-billed Woodcreeper
Furnariidae Ivory-billed Woodcreeper
Tyrannidae Bright-rumped Attila
Tyrannidae Great Kiskadee
Tyrannidae Boat-billed Flycatcher
Tyrannidae Social Flycatcher
Cotingidae Lovely Cotinga
Pipridae Red-capped Manakin
Tityridae Rose-throated Becard
Vireonidae Tawny-crowned Greenlet
Corvidae Brown Jay
Troglodytidae Spot-breasted Wren
Troglodytidae White-breasted Wood-Wren
Turdidae Slate-colored Solitaire
Turdidae Swainson's Thrush
Turdidae Wood Thrush
Turdidae Clay-colored Thrush
Mimidae Gray Catbird
Parulidae Ovenbird
Parulidae Hooded Warbler
Thraupidae Blue-gray Tanager
Thraupidae Yellow-winged Tanager
Thraupidae Green Honeycreeper
Cardinalidae Summer Tanager
Cardinalidae Red-throated Ant-Tanager
Cardinalidae Black-faced Grosbeak
Cardinalidae Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Icteridae Melodious Blackbird
Icteridae Great-tailed Grackle
Icteridae Orchard Oriole
Icteridae Montezuma Oropendola
Fringillidae Scrub Euphonia
Fringillidae Yellow-throated Euphonia
No comments:
Post a Comment