The next stop on our itinerary was Los Tarrales Reserve on the southeastern slope of Atitlán volcano. This reserve is part of the Atitlán Important Bird Area as designated by BirdLife International. Our lodge was part of a coffee plantation with shade-grown coffee grown at an elevation of 2,300 to 5,300 feet. Los Tarrales Reserve hosts more than 400 species of birds and 99 mammals. It is one of Guatemala’s richest birding and natural history areas.
A rare northern pygmy-owl. (Photos by David Durrant)
On our first day at Los Tarrales, we birded around the lodge and small village, enjoying views of a variety of parakeets squawking while entering and exiting their nest holes, yellow-naped parrot, white-throated magpie-jay, white-bellied chachalaca, turquoise-browed motmot, Pacific parakeet, and yellow-winged tanager. A highlight was seeing a flock of our familiar cedar waxwings feeding on berries. Roland noted that this year he has seen more cedar waxwings than in past years. Between walks we gathered under an open pavilion to watch a variety of birds at the fruit feeders and in the surrounding trees. We were able to get excellent close-up views of yellow-throated and scrub euphonias; yellow-winged and blue-gray tanagers; spot-breasted, altimira, and Baltimore orioles; golden-fronted woodpecker; rufous-naped wren; black-headed saltator; summer tanager; red-legged honeycreeper; white-throated magpie-jay; clay-colored thrush; white-bellied chachalaca; blue-crowned motmot; and melodious blackbird—all while enjoying fresh lemonade in the welcome shade of the pavilion.
Searching the volcanic slopes
On our second day at Los Tarrales, we climbed aboard four-wheel-drive vehicles to travel up the volcano slope. Our goal was the azure-rumped tanager and horned guan, along with other high elevation and cloud forest species. After time spent scanning the mid canopy, we finally sighted the azure-rumped tanager with its distinctive black mask. We weren’t as lucky with the horned guan. Although we heard its clacking call, we did not get a good look. After several hours on the slopes observing a variety of species, we returned to the lodge for lunch. David then settled in to watch the birds at the fruit-feeders, and Pam went off on a tour of the coffee operation.
Santiago on Lake Atitlán was our next stop. We arrived in time to enjoy lunch on the terrace overlooking the lake, a short siesta, and then a brief tour of Santiago. The next day we birded a farm, Finca De Providencia, on the edge of the lake. Our driver stopped when he spotted a bull in the field and sat down to converse with the large animal while we skirted around the cattle and birded the grasslands and wetlands by the lake. Along with the egrets and herons, there was a good mix of ducks including teals, gallinules, coots, and one or two northern pintails and grebes. A highlight was a good view of a green kingfisher perched on a stump in the water. Nearby was a familiar sight, the belted kingfisher that we see around our pond at home. Walking back to our vehicle through the fields and scrub we encountered eight species of warblers, including the ever-present Wilson’s warbler and cedar waxwings and, to our guide’s count, 22 Tennessee warblers. Hard to top that.
Our driver befriends a bull while we watch birds in the area.
Next day we traveled on to Antiqua, a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its well-preserved 17th-century Spanish colonial architecture. On the way we stopped to bird several locations before settling into a lovely posada. As was typical throughout the journey, we gathered in the evening to review the day’s bird list. This evening we met on the roof terrace to enjoy views over the colonial city to a distant erupting volcano while checking off our lists. In the morning we took off to bird a nearby finca, or farm, in Spanish. We then returned to Antiqua for lunch and to enjoy a walk around this beautiful city.
A rarely seen northern pygmy-owl
It was now time to return to Guatemala City. On the way, we stopped, of course, for more birding at a park where our guide’s skills brought us an unusual sighting. He had heard a distant “toot-toot” while walking on the trail and recognized the call as that of the northern pygmy-owl. This 6½-inch bird is almost impossible to find in the dense canopy. Our guide mimicked the call as we walked down the trail to call in the owl, who followed us before coming to a perch in an oak about 20 feet up. Roland patiently got us all focused on the owl, and we enjoyed an excellent view.
Next stop was lunch on the terrace at Jardines de Provenza with great views to the erupting Fuego volcano. A short trek after lunch yielded excellent views of a blue-throated motmot, giving us a chance to practice our digiscoping skills, the practice of taking pictures with an iPhone through a spotting scope.
In Guatemala City, the group was scheduled to fly on to Tikal. We had spent several days in Tikal back in 1998 so we opted for a relaxing stay at a hotel on Lake Atitlán, a large lake in a massive volcanic crater surrounded by steep hills and Mayan villages. David relaxed on the terrace overlooking the lake, observing birds and local fisherman, while Pam visited several of the Mayan villages. After four days it was back to Harvard to wait for the warblers to return.
David and Pam Durrant live and work at Micheldever Farm on East Bare Hill Road.
