Gartered Trogon (Trogon caligatus)

Posted on September 8, 2015 by Tara

The Gartered Trogon (Trogon caligatus), also known as the northern violaceous trogon, is a near passerine bird in the trogon family, Trogonidae. It is found in forests in east-central Mexico, south through Central America, to north-western South America (west or north of the Andes in Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela). It was formerly treated as a subspecies of the otherwise exclusively South American violaceous trogon (T. violaceus).

When I saw this bird during the shore excursion on my cruise in 2011, it was still being called a Violaceous Trogon. The split came sometime in 2012 and field guides published before then will use the old name. It gets confusing as I remember my guide calling it a Violaceous Trogon in Selva Verde in 2013!

My photo is blurry so I added shots of a male (1st pic) and female from Wikipedia to show the bird’s beautiful colours to advantage.

Their range extends from Mexico through most of Central America to the tip of South America in Colombia. I have seen them during a shore excursion in Puntarenas and in Selva Verde, Costa Rica.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS BIRD

Wikipedia

Birdlife (has not separated the Gartered and Violaceous Trogons)

Cornell Lab

Beauty of Birds

Xeno-canto

VIDEOS

Turquoise-browed Motmot (Eumomota superciliosa)

Posted on September 6, 2015 by Tara

The Turquoise-browed Motmot (Eumomota superciliosa) is a colourful, medium-sized bird of the motmot family, Momotidae. It inhabits Central America from south-east Mexico (mostly the Yucatán Peninsula), to Costa Rica, where it is common and not considered threatened. It lives in fairly open habitats such as forest edge, gallery forest and scrubland. It is more conspicuous than other motmots, often perching in the open on wires and fences. From these perches it scans for prey, such as insects and small reptiles.

My photos of this stunning little bird were backlit so didn’t do justice to it’s beauty. Looks like I have to rely on Wikipedia for close-up shots.

They have a fairly large range throughout Central America from Belize to Costa Rica. We saw them in Nicaragua around the Granada area and in Costa Rica while enroute to the Manantial Sanctuary.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS BIRD

VIDEOS

Sometimes it just blows me away when I see how beautiful a bird really is after I saw one in bad light (usually backlit by the sun) and see photos and videos posted by others who were lucky enough to see the bird in good light. Check out these videos!

The Girl And Globe Visits Estación Biológica Las Guacamayas

Posted on May 15, 2014 by Tara

As much as I would like to, I can’t get to every eco-tourism lodge in the world so I am very happy to see a fellow blogger, Becky from The Girl and Globe visiting Estación Biológica Las Guacamayas. She was lucky enough to see the beautiful Scarlet Macaw and lots of mammals!

I don’t want to steal Becky’s photos so here is one I took in Costa Rica.

Becky has just made an in-depth visit around Guatemala and has some great advice for anyone who is planning a trip there.

Use your miles for an award to Central America to visit Guatemala.

Resplendent Quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno)

Posted on November 29, 2013 by Tara

All birds are beautiful in one way or another but the Resplendent Quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno) is spectacularly gorgeous! They look like little gods come down to earth and when you see one, you will wonder if you should be worshiping it or photographing it.

The Resplendent Quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno) is a bird in the trogon family. It is found from southern Mexico to western Panama (unlike the other quetzals of the genus Pharomachrus, which are found in South America and eastern Panama). It is well known for its colorful plumage. There are two subspecies, P. m. mocinno and P. m. costaricensis.

This quetzal plays an important role in Mesoamerican mythologies. The Resplendent Quetzal is Guatemala’s national bird, and an image of it is on the flag and coat of arms of Guatemala. It is also the name of the local currency (abbreviation GTQ).

In ancient Mayan culture, the quetzal bird’s tail feathers were used as currency. The Resplendent Quetzal was considered divine, associated with the “snake god”, Quetzalcoatl by Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations. Its iridescent green tail feathers, symbols for spring plant growth, were venerated by the ancient Aztecs and Maya, who viewed the quetzal as the “god of the air” and as a symbol of goodness and light. Mesoamerican rulers and some nobility of other ranks wore headdresses made from quetzal feathers, symbolically connecting them to Quetzalcoatl. Since it was a crime to kill a quetzal, the bird was simply captured, its long tail feathers plucked, and was set free. Quetzalcoatl was the creator god and god of wind, often depicted with grey hair. In several Mesoamerican languages, the term for quetzal can also mean precious, sacred, or erected.

WHERE TO SEE THEM IN THE WILD

Their habitat is montane cloud forest from Southern Mexico to Panama. I was lucky enough to see them in 2 locations in Costa Rica – Monteverde & Savegre/San Gerardo de Dota. Use your airline miles to get to Central America, then use shuttles or public transport to get to these locations.

Red dots are Monteverde & Savegre in Costa Rica

Mature male with fully grown tail feathers

Females are less spectacular but still beautiful.

INTERESTING LEGENDS OF RESPLENDENT QUETZALS

From Wikipedia:

Until recently, it was thought that the Resplendent Quetzal could not be bred or held for any long time in captivity, and indeed it was noted for usually killing itself soon after being captured or caged. For this reason it is a traditional symbol of liberty. However, a zoo in Mexico has kept this species since 1992, and in 2004 breeding in captivity was announced (Orellana, 2004).

The bird is of great relevance to Guatemalan culture, being a character in the widely popular legend of the local hero Tecún Umán, a prince and warrior of the Quiché (K’iche’) Maya during the latter stages of the Spanish conquest of the region. This quetzal was his nahual (spirit guide). The Quiché repelled several attacks from the Spanish army, even though outmatched in weaponry (guns, armor and cavalry against spears and arrows).

Legend has it that on the day the conquistador Pedro de Alvarado fought against Tecún Umán, there was a quetzal flying overhead. On the first strike Tecún Umán, on foot, managed to disable Pedro de Alvarado’s horse. Alvarado was then given another horse and on the second strike ran through Tecún Umán’s chest with a spear. The quetzal flew down and landed on Tecún Umán, dipping its chest in the warrior prince’s blood. It is there that the bird acquired its distinctive red chest feathers.

It is debatable whether these events happened, but the Maya fought fiercely for their land and freedom during the conquest. One Mayan legend claims that the quetzal used to sing beautifully before the Spanish conquest, but has been silent ever since; it will sing once again only when the land is truly free.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS BIRD

Wikipedia

Birdlife

Cornell Lab of Ornithology

TED Case Studies

VIDEOS

See how this Quetzal’s tail flicks every time he calls!

Overnight Transit At Radisson Hotel And Suites Guatemala City

Posted on October 20, 2013 by Tara

Since the focus of this trip was birding in the wonderful national parks and reserves of Central America, we didn’t spend much time in cities. We did have a few overnight transits pre-flight and this is when eco-tourists can put hotel points to good use. We were traveling between Flores and San Jose, Costa Rica. Guatemala City is also very easily reached using airline miles if you want to make it your gateway to the region.

The Radisson Hotel And Suites Guatemala City proved to be an excellent value as we only paid 9000 points when I booked it in early 2013. It’s only a 5 minute drive from the airport and they have a free shuttle but you have to email them and let them know when you are coming. Return trips to the airport leave at fixed times from around 5am-ish.

The room was spotlessly clean and the hot shower very welcome after a morning of birding and afternoon stroll around Flores.

The wifi is free but I was too tired to do anything but check emails and pass out in the comfy bed.

I was really impressed at the great value offered by this hotel and think it’s a perfect choice for an early morning flight. The shuttle was very reliable and free! The property has been getting good reviews on Trip Advisor. The points rate has since gone up to 15,000 points but even the advance purchase rate is reasonable at $102.

Flight Review, Taca: Flores – Guatemala City – San Jose, Costa Rica

Posted on October 19, 2013 by Tara

Many people on FlyerTalk are members of Avianca-Taca Lifemiles due to some very generous promos such as the buy/give/share 100% bonus promos. Most people are collecting the miles to redeem on Star Alliance awards so very few have actually flown on Taca so I hope this post will be of interest.

This route is a special bargain whether you are using Lifemiles or United Mileage Plus. Look how much it would cost to buy the tickets. Before you get too excited about “business class” remember these are only small planes so there is no business class unless you connect again in El Salvador.

You can choose from a daytime connection that gets you to SJO in the evening or an overnight connection in GUA. If you go for the morning connection, you would need to spend the night in Flores. We did the overnight connection so we could maximize time at Tikal, arrive in San Jose at a decent hour and use Club Carlson points for a free night at the Radisson.

Using Lifemiles more miles/more money toggle you can bring the cost of these flights down to 3500 miles plus $45 (plus tax).

Using United Mileage Plus it’s still a pretty good deal, especially if you have the usual credit cards. The $51.50 is the tax added on to the flights, you have to pay this on Taca as well. Scroll down if you want the overnight connection because UA lists flights by duration of travel.

There are no lounges in the Flores airport, there is a United Club at Guatemala City. This is the first plane from Flores to Guatemala City, all economy seats but a very short flight so who cares?

Arriving in Guatemala City is strange because you have to wait in line at customs even though it is a domestic flight. We had our boarding passes out ready to show that we were on a domestic flight and they waved us through once we got to the front of the line. Luckily we had carried our backpacks on so we avoided further delay. This was relevant as we found the Radisson’s shuttle waiting for us and one other couple. The other couple didn’t show up so the shuttle took us to the hotel, then the driver got a call that the other couple finally made it out of the airport and were looking for the shuttle!

Next morning, waiting to board plane to San Jose.

Guatemala City airport does have some pretty cool shops which take credit cards without a surcharge. I succumbed to the temptation!

Gateway: Flores, Guatemala

Posted on October 18, 2013 by Tara

Flores is a very attractive little town and if it weren’t for the fact that Tikal is so amazing, we probably would have spent a night here. The good news for Star Alliance (especially Lifemiles) members is that Taca has flights to/from Guatemala City twice daily making it very easy to access this charming town. Use the Central America award chart to see how many miles you need. The alternative is an overnight bus to Guatemala City and while I have done this in my younger days (and even last year in Brazil) I would really prefer a good night’s sleep! Linea Dorada and Autobuses del Norte operate this route for around $25-ish.

There are no chain hotels here so you can’t stay here on points. There are all kinds of small, local hotels that looked pretty nice and would do just fine if you can’t/don’t want to stay in the Tikal park. Trip Advisor has the best list, unfortunately I didn’t stay at any of them to make a personal recommendation.

When we checked out of the Tikal Inn, we used their free shuttle that lets people off at either the airport or at the edge of the town. We loved the cobblestone streets, Guatemalan architecture and poking around the craft shops!

We had dinner at this restaurant and the food was excellent! I went for the pork tacos, my less adventurous husband stuck with a hamburger.

After dinner, we hopped in a “tuk-tuk” to get back to the airport. It cost less than $5 and took less than 10 minutes.

Security was making everyone open their bags for a manual inspection so be sure to allow enough time in case there is a line. We only had these little carry-on backpacks.

I love that they had a conservation charity box to help wild birds in the departure area! I put in most of our left-over cash, just keeping enough for a taxi to the Radisson in Guatemala City in case the shuttle didn’t show up.

The Birds Of Tikal National Park

Posted on October 17, 2013 by Tara

Yesterday, I posted about the travel aspect of Tikal National Park and because I had so many photos decided to split the birds off into their own post. Tikal has quite an impressive bird list, with several of my targeted parrot species. I’ll screenshot the parrots and leave you to visit the bird list on their website. Remember, creating a successful birding adventure means identifying the species you most want to see and finding out the best places to see them. I have highlighted in yellow the parrot species I saw at Tikal. I did see the other species later in Costa Rica. The subspecies of Olive-throated Parakeet found here is more commonly known as an Aztec Conure. We saw a small flock near the Grand Plaza flying swiftly overhead-as conures do.

Montezuma Oropendulas were everywhere throughout the whole trip.

Keel-billed Toucan

Lineated Woodpecker

Montezuma Oropendula

Brown-hooded Parrot (Aztec Conure)

Ocellated Turkey

Montezuma Oropendulas and White-fronted Parrots sharing a tree

Great Kiskadee

White-collared Seedeater

Lineated Woodpecker

Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher

Collared Aracaris

Blue-grey Tanager

Long-tailed Hermit

Tikal National Park, Guatemala

Posted on October 16, 2013 by Tara

Tikal National Park is located in the Northern Guatemala area of Petén, 60 km from Petén’s capital city of Flores. The closest airport is in Flores and you can use any Star Alliance carrier to book an award on Taca to get there. If you collect Avianca-Taca Lifemiles, there are some amazing bargains to be had if you are flexible with dates. Look how much you can save from the normal rate of 37,500 miles one way!

If you fly into Belize, it is pretty easy to get to the park overland. There are also overnight buses between Guatemala City and Flores but if you have Lifemiles you can book this flight for as little as 3500 miles, a true bargain!

A – Tikal National Park
B – Flores

Whatever you do, please stay at least one night in the park! This gives you a chance to do the sunrise and/or sunset tour plus spend a regular day inside the park exploring the ruins. There are 3 lodges inside the park within walking distance to the entrance.

Tikal Inn – Trip Advisor – My review

Jaguar Inn – Trip Advisor

Jungle Lodge – Trip Advisor

All have their pros and cons so I suggest reading the reviews on Trip Advisor to get a feel for the lodges. We loved our stay at Tikal Inn and can highly recommend it. If these 3 lodges are full, you can seek accommodation at El Remate or Flores but you won’t get to the park in time for sunrise.

The park is open from 6am – 6pm daily and entrance fee is 150 Quetzals. You can also enter the park from 4am for sunrise or stay in the park after sunset, for 250 Quetzales. During these extra hours visitors must be accompanied by a guide. There are no ATMs and they don’t take credit cards so bring cash!

You will buy your first entry ticket at the gate about 15 km down the road before you reach the actual park and lodges. Since you will have already paid to enter, it’s a good idea to make at least a quick visit even if you are tired. We decided to do the sunset tour as part of our Tikal Inn package. We didn’t actually see the sun set (we didn’t climb the pyramid), but we did see some of the ruins and lots of birds! Here’s a few photos from the sunset tour (bird photos are on tomorrow’s post).

If you stay in one of the lodges, the next day you will have to buy a new ticket here. Cash only!

Map of Tikal.

These people were doing some kind of ceremony. I have no idea what it was but it was pretty cool to observe!

The history of these amazing ruins is beyond the focus of this travel blog but you can get a good idea from Wikipedia.

Tikal (/tiˈkäl/) (Tik’al in modern Mayan orthography) is one of the largest archaeological sites and urban centres of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. It is located in the archaeological region of the Petén Basin in what is now northern Guatemala. Situated in the department of El Petén, the site is part of Guatemala’s Tikal National Park and in 1979 it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Tikal was the capital of a conquest state that became one of the most powerful kingdoms of the ancient Maya. Though monumental architecture at the site dates back as far as the 4th century BC, Tikal reached its apogee during the Classic Period, ca. 200 to 900 AD. During this time, the city dominated much of the Maya region politically, economically, and militarily, while interacting with areas throughout Mesoamerica such as the great metropolis of Teotihuacan in the distant Valley of Mexico. There is evidence that Tikal was conquered by Teotihuacan in the 4th century AD. Following the end of the Late Classic Period, no new major monuments were built at Tikal and there is evidence that elite palaces were burned. These events were coupled with a gradual population decline, culminating with the site’s abandonment by the end of the 10th century.

The trails are well marked so it is unlikely you will get lost but the condition of the trails can be challenging, especially if they are muddy. I managed to throw my back out and struggled quite a bit. I was so sore from this, I decided to forego the sunrise tour as I didn’t want to slow down a whole group and go birding around the grounds instead. We made a 2nd visit during normal hours and were able to take advantage of a small shuttle that takes you up to the Grand Temple for a nominal fee (less than $5). These photos are from the 2nd day.

Outside the park is a small market with souvenirs and handicrafts, some of which take credit cards at a premium. There’s a restaurant near the shops and another one across the road that is cheaper and had good food.

I couldn’t resist the “Angry Bird” Quetzal t-shirt!

The souvenirs weren’t cheap, I wanted this painting but couldn’t afford it and didn’t want to lug it around the rest of the trip. I did end up buying a needlepoint Mayan wall hanging with Quetzals on it.

Mini-Tikal

Lodge Review: Tikal Inn, Guatemala

Posted on October 15, 2013 by Tara

Although it is possible to visit Tikal as a day trip from Belize, I highly recommend staying at least one night. After studying the options, I chose Tikal Inn because it was within easy walking distance of the park, surrounded by rainforest and had a swimming pool to relax in during siesta when it’s too hot to be visiting the park or birding.

We stayed 2 nights and got in on a special deal that included a free sunrise or sunset tour, breakfast, dinner and a shuttle to Flores. Package deals change from time to time so always email them to ask what’s going. They sometime advertise their packages on Trip Advisor. Tikal Inn isn’t found on any of the typical online hotel booking sites such as Expedia or Hotels.com so you have to contact them direct. They take credit cards to pay your final bill. Wifi is available in the lobby though the signal is slow and tends to drop out. It’s adequate to check your emails. The setting more than makes up for slow connectivity. They turn the generator off around 10pm-ish. Birds are everywhere, you can see them from the swimming pool if you are feeling lazy! More on the local species later!