GUATEMALA: SHADE-GROWN BIRDING & HORNED GUAN HIKE

Numerous Middle American specialties, among them Resplendent Quetzal, a host of hummingbirds, and Azure-rumped Tanager, and a chance for the mythical Horned Guan set against a dramatic volcanic landscape and colorful Mayan culture.  But wait, there’s more….the absolutely gorgeous Pink-headed Warbler!!    

$4075 (2009 fee).11 days
from Guatemala City. Limit: 8
Good accommodations,  moderate terrain, some uphill and downhill walking at a moderate elevation (Horned Guan day includes a difficult hike with substantial elevation gain but with less strenuous birding options available), warm to cool climate. In 2009, may be combined with HONDURAS: LAND OF THE EMERALDS. Our staff travel agents can book your travel to Guatemala. Contact us at (800) 728-4953 for more information.

See our triplist for 2008b or 2008a or 2007.

Pink-headed Warbler on our 2007 tour! photographed by guide Alvaro Jaramillo

For much of the tour we’ll be based at shade-coffee plantations with wonderful native forest on their land.  Where else can you wake up to a great breakfast at a friendly family-run finca, drink your morning cup of locally grown coffee, walk up superb and well-maintained trails, and then sit at benches specially set up for birders to watch for the rare Azure-rumped (Cabanis’s) Tanager?  This poorly-known, range-restricted tanager is not only a prize for rarity, but for beauty as well.  And then, on the way back to lunch you could very well encounter a Resplendent Quetzal, considered by many to be one of the most beautiful birds in the world.

The highlands of Guatemala are part of an endemic-rich zone shared with the highlands of adjacent Chiapas, Mexico.  Some of the specialty birds restricted to this area include the Highland Guan, Blue-throated Motmot, Black-capped Swallow, Bushy-crested Jay, Rufous-browed Wren, Black and Rufous-collared robins, Blue-and-white Mockingbird, Pink-headed Warbler, and Black-capped Siskin.  The supporting cast includes White-faced Quail-Dove, Pacific Parakeet, Mountain Trogon, Spectacled Foliage-Gleaner, Black-throated Jay, Spotted Nightingale-Thrush, Bar-winged Oriole, and Hooded Grosbeak.  We will aim to see a complete and varied assortment of these specialties while birding superb, out-of-the-way private reserves devoted to bird-friendly tourism.

The habitats we will visit are varied, from pine-oak forests near Antigua to tropical lowland forests near Retalhuleu (“Reu” for short) and cloud forests on the slopes of volcanoes bordering Lake Atitlan.  Hummingbirds are a special treat as their variety can be great.  We will be looking for such gems as Rufous and Violet sabrewings, Black-crested Coquette, Green-throated Mountain-gem, Slender Sheartail, and Garnet-throated, Sparkling-tailed, and Wine-throated hummingbirds.  Most of these tiny jewels have highly restricted ranges, but we will have a chance to see them against a backdrop of majestic volcanic peaks, a few of them active.  This tour is perfect for folks wishing to sample a world-class avifauna in brand-new and as yet undiscovered birding sites. 

The most legendary of guans will be the focus of one our birding days on the March tour, as we will hike into the lower reaches of the Atitlan volcanoes in search of the rare Horned Guan.  Our venture includes a strenuous climb—there is no easy place to see the guan and finding it will be difficult—but local guides will be tracking it, which improves our chances of seeing this elusive and truly legendary bird—the stuff of birding dreams!  A nice supporting cast of species will keep us busy as we search for the guan, including the Pink-headed Warbler.  A Guatemalan specialty, it is a species the books do not do justice to—it must be seen to be believed.

Guatemala is known as the “Alma de la Tierra” or “Soul of the Earth,” and we think you will agree that this is a fitting description.  Now is the time to visit the mountains of Guatemala, while it is still being rediscovered by birders.

Alternate cultural options, such as visits to Antigua, Chichicasteango, the ruins of Abaj Takalik, Lake Atitlan, and coffee-tours at the fincas will be available for those who want to share this superb country with a non-birding spouse or friend.

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Field Guides Incorporated, 9433 Bee Cave Road, Building 1, Suite 150, Austin, TX 78733

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