tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67790427213211496922024-03-04T23:39:51.357-08:00On the roadHave binoculars, will travel.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger328125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779042721321149692.post-23023159365208703422014-08-21T07:28:00.004-07:002014-08-21T09:14:42.026-07:00Ocellated Quail<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPcUqRxSg8k-VRBFldy41ImyGc-XmVKPPqaxW6oquAVn-n2li6-8ZmLNbukysh_KZ7TZlsYQ-XUfMEYSOiQeGkFeaEVE0AAV5xzEhok8Hl1b9X_CfdkAzHFyff-VRE4EwO9rQc703zvLBy/s1600/IMG_2817.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPcUqRxSg8k-VRBFldy41ImyGc-XmVKPPqaxW6oquAVn-n2li6-8ZmLNbukysh_KZ7TZlsYQ-XUfMEYSOiQeGkFeaEVE0AAV5xzEhok8Hl1b9X_CfdkAzHFyff-VRE4EwO9rQc703zvLBy/s1600/IMG_2817.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Yesterday morning I had the good fortune to stumble upon a very handsome bird that’s rarely seen: Ocellated Quail. They live where I live, on Cerro de Hula in Honduras, and I occasionally hear them or get brief views of birds I flushed from practically under my feet. When that happens, they usually fly only short distances, then drop down in the vegetation, and you can search all you want to, you’re unlikely to see them.</div>
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For years, Xeno-Canto only had one recording, from Guatemala, of a bird giving a drawn-out whistle (“puuuuuurr”), followed by some shorter phrases (“piu-piu-piu”). </div>
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="115" scrolling="no" src="http://www.xeno-canto.org/42596/embed?simple=1" width="340"></iframe><br /></div>
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Living in Honduras these past three years, I would hear that long phrase sometimes, but never the shorter second half [edit: I once heard the shorter phrases without the long phrase, which I mention in an eBird checklist comment I forgot about, <a href="http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S11990425" target="_blank">here</a>]. I wondered if the second part was only given part of the time, or perhaps part of some Guatemalan dialect that the Honduran birds didn’t do. </div>
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Not so long ago, I flushed a pair on nearby Montaña de Izopo. Classic scenario of practically stepping on them, then seeing them fly a short distance, next they drop down in the vegetation and are not seen again. This time, however, they flew off in opposite directions. Then they started vocalizing. One of them – the male? – gave the long whistle, while the other answered with the shorter phrases. Exactly as in the Guatemalan recording – mystery solved! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQwZKgVfBazfmLJAqwKFjkEV6r8UVpH7om12CO9GoO8Fy-CEYncs0uBbZnvzTxZN1TYiweCrS2x1KiXOuhbH3JhYseNQm8lC5qf9zzDS5iWKbn0iSHD5Etl1jFlFwDzIZxzvsoGwOcb0W5/s1600/IMG_2823.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQwZKgVfBazfmLJAqwKFjkEV6r8UVpH7om12CO9GoO8Fy-CEYncs0uBbZnvzTxZN1TYiweCrS2x1KiXOuhbH3JhYseNQm8lC5qf9zzDS5iWKbn0iSHD5Etl1jFlFwDzIZxzvsoGwOcb0W5/s1600/IMG_2823.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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The birds yesterday were right at the edge of a dirt road on Cerro de Hula. At first I saw only the male, just sitting there. Thinking my time with this bird would be very limited, I snapped away some photos, but the bird did not move. After about a minute or so, a female appeared from out of the grass. Together they posed for more shots.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQwYGGBGDDFBuPiHO2Bt4rylfLZG9lis4L5HKE25-zjzO2Z6uSftteJJeMlQh0iWrZsoKTSqt8OfE2T8O-KXDbgr8QjxXbSAYj17luf84kEVy_4-GQEZ3pcvTGoGOVXvNIgZD2Us9l_2Kx/s1600/IMG_2834.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQwYGGBGDDFBuPiHO2Bt4rylfLZG9lis4L5HKE25-zjzO2Z6uSftteJJeMlQh0iWrZsoKTSqt8OfE2T8O-KXDbgr8QjxXbSAYj17luf84kEVy_4-GQEZ3pcvTGoGOVXvNIgZD2Us9l_2Kx/s1600/IMG_2834.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Then, as I stealthily walked closer, two more females materialized! Evidently, this male was quite the gentleman, keeping watch while the females foraged. They then quickly walked off, of which I was able to get a few seconds of video.</div>
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Anyone interested in seeing this species should come to Honduras, where it is probably a little less rare than in Chiapas, Guatemala, El Salvador or Nicaragua. The pine forests of Olancho have traditionally been the place to look for them here in Honduras, although they can also be found closer to Tegucigalpa. Parts of Olancho are not considered safe, which is why I haven’t done much birding there. I’ve seen or heard them several times in an open pine forest with a brushy understory on Montaña de Izopo, about 20 km south of Tegucigalpa. Here on Cerro de Hula (close to Montaña de Izopo), they are found in an agricultural area where fields are used for corn cultivation or left abandoned for horses to graze. There's a few small patches of degraded woodland here and there, but it's mostly grassland. Land management practices here include yearly burns (usually around April), where most of the grassy vegetation that dried out during the dry season is burned at the end of that season. One would expect such practices to impact the local bird communities, yet the Vulnerable (IUCN) Ocellated Quail occurs here, as does a large population of Sedge Wrens (highly local in most of Central America). This spot is also the only known wintering location of Cassin’s Kingbird in Central America (the majority wintering further north, until southeastern Mexico).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2KTUyw8SYWeuouAs2qnDYt4jWpK2FR2O9MaGYxCIOkNuLyOFeJDlzx5zRyWOb7Vj3WSJuiS5saisvw3_j9jmRsBjJBmNmwdDp5pH4NLXMhFoe-VWaC_2FYKB3lbkTnKCU9Md5GdSxdiGp/s1600/IMG_2838.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2KTUyw8SYWeuouAs2qnDYt4jWpK2FR2O9MaGYxCIOkNuLyOFeJDlzx5zRyWOb7Vj3WSJuiS5saisvw3_j9jmRsBjJBmNmwdDp5pH4NLXMhFoe-VWaC_2FYKB3lbkTnKCU9Md5GdSxdiGp/s1600/IMG_2838.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779042721321149692.post-23312625435570911782014-08-04T07:25:00.000-07:002014-08-10T13:47:21.761-07:00New birds from the Gulf of Fonseca<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD-yhP2cgd4igehwW1RnN5_BoTaigbG7W0UIFWXmOBGxSmyVJWvCB61JmAviRfuPhZ6pPPtqOQX2f3WEYj88AEyQn7tSp6sACQgCMfTIZmKD6tYsvUNW55IkoGc66AWoEDhe2_OrLKBtEE/s1600/IMG_9947.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD-yhP2cgd4igehwW1RnN5_BoTaigbG7W0UIFWXmOBGxSmyVJWvCB61JmAviRfuPhZ6pPPtqOQX2f3WEYj88AEyQn7tSp6sACQgCMfTIZmKD6tYsvUNW55IkoGc66AWoEDhe2_OrLKBtEE/s1600/IMG_9947.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel</td></tr>
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The last two species to be added to the Honduras bird list were California Gull, which I saw <a href="http://ebird.org/ebird/camerica/view/checklist?subID=S16778822" target="_blank">back in February</a> of this year with Roselvy, Mayron and Oliver, and Kelp Gull, which I saw with Roselvy, also <a href="http://ebird.org/ebird/camerica/view/checklist?subID=S16980024" target="_blank">in February of this year</a>. It's always exciting to find new birds for a country, and yesterday, the same team of observers (Oliver, Mayron, Roselvy and me) added two more for Honduras: Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel and Black Storm-Petrel! All four new species this year have come from Gulf of Fonseca in southern Honduras, an area that remains underbirded, and may have more undiscovered treasures.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLo0WXTtX4KITHsMxULhWobO3GduXFmsgyF_IoybzNw3E0xlW-uj45gAw3aIX6tLuiovXhHRlQKCIbpxEPtWfOm5Cu_AznvfZFSIGslxWjctAKwInJXfH5oimDOBT8IWT9jdKWHChDhjOf/s1600/IMG_9877.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLo0WXTtX4KITHsMxULhWobO3GduXFmsgyF_IoybzNw3E0xlW-uj45gAw3aIX6tLuiovXhHRlQKCIbpxEPtWfOm5Cu_AznvfZFSIGslxWjctAKwInJXfH5oimDOBT8IWT9jdKWHChDhjOf/s1600/IMG_9877.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel</td></tr>
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Our idea was to repeat <a href="http://johnvandort-ontheroad.blogspot.com/2012/07/los-farallones.html" target="_blank">the trip to the Farallones we did two years ago</a>. Unfortunately, our boatsman rather carelessly got us into Salvadoran waters, and the testy relationship between El Salvador and Honduras being what it is, angry Salvadoran marines intercepted us, and almost had us arrested for entering Salvadoran waters without the necessary paperwork. We actually <i>had</i> bothered to get all necessary paperwork, but for leaving Honduras and entering Nicaragua (Los Farallones belong to Nicaragua). We hadn't planned on visiting El Salvador or El Salvador waters.</div>
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The poor pumped-up marine officer, suffering from unnaturally high levels of testosterone, started giving us all kinds of crap about not being able to do research without a permit. We tried to explain to him that not all birding is research, and that we were just tourists. He then claimed we needed a tourism permit (which does not exist, as we respectfully pointed out to him), and he said that our names did not appear on the paperwork we had processed with the Honduran customs people. (Later on, we discovered that all our names <i>were</i> there.) He also ordered a giant bag we had on board containing life vests to be emptied, and, seeing there were only life vests in there, he himself started to deflate a little. He handed us back our documents, and ordered us to get the hell out of his waters.<br />
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Which of course we did. Back in Honduran waters, we hoped to continue our trip to the Farallones, but our boatsman was now so afraid that he refused to do that. We ended up birding an area 6 km east of (Salvadoran) Meanguera and 3-5 km south of (Honduran) Amapala.<br />
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This proved productive, because that's where we observed the afore-mentioned pelagics. Both Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel and Black Storm-Petrel occur widely along the Pacific coast of Central America, and thus were expected to occur in Honduras also. We observed an estimated six Black-Storm-Petrels (at least four seen at the same time) but as the birds were criss-crossing those waters casually, there may have been more, perhaps even ten or more. We only saw one Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel twice, although it's possible there really were two or more.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHLLEnRDMty5cYG7p-EI8rkflUtwqklhFubNh8Zx1bRycru_UFdUqUK6-nF7cTGTXWrOnXkMuVehCcN7ITUEGnseGfG0t_Q3lPQwv73z0AQZjVBTMC62J29hb3jtAB6IQv6C7cOdUoC2kT/s1600/IMG_9668.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHLLEnRDMty5cYG7p-EI8rkflUtwqklhFubNh8Zx1bRycru_UFdUqUK6-nF7cTGTXWrOnXkMuVehCcN7ITUEGnseGfG0t_Q3lPQwv73z0AQZjVBTMC62J29hb3jtAB6IQv6C7cOdUoC2kT/s1600/IMG_9668.JPG" height="298" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black Storm-Petrel</td></tr>
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Oliver and Mayron got better (and more) shots of the Black Storm-Petrels than I did; my camera died on me in the middle of intense heat and heavy usage. It's been back from the dead before, but this time it seems a replacement is in order.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihe14ADvKIJ6chsgeb8_gGTXaUP2Y6wc7kqeHIPFIrnDF8QpssOFtxrjnjdp0QFyIG-hy12LFrq5BGiKorxBZbulRyIrU5EHZ8vt4_Q6-4mkRA8UoLSYhP52rcUnTXeMYUL6yB3bd3XZeF/s1600/IMG_9749.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihe14ADvKIJ6chsgeb8_gGTXaUP2Y6wc7kqeHIPFIrnDF8QpssOFtxrjnjdp0QFyIG-hy12LFrq5BGiKorxBZbulRyIrU5EHZ8vt4_Q6-4mkRA8UoLSYhP52rcUnTXeMYUL6yB3bd3XZeF/s1600/IMG_9749.JPG" height="298" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bridled Tern</td></tr>
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Bridled Terns (from the colony on the Farallones) and Black Terns were also there.<br />
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I apologize to the readers of this blog for the rather long hiatus between this and the previous post. I'll try to post a bit more regularly from now on.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779042721321149692.post-2679309183462107772013-10-29T07:58:00.001-07:002013-10-29T08:00:07.633-07:00Prairie Merlin: overlooked in Central America?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmIWIng1pbL1V6iLfzS3Ir1aWqSlb4zhwywmntXOCQlk1QZOOZF5Pls7dLi5v6IUL1_CMkRDRlrwRaaMdZH_CzcmjaGhHCn4zwPpXKjBf1McjNW4uYWJvd-vb-S8Btk0MYo6MDCEV6jx1o/s1600/IMG_1891.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmIWIng1pbL1V6iLfzS3Ir1aWqSlb4zhwywmntXOCQlk1QZOOZF5Pls7dLi5v6IUL1_CMkRDRlrwRaaMdZH_CzcmjaGhHCn4zwPpXKjBf1McjNW4uYWJvd-vb-S8Btk0MYo6MDCEV6jx1o/s400/IMG_1891.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Sunday morning, I photographed this female or immature Prairie Merlin (<i>Falco columbarius richardsonii</i>) behind our house, on a dirt road that leads to the top of Cerro de Hula. In this plumage they are similar to Taiga Merlins (ssp <i>columbarius</i>), the expected ssp in Central America, but subtly differ in the following aspects: paler overall; rufousy thin breast streaks on a white breast; malar stripe nearly absent; paler mantle. The overcast weather made for a very dark photo. In the field, the bird looked pale.</div>
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Two years ago, there was an adult male on the campus of Zamorano University, about 27 km from Cerro de Hula. The weather was about the same that day, i.e. overcast and drizzly, but adult males are a little easier to identify. See <a href="http://johnvandort-ontheroad.blogspot.com/2011/12/prairie-merlin-in-honduras.html" target="_blank">this blog entry</a> for a detailed description and photos of that observation, and for a discussion of the regional occurrence of the various Merlin subspecies.</div>
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There’s one other record on <a href="http://ebird.org/content/camerica/?lang=en" target="_blank">eBird</a> for the region, from <a href="http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S9332716" target="_blank">Belize</a> two years ago. That bird was photographed only after it had flown further away from the observers. Although the photo apparently was too distant to be conclusive, the description is convincing. Interestingly, that observation was 5 days apart from ours in Zamorano. The Zamorano bird was not seen again that winter, despite regular coverage. I wonder if our Cerro de Hula bird will stick around.</div>
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Prairie Merlins are thought to winter no further south than northwest Mexico, but these reports indicate that small numbers may winter further south than previously thought.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779042721321149692.post-68008217337198186262013-10-19T18:41:00.001-07:002013-10-27T13:14:02.456-07:00Cool yard bird: Black-billed Cuckoo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijWb0aVfEWK-JWjS2cnFmOcFLqW3U43w5AC48Geckh9jgmTyF3LkHtHDyGRzRA74JIscKkdCpEQqKYgR-cXUruedZq8KzyTELBDIrg6LMYIWLxPYrLESNt7NOcdMZyhtofQDjTIvBs0QeK/s1600/IMG_1510.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijWb0aVfEWK-JWjS2cnFmOcFLqW3U43w5AC48Geckh9jgmTyF3LkHtHDyGRzRA74JIscKkdCpEQqKYgR-cXUruedZq8KzyTELBDIrg6LMYIWLxPYrLESNt7NOcdMZyhtofQDjTIvBs0QeK/s400/IMG_1510.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Lately, I have had cuckoos on my mind. <a href="http://johnvandort-ontheroad.blogspot.com/2012/09/cuckoo-cornucopia.html" target="_blank">There was a week or so last year</a> when you couldn't bird just about anywhere in central Honduras without seeing at least one of the <i>Coccyzus</i> cuckoos – usually the more common Yellow-billed Cuckoo. But that was late September / early October, and after mid-October this year, I thought the window was closing on them, and I wasn't going to see one this year.<br />
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Then suddenly there was this hatch-year Black-billed Cuckoo in my own backyard this morning! Probably not a rarity in Honduras, where the entire North American population must pass through in migration twice a year, but all the same a species rarely reported, due to its secretive habits.<br />
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Now I need to find me a Yellow-billed Cuckoo.<br />
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<i>27 October 2013 postscript:</i><br />
Eight days later and 200 m further, Roselvy and I found an immature Black-billed Cuckoo today! According to eBird, nobody else is reporting this species in Central America this fall, and here we are with two immature Black-billed Cuckoos. Are they the same bird? It seems likely, yet I'm not 100% convinced that they are. Here are some photos of today's bird, seen along the dirt road that goes up to Cerro de Hula (Honduras). As I said, this is roughly 200 m from our backyard.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOj9RT3oeZc65fDDF-tOAun2iZb0mRWD-B9NwShE-FVnyrMccj4ka0P34N52q44hK7Lh7zUarvhrKbNDfbyX9Jto__jFNqJir87-3vz6RQ1nehiNDHwDXo5HgW9qyCgFq0FjbNNyyyAIfn/s1600/IMG_1888.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOj9RT3oeZc65fDDF-tOAun2iZb0mRWD-B9NwShE-FVnyrMccj4ka0P34N52q44hK7Lh7zUarvhrKbNDfbyX9Jto__jFNqJir87-3vz6RQ1nehiNDHwDXo5HgW9qyCgFq0FjbNNyyyAIfn/s400/IMG_1888.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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We're looking at the other side of the face, compared to last week's bird. But note the distribution of the darker color on the (lower) mandible. Here's a photo in which the bird turned its head:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH5-Xfgx_OLeWyhhmjzoMwjipa-oV0l50kh2rIY7hlxanySEweKl2qFpmdN4zDmT7cNPLHwwPwpF-6iRU4GMIUccTPf5LNcxEqbO_y9d4iKGGc3jf3uEgVTDASkIMUPeySsyroK7DdHG7I/s1600/IMG_1890.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH5-Xfgx_OLeWyhhmjzoMwjipa-oV0l50kh2rIY7hlxanySEweKl2qFpmdN4zDmT7cNPLHwwPwpF-6iRU4GMIUccTPf5LNcxEqbO_y9d4iKGGc3jf3uEgVTDASkIMUPeySsyroK7DdHG7I/s400/IMG_1890.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Compare that to the bird at the top of this post, and tell me if it's the same bird or not.<br />
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I never did find that Yellow-billed Cuckoo...<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779042721321149692.post-26728234164558257862013-10-11T09:16:00.001-07:002013-10-11T09:44:02.723-07:00Raptor migration in the Gulf of Fonseca<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnySHdjcoZLZgeGQa8KjTmPXfBY1CSv5jGDHY80UsC-_-w5E82CamY156hkGTgpSvfp9BcnvWuEGEm-bF3zrbWlAEWHicASGQjEKNe_99BsFGwfhkhNgRQxFHbKM6XJXBiaRFstBFmQoor/s1600/IMG_1104.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnySHdjcoZLZgeGQa8KjTmPXfBY1CSv5jGDHY80UsC-_-w5E82CamY156hkGTgpSvfp9BcnvWuEGEm-bF3zrbWlAEWHicASGQjEKNe_99BsFGwfhkhNgRQxFHbKM6XJXBiaRFstBFmQoor/s400/IMG_1104.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Swainson's Hawks migrating over San Lorenzo, Valle</td></tr>
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Exactly one year ago, on 10 October 2012, <a href="http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S11762383" target="_blank">I observed a large raptor flight in San Lorenzo, Valle</a>. Thinking the same phenomenon would likely be visible at the same location a year later, Roselvy and I went down to the southern lowlands yesterday, where we visited the same site, and a few nearby birding spots.<br />
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Sure enough, when we got there, we found a sizable raptor flight in progress. Like last year, the flight consisted mostly of Turkey Vultures and Swainson's Hawks, with modest numbers of Broad-winged Hawks and a smattering of other species present. Unlike last year, most lines were far away from the salt ponds complex La Ostia, <a href="http://ebird.org/ebird/camerica/view/checklist?subID=S15372180" target="_blank">where we started our birding</a>, so there we focused on the shorebirds present.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHgyiF5aGShwQqOIPbaloL4DYUcBKtCkVTpgfhtj7xyH9GvmIlTZmi9dRagZFGFHG9CRIqWTyDGwENjw6jSAg_uKZIkHXUpVE8McRIqH9j6pXcMK72WHegaad_bH-Qs-AwUBBPvfSIHuiX/s1600/IMG_1032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHgyiF5aGShwQqOIPbaloL4DYUcBKtCkVTpgfhtj7xyH9GvmIlTZmi9dRagZFGFHG9CRIqWTyDGwENjw6jSAg_uKZIkHXUpVE8McRIqH9j6pXcMK72WHegaad_bH-Qs-AwUBBPvfSIHuiX/s400/IMG_1032.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wilson's Plovers</td></tr>
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Those too were nearly the same species and number as last year! Last year I missed Stilt Sandpiper – yesterday two were present; and I missed (western) Willet – yesterday three were present. We missed Solitary Sandpiper yesterday, but apart from those differences, we observed the same species in more or less the same numbers as exactly one year ago.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSp3vT-ydHwnMH0Du2IGLeg9ePAjn_HiGyprpGjAGSlBinWIA30S9qorXZoW9BliTdjG9STmORaCEY1jT6mKqnpnRphgMeCYfUtELSyRFrkAIn6Pgsa4dnXO3Y77D5Ic22IScSjPhduDM-/s1600/IMG_1037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSp3vT-ydHwnMH0Du2IGLeg9ePAjn_HiGyprpGjAGSlBinWIA30S9qorXZoW9BliTdjG9STmORaCEY1jT6mKqnpnRphgMeCYfUtELSyRFrkAIn6Pgsa4dnXO3Y77D5Ic22IScSjPhduDM-/s400/IMG_1037.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stilt Sandpipers</td></tr>
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After an hour and forty-five minutes in oppressive midday heat, we bailed and looked for food, shade and a better view of the raptor flight at Restaurante Brisas del Golfo. There we observed a raptor line directly overhead, one further south crossing the Gulf, and one further inland over the hills. Although we didn't count, we estimated about 10,000 Turkey Vultures, 6,000 Swainson's Hawks and 500 Broad-winged Hawks to have been passing us during the <a href="http://ebird.org/ebird/camerica/view/checklist?subID=S15372304" target="_blank">one hour and forty-five minutes</a> we spent there.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj03hrJ_G0Gr3X5JK1Y-yFg2Ef3Ym3RnRGjJqgZ6yvLF-_z8NAAONQwe0M9nfhQyf1Kx17JsHVMeKhbA5Vy02XrHq7fJzVBa12VzHz9xE970lz3hu3tZkBe216Q4pqIsIn0WGAY-O_aUd5H/s1600/IMG_1115.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj03hrJ_G0Gr3X5JK1Y-yFg2Ef3Ym3RnRGjJqgZ6yvLF-_z8NAAONQwe0M9nfhQyf1Kx17JsHVMeKhbA5Vy02XrHq7fJzVBa12VzHz9xE970lz3hu3tZkBe216Q4pqIsIn0WGAY-O_aUd5H/s400/IMG_1115.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Swainson's Hawks</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
A <a href="http://ebird.org/ebird/camerica/view/checklist?subID=S15372467" target="_blank">final stop at nearby shrimp farm Culmavic</a> added migrant Chimney Swift and American Kestrel to our list, as well as the locally common Clapper Rail.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779042721321149692.post-84173051160470534842013-09-17T11:41:00.001-07:002013-09-17T12:09:20.153-07:00More small hummingbirds<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXojjAzMy17KsYc_LPFPBeox6XLehjO2JCn_Cs3i5AoFYhfBHTy5faUiOu2TjAmLNsiwct2Zy4g2MCm7SlvDoQZ48BhhMgW1cGsTeSIYuS8sZEtR4cUGkr3DkzbLFzC8Tbphh9KFoGaIHF/s1600/IMG_9511.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXojjAzMy17KsYc_LPFPBeox6XLehjO2JCn_Cs3i5AoFYhfBHTy5faUiOu2TjAmLNsiwct2Zy4g2MCm7SlvDoQZ48BhhMgW1cGsTeSIYuS8sZEtR4cUGkr3DkzbLFzC8Tbphh9KFoGaIHF/s400/IMG_9511.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bumblebee Hummingbird</td></tr>
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Very similar to the <a href="http://johnvandort-ontheroad.blogspot.com/2013/09/wine-throated-hummingbird.html" target="_blank">Wine-throated Hummingbird of the previous entry</a> is Bumblebee Hummingbird, which replaces it north of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. I myself went north of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec last week, on a business trip <a href="http://johnvandort-ontheroad.blogspot.com/2013/03/new-wrens.html" target="_blank">quite similar to the one I undertook in March of this year</a>. This time I visited the Veracruz River of Raptors project, a project I worked for in 2008, 2009 and 2011. I got one day of birding in the pine-oak forests of La Joya in, just west of Xalapa. Bumblebee Hummingbird is locally common there.</div>
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Unlike the male Wine-throated Hummingbird, which perches conspicuously and vocalizes constantly, flashing his brilliant gorget in all directions, the male Bumblebee Hummingbird is more low-key, and apparently perches inside the vegetation, where it was difficult to find. Every once in a while, a conspecific would fly by and mouse-like squeaks emanated from the vegetation, while the producer of those squeaks remained invisible. They were more easily seen when feeding, moving slowly but constantly like a bumblebee from flower to flower.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-9RW5iW956yj-AOJUmjt6-uA8aR4cWUhFN80eIWVN_w4iMFQzOfA79JHGzRyNIZN-nAfqjNYoFTEL_QtVoriCUg3HRiGdo8j-lXFthNE3VXLVuKlqGEq2EKN9fDvWAHkqkAmuGD0M9IgD/s1600/IMG_9582.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-9RW5iW956yj-AOJUmjt6-uA8aR4cWUhFN80eIWVN_w4iMFQzOfA79JHGzRyNIZN-nAfqjNYoFTEL_QtVoriCUg3HRiGdo8j-lXFthNE3VXLVuKlqGEq2EKN9fDvWAHkqkAmuGD0M9IgD/s400/IMG_9582.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sparkling-tailed Hummingbird</td></tr>
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A similar feeding style is seen in Sparkling-tailed Hummingbird. This morning I photographed this female as it fed quietly in a flowerbed on the top of Cerro de Hula (Honduras).</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779042721321149692.post-56678395922307111842013-09-02T09:46:00.002-07:002013-10-29T16:36:00.402-07:00Wine-throated Hummingbird<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcgxUgq8HhFYydwyw4v6V3huP5jB3TdhR9PcplFKu9v1VapmDmIA4kvJ0k7uhiBEplKVQ7Atn-grONKusyJBeD84pzLk2KjE_Ne4Db9QfY5EPU12yZit1sZmk-ugl02eFFjlXxsS-jRq7v/s1600/IMG_8990.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcgxUgq8HhFYydwyw4v6V3huP5jB3TdhR9PcplFKu9v1VapmDmIA4kvJ0k7uhiBEplKVQ7Atn-grONKusyJBeD84pzLk2KjE_Ne4Db9QfY5EPU12yZit1sZmk-ugl02eFFjlXxsS-jRq7v/s400/IMG_8990.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Many migratory birds that breed in the United States and Canada have finished breeding and have started to show up in Honduras recently. Many residents have also finished their breeding season, and juveniles of those species which retain a juvenal plumage for a while (like Rusty Sparrow, Eastern Bluebird and Bushy-crested Jay, to name a few) now seem to be everywhere.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdjRIGd-kv9RF8CYz_Tsf1o7Eesz8GX8ZJA_atPSbq-_qwZZaa8JhJmsMnxFT7P2fbId77GELyiB6WotX3xKpwkUfVRWBfx-Eueq0dbg7x4122zNb137HAVymULxHYZ7kr0lPkaNq0X2YQ/s1600/IMG_8918.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdjRIGd-kv9RF8CYz_Tsf1o7Eesz8GX8ZJA_atPSbq-_qwZZaa8JhJmsMnxFT7P2fbId77GELyiB6WotX3xKpwkUfVRWBfx-Eueq0dbg7x4122zNb137HAVymULxHYZ7kr0lPkaNq0X2YQ/s400/IMG_8918.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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For one group of residents – the nectarivores – the breeding season is just starting here in Honduras. Both hummingbirds and flowerpiercers are easily found these days, because many of them are quite vocal and active. Some species, like the Wine-throated Hummingbird pictured above, spend much of their time displaying at leks, and produce an endless series of chips when perched on a favorite branch, or a surprisingly musical song when hovering in front of a female. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6EXhohPNmV7fr06zRaXvr8rJNhoKrFIF3n8vEokch5lH7gpdsPUMWbx3owzlT4p9bpkuobPBgSFvKPyy1xoHUTy0JgyF-2MDubNMqCstgSknGr63mwh2JGyoFKWSXjQyjISDcgL1VQYNi/s1600/IMG_8961.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6EXhohPNmV7fr06zRaXvr8rJNhoKrFIF3n8vEokch5lH7gpdsPUMWbx3owzlT4p9bpkuobPBgSFvKPyy1xoHUTy0JgyF-2MDubNMqCstgSknGr63mwh2JGyoFKWSXjQyjISDcgL1VQYNi/s400/IMG_8961.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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While chirping from an exposed perch, the male often puffs up his extravagant gorget, which glitters bright magenta from some angles, but shows a duller green or a dark wine-red from other angles. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-QMnVGi7uDFkSHzixu0aKM0z1jdO7DYd1rHx04voSGS7A9fPCEQjaHttvbxcjWIYTEUa-KSHVPnfdOdy8KfhrAlCkrwPKObZr6lHvkdBUJHrMq5swIKAWvQsH8KOVu9lyT5IWqs-YU4jC/s1600/IMG_8909.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-QMnVGi7uDFkSHzixu0aKM0z1jdO7DYd1rHx04voSGS7A9fPCEQjaHttvbxcjWIYTEUa-KSHVPnfdOdy8KfhrAlCkrwPKObZr6lHvkdBUJHrMq5swIKAWvQsH8KOVu9lyT5IWqs-YU4jC/s400/IMG_8909.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Posturing also forms part of the display of this species. Every once in a while, whenever a conspecific flew past (my feeling was males mostly, but I'm not 100% sure), the displaying perched male would spread his tail and raise his wings, but remain perched, apparently to impress another male, or perhaps to impress the watching female.</div>
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We observed these Wine-throated Hummingbirds in La Tigra National Park, near Tegucigalpa, last Saturday. While hummingbirds and flowerpiercers can be hard to find at times, their songs are now frequently heard, and watching their displays is fascinating. We also observed several male Green-breasted Mountain-gems dueling fiercely in mid-air.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/xo3zsf1OVAE" width="420"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779042721321149692.post-39773587992209057462013-08-09T16:44:00.000-07:002013-08-09T17:29:51.139-07:00Cerulean Warbler<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi942SeTNshbBnPR3Cmgcz4plO2l1y30GRpCuu8tfUlDByQHAO-81c7-xUya0rYZaknJnBTuk-2mSr2KEto97d4UrPFu3VQe_B-Q3OJG8JDxgJE0BYELbUBgHCK60A_y8xbnMyp01IVoFml/s1600/IMG_8014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi942SeTNshbBnPR3Cmgcz4plO2l1y30GRpCuu8tfUlDByQHAO-81c7-xUya0rYZaknJnBTuk-2mSr2KEto97d4UrPFu3VQe_B-Q3OJG8JDxgJE0BYELbUBgHCK60A_y8xbnMyp01IVoFml/s400/IMG_8014.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Fall migration is truly underway here in Honduras also, not only with a good variety of shorebirds present (Roselvy and I had good shorebirds <a href="http://ebird.org/ebird/camerica/view/checklist?subID=S14868070" target="_blank">last Monday</a>), but with the first warblers also showing up now.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzQrHUiXtDv3PGmAp_IW1AcYo3epTD-fvxKt7kBEZL5SjleqYcaN5_Fs8tlGuTn8wzBPlQh3ke1e9mdu49H6yIDWg6fw4aTo6Xbl66Y72c-0L_A-mOCwsh2-edkfwhoG5IQrI6hheu_TQD/s1600/IMG_8017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzQrHUiXtDv3PGmAp_IW1AcYo3epTD-fvxKt7kBEZL5SjleqYcaN5_Fs8tlGuTn8wzBPlQh3ke1e9mdu49H6yIDWg6fw4aTo6Xbl66Y72c-0L_A-mOCwsh2-edkfwhoG5IQrI6hheu_TQD/s400/IMG_8017.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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This afternoon, on a brief outing on the slope of Cerro de Hula, right behind our house, we found a first fall male Cerulean Warbler feeding in a free-standing oak surrounded by farm land. Cerro de Hula has some notable residents, including Ocellated Quail and a sizable population of Sedge Wren, but things really get interesting in migration. Last year in spring migration I had a Cerulean on the same dirt road going up to the top of Cerro de Hula; that was my first in Honduras. Today, number two.</div>
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Cerulean Warbler is an early migrant, with the first individuals reaching the South American wintering ground in August. The <a href="http://ebird.org/ebird/camerica/map/cerwar?bmo=01&emo=12&byr=1900&eyr=2013&env.minX=-89.351&env.minY=12.985&env.maxX=-82.406&env.maxY=17.418&gp=true" target="_blank">eBird map</a> shows birds just starting to arrive on the Gulf coast; our record is the first in Central America this fall.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779042721321149692.post-43975654916019397412013-07-28T18:35:00.000-07:002013-07-29T06:12:55.930-07:00Fonseca Rails<div class="p1">
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I've written here a couple of times before about the <a href="http://johnvandort-ontheroad.blogspot.com/search/label/Clapper%20Rail" target="_blank">Clapper Rails of the Gulf of Fonseca</a>. I've even written a <a href="https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_uUOUb1lLY8SU5vVmFsY0x0NnM/edit" target="_blank">short note documenting breeding in Honduras</a> for <i>El Esmeralda</i>, the bulletin of the Asociación Hondureña de Ornitología (ASHO).</div>
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Clapper Rail was first found and documented in the Honduran part of the Gulf of Fonseca in 2010, by Robert Gallardo and Mayron Mejía. In 2012, the species was first reported from the Nicaraguan side of the Gulf by Jens Olek Byskov, Salvadora Morales, Orlando Jarquín and Juan Carlos Alaniz, and in 2013, Oliver Komar, Roselvy Juárez and I found it on the Salvadoran part of the Gulf.<br />
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I corresponded about these birds with James Maley, a rail researcher from the University of Wyoming, who expressed an interest in sampling specimens from this population. Together, we wrote a research proposal which we submitted to ICF, the Honduran governmental organization in charge of research permits. James is here right now and we have just finished a week of field work, in which we collected a total of 8 specimens. This series will be used for a taxonomic description of this population.</div>
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This week, with the help of playback, we got a sense of how common this species really is in the Gulf of Fonseca. For example, one transect that was about 450 m long had an estimated 15 pairs and 3 single individuals – that's 33 individuals, on a relatively small stretch of mangrove. In some parts, densities seemed so high that we wondered if Clapper Rail was perhaps the second most common species there, after (Mangrove) Yellow Warbler! While few birders or biologists have seen this species in Honduras, most locals that we talked to in the salt ponds and shrimp farms of the area knew the bird well. One of them assisted us with field work, and he told us those birds have been common there for as long as he could remember – at least 40 years!<br />
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Remarkable then that this population, apparently never rare, went undiscovered for so long. Given available habitat and abundant food resources, there are probably thousands if not tens of thousands of these rails in the Gulf of Fonseca.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779042721321149692.post-33319617042868563132013-07-15T07:50:00.001-07:002013-07-15T07:50:37.290-07:00Two tropical birds: one expected, one not<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last Saturday, Roselvy and I set out to find Long-tailed Manakin and Blue-tailed Hummingbird in Choluteca, two species that we hadn't observed yet this year in Honduras. While we easily found those species in a community called La Fortuna, situated in humid middle elevation forest among coffee and mango plantations more or less in the middle of the department of Choluteca, I did not get any (reasonable) photos.</div>
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I did get photos of Tropical Pewee (top) and Tropical Gnatcatcher. While the former was expected and indeed quite common there, the latter wasn't really on our radar screen for that part of the country. </div>
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When we heard a descending trill, we didn't immediately recognize it. Locating the singer was not difficult, and upon seeing a gnatcatcher producing that song, I instantly realized it had to be Tropical Gnatcatcher. It occurs in eastern and northern Honduras, and is no doubt common in many areas, but these are exactly the areas far from where we live, where we haven't done that much birding yet.</div>
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For us, this was a cool and unexpected find, well outside its known range.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779042721321149692.post-29932370966611399452013-07-08T08:16:00.002-07:002013-07-08T09:03:19.023-07:00Great Swallow-tailed Swift calls<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yesterday I recorded Great Swallow-tailed Swifts vocalizing near El Obraje, in the Honduran department of El Paraiso. I just uploaded these calls to <a href="http://xeno-canto.org/" target="_blank">Xeno Canto</a>, and as far as I've been able to ascertain, these are the first public recordings of this species.</div>
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I went to El Paraiso yesterday morning with Roselvy Juárez, Oliver Komar and Ruth Bennett to bird another data-deficient eBird quadrant. It was a pleasant and productive morning of birding, as we found 92 species for the quadrant, including Little Tinamou, White-tailed Hawk, Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, Fork-tailed Flycatcher, Lesser Greenlet, Rufous-and-white Wren, Tropical Parula, and Giant Cowbird. </div>
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Chantler and Driessens, in their 1995 book "Swifts: a Guide to the Swifts and Treeswifts of the World" cite Edwards' 1989 book "A Field Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Adjacent Areas", which describes the call of the Great Swallow-tailed Swift as "a plaintive <i>tyee-ew</i>". Yesterday, one of the individuals in a flock of five gave that call, illustrated in the following recording:</div>
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Howell & Webb (1995) give another description of a Great Swallow-tailed Swift vocalization, noting a "reedy, screechy chipping, including a distinctive, accelerating series, ending emphatically, may recall Pileated Flycatcher song: <i>kree kri-kri-kri-kri kree-kreeh</i>!" One of the birds yesterday also gave that call, illustrated in the following recording:</div>
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I recorded these calls from a single-species flock of five individuals, at an elevation of 1000 m, as they flew over us. The habitat there was montane semi-humid forest, with some shade coffee plantations, and steep rocky canyons.<br />
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Until now, neither <a href="http://xeno-canto.org/" target="_blank">Xeno Canto</a> nor the <a href="http://macaulaylibrary.org/" target="_blank">Macaulay Library</a> had any recordings of this species, <a href="http://johnvandort-ontheroad.blogspot.com/2013/06/great-swallow-tailed-swift.html" target="_blank">which appears to be fairly common in the highlands of Honduras.</a></div>
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<b><i>Cited literature:</i></b></div>
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Chantler, P. & G. Driessens. 1995. Swifts: a Guide to the Swifts and Treeswifts of the World. Pica Press, Sussex.</div>
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Edwards, E. P. 1989. A Field Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Adjacent Areas: Belize, Guatemala, and El Salvador, Third Edition. Corrie Herring Hooks Series.</div>
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Howell, S. N. G. & S. Webb. 1995. A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America. Oxford University Press, Oxford.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779042721321149692.post-70198389532086186602013-07-04T11:25:00.003-07:002013-07-04T11:27:35.891-07:00eBirding southern Honduras<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">female Rose-throated Becard</td></tr>
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Roselvy and I targeted another data-deficient eBird quadrant yesterday morning, trying to fill gaps in our knowledge of bird distribution in southern Honduras. We did seven complete checklists of about twenty minutes each (plus one incidental list) in a quadrant just north of Nacaome, in the department of Valle, where most of the habitat is Pacific dry forest interspersed with corn and bean subsistence cultivations, small mango orchards here and there, and small-scale cattle farming. Some of the birds we found are uncommonly reported from Honduras (such as White-bellied Chachalaca, or Thicket Tinamou), while others we found in higher than usual densities (like Striped Cuckoo). In total, we dug up 68 species for this quadrant. Not bad, considering all winter visitors aren't there right now. We'll come back for them later.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the 'empty quadrant' we visited yesterday</td></tr>
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We stopped at three different river crossings, and thus likely biased our counts toward waterbirds. This explains three kingfisher species on our list (Ringed, Amazon and Green), and the high frequency of riparian birds like Rose-throated Becard (present on 70% of our checklists yesterday). Cuckoos appear to be genuinely common in this area, with Groove-billed Ani on 85%, Striped Cuckoo on 70%, and Squirrel Cuckoo and Lesser Ground-cuckoo each on 40% of our checklists. The only species present on all of our seven checklists yesterday was White-tipped Dove. Curiously absent was Black Phoebe, diligently looked for but not found, while Social Flycatcher only appeared on one out of seven checklists – normally a more common species in disturbed areas.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher</td></tr>
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Our best birds yesterday included Collared Forest-Falcon, White-bellied Chachalaca, Thicket Tinamou, and Green-breasted Mango. Soon we'll try to hit the quadrant above it, to continue eliminating as many holes on the map as we can. The area around Tegucigalpa is starting to look pretty good!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779042721321149692.post-272419132742886482013-06-02T16:48:00.000-07:002013-07-08T07:30:17.791-07:00Great Swallow-tailed Swift<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Great Swallow-tailed Swift</td></tr>
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Although Chantler & Driessens in their Guide to the Swifts and Treeswifts of the World (1995) describe it as "one of the rarer species", Great Swallow-tailed Swift is regularly reported from Honduras. Monroe (1968) considered it a common resident in the interior mountains of Honduras, and around Cerro de Hula, half an hour south of Tegucigalpa, we see this species occasionally. Last fall, it was regular (daily) for a couple weeks at the very top of Cerro de Hula, with sometimes up to 8 individuals together. Another spot where we have been seeing this species every now and then is from a dirt road behind the community of El Tizatillo, about 15 minutes south of Tegucigalpa.</div>
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While most sightings of Great Swallow-tailed Swift are of birds flying high and fast, we had a pair flying rather low and slow this morning at El Tizatillo. Despite the poor lighting, I was able to get a few pictures of this cooperative pair. The apparent damage in this individual's right wing did not seem to hamper it in flight.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR9N-QHVuWZEkf72h1yr1Ze0bnxGcHO3RZ5_zsEYEALKNXxun4d6UpwfdbXxXFEzdlt6XRGOKNZNNGTk-EuZ2fU4SJ7y8Lv_0ieVdOJx_Ltuutbt9_8QSBnwGTrTINFzYretIa-vqqoKHI/s1600/IMG_2954.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR9N-QHVuWZEkf72h1yr1Ze0bnxGcHO3RZ5_zsEYEALKNXxun4d6UpwfdbXxXFEzdlt6XRGOKNZNNGTk-EuZ2fU4SJ7y8Lv_0ieVdOJx_Ltuutbt9_8QSBnwGTrTINFzYretIa-vqqoKHI/s400/IMG_2954.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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At some point, we saw one of them was carrying something in its bill, but we couldn't quite see what. Could it be nesting material? [Edit: I now think this is simply a throat bulging with food.]</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq2uUMHir0lXxVoDcyoXbTcP8j07NI3_VVtgOuBKPALhGneuGZD6wXkijxlDxH4PgmSB031_Bvi29c3fHIOjYcd1o9Fz6_kmOyVoKFxUyShaI7M_Ou-SpI5nYCh5WXaF8x_9pppovPOaYb/s1600/IMG_2974.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq2uUMHir0lXxVoDcyoXbTcP8j07NI3_VVtgOuBKPALhGneuGZD6wXkijxlDxH4PgmSB031_Bvi29c3fHIOjYcd1o9Fz6_kmOyVoKFxUyShaI7M_Ou-SpI5nYCh5WXaF8x_9pppovPOaYb/s400/IMG_2974.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Great Swallow-tailed Swift is found from southwestern Mexico through Guatemala, northern El Salvador and the central highlands of Honduras, to northwestern Nicaragua.</div>
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<b><i>Cited literature:</i></b></div>
<div class="p1">
Chantler, P. & G. Driessens. 1995. Swifts – A Guide to the Swifts and Treeswifts of the World. Pica Press, East Sussex.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Monroe, B. L. 1968. A Distributional Survey of the Birds of Honduras. Ornithological Monographs No. 7, American Ornithologists' Union.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779042721321149692.post-88876690087702169182013-05-23T10:54:00.001-07:002013-05-23T11:02:24.574-07:00Baby boids!<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGLhnlvA1WnR08v5p_ckkqoZQTKzGNfe15ri8OsecxniZQhxfjdyjtM-eUtUAP6rNQe-AYvjKkaTdh5vVulI5kNTwqV1UnKu7Z8Q5aQHuBj4Mbvx4RRqScfvYD33ioziUaIzVt0R6YRVsa/s1600/IMG_2421.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGLhnlvA1WnR08v5p_ckkqoZQTKzGNfe15ri8OsecxniZQhxfjdyjtM-eUtUAP6rNQe-AYvjKkaTdh5vVulI5kNTwqV1UnKu7Z8Q5aQHuBj4Mbvx4RRqScfvYD33ioziUaIzVt0R6YRVsa/s400/IMG_2421.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">recently fledged Plumbeous Vireo</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Down here in Honduras, 'tis the season when young birds are everywhere. This is a recently fledged Plumbeous Vireo, one of the members of the Solitary Vireo complex that is resident here. Its parents look more like Cassin's Vireos than northern Plumbeous, but that is how they remain classified for now. With some genetics work, this Central American population may one day be elevated to species level.<br />
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On a short walk I encountered a couple of Plumbeous Vireo families, now more easily detected because of the constant begging calls that the fledglings produce. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY60n6saR-bAbim9J-gwuZU9MCXPnSlbwu6lvbbhJQT2SOqOlP0BuB0Al3W_MHXv0-7YuFqGcHdKdoS3oIvGWCBVBSAjODR6W6yNW0mWm-0_H-CDYdIRDrFAr4rttOaXo6uLoQz9klvcs6/s1600/IMG_2430.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY60n6saR-bAbim9J-gwuZU9MCXPnSlbwu6lvbbhJQT2SOqOlP0BuB0Al3W_MHXv0-7YuFqGcHdKdoS3oIvGWCBVBSAjODR6W6yNW0mWm-0_H-CDYdIRDrFAr4rttOaXo6uLoQz9klvcs6/s400/IMG_2430.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">these feathers were all grown at once, and thus – although new – are of poor quality</td></tr>
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I photographed this bird a couple of days ago in the pine-oak forest of San Buenaventura, a small village 30 minutes south of Tegucigalpa, close to where we live. Also present there were recently fledged Eastern Bluebirds.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivFQP32xTQaqpeMmZKvt4b-WzCr2HjIjUUkwAX2tjJDw1XCB8yLneotn5gZ6e1ScIrTEmqefrM6Ft0Dj7AoeU0aVKAHY3yPXWwypGWwQQvAhujLetpg611t_ED0K8-AaIB2kkMi4hqWSQF/s1600/IMG_2433.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivFQP32xTQaqpeMmZKvt4b-WzCr2HjIjUUkwAX2tjJDw1XCB8yLneotn5gZ6e1ScIrTEmqefrM6Ft0Dj7AoeU0aVKAHY3yPXWwypGWwQQvAhujLetpg611t_ED0K8-AaIB2kkMi4hqWSQF/s400/IMG_2433.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">recently fledged Eastern Bluebird</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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This bird's dad was singing from the top of a tall, nearly dead pine tree. I recorded his song and posted it on Xeno-Canto:</div>
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="220" scrolling="no" src="http://xeno-canto.org/embed.php?XC=134674" width="340"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779042721321149692.post-70043444188805735592013-05-19T19:58:00.001-07:002013-05-19T20:04:58.078-07:00Lesser Nighthawk breeding in Honduras<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoehncKKDRIuXBGDSWwloOasBPCcThKNm4-pwUvgd7jhhoUu5L4929WU89fwzphfXFkWCtaI31o2uQv8sUlbOOeSMoSU8MJb1oh34odV5eFXNDQv6VUWxSvaim5gcyyR6uMiRc22aHCjMf/s1600/IMG_2255.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoehncKKDRIuXBGDSWwloOasBPCcThKNm4-pwUvgd7jhhoUu5L4929WU89fwzphfXFkWCtaI31o2uQv8sUlbOOeSMoSU8MJb1oh34odV5eFXNDQv6VUWxSvaim5gcyyR6uMiRc22aHCjMf/s400/IMG_2255.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Incubating female Lesser Nighthawk</td></tr>
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<i>The Lesser Nighthawk is a common migrant and winter visitant in Honduras, occurring in the lowlands of both coasts and in the interior highlands to 1,200 meters. It prefers arid situations and is most abundant along the Pacific coast and in the arid interior valleys. It is also a regular migrant in the Bay Islands and the Cayos Cochinos. There is no direct evidence that the species breeds in Honduras, although several specimens have been secured in June (Eisenmann, 1963: 165).</i></div>
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<div class="p1" style="text-align: right;">
Burt Monroe, 1968, A Distributional Survey of the Birds of Honduras</div>
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Twenty-seven years later, Howell & Webb (1995) did not know much more ("exact distribution poorly known"), and their map shows it (incorrectly) as a breeding resident in the interior of northern Central America, from Mexico through Guatemala to western Honduras. Juárez & Komar (2012) however described breeding of this species on the beaches of El Salvador and Guatemala, away from the interior. They noted that breeding of Lesser Nighthawk is still not reported for Honduras.</div>
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Yesterday, while in the company of one of these authors, I almost stepped on an incubating Lesser Nighthawk down at one of the salt ponds in the Honduran part of the Gulf of Fonseca. Although a brown bird against a green background should have been obvious, we just weren't prepared I guess. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPPPzHVhiJCa_fViCyA5HqFqULn56HPP5GKVfdu9Zo0EbvkfjyYfmrwGDAoXhEe4EYBq7G3QlaFT9InjAgJDGjinLx0rWPHbE38KaR_ackU5yEtylvVZ6snXf10bFT016eK75Kxde9yTaY/s1600/IMG_2234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPPPzHVhiJCa_fViCyA5HqFqULn56HPP5GKVfdu9Zo0EbvkfjyYfmrwGDAoXhEe4EYBq7G3QlaFT9InjAgJDGjinLx0rWPHbE38KaR_ackU5yEtylvVZ6snXf10bFT016eK75Kxde9yTaY/s400/IMG_2234.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nest of Lesser Nighthawk</td></tr>
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As the female flew off, a little scrape on the ground revealed two eggs. We decided to quickly take photos and then leave, to let the female go back to her nest.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkktBkL7ZmnqZfOAtqt_78B_56a6WH_e3AgfcuFz1je4SySJJPuA5eqcdw3JTEieK2UHXdeaaFFVOvNvHSQxXEPZPqPsYzVhFVJgyKFFBcZ4ySiSEFMtPL1EH3L6J99Rme-Nlje7tqA-1F/s1600/IMG_2236.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkktBkL7ZmnqZfOAtqt_78B_56a6WH_e3AgfcuFz1je4SySJJPuA5eqcdw3JTEieK2UHXdeaaFFVOvNvHSQxXEPZPqPsYzVhFVJgyKFFBcZ4ySiSEFMtPL1EH3L6J99Rme-Nlje7tqA-1F/s400/IMG_2236.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can you find the nest?</td></tr>
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When we passed again an hour later, we found her back on her nest brooding her eggs. This time I took some photos of the bird on the nest, but was careful not to flush her again.</div>
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Although near the coast, the habitat here is notably different from breeding habitat on the beaches of El Salvador and Guatemala, where the birds were found breeding on white sand close to the high water line (Juárez & Komar 2012). This Honduran nest was approximately 20 m from a shack used by the supervisor of the salt pond complex, and on short grass, about 7 km away from open water.</div>
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At times we have seen large numbers of Lesser Nighthawks at dusk in the lowlands of the Gulf of Fonseca. Are these birds perhaps breeding in the salt ponds here and there, and on the beaches of Choluteca, between Punta Ratón and Punta Condega?</div>
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<b><i>Cited literature:</i></b></div>
<div class="p1">
Howell, S. N. G. & S. Webb. 1995. A Field Guide to Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America. Oxford University Press.</div>
<div class="p1">
Juárez-Jovel, R. C. & O. Komar. 2012. Nuevo sitios de anidación para el Chorlito Piquigrueso (<i>Charadrius wilsonia</i>) y el Chotacabras Menor (<i>Chordeiles acutipennis</i>) en El Salvador y Guatemala. Bóletin SAO, Vol. 21, 6 pp.</div>
<div class="p1">
Monroe, B. L. 1968. A Distributional Survey of the Birds of Honduras. Ornithological Monographs No. 7, American Ornithologists' Union.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779042721321149692.post-87595335695725888212013-05-10T15:58:00.001-07:002013-05-10T16:07:49.551-07:00Spring shorebirding in Honduras<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGI6wpjJ2tsoZqJlXLbiQrRjJ6hV_rAsb1XetWUiZry3VMwl9LhFlU30QGrdqnn7G1_I5_e0vizZEwFvEGW975cemIkDbdOhTJqaYnPGjfdpiW7yh1LVNuEmJrDP8X6vpuZl2pzBwBALH9/s1600/IMG_1334.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGI6wpjJ2tsoZqJlXLbiQrRjJ6hV_rAsb1XetWUiZry3VMwl9LhFlU30QGrdqnn7G1_I5_e0vizZEwFvEGW975cemIkDbdOhTJqaYnPGjfdpiW7yh1LVNuEmJrDP8X6vpuZl2pzBwBALH9/s400/IMG_1334.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Buff-breasted Sandpiper</td></tr>
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This second week of May, the shorebirding has been rewarding down here in Honduras. We were alerted to this by our friend Oliver, who found Baird's Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper and Wilson's Phalarope on the Zamorano University campus last weekend. On Monday, we swung by and observed those birds with him.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGAFK2rKiHVcn3l4UCbfCJWtKgu_Zacrg7fvcLXWNpkUXsb0WqGy6CcrxnVSrbPynBoupSBnqRDIOqEprPLJ7QnrubAa3CAwXJriTFpw5DZOFXKJ4Gz5YdCSnj9qztOujVcvZxWHVle0to/s1600/IMG_1275.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGAFK2rKiHVcn3l4UCbfCJWtKgu_Zacrg7fvcLXWNpkUXsb0WqGy6CcrxnVSrbPynBoupSBnqRDIOqEprPLJ7QnrubAa3CAwXJriTFpw5DZOFXKJ4Gz5YdCSnj9qztOujVcvZxWHVle0to/s400/IMG_1275.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wilson's Phalarope Monday at Zamorano University campus</td></tr>
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We figured, however, that the southern salt ponds in the Gulf of Fonseca should be productive as well, so Wednesday morning we set out to bird that area. In our haste to be in the field as early as possible, before the infernal heat of midday, I forgot my camera. I'm sure any photographer will back me up when I say that it is precisely at such times that great photo opportunities abundantly present themselves.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQSHnhu9vXgrrdTlGh9y-dYrHwRNEf0b-F8hPwAV1Gj6pJKFJDZPcoTiHvEY9rsJ2YOExpLqMOGzNAFAwrcBqUq-UthpLJWkN6AOC0hGcNrbrW58BvgIfJG09WAUbztxVHBtA_Q4CY5YVr/s1600/IMG_1354.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQSHnhu9vXgrrdTlGh9y-dYrHwRNEf0b-F8hPwAV1Gj6pJKFJDZPcoTiHvEY9rsJ2YOExpLqMOGzNAFAwrcBqUq-UthpLJWkN6AOC0hGcNrbrW58BvgIfJG09WAUbztxVHBtA_Q4CY5YVr/s400/IMG_1354.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pectoral Sandpipers with a Buff-breasted Sandpiper</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="p2">
A <a href="http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S14039445" target="_blank">cattle pasture next to extensive salt pans</a> had a large flock (150+) of Pectoral Sandpipers, with four Buff-breasted Sandpipers and four Baird's Sandpipers mixed in. In the salt pans themselves, we found scattered little flocks of Wilson's Phalaropes, one large peep flock that consisted of 93 Semipalmated Sandpipers and 8 Westerns, some scattered Leasts, as well as another Buff-breasted, some Pectorals, scattered Stilt Sandpipers, Semipalmated Plovers and various other shorebirds. The best bird there was a White-rumped Sandpiper, a first for me in Honduras. We had great looks at all these birds, but no way to document them other than with <a href="http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S14039917" target="_blank">field notes</a>.</div>
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<div class="p1">
The next morning, <a href="http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S14052006" target="_blank">we went back there</a>, this time armed with a camera. Upon arrival, shorebird numbers seemed to be a little lower than the day before, but in the end we managed to see – and photograph – every species we reported the day before, with the exception of Greater Yellowlegs. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjubpGC9HdXELWlesRdb2wx_bKDirYb4n_ZuzopfQBbWhU5bk3mzDY3ZRofl9aum082fgo9Yk0Y18Buvi-3mKHL6TKzZbkgpjAjeVy4SCJ1nW9hUVgJFm_pxVXYIHgjgnNnTCrl0PWWnUWG/s1600/IMG_1587.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjubpGC9HdXELWlesRdb2wx_bKDirYb4n_ZuzopfQBbWhU5bk3mzDY3ZRofl9aum082fgo9Yk0Y18Buvi-3mKHL6TKzZbkgpjAjeVy4SCJ1nW9hUVgJFm_pxVXYIHgjgnNnTCrl0PWWnUWG/s400/IMG_1587.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baird's Sandpiper</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="p1">
Only one Baird's Sandpiper remained in the field where the day before we had observed four. This individual had a small bill deformity, and the bill color was a little off too, but otherwise structure and plumage were good for this species.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLhmU5ALTWyoPn0wDpE2kTY1QHDs3i4WncmbI4uF2y1uRWg9A9ihgKcXsq61HLdLY9Rm4C9tqJIMvZw8oeRmRfiBA3vqXex8W4DDeKEJs-wYj9JSUddJbDvsPutCYTxW3-m9Qpc7XlEoOv/s1600/IMG_1958.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLhmU5ALTWyoPn0wDpE2kTY1QHDs3i4WncmbI4uF2y1uRWg9A9ihgKcXsq61HLdLY9Rm4C9tqJIMvZw8oeRmRfiBA3vqXex8W4DDeKEJs-wYj9JSUddJbDvsPutCYTxW3-m9Qpc7XlEoOv/s400/IMG_1958.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wilson's Phalaropes</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p1">
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<div class="p1">
In the <a href="http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S14052512" target="_blank">adjacent salinera</a>, scattered groups of Wilson's Phalaropes were still present, and easy to find.</div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNUjUHGFgECrraPBMlLkro8JCM6-cZPYZ877niWHaaSyUMGltlTOj7k-h5VA25DbmQrqBNpmz7hBPbGEGvfxe-NiZMCcFkMMcYc6FwT-CxaslUs0UjTziq1jXXodwOrapF2jCkmvrqR2Ri/s1600/IMG_1698.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNUjUHGFgECrraPBMlLkro8JCM6-cZPYZ877niWHaaSyUMGltlTOj7k-h5VA25DbmQrqBNpmz7hBPbGEGvfxe-NiZMCcFkMMcYc6FwT-CxaslUs0UjTziq1jXXodwOrapF2jCkmvrqR2Ri/s400/IMG_1698.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This White-rumped Sandpiper (right) is too tired to stand on its legs</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
We also found a White-rumped Sandpiper, but this individual was clearly much more rufous than the one from the day before. It was in the company of Western Sandpipers, but unlike them it just sat there looking utterly exhausted, probably having just arrived after a non-stop flight from Tierra del Fuego!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779042721321149692.post-53792076511209200502013-05-05T08:57:00.000-07:002013-05-07T15:46:09.774-07:00Buff-breasted Flycatcher<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-EcHdEspk31xwC3rXzMXhryRt_lV145o9uN1tcHsrgiJu370HiSSFdO1wN2He0s9nVqfuTjI-WgExpnxmTmSSQbNNAemOrshRh1eEXKTSLxfOvbbC2RK-r-Ut3vBhUfuAWoFZeo9ynX-V/s1600/IMG_1075.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-EcHdEspk31xwC3rXzMXhryRt_lV145o9uN1tcHsrgiJu370HiSSFdO1wN2He0s9nVqfuTjI-WgExpnxmTmSSQbNNAemOrshRh1eEXKTSLxfOvbbC2RK-r-Ut3vBhUfuAWoFZeo9ynX-V/s400/IMG_1075.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div class="p1">
Buff-breasted Flycatcher is a fairly common resident of pine-oak forests from the southwestern US through Mexico to Guatemala and Honduras; apparently rare in El Salvador. eBird does not have records for Nicaragua, although I observed this species in Honduras not far from the Nicaraguan border in 2007 and 2008 (<a href="http://ebird.org/ebird/map/bubfly?neg=true&env.minX=&env.minY=&env.maxX=&env.maxY=&zh=false&gp=false&mr=1-12&bmo=1&emo=12&yr=1900-2013&byr=1900&eyr=2013" target="_blank">as eBird reminds me</a>), so it may occur there also. There's a historical record for El Salvador of four specimens collected in Chalatenango in 1927 (Dickey & Van Rossem 1938), and a slightly more recent record - 1976 - from Thurber et al. (1987). Evidently, the SalvaNATURA database (unpublished) has a few more recent records from northern El Salvador.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_NLM135Hyd1w_rTKcSVfIgOn4KErDfkKaXfHO-apBvIhoGgfg-aynMnJcuoscMzVdhhvP_x6hEHy_6fL7lrLCpkPI-zbzVsG_6L6Zj6gJJ80QlauMIE-s9JAs7oXNRQnx4JGOneR2Z5H2/s1600/IMG_1067.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_NLM135Hyd1w_rTKcSVfIgOn4KErDfkKaXfHO-apBvIhoGgfg-aynMnJcuoscMzVdhhvP_x6hEHy_6fL7lrLCpkPI-zbzVsG_6L6Zj6gJJ80QlauMIE-s9JAs7oXNRQnx4JGOneR2Z5H2/s400/IMG_1067.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div class="p2">
Yesterday we found a pair in Reserva Biológica Misoco (Honduras), on the border between the departments of Francisco Morazán and Olancho. This observation put a new dot on the eBird map for this species and a new bar (for the first week of May) in the <a href="http://ebird.org/ebird/GuideMe?reportType=location&bMonth=01&bYear=1900&eMonth=12&eYear=2013&parentState=HN-&countries=HN&getLocations=countries&continue.x=83&continue.y=7&continue=t" target="_blank">Honduras eBird bar chart</a>. </div>
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="220" scrolling="no" src="http://xeno-canto.org/embed.php?XC=132453" width="340"></iframe>
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<div class="p2">
Since the birds were vocalizing, I grabbed some audio and uploaded that to Xeno Canto. Although in the middle of the day there was no singing, they did vocalize briefly every time they changed position.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Literature:</i></b><br />
Dickey, D. R. & A. J. Van Rossem. 1938. <i>The Birds of El Salvador</i>. Field Mus. Nat. Hist. Zool. Ser. No. 23, 609 pp.<br />
Thurber, W. A., J. F. Serrano, A. Sermeño & M. Benitez. 1987. <i>Status of uncommon and previously unreported birds of El Salvador</i>. Proceedings of the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology, Vol. 3, No. 3, 294 pp.<br />
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779042721321149692.post-53920885732021893882013-04-28T19:44:00.001-07:002013-04-28T19:44:16.371-07:00Raptor migration at Derby Hill<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMygjuYQbWEKKr69E3ZVeNFAMRdrcCV7G8KwpPJVEScBiNMtk7H9Xmhvq1CoRjARVIkh3JgpvMDF7WTWSZA0EugAuUjhYkccKD0LPdq21kMRVEtFarI5zCjwNzpA7lvdZq3oqVVDJZ0rBa/s1600/IMG_0228.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMygjuYQbWEKKr69E3ZVeNFAMRdrcCV7G8KwpPJVEScBiNMtk7H9Xmhvq1CoRjARVIkh3JgpvMDF7WTWSZA0EugAuUjhYkccKD0LPdq21kMRVEtFarI5zCjwNzpA7lvdZq3oqVVDJZ0rBa/s400/IMG_0228.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Broad-winged Hawk</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p1">
Last week I visited New York, and part of my trip was an excursion to the Derby Hill hawk watch, where I was a raptor counter in 2006 and 2007. I consider those spring seasons at Derby Hill formative in some ways, for these were my first seasonal field gigs in North America, and the first of several hawk watch engagements I've been on. I've counted hawk migration in Michigan, Texas, Florida, New Jersey, Veracruz Mexico, and even in Honduras, where I now live, but it all began at Derby.</div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Z6wSQGiJ-MF9MSXROUSqfVB4Gc_KdN5FlnCNgKeHIt5EC-ZV_Xqz8H6bl1LrH-RI3b2nq3z8t47YRkO3T4oB96lEgumwpyIiMX25miIEeZfHhFvNmcObrfb8_gYcnEFnsk2h5AcfNWi5/s1600/IMG_0564.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Z6wSQGiJ-MF9MSXROUSqfVB4Gc_KdN5FlnCNgKeHIt5EC-ZV_Xqz8H6bl1LrH-RI3b2nq3z8t47YRkO3T4oB96lEgumwpyIiMX25miIEeZfHhFvNmcObrfb8_gYcnEFnsk2h5AcfNWi5/s400/IMG_0564.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Golden Eagle</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p2">
It was good to see familiar faces, meet new people also, and of course the birding wasn't bad either. Birding in Central America means that I don't get to see Golden Eagle, Rough-legged Hawk or Northern Goshawk on a regular basis anymore, so those were my target species for the trip to Derby. I was not disappointed. I was also lucky to catch a spectacular (500+ both days) Black-capped Chickadee flight along the bluff.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi__TfLF4L1PUo2c8cC-MVtDkpSa4QTo06KTF85GBHERGRe3i6vjLKEYI4CAcEwYcBZdB2uW4ADAEyaSlXhM-n9XG-c8xOQArVDhB9qhTcMogzw5x3F6FDcKy_TeCzhiXT9Xiy6HMNJm96/s1600/IMG_0406.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi__TfLF4L1PUo2c8cC-MVtDkpSa4QTo06KTF85GBHERGRe3i6vjLKEYI4CAcEwYcBZdB2uW4ADAEyaSlXhM-n9XG-c8xOQArVDhB9qhTcMogzw5x3F6FDcKy_TeCzhiXT9Xiy6HMNJm96/s400/IMG_0406.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Northern Goshawk</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p2">
Derby Hill, located in the southeastern corner of Lake Ontario, does best on southeast winds, and as luck would have it, the two days I was there the winds were from that most favorable direction. Such winds push the stream of migrant raptors to the lakeshore, which they then follow, trying to stay close to land where thermals form. Especially the second day started out beautifully with a parade of low-flying Broad-winged Hawks and other raptors. However, with plentiful sunshine and relatively light winds, the inevitable happened: the hawk flight got higher and higher, and birds were seen further and further out over the lake. This is a classic scenario that Derby regulars have observed many times. Gradually, the flight becomes a 'scope flight', in which observers scan just over the tree line in the direction of the lake, occasionally picking up distant kettles that shimmy in and out of vision, and sometimes are barely visible even in the scope. </div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
Whenever this happens, the locals speak of birds 'cutting the corner of the lake' or 'jumping off at Nine Mile (Point)' <span class="s1">– </span>Nine Mile Point being the name of the nuclear power plant 13 km (8 miles) west of Derby Hill. If the thermals, which the SE wind gently blows out over the lake, take the hawks high enough, the distance to the east shore of lake Ontario doesn't seem so threatening anymore, and hawks can bypass Derby.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
Back in 2006 and 2007, I remember looking at NEXRAD radar from weather sites and being fascinated to see a hawk flight out over the lake – <i>on radar</i>. We always wondered if this would be visible by an observer on the ground also.</div>
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<div class="p1">
To field test this, my travel companion and I went over to Selkirk Shores State Park on Tuesday afternoon. For about 35 minutes, we scanned the skies toward Nine Mile Point and observed small groups of raptors coming in off the lake. Between 3:00 and 3:35 PM, we observed 15 Turkey Vultures, 1 Osprey, 1 Golden Eagle, 9 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 2 Bald Eagles, 135 Broad-winged Hawks, and 14 Red-tailed Hawks making landfall at Selkirk Shores. Not bad for an afternoon half hour of hawk watching!</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
But if the observers at Derby Hill cannot see all the birds 'cutting the corner', we in turn probably didn't see the entire flight either.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
Here are some radar images from today (28 April 2013), with a very similar weather situation (light SE winds):</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<a href="http://s1120.photobucket.com/user/johnvandort/media/DerbyHill28APR2013_zps26835144.gif.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo DerbyHill28APR2013_zps26835144.gif" border="0" src="http://i1120.photobucket.com/albums/l500/johnvandort/DerbyHill28APR2013_zps26835144.gif" /></a>
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<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p2">
The clusters of green dots are groups of raptors flying along the lake shore. We can see them fly over Oswego, but when they get to Nine Mile Point, where the lakeshore topography changes direction, they seem to simply continue in more or less the same direction, passing north of the corner where Derby Hill is located. The birds appear to make landfall between Selkirk Shores and Sandy Pond, after which the stream of green dots changes course and follows a more northerly route, parallel to Highway 81.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
At Derby Hill, the official count got to 843 raptors today, and counter Steve Kolbe noted <a href="http://hawkcount.org/day_summary.php?rsite=358&ryear=2013&rmonth=04&rday=28&PHPSESSID=251f04a0668fae7daaa496a85f1f4330" target="_blank">a high flight in blue skies</a>. Here's some more radar imagery, from almost an hour later. From 1:22 EDT to 2:10 EDT, several flight lines are shown: one over the lake, one over Derby Hill, and even some flight south of Derby Hill. The change of direction west along Highway 81 remains visible.<br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="p2">
<a href="http://s1120.photobucket.com/user/johnvandort/media/DerbyHill28APR20132_zps88b4a29f.gif.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo DerbyHill28APR20132_zps88b4a29f.gif" border="0" src="http://i1120.photobucket.com/albums/l500/johnvandort/DerbyHill28APR20132_zps88b4a29f.gif" /></a>
</div>
<div class="p1">
<br />
Isn't it incredible that hawk flights can be seen on radar this way? And what about other hawk watches? The NEXRAD radar network covers the entire United States, so in theory it ought to be possible to see these flights for other major hawk migration sites. The thing is: it all depends on how far the hawk watch location is from the nearest radar station.<br />
<br />
Think about it: the earth is round, while the beam of the radar is straight. Thus, the radar samples relatively close to the ground in its immediate vicinity, but at higher air strata further away.<br />
<br />
Here's a look at a slice of today's radar for Braddock Bay, like Derby Hill a Great Lakes raptor count site with a good spring hawk flight. At the time of writing, they hadn't posted their day totals yet. Around midday, there was only a modest flight visible on radar:<br />
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<a href="http://s1120.photobucket.com/user/johnvandort/media/BraddockBay28APR2013_zpsfc3ae35e.gif.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo BraddockBay28APR2013_zpsfc3ae35e.gif" border="0" src="http://i1120.photobucket.com/albums/l500/johnvandort/BraddockBay28APR2013_zpsfc3ae35e.gif" /></a><br />
<br />
Birds can be seen following the lakeshore east, but the gray and green blocks zip off the screen, presumably as the flocks gain altitude and fly above the radar.<br />
<br />
What about Whitefish Point, Michigan? Sadly, that site is at the edge of the range of the nearest radar (in Marquette) and thus radar images for Whitefish show nothing. There may well have been a flight there today, but due to its location relative to the nearest NEXRAD radar, it will never be visible on that radar.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779042721321149692.post-76769067144648072272013-04-14T18:05:00.000-07:002013-04-14T18:06:06.470-07:00Warbler song in migration<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkrJCt75Mgs-jGBOYartyrif_41_RBh_w5ogR1Sl43loI1PvpdhY9f6GZYo7BaZB0BJuxWxb0lQvEXBuhV7VJsILFyIVRGvUPpXsY3EZqyRB9vG-rQE_VnIZN2sG_ETABJELjf_GxBNzNn/s1600/IMG_4230.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkrJCt75Mgs-jGBOYartyrif_41_RBh_w5ogR1Sl43loI1PvpdhY9f6GZYo7BaZB0BJuxWxb0lQvEXBuhV7VJsILFyIVRGvUPpXsY3EZqyRB9vG-rQE_VnIZN2sG_ETABJELjf_GxBNzNn/s400/IMG_4230.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black-throated Green Warbler</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="p1">
According to the Peterson Field Guide to the Warblers of North America, "<i>male warblers sing almost incessantly early in the breeding season, and often in spring migration as well (especially as the breeding grounds are approached); many species begin singing before departing the wintering grounds.</i>" (Dunn & Garrett 1997).</div>
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<div class="p1">
This week I heard some migrant warbler song here and there among the rich chorus of resident species now singing down here in Honduras. A couple of days ago I obtained a poor recording of a singing Black-throated Green Warbler, while today I got a rather better recording of a singing Wilson's Warbler. Although the phenomenon is evidently not unknown, it remains poorly represented in bio-acoustic libraries such as <a href="http://xeno-canto.org/" target="_blank">Xeno Canto</a> or Cornell's <a href="http://macaulaylibrary.org/" target="_blank">Macaulay Library</a>. </div>
<div class="p2">
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<div class="p2">
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="220" scrolling="no" src="http://xeno-canto.org/embed.php?XC=129310" width="340"></iframe><br />
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<div class="p1">
Unfortunately, the Black-throated Green Warbler is barely audible as its weak song is drowned out by a chorus of cicadas. Listen carefully for what I believe is a so-called 'unaccented song'. This Black-throated Green Warbler was in the company of at least three conspecifics, as well as two Blue-headed Vireos, a Black-and-White Warbler and a Magnolia Warbler. They were foraging in <i>encino</i> (thin-leaved) oaks on a sunny, south-facing slope at an elevation of about 1300 m.</div>
<div class="p2">
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="220" scrolling="no" src="http://xeno-canto.org/embed.php?XC=129565" width="340"></iframe>
</div>
<div class="p1">
This Wilson's Warbler was foraging in similar habitat, but did not appear to be associated with other insectivorous birds. The weak ending of his song suggests the nominate eastern subspecies. At the time of writing, Xeno Canto does not have any other Wilson's Warbler song from Central America, but the Macaulay Library has <a href="http://macaulaylibrary.org/audio/165813/cardellina-pusilla-wilsons-warbler-costa-rica-cartago-david-l-jr-ross">an excellent cut from Costa Rica</a>.</div>
<div class="p1">
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<div class="p1">
<b><i>Cited literature:</i></b></div>
<div class="p1">
Dunn, J & K. Garrett. 1997. <i>A field guide to the warblers of North America</i>. Peterson Field Guide Series 49. Houghton Mifflin, New York.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779042721321149692.post-33096655664200329822013-04-08T14:19:00.000-07:002013-04-09T19:28:42.670-07:00New species for El Salvador: Clapper RailClapper Rail has not been reported from El Salvador, but after recent documentation of the species in the Honduran and Nicaraguan parts of the Gulf of Fonseca, its occurrence on the Salvadoran side of that area was to be expected. Saturday afternoon, Oliver, Roselvy and I set out to find the species in a salt ponds complex called <i>Salinera San Ramón</i> in <i>La Unión</i>, not far from the Honduran border. We were there before in February and even did some unsuccessful playback of Clapper Rail back then.<br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
This time we birded later in the day, and as it got dark, Clappers began to vocalize. We had been playing tapes along the southern side of the salt ponds earlier, when suddenly we heard Clapper Rails giving grunt calls from the mangroves on the northern side. Quickly we walked over a dike to the other side and started recording what sounded like at least three pairs - one close, two further in. Oliver recorded the following vocalizations, documenting the presence of Clapper Rails in El Salvador for the first time:</div>
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="220" scrolling="no" src="http://xeno-canto.org/embed.php?XC=128920" width="340"></iframe>
<br />
<div class="p1">
The next morning, we heard and saw a Clapper Rail in another salinera, <i>La Ostia</i> across the border in <i>Valle</i>, Honduras. We've had this species here several times before, <a href="http://johnvandort-ontheroad.blogspot.com/2012/08/clapper-rail.html" target="_blank">since I first found two adults here last August tending chicks</a>. Sunday I managed a poor quality shot of a bird that briefly came out of the vegetation to inspect my playback.</div>
<div class="p2">
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<div class="p1">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit_YF52vLKFbGE0EQ5mrGWmsnWHvhbnaWOaF7wtZLRZZf1AIErWpFEEm0Vm6ldwz5kJ3sI54QaAv0LFxYg0a032EfGO7Gc4qrm3HVaHSi145tEjwzbc1UjwUH-DBzYN6leVGooN9Ui0usx/s1600/IMG_8900.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit_YF52vLKFbGE0EQ5mrGWmsnWHvhbnaWOaF7wtZLRZZf1AIErWpFEEm0Vm6ldwz5kJ3sI54QaAv0LFxYg0a032EfGO7Gc4qrm3HVaHSi145tEjwzbc1UjwUH-DBzYN6leVGooN9Ui0usx/s400/IMG_8900.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"documentation shot" of Clapper Rail (in Honduras, not El Salvador)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The first Honduran record dates from 2010, when Robert Gallardo and Mayron Mejía observed and photographed a pair in <i>Choluteca</i>, and the first Nicaraguan record dates from 2012 (<a href="https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_uUOUb1lLY8SU5vVmFsY0x0NnM/edit" target="_blank">van Dort 2013</a>). Although recently discovered, the population in the Gulf of Fonseca may number in the hundreds, if not thousands, given the availability of suitable habitat. Why it has gone undetected for so long is anyone's guess, although I suspect that the relative lack of researcher attention to the Central American mangroves has something to do with it. Or perhaps this population is simply bouncing back from historical depressions after the ban of DDT.<br />
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<b><i>Literature:</i></b><br />
<a href="https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_uUOUb1lLY8SU5vVmFsY0x0NnM/edit" target="_blank">Van Dort, J. 2013. Clapper Rail breeding in Honduras. El Esmeralda, Vol II (1): 23–26. Asociación Hondureña de Ornitología (ASHO).</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779042721321149692.post-10034767826345545332013-04-01T16:43:00.002-07:002013-04-01T18:46:21.932-07:00Raptors in La Muralla<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeMmCfK43-4fA3Rc9coTBk05Qb50eV-PqsYGOtU_Vfewr_YDPi9avUTTyCWHyi5b9VO_YIVcEOo8bb_fcYNklDbSdLIuSxqpdzVn2HYw3PwHlvtR2uvp3h9tOXF06uDHluGDSejM7lqL3L/s1600/IMG_8296.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeMmCfK43-4fA3Rc9coTBk05Qb50eV-PqsYGOtU_Vfewr_YDPi9avUTTyCWHyi5b9VO_YIVcEOo8bb_fcYNklDbSdLIuSxqpdzVn2HYw3PwHlvtR2uvp3h9tOXF06uDHluGDSejM7lqL3L/s400/IMG_8296.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Swallow-tailed Kite</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="p1">
La Muralla National Park in Olancho, Honduras is one of the lesser-known birding destinations in Honduras, at least if gauged by eBird checklists. Maybe that's because it's far away from the north-south axis of San Pedro Sula / Tegucigalpa, or because there are no mayan ruins nearby, or because there is little tourist infrastructure in the park. The birding itself, however, is as good as any in Honduras, and this place has quickly become one of my favorite birding destinations.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVnYmNTmW2DtyHZHCHMlBdmUloL0ZPyMJss5x47fkgV1zgOIyzv8oKVa8tJC5Mz_1JLUjrfzhIeqZ7-3N37r8BVA3HHJF9D9tylrqqI14WAEfQMHR0wZqFdbh8e7E-Y7e6WM3wgpsTTWTm/s1600/IMG_7757.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVnYmNTmW2DtyHZHCHMlBdmUloL0ZPyMJss5x47fkgV1zgOIyzv8oKVa8tJC5Mz_1JLUjrfzhIeqZ7-3N37r8BVA3HHJF9D9tylrqqI14WAEfQMHR0wZqFdbh8e7E-Y7e6WM3wgpsTTWTm/s400/IMG_7757.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">King Vulture</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p2">
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<div class="p2">
Roselvy and I went there this weekend, and stayed at the rustic visitor center inside the park. We went to bed with a calling Mottled Owl outside, and woke up with the songs of Black-faced Antthrush and Pheasant Cuckoo. Highlight species for us included Black-throated and Unicolored Jays, Scaled Antpitta, Dusky Antbird, Stub-tailed Spadebill, Resplendent Quetzal, Blue-crowned Chlorophonia, King Vulture (seen both days), Great Tinamou and Nightingale Wren - to name a few birds that we don't usually see or hear closer to home.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAjNJxYLEudS09siDbc2tpGXf2YprvV2jqQYmFmgALwW4UMSbuvVShXZmeh8X2uUL11jy9AFDv6FdJm6fbCSZYUiZuwup8MiUYvRtQqda77yTEYG9Z-cGoyveKItBL-FkrcdJQ03NO6AIx/s1600/IMG_7751.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAjNJxYLEudS09siDbc2tpGXf2YprvV2jqQYmFmgALwW4UMSbuvVShXZmeh8X2uUL11jy9AFDv6FdJm6fbCSZYUiZuwup8MiUYvRtQqda77yTEYG9Z-cGoyveKItBL-FkrcdJQ03NO6AIx/s400/IMG_7751.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Strong-billed Woodcreeper</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p2">
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<div class="p2">
When we got there Saturday afternoon, sunny weather made for pleasant birding, and for decent lighting for photos. Sunday however was overcast. We saw some great birds, but practically all raptors I photographed against an off-white sky, not the best lighting conditions for raptor photography. Here goes anyway:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrfQvEEgH_XvxzfT8jC09dTXX1mt5ZTPJbN3lo_hT6KoyF4W8BpKZ-M5sPhoJZVpUphK3fdCEkiJ3CozmtmEsh2gahEeG4p2HbSj_l7x0LraYE6DSv9pkf9XNIrhAK2OcOf2X7QqlyyaN_/s1600/IMG_7985.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrfQvEEgH_XvxzfT8jC09dTXX1mt5ZTPJbN3lo_hT6KoyF4W8BpKZ-M5sPhoJZVpUphK3fdCEkiJ3CozmtmEsh2gahEeG4p2HbSj_l7x0LraYE6DSv9pkf9XNIrhAK2OcOf2X7QqlyyaN_/s400/IMG_7985.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ornate Hawk-Eagle</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p2">
Ornate Hawk-Eagle was high on our wish list for the trip, so we were pleased to see this spectacular raptor make an appearance over the open space around the visitor center, right after we had birded the El Pizote trail for nearly six hours. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjinTDTaTZ2CgAQiXUCGay56BcCz1WLcO0c23wGGxqFL_iS0BDmYy3KgqtrbdHtpdaZ-uak9gJl_9gUjmU4bloV6OS_6bAt5ghsHCXod6-Lt6Hb-nR12nQKujHLSf_f_3lEtZ0PTl3irli1/s1600/IMG_8009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjinTDTaTZ2CgAQiXUCGay56BcCz1WLcO0c23wGGxqFL_iS0BDmYy3KgqtrbdHtpdaZ-uak9gJl_9gUjmU4bloV6OS_6bAt5ghsHCXod6-Lt6Hb-nR12nQKujHLSf_f_3lEtZ0PTl3irli1/s400/IMG_8009.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Double-toothed Kite</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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It was soon followed by a very high Double-toothed Kite, and a Short-tailed Hawk.</div>
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<div class="p2">
A little later, our guide Naim Torres spotted this Plumbeous Kite perched on a snag at the edge of a coffee plantation. The bird allowed close approach and would occasionally fly out to catch a dragonfly, and then return to its perch to consume it.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWYUF84m_rzEVxV90UZ-WOHivNJaCQLHJaYe2PD4o3jOVxhoYtBucS254WX6Zv73pBEm1bLozx0lQhwhY_e7JhOHftS_VHFHnDEt6W6LAgcBLhzIsBAuJPOOIR-TbngyeMXmEd_-yEvNXa/s1600/IMG_8074.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWYUF84m_rzEVxV90UZ-WOHivNJaCQLHJaYe2PD4o3jOVxhoYtBucS254WX6Zv73pBEm1bLozx0lQhwhY_e7JhOHftS_VHFHnDEt6W6LAgcBLhzIsBAuJPOOIR-TbngyeMXmEd_-yEvNXa/s400/IMG_8074.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plumbeous Kite</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p2">
Elsewhere in the park, we saw two more Plumbeous Kite hunting insects.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifsdoz8pTfXuiZ6XDDx8sLE5PQeQoj7U_3ot1aaUCnMyaxQPbMkN0pQvCgIc2JzaMoeiUPfLsi_Rdw092u9BHFglE9vnPPw4ouW_47ocoobH8D2G74SZJ4RnBWYfxv0dd8CqcqK4nt9s-z/s1600/IMG_8054.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifsdoz8pTfXuiZ6XDDx8sLE5PQeQoj7U_3ot1aaUCnMyaxQPbMkN0pQvCgIc2JzaMoeiUPfLsi_Rdw092u9BHFglE9vnPPw4ouW_47ocoobH8D2G74SZJ4RnBWYfxv0dd8CqcqK4nt9s-z/s400/IMG_8054.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plumbeous Kite</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="p2">
For good measure, a White-breasted Hawk made a brief appearance. Still not its own species, this tropical subspecies of Sharp-shinned Hawk is nonetheless distinctive. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgysKiNDeCtFmH4BQXGftCf8W4e_b7seshxzYTn3E2OMkDJ78haoAlXMOPm3kuImgxz3RdzsMvOa2bWlmXF6ZdltTvG-8YtISvwAXxYYQ1IogU6Nr7GdsnhZS3Dt6AdFOwLNYw0aChv2AUg/s1600/IMG_8313.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgysKiNDeCtFmH4BQXGftCf8W4e_b7seshxzYTn3E2OMkDJ78haoAlXMOPm3kuImgxz3RdzsMvOa2bWlmXF6ZdltTvG-8YtISvwAXxYYQ1IogU6Nr7GdsnhZS3Dt6AdFOwLNYw0aChv2AUg/s400/IMG_8313.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">White-breasted Hawk</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="p2">
Although a solid five and a half hour drive from where we live, we will probably come back soon get a little more of that sweet Honduran Atlantic Slope birding in. (The drive ain't so bad though when you have to stop twice to look at little groups of Swallow-tailed Kites...)<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCcgQMvz4X6HMpb3TXUG3Xh1ptgYzMGB0KjsKs5lykf9rzBmW6uNqgjWVwmgypPez8FS3bEk6C-azxYhrBR7gD0KSaeRyM88QH_6A9lTgGKqYnJkZwC6nDo-ioWZFFW8FQ5sLBkjSKw2q4/s1600/IMG_7718.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCcgQMvz4X6HMpb3TXUG3Xh1ptgYzMGB0KjsKs5lykf9rzBmW6uNqgjWVwmgypPez8FS3bEk6C-azxYhrBR7gD0KSaeRyM88QH_6A9lTgGKqYnJkZwC6nDo-ioWZFFW8FQ5sLBkjSKw2q4/s400/IMG_7718.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Swallow-tailed Kite</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779042721321149692.post-28708098193980027822013-03-27T19:31:00.000-07:002013-03-27T19:31:35.614-07:00Hawk migration in Honduras
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgURSYFerQ7dMA17s42SoV0QVDCX6iit1BjuFb0RWsBi1tB6VEeTE3ZuhJM5mEVa8apX0u0krplrF2Ct31VgNVBfXfsjLztqfjc9Vb5cONDSXfIP7ocqdrWoVRdhvBTb9kR9fXdGOx-hhw0/s1600/IMG_6821.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgURSYFerQ7dMA17s42SoV0QVDCX6iit1BjuFb0RWsBi1tB6VEeTE3ZuhJM5mEVa8apX0u0krplrF2Ct31VgNVBfXfsjLztqfjc9Vb5cONDSXfIP7ocqdrWoVRdhvBTb9kR9fXdGOx-hhw0/s400/IMG_6821.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Broad-winged Hawk</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="p1">
These last few days, hawk migration, especially that of Broad-winged Hawks, has been evident here in (southern) Honduras. Most of the time, the wind here comes from the north, but when the weather switches to light south winds late March - early April, migration of broadwings can be expected. We saw this last year also, although a week later.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnMFm6bS8720CnMGtr-tay0eJi_4IWifnQL695wckRx1Ce6yRtzR2n63We1vo9Fx2xoeB1L3JbiyYyrKW-kar3Qqk9Ce3c_5ut96YZrJ8EMQKchhbMf_kX9LmT3NCq1JUef91Sw85o9yDK/s1600/IMG_3303.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnMFm6bS8720CnMGtr-tay0eJi_4IWifnQL695wckRx1Ce6yRtzR2n63We1vo9Fx2xoeB1L3JbiyYyrKW-kar3Qqk9Ce3c_5ut96YZrJ8EMQKchhbMf_kX9LmT3NCq1JUef91Sw85o9yDK/s400/IMG_3303.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">our wintering Merlin, still around</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p2">
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<div class="p2">
Roselvy and I first noticed hawk migration this week on Saturday, when we were treated to 11 raptor species (not counting vultures) at our local patch, Laguna Villa Royal. That list included residents such as Common Black-Hawk and Red-tailed Hawk and local winter visitors such as American Kestrel and Merlin. Raptors observed actively migrating included Osprey (3), Mississippi Kite (1), Sharp-shinned Hawk (1), Cooper's Hawk (1), Broad-winged Hawk (111), Swainson's Hawk (1), and Peregrine Falcon (2). Sunday, we observed hawk migration at three different locations along CA-5, the highway that runs from Tegucigalpa south to the Pacific lowlands, for a total of nearly 900 broadwings. Yesterday, the wind shifted to north and picked up in strength, and early morning a few remaining broadwings could be seen struggling in the wind.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779042721321149692.post-76946891756658827532013-03-20T12:44:00.002-07:002013-03-20T17:05:11.145-07:00Green-winged Teal<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_xOJ4OAxzIgGavFZ4lkfO70yBIath4VNtUSqy1O2i7mOhb9E_83PPL8mOELzjPYZFTzyQ3F6GwoJaoYWvrhNyUe6KJoM75oLBZZq7wHlpeLLneOUYXy_No2DgDXISWwABXFmRSdaVT-A0/s1600/IMG_6143.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_xOJ4OAxzIgGavFZ4lkfO70yBIath4VNtUSqy1O2i7mOhb9E_83PPL8mOELzjPYZFTzyQ3F6GwoJaoYWvrhNyUe6KJoM75oLBZZq7wHlpeLLneOUYXy_No2DgDXISWwABXFmRSdaVT-A0/s400/IMG_6143.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Left to right: adult male Blue-winged Teal, female Green-winged Teal, juvenile Pied-billed Grebe</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="p1">
It's been another great winter for ducks in Central America, and my local patch, Laguna Villa Royal in Honduras, has been getting some of that action too. Yesterday, I found a female Green-winged Teal – common in Mexico but rare further south. The bird was not very cooperative and swam away nervously as I tried to get closer. Thus, the photos are just documentation shots, but at least I was able to get a couple of comparison species in the photos.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBKmcF7gTtkAqB2KWfNx6fGwE8tLGicLq_kdlj7nyo025A2jQdbFmUnVEv9vQ5VrRKn9rt_YPARrGjJ3tOTSwSgtD1emusMnvdf-fWjrxpFYKF_iRecLfXggD2ph2zOo1AUTcvPoOeCtrm/s1600/IMG_6144.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBKmcF7gTtkAqB2KWfNx6fGwE8tLGicLq_kdlj7nyo025A2jQdbFmUnVEv9vQ5VrRKn9rt_YPARrGjJ3tOTSwSgtD1emusMnvdf-fWjrxpFYKF_iRecLfXggD2ph2zOo1AUTcvPoOeCtrm/s400/IMG_6144.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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When I first spotted it at some distance, it was in the company of two Pied-billed Grebes, a regular species at the site. I noticed right away that it was the same size as them, and figured this was a good candidate for Green-winged Teal. The dark plumage and the compact build helped me to complete the identification.</div>
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This latest addition brings the number of ducks I've seen there up to nine, including less regular species such as Masked Duck, Ruddy Duck and Northern Pintail. Last year, the Lesser Scaup cleared out mid-March, while the Ring-necked Ducks continued until the third week of April. This year, it's the ring-necks that seem to have left already while the scaup continue. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779042721321149692.post-667033988025369382013-03-18T09:03:00.000-07:002013-03-18T19:34:42.596-07:00Filling in more gaps<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzMQZVDhrtAb9-R97pKWZeL9XTQ5VNaTnx7SrEDvWHimM3ZHp0rqNkPC6j7_1oalAMhV_3LhYSEVWbWSqxCx7isVk6_R41WemAEVEQ48fLkb66RyZfcNSlAjHKVWy2pjarZyFdfXL6EM1z/s1600/yellow-breasted+chat.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzMQZVDhrtAb9-R97pKWZeL9XTQ5VNaTnx7SrEDvWHimM3ZHp0rqNkPC6j7_1oalAMhV_3LhYSEVWbWSqxCx7isVk6_R41WemAEVEQ48fLkb66RyZfcNSlAjHKVWy2pjarZyFdfXL6EM1z/s400/yellow-breasted+chat.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yellow-breasted Chat</td></tr>
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Back in January, Roselvy and I set out to bird in 'eBird data-deficient' areas in southern Honduras, where few birders venture into the heat of the dry forest. <a href="http://johnvandort-ontheroad.blogspot.com/2013/01/filling-in-gaps.html" target="_blank">That day</a>, we succeeded in collecting some bird distribution data for four new eBird quadrants. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY6JYZkTreGNc7IZFHp8u4t7Diy_6c3Mqt3bYVeZLphMohIusRnhdpz-uFRrXSkJKwY0iMJKjobwuTTd3TBKKtR1jqSuUhxn-TZ9A9LMR3abMdvhas-N4Ik_G9KqzFrw1ZVmgfQBlv6gp_/s1600/Honduras_before.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY6JYZkTreGNc7IZFHp8u4t7Diy_6c3Mqt3bYVeZLphMohIusRnhdpz-uFRrXSkJKwY0iMJKjobwuTTd3TBKKtR1jqSuUhxn-TZ9A9LMR3abMdvhas-N4Ik_G9KqzFrw1ZVmgfQBlv6gp_/s400/Honduras_before.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The two eBird quadrants we visited yesterday</td></tr>
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Yesterday, we went on a similar quest, this time targeting two 'empty quadrants' near the Honduras / El Salvador border. The habitat we found ourselves in was similar to that of our January trip, and many of the birds were the same species, with a couple of notable differences. For example, that day in January we found Banded Wren to be present at practically every location we stopped, but Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl curiously absent. Yesterday, it was the other way around: Ferruginous Pygmy-Owls everywhere, but no Banded Wrens. This illustrates the point that these surveys are often incomplete after just one visit. However, some data is always better than no data.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfkL9JePqNPOczzzwHhL7RzVJZuUUZbfnFUe_CG5hE-P65_bm9JFCkgizL7as9ezzvoNFct81KStG3z8vs9ePFml6GBFgl0-Z3VfVAx4EQ9Dv5wtrd8vH-gawYkSBcx0k3JdfEvdSmQ1so/s1600/FP+Owls.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfkL9JePqNPOczzzwHhL7RzVJZuUUZbfnFUe_CG5hE-P65_bm9JFCkgizL7as9ezzvoNFct81KStG3z8vs9ePFml6GBFgl0-Z3VfVAx4EQ9Dv5wtrd8vH-gawYkSBcx0k3JdfEvdSmQ1so/s400/FP+Owls.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A pair of Ferruginous Pygmy-Owls</td></tr>
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We stopped at six locations distributed among two eBird quadrants, and counted birds at each of them for about 20 minutes or so. We left a little late and these quadrants aren't exactly next door for us, so by the time we got to our first stop, it was already 10 AM. In this part of Honduras – the hottest part of the country – that means the temperature is already up to 36° C (or 97°F) by that time. Around midday, the car's temperature gauge read 40° C (104° F). That's hot.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJen8gqbblc5FCnwInPmuGXOz5b8Cf0WHbiJdSR1gh8tdEELlRKXIw0XPFu5v97CbYcMaB_IMJqebU1blZWqJJlcPH3QrkbdJiG0CQDkc7D3_yO2e08mU2vPOEL75TTRorrAn5XRQJGtYV/s1600/yellow-throated+vireo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJen8gqbblc5FCnwInPmuGXOz5b8Cf0WHbiJdSR1gh8tdEELlRKXIw0XPFu5v97CbYcMaB_IMJqebU1blZWqJJlcPH3QrkbdJiG0CQDkc7D3_yO2e08mU2vPOEL75TTRorrAn5XRQJGtYV/s400/yellow-throated+vireo.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yellow-throated Vireo</td></tr>
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Despite the heat, we soldiered on, reminding ourselves we were 'on a mission from God'. Some birds were present at each point (e.g. Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, Streak-backed Oriole, Rufous-naped Wren) or at most points (e.g. White-tipped Dove, White-lored Gnatcatcher, Lesser Ground-Cuckoo, Yellow-olive Flycatcher, Turquoise-browed Motmot). A few birds we had at single points only, like Gray Hawk, Yellow-throated Vireo, Nutting's Flycatcher, Northern Beardless Tyrannulet, and Yellow-billed Cacique, but these birds are no doubt still relatively common in the area. We had Striped Cuckoo at two different spots, once in each quadrant. That species is not terribly common in Honduras.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTRViEpmTv7deg7KsG1hDzmWdsbpxrRgLS07SaLLn5XMAmaSZSw-djpgFYeQuY_R0EwZf-3ITWHyQjPjiw-RMdbbUlJqjfwLOJmV9LHdHv7pdYOPZfSMyUJncvzK_qQWD0NjU-d_PGpyoG/s1600/streak-backed+oriole.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTRViEpmTv7deg7KsG1hDzmWdsbpxrRgLS07SaLLn5XMAmaSZSw-djpgFYeQuY_R0EwZf-3ITWHyQjPjiw-RMdbbUlJqjfwLOJmV9LHdHv7pdYOPZfSMyUJncvzK_qQWD0NjU-d_PGpyoG/s400/streak-backed+oriole.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Streak-backed Oriole</td></tr>
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Streak-backed Oriole is a common species of disturbed habitats on the Pacific Slope.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ1Os4uAkfysdUCrk5C2X1g1ELl_Kk4z6NBABsUdH2TNlffXN7IeOVqFauprgHa7B9wOVDAs-PgArW1s07ZZeKpOCQ40i7hnpwQLBeEU4yxqfrjIP6C5htpxNKjkr723N0XpiuzZhNGuGz/s1600/spot-breasted+oriole.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ1Os4uAkfysdUCrk5C2X1g1ELl_Kk4z6NBABsUdH2TNlffXN7IeOVqFauprgHa7B9wOVDAs-PgArW1s07ZZeKpOCQ40i7hnpwQLBeEU4yxqfrjIP6C5htpxNKjkr723N0XpiuzZhNGuGz/s400/spot-breasted+oriole.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spot-breasted Oriole</td></tr>
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Spot-breasted Oriole has a smaller range, but in Honduras is found throughout the country, on both slopes.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyZtRTpl76kZTDti9OlNpxJg1eEdbOmcnb5WWPAjhaYFukI1tA0DSWRx4f_vfnMZvNn4gswWdyikskzfQvcnC8uqlWoNXdeR25PuP1NCbOWVAE3-nOF-SqClEUVIRZODU3MsF34rN7S7-K/s1600/IMG_6054.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyZtRTpl76kZTDti9OlNpxJg1eEdbOmcnb5WWPAjhaYFukI1tA0DSWRx4f_vfnMZvNn4gswWdyikskzfQvcnC8uqlWoNXdeR25PuP1NCbOWVAE3-nOF-SqClEUVIRZODU3MsF34rN7S7-K/s400/IMG_6054.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yellow-billed Cacique</td></tr>
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Typical birding scene in the Pacific dry forest: endless tangle of twigs with a bird inside. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779042721321149692.post-16949800403250686452013-03-10T15:22:00.001-07:002013-03-10T15:22:21.151-07:00Giant Wren<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4dGirUQZpkpLZc992Ip_wvCa_ZZO9Pgh0GJKFfB8eTSEijnHKfnlTnbZvF5WazCQD7XpM6-l3pwEpqx_wigK0dd52ZgU1m06VfI-g34CZ-f-54IIHm-GsQaWqZvL4o1wAg2NR3VaHQSse/s1600/IMG_4927.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4dGirUQZpkpLZc992Ip_wvCa_ZZO9Pgh0GJKFfB8eTSEijnHKfnlTnbZvF5WazCQD7XpM6-l3pwEpqx_wigK0dd52ZgU1m06VfI-g34CZ-f-54IIHm-GsQaWqZvL4o1wAg2NR3VaHQSse/s400/IMG_4927.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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Giant Wren is an endemic from the Pacific lowlands of Chiapas, Mexico. I have been to Mexico many times, and I've been to Chiapas several times, but I had never seen this bird. It's not a secretive, silent skulker, nor is it particularly rare, it's just that its range is very, very small.<br />
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Why that would be, who knows. It's not like it's found in rare, fragile habitat, in fact it seems to thrive in disturbed habitats. Around the hotel where I stayed (Loma Real in Tapachula), this is one of the more common birds. The first morning after I got there, I got up early for some birding with really only one target bird.</div>
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And sure enough, one of the first birds I saw was Giant Wren. They're easy to find: all you need to do is listen for large tree branches falling. Because of their sheer bulk, almost any branch they land on immediately breaks off, and they leave a trail of destruction in the forest. Their deafening vocalizations are a terror to the locals, many of whom have indeed gone deaf.</div>
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Now, wait a minute… </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQHIw8P8kX2zlmF_-6hhir3DzvQTYe8VToHEMUOyzfTX9-pO7mbQvTpxV0FV-T_xrG0zIF9PbxSTOAou1uyzM0aHsYyXEycvjRdLy1yie3eCLocQP71EqpOUYvxjlSrRZ5ILhJ9LfmUIdj/s1600/IMG_4939.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQHIw8P8kX2zlmF_-6hhir3DzvQTYe8VToHEMUOyzfTX9-pO7mbQvTpxV0FV-T_xrG0zIF9PbxSTOAou1uyzM0aHsYyXEycvjRdLy1yie3eCLocQP71EqpOUYvxjlSrRZ5ILhJ9LfmUIdj/s400/IMG_4939.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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No, it's not like that. While big for a wren, they're certainly not enormous. They're like a slightly bigger Rufous-naped Wren without barred upperparts, a common species throughout southern Mexico and Central America. (That species, incidentally, varies considerably geographically, both in plumage and size.) Or, if South America is your frame of reference, they are a lot like Bicolored Wren of northern South America: same size, very similar plumage. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUKFYc-_CPXJg_v9O-2vcY3Zw1-RuTY-EZo0o8AVf9iCa2Vm89cUAac0fnlyRYeVYdlOQATjGVDZMgsinuK_jwY4KrbtzUHjY2FRJ850Bk7mHf35nBQ5YYWsPMQis1xk5ZeuklFsnKuTNh/s1600/IMG_4950.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUKFYc-_CPXJg_v9O-2vcY3Zw1-RuTY-EZo0o8AVf9iCa2Vm89cUAac0fnlyRYeVYdlOQATjGVDZMgsinuK_jwY4KrbtzUHjY2FRJ850Bk7mHf35nBQ5YYWsPMQis1xk5ZeuklFsnKuTNh/s400/IMG_4950.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Here's a little video I shot of a threesome engaged in a singing bout. In the background, Melodious Blackbird can be heard, and, when the wrens stop, another pair or trio of Giant Wrens singing nearby.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/dJl3_Bo7y1U" width="560"></iframe><br />
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For me, just the name 'Giant Wren' had invested the bird with a mythical aura that I knew was going to be very hard for the bird to live up to. While I enjoyed seeing them, I couldn't help but think they were a little oversold with a name like that. Cool birds, though.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0