Bulletin 297 - Guatemala 2017 #3 - Marsh birds and Owls

I went for a second visit to Guatemala at the end of May. Once again, I used the wonderful local guide Knut Eisermann of Cayaya Birding. On this visit, we concentrated on the western highlands and Pacific lowlands along the Mexican border, as several Mexican species just make it into Guatemala here. 

On the Pacific side of Guatemala adjacent to Chiapas Mexico are some wonderful wetlands. These were originally used for shrimp farming, but many ponds are now overgrown with marsh reeds and mangroves and provide excellent habitat for a number of species. The Mangrove Vireo in the previous bulletin was found here.

Bitterns are the most secretive members of the heron family. There are 14 species in the world, but only 4 in the Americas. Two are in USA (American and Least) and I saw a third one in these ponds. The 28" Pinnated Bittern (Botaurus pinnatus) is very similar to our American Bittern but 6 inches taller. Also, the black barring on the back of the neck is a good field mark to differentiate them. We saw 7 birds in the ponds, but without the sharp eyes of the guides, I would not have seen them as they stay pretty motionless in the reeds.

Pinnated Bittern

Another bird there was the 30" Bare-throated Tiger-Heron (Tigrisoma mexicanum). The adult flew into a tree and posed for a photo. It is easy to ID as the only tiger-heron in Guatemala

Bare-throated Tiger-Heron - adult

Also we found a juvenile. He has a striped back.

Bare-throated Tiger-Heron - juvenile

The 9" Northern Jacana (Jacana spinosa) were fairly common here and I got my best photo ever of this bird.

Northern Jacana

Also a 16" Rufous-naped Wood-Rail  (Aramides albiventris) was seen. If this name is unfamiliar to you, it was formerly the Gray-necked Wood-Rail. The species was split a few years ago and the northern birds given this name by the IOU. The AOU has a different name for this bird, Russet-naped Wood-Rail.

Rufous-naped Wood-Rail

I also saw a life mammal in these wetlands. A Jaguarundi ran across the road about 30 feet in front of the car, stopped and looked at us and ran off before I could get a photo. What a treat to see this 24" black cat with a long tail.

Before we drove to the wetlands, we got up before dawn to see the 9.5" Pacific Screech-Owl (Megascops cooperi). This was a lifer.

Pacific Screech-Owl

The 6.5" Guatemalan Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium cobanese) is resident in the mountains of from southern Mexico to Costa Rica. As a diurnal owl, it is fairly easy to see by playing the tape and if one is in the vicinity, it will promptly fly in. This owl was also a lifer.

Guatemalan Pygmy-Owl

The third owl of the trip was the 7" Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium brasilianum). This small diurnal reddish owl has a huge range from extreme southern USA to Argentina. I had seen this owl before, but we saw several on this trip.

Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl

Pygmy-Owls catch and eat small birds. They have an interesting adaptation, as on the back of their head are feathers that resemble another pair of eyes. I would presume this is to confuse their prey as to whether they are being watched or not. Here is the back of the head of this bird.

Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl

Needless to say, these owls are unwelcome in the neighborhood and other small birds will mob and attack to owl to try and drive it away. This is why guides will play the tape of a local pygmy-owl to bring in smaller birds. Here is the owl being attacked by a much smaller 4" gnatcatcher.

Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl mobbed by a gnatcatcher

I have put the different bird families in single folders for easy perusal.

I have photos of 25 of the 66 herons

And I have photos of 12 of the 138 rails and coots.

And I have photos of 3 of the 8 jacanas.

And I have photos of 24 of the 216 typical owls

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald
dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2017 David McDonald

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Bulletin 234 - Best of 10 years #7 - Owls

As most of you know, owls are my favorite birds as they have almost human like flat faces and forward looking eyes. So if you get just the right exposure and the bird is looking right at the camera, they have Mona Lisa eyes and seem to follow you around the room as you move.

I discovered this in 2007 with an owl, that I still consider my favorite bird photo all all time. It will be the last in this review.

One of the more unusual sighting of an owl for me was in Sarasota Florida. My wife and I had gone to the Botanical Gardens there because they had an orchid exhibit. After touring the exhibit, we left the green house and entered the grounds. Immediately we saw some people standing on the path staring at something. I didn't see anything and asked them. They said there was an owl roosting on a palm frond at eye level. Well sure enough a small owl was sleeping on the palm frond. Fortunately I had my camera in the car and retrieved it. It was an Eastern Screech-Owl.

Eastern Screech-Owl

2 of these owls I found on a trip to Duluth Minnesota in the dead of winter..traipsing through knee deep snow in below freezing temps. Yes, we birders can be crazy! The Northern Hawk-Owl was easily found as he perches on the tops of trees. Notice the very long tail on this owl.

Northern Hawk-Owl

The other was a Snowy Owl. This is a large pure white owl with yellow eyes of the arctic tundra. Juvenile birds like this one have some brown streaks. He also has a black paint splotch on the right side of his head, so he can be IDed out on the ice in the harbor.

Snowy Owl - immature

In the Rio Grande valley in Texas, there is a place that one can reliably find the Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl. It is at San Miguelito Ranch. It is the only sure place in the USA to find the bird but call ahead as in the blog note.

Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl

While I was at the San Miguelito Ranch, it was very windy and it allowed us to approach a barn with a sleeping Barn Owl leaning against a beam.

Barn Owl

The 27" Great Gray Owl is the largest owl in North America. It is a bird of the far north boreal woods. This one was along the Denali Highway on Alaska and was sitting on its nest. It is the only one of this species I have ever seen.

Great Gray Owl

The only tropical owls I have photographed well was this pair of 18" Spectacled Owls in Panama in 2014. The larger female is on the left.

Spectacled Owl - pair

In 2012 in California, my wife and I had a guide take us to see a roost of Long-eared Owls. These 15" owls roost communally in the winter. there were more than a dozen in a single tree. Here is one of them.

Long-eared Owl

The endangered Spotted Owl has dark eyes. This one was in Arizona.

Spotted Owl

Sometimes, I will get lucky and find a bird disheveled after a rain. This is a common owl known to everybody in North America, the 22" Great Horned Owl. It was at dusk in Galveston after an all day spring migration birding outing. I only had enough battery power for a couple of flashes and got this one with him staring at me. He sure is having a bad hair day.

Great Horned Owl

Finally my favorite bird photo ever, and another owl after a rain. This Burrowing Owl spent the winter at Fort Travis Park on Bolivar across from Galveston. I had photographed him many times between New Year's and early April when he left. I think this photo in my 16th month of doing bird photos made it into a passion for me.

Burrowing Owl

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald
dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2015 David McDonald

To have these trip reports sent to your email, please email me at the above address and ask to subscribe.