Birds

Bird watching has been a lifelong interest of mine.  I have maintained a life list since the late 70’s.  In addition to birds I have seen in the United States, I have also listed birds that I have seen on my travels to other countries.  On this trip. we were so fortunate to have an expert bird watcher as our main guide.  This was not a birding trip per se, but I did add 45 new birds to my life list!  Central America is a big birding destination for avid birdwatchers.  In addition to the resident birds that do not migrate, many North American birds travel there for the winter months. 

The Scarlet Macaw is the national bird of Honduras.  We visited a wildlife sanctuary called Macaw Mountain near the Copan ruins.  This facility takes in any number of abandoned and abused parrots of all kinds.  They are housed in large outdoor enclosures.  The main purpose of this facility however is the breeding and releasing of the Scarlet Macaws into the surrounding area. 

The macaw feathers were used by the ancient elite for headdresses, sacred ceremonies and healings. Archaeologists in the American Southwest have seen evidence of this macaw usage here, even though this was never the bird’s habitat.  I asked about that, and was told that the macaws that ended up here were likely captured and transported from the Caribbean coast of Mexico.

The modern and illegal worldwide trade in these birds by poachers has contributed to the near extinction of them.   At Macaw Mountain, captive birds that can no longer live in the wild are used as breeding pairs quite successfully.  The birds resulting from the captive pairs are raised and nurtured in large outdoor enclosures and then released into the surrounding area as a family group.  There are also several other breeding operations in Central America that are doing the same thing and repopulating Scarlet Macaws back into their historical territories.   These programs have been successful as the Scarlet Macaws breed readily in captivity. 

If you have ever heard a macaw’s call, you know that it is very loud.  They screech!  That is a sound that we heard many times while in Honduras.  What a sight it was to see a group of them flying overhead.  To help the birds survive, nest “barrels” are hung in trees and food is put out in many locations. 

Here are some of my macaw photos followed by some photos of exotic Central American birds that I managed to see.  BTW--many more got onto my bird list that were too far away to photograph. These macaws were at the Copan ruins.

In spite of all of the macaws and other fabulous parrots at Macaw Mountain, the star of the show seemed to be this King Vulture.  Notice that he is missing part of a wing, hence the need to keep him safe in captivity.  He was  one very happy bird! 

Gartered Trogon at Lamanai, Belize.

Turquoise-Browed Motmot at Copan, Honduras.

Anhinga on the New River, Belize.

Great Kiskadee at Copan, Honduras.

 

I do not know how many of you living in the United States have ever seen a wild turkey.  They are very large and mostly shades of brown, and live in every state.  Imagine my amazement at seeing these Ocellated Turkeys at Tikal.  They are the same size and general shape as ours, but look at those 

fabulous colors!

 A great omen for the day.