Honduras: Copan Feb 20—25, 2010
Posted by Kevin Zimmer
Kevin Zimmer
Kevin Zimmer has authored three books and numerous papers dealing with field identification and bird-finding in North America. His book, Birding in the American West: A Han...Related Trips
Our inaugural Copán tour provided a wonderful mix of easy birding and fascinating archaeology/anthropology, made even more special by the gracious hospitality of Flavia Cueva and the entire Hacienda San Lucas staff.
Starting from San Pedro Sula, we were off to a rousing start with our first stop at the El Puente archaeological site. Here, amidst some of the southernmost known Mayan ruins, we were treated to our first encounters with that quintessentially Mayan bird "Xukpi," the Turquoise-browed Motmot. We also enjoyed a wide range of other species, many of them Neotropical migrant warblers, orioles, and buntings that would soon be on the way north to North America to breed. We arrived at the lovely Hacienda San Lucas in time for a typically delicious lunch, and then settled into our rooms. In the latter part of the afternoon we walked the lodge trails, where we encountered both Turquoise-browed and Blue-crowned motmots, lots of noisy White-throated Magpie-Jays and Black-headed Saltators, a Worm-eating Warbler, and an incredibly cooperative Rusty Sparrow among others.
The next day dawned bright and beautiful, and we headed to the main archaeological site of Copán. The early morning was spent birding, which eventually yielded to a masterfully guided tour of the ruins (thanks Fito & Yobani!), which are some of the most beautifully intricate I have seen anywhere in the Mayan realm. This was followed by a nicely catered picnic lunch at the ruins, which in turn was followed by a fascinating visit to the sculpture museum and photo gallery exhibit, all of which added additional perspective and insight into the Mayan civilization and its subsequent "rediscovery."
After a fairly full day of archaeology, we returned our focus on the following day to birds, as we worked our way up the La Laguna-San Francisco road. This road provides an excellent elevational transect that begins in dry scrub with Rufous-naped Wrens, Barred Antshrikes, and Rusty Sparrows; ascends through pine-oak woodlands with Grace's Warblers, Olive Warblers, and Greater Pewees; and ends up in humid, broad-leaf forest inhabited by Brown-backed Solitaires and Slate-throated Redstarts. Birding highlights came in dizzying procession along here, beginning with a bare tree full of Spot-breasted, Streak-backed, and Altamira orioles, all for perfect comparison. A comical pair of Barred Antshrikes and a noisy family of Rufous-naped Wrens competed for our attention, and the pygmy-owl tape succeeded in pulling in a number of wintering migrants.
Farther up, in the pines, we enjoyed point-blank studies of responsive Yellow-backed Orioles, as well as a huge flock (20+ birds) of range-restricted Bushy-crested Jays, leap-frogging their way through the forest. High-pitched calls overhead drew our attention to a circling pair of small raptors that proved to be White-breasted Hawks, the highland Central American counterpart of our Sharp-shinned Hawk (and still often treated as a distinctive subspecies of that bird). A stop at some mistletoe-infested trees at the borders of a coffee finca produced a tree full of colorful Elegant Euphonias, the males of which made such an impression that they were later voted Favorite Bird of the Trip. My personal highlight came higher up, when a tiny hummingbird perched on a bare snag proved to be an adult male Sparkling-tailed Hummingbird, one of the sharpest-looking of Central American hummers, and one that is not often seen. We returned to this road in the late afternoon, and were rewarded with close looks at a lovely Emerald Toucanet, a target bird that had essentially eluded us in the morning.
The next day saw us once again in higher elevation pine forest along the Miramundo road where, in addition to more White-breasted Hawks, we enjoyed nice looks at Black-headed Siskin, Greater Pewee, Hepatic Tanager, and other typical pine woodland birds, along with a seemingly out-of-place Green Jay. Working our way up to the Miramundo Coffee Finca, we scored nice scope views of the distinctive "Guatemalan" Flickers, lots of Acorn Woodpeckers and White-collared Swifts, and yet another Emerald Toucanet, before settling in for a nice barbecue lunch and a tour of the coffee operation. In the afternoon, we concluded our visit to Copán with an excursion to the Las Sepulturas archaeological site where, once again, we alternated between Mayan ruins and Turquoise-browed Motmots, mobs of wintering warblers, and noisy Red-crowned Ant-Tanagers.
It was a most enjoyable few days of birding and archaeology, and a perfect complement to our Pico Bonito trip, which was to follow. Again, special thanks to Flavia, Argi, and the rest of the Hacienda San Lucas staff, and to Yobani and Fito for helping to navigate us through the complexities of Mayan history.