Snail Kite, Lake Yojoa, Honduras

On our first morning at Panacam Lodge in the Blue Mountains of Honduras, Alex had planned a hike, but as we got down to the lake it was looking more and more like rain. He decided to take me to a restaurant / recreational center on the lake shore where there were covered boat sheds, docks, etc. where we could, if necessary, shoot in the rain. It turned out to be good call…not because it rained…it never did actually…but because there were lots of birds there, and exceptional photo ops. There were at least 2 Snail Kites hunting the area, and I already posted a sequence of one of them taking and eating a snail. This one came and sat quite close to us after an unsuccessful attempt to grab a snail, and, besides a series of portrait shots, I got to see him “shake off” the water he had gotten in his feathers. Impressive bird. Sony RX10iv at 600mm. 1/500th @ f4 @ ISO 1000. Processed in Polarr.

Fulvous Owl, Opatoro Highlands, Honduras

The Opatoro Highlands, exceptional coffee country, is the highest forest accessible by road in Honduras. Of course, calling them roads is a stretch…especially after a season of heavy coffee truck traffic. They do carry you high. The day we visited, I had a bout of Traveler’s Disease, so I was not at my best. We hiked down off the road a quarter mile to see this Fulvous Owl (or Guatemalan Barred Owl) admittedly a life bird for me, and I was really not sure I was going to make it back up. I had to pass my photo vest and my gear to the willing (young and strong) Older Rodrigues to carry the last 100 years up the very steep hill, while I climbed 15 steps, and rested for 3 minutes, the rest of the way up. Still, the owl was worth it. It’s range is limited to the mountains of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, and though it is common there, and often responds to recorded calls, you have to climb high to see it. Alex Alvarado, our guide for the trip, got some excellent video through my scope of the owl calling, and I certainly enjoyed my encounter. And I survived the hill, and the day, and the Traveler’s Disease, so all is well. Later in the day, while looking for a Resplendent Quetzal nest right next to the road, another Fulvous Owl flew in and perched right over our heads…but that does not diminish the life bird sighting or my efforts on the hill. 🙂 Sony RX10iv at 600mm. 1/320th @ f4 @ ISO 6400. Processed in Polarr. (I found myself at ISO 6400 way too often in the dim light under the heavy canopy of Rain- and Cloud-forest in Honduras. The Sony’s one inch sensor does better than the small sensor in your average P&S, but still not as well as a full frame sensor might have. I am still happy with the compromise though…as I would not have gotten a full frame camera and lens down and back up that mountain.)

Scarlet Macaws, Copan Ruins, Honduras

While we are on the subject of the Scarlet Macaws at Copan Ruins in Honduras…once again, the living proof of a successful reintroduction program…here is your classic shot of two Macaws doing that kissy kissy thing that parrots do. If you look closely you will see that their beaks are actually intwined. In the hour or so we observed the Macaws around the feeders we got to see a variety of different behaviors. At the end of the hour they all got up as a group and flew away up the open aisle between the trees, to disperse back to forest feeding and nest tending. Sony RX10iv at 95mm. Program mode. 1/1000th @ f4 @ ISO 640. Processed in Polarr.

Scarlet Macaw, Copan Ruins, Honduras

There is a carved pillar set up next to the pyramid structure in the main courtyard where you enter Copan Ruins in far western Honduras. The Ruins, I have to say, are impressive…especially if, like me, they are your first experience of a Mayan site. I hear that the ruins in Mexico and Guatemala are even more impressive, but I have not been there. Anyway, the pillar. When we visited there was a Scarlet Macaw sitting on top of it, posing in the early morning sun. We worked our way cautiously around the pillar and the bird and got many memorable photos. I have told the story of the Scarlet Macaw reintroduction before…but it still amazes me to see these big, brilliant, noisy birds flying free in their old home after perhaps centuries. And to see one in this proximity to the stone-work of the ruins, in which the Macaw motif figures large, is doubly special. Sony RX10iv at 530mm. Program mode. 1/500th @ f4 @ ISO 200. Processed in Polarr.

photos.app.goo.gl/7aQFBFp5kG34mN7w2

As promised, here is the full sequence of the Snail Kite at Lake Yojoa in Honduras taking and eating a snail. It is a video slide-show of images from the Sony RX10iv at 600mm. Image quality is somewhat constrained by the video format, but you will get the idea. Images processed in Polarr and the slide show assembled and saved in FrameMagic. Unfortunately uploading the file to YouTube for display on WordPress results in a very low quality video, so I am going to have to ask you to use the link to view it on Google Photos, where the quality is much better.

Here is a teaser frame.

Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, Panacam Lodge, Honduras

I saw 4 different species of daylight owl during my 10 days in the highlands of Honduras with Alex Alvarado of Honduran Birds, and at least 6 different individuals. The one we saw the most often was the Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, which has to be the most common of the Pygmy-Owls, and perhaps the most common Owl of any kind, in Honduras. This was from an early morning walk on my last day in Honduras, before we headed back to the airport. Such a great pose. And it looks like he has prey in his talon as well. Looks to be a very large bug…perhaps a dragonfly. This is a tiny owl. When you see them in flight they look smaller than an American Robin. Sony RX10iv at 600mm. Program mode. 1/500th @ f4 @ ISO 320. Processed in Polarr.

Yellow-naped Parrot, Macaw Mountain, Copan Ruins, Honduras.

For some reason it is hard for me to imagine the large parrots, mostly seen in zoos and cages, as free-flying, wild birds…but of course, on their home ranges, they all are. This Yellow-naped Parrot, or Yellow-naped Amazon, is a case in point. I had to ask my guide, Alex of Honduran Birds, if the parrot was native to the Copan Ruins area where we were seeing it…especially as we were on the grounds of a bird rehabilitation center that specializes in pet-trade rescue. He assured me that historically, the Yellow-naped Parrot has always nested in small numbers in the area, though it is more common in the Pacific Slope lowlands of Guatemala and El Salvador. This one was not banded, and was coming with other wild birds to the feeders at the coffee shop at Macaw Mountain Bird Center. Sony RX10iv at 400mm. Program mode. 1/500th @ f4 @ ISO 1600. Processed in Polarr. Note the unique cantilever feeders that allow the food to be swung out from the deck and human seating a good 12 feet.

White-necked Puffbird, El Cajon Region, Honduras

When we went in search of the Honduran Emerald in the El Cajon Region, above the hydro-electric dam, our guide for the day, Alex, who owns El Rancho Restaurant and Hotel just inside the El Cajon gate, took us first to sit under the White-necked Puffbird nest and wait for the appearance of the bird. White-necked Puffbirds (or at least this White-necked Puffbird) nest in a termite ball high in a tree. They drill a hole in the side like their Kingfisher and Jacamar cousins do in a dirt bank. A living termite ball…I asked. All mod cons, including easy access to food for the young! The Puffbird came back to the nest after a short watch, but remained semi-hidden in the foliage right above us. It often, according to Alex, sits fully exposed on vines in front of the nest…but not on the day we visited. Puffbirds are patient sit-and-wait predators, and this one seemed quite happy to sit and wait right where it landed. The photography was not impossible and after about 30 minutes we moved on…we did have Honduran Emeralds to see after all. But what a great bird…and my best looks ever! Sony RX10iv at 600mm. Program mode. 1/500th @ f4 @ ISO 500. Processed in Polarr.

Yellow-tailed Oriole, Santa Cruz, Honduras

The Yellow-tailed Oriole is something of a mystery in Honduras. It is supper abundant in Belize, and Guatemala, and its range extends into Honduras…the range map shows it as occurring all through the eastern rain-forest, and in isolated areas in the rain-forest of the north coast, but in fact it is rarely seen. There is, however, a healthy population in the pine forest and mountain slopes of Parque Nacional Cerro Azul Meambar near the hydro-electric project above Santa Cruz de Yojoa. You can stop beside the road and play their calls and they will come to investigate. It is the only place in Honduras where they are regularly and easily seen. Like I say, mysterious. The Yellow-tailed Oriole is certainly a striking bird, as seen here, feeding on small berries. Sony RX10iv at 600mm. Program mode. 1/500th @ f4 @ ISO 100. Processed in Polarr.

Collared Trogon, Panacam Lodge, Honduras

This is just about the last bird pic I took on my Honduran trip. I am back at home now. I woke on the morning of my last day thinking that I would really like a trogon shot to end the trip. I had some excellent shots of the Mountain Trogon, and some okay shots of the Gartered, but Trogons are generally easier than that in Honduras. I did not tell Alex about my wish, but this Collared Trogon responded to Alex’s calls and gave us good views on either side of the lawn at Panacam Lodge. In separating the red trogons, it is all about the tail pattern…and none is more striking than the Collared. Sony RX10iv at 600mm. Program mode. 1/500th @ f4 @ ISO 500. Processed in Polarr.