Honduras/Copan: Nature & Mayan Ruins
April 3-10, 2010, with optional extension to the Lodge at Pico Bonito April 10-13 - Trip Report
Robert Gallardo, Guide and five participants

This year five friends (Carol, Alan, Barbara, Bob and Midge) came to Honduras to spend a week in the lovely Copan Valley of western Honduras.  Using the newly built La Chorcha Lodge as a base,  they ventured out each day to enjoy the natural history, archaeology and cuisine the area has to offer.

They spent each early morning birding the Lodge grounds and encountered a wide variety of birds including the curious Rufous-naped Wren, White-fronted Parrot, Rose-throated Becard, Plain-capped Starthroat, Grayish and Black-headed Saltators, Blue-crowned and Turquoise-browed Motmots, MacGillivray`s Warbler and five species of Orioles (for which the Lodge is aptly named).  As this was the heart of the breeding season there was much courtship activity taking place.  The Becard males had soft, rosy throats, the White-tipped Doves were “hoo-hooing” away and the Sulphur-bellied Flycatchers were squeaking like crazy.  Two new property birds seen were a migrating Scarlet Tanager and a pair of Crimson-collared Tanagers; both being very showy birds. 

During the week we visited various archaeological sites including the main site of Copan Ruins, Las Sepulturas and El Puente.  A guided tour through the main site with Oscar was enlightening, followed by a visit to the Sculpture Museum.  Although the other sites were much smaller by comparison they did offer some excellent birding.  At the various sites we encountered Rufous-browed Peppershrike, Yellow-green Vireo, Spot-breasted Wren, Ivory-billed Woodcreeper and Yellow-billed Cacique, to name a few. 

On our first full day afield we drove up to the Miramundo coffee plantation.  On one of our stops up we encountered some migrating Broad-winged Hawks, graceful Mississippi Kites and an adult King Vulture; a rarity in western Honduras.  In a nearby canyon we heard the rollicking song of the elusive and coveted Buffy-crowned Wood-Partridge.  Once we reached the coffee estate we met up with the owner, Lloyd Davidson, an expat from Tennessee who exports fish for a living and has a bird rehab center in Copan.  We walked up the road into the coffee plantation and encountered the very uncommon White-breasted Hawk which perched close and in plain view.   Atop the hill in a small patch of forest we found a charming, male Collared Trogon and soaring overhead several prized Great Swallow-tailed Swifts.  After our hike we had a nice lunch then were given a tour by Lloyd of the state of the art coffee processing facility, being the most eco-friendly in the area.  We started down the hill and ran into a large covey of Crested (Spot-bellied) Bobwhites who were calling loudly.

The second field excursion took us up into the piney foothills above Copan where we traversed a variety of microhabitats.   Down in the lowlands we encountered the graceful White-throated Magpie-Jay, Blue Grosbeak and Indigo Buntings.   Farther up we found our first group of Bushy-crested Jays that were accompanied by Yellow-backed Oriole. An unexpected sighting was a White-tailed Hawk that flew over a small valley and was Copan’s second record.  Right on cue were some Elegant Euphonias which were also nesting and courting. This particular site is the best place in Honduras to find this handsome bird due to the concentration of mistletoe plants.  The morning was not over yet and in a shady wooded canyon two Emerald Toucanets snuck in and allowed us a quick view.  A little ways up on top of the ridge line we happened upon four Collared Trogon males courting a female and were easy to see while perched in the pines.  Our last wonderful bird of the morning was a male Olive Warbler which is also found regularly here. 

Our time with nature was paired with time to explore the incredible ruins at Copan. We learned a great deal from the local guide, but appreciated time as well to wander and soak in the intricacies of this unparalled archaeological site. It was great to have time to visit lesser-known ruins of the area as well.

Our last big field day was just that; big.  We drove out to the Rio Amarillo valley to visit the last stand of lowland rainforest in all of interior western Honduras. Although several contiguous mountains comprise only about 1,000 acres of habitat they are packed with many Caribbean slope birds that are not found within nearly 100 miles from there.  Once we arrived at the hacienda we mounted horses for a short ride across some hilly pastures to our forest destination. We didn`t get far into the rainforest when we noticed there was an army ant swarm just down slope from us. It provided for some action packed birding that lasted for about an hour and not only was it complete with an understory host of birds, but a canopy crowd as well.  Some of the birds seen include the Scaly-throated Foliage-Gleaner, Olivaceous and Spotted Woodcreepers, Plain Antvireo, Sepia-capped Flycatcher, Northern Bentbill, Eye-ringed Flatbill, Tawny-crowned Greenlet, White-breasted Wood-Wren, Kentucky and Golden-crowned Warblers and Red-throated Ant-Tanager. Nearby was a pair of charming Slaty-tailed Trogons.  Back down at the ranch we had a country style lunch then took heed to a nearby fruiting tree where there were lots of tanagers, saltators, euphonias, seedeaters and flycatchers. We got scope views of the singing modest Piratic Flycatcher.  In a nearby thicket we also observed the bold Barred Antshrike male and female. 
      
And let us not forget the wood-warbler family of which we recorded an amazing 22 species in all, including the shy McGillivray’s!  During the trip we recorded 203 species which comprises half of the bird species of Copan. 

To top off the wonderful birding and archaeology we had a wide variety of tantalizing tastes from fresh tropical fruits for breakfast, home made banana-nut bread and berry cheesecake to giant shish-ka-bobs and an elegant candlelit farewell dinner.  The only complaints about the food were that there was too much!
 
At various places we also spotted some gorgeous native orchids in bloom including the Bleeding Heart, Mandarin Lily Orchid, Mandarin Wall Orchid, Golden Rain Popcorn Orchid, Bucket Palm Orchid, Acute Cockleshell Orchid and Intricate Cockleshell Orchid.   

Our last night we spent in San Pedro Sula and had yet another tasty dinner at a BBQ grill.  Afterwards Alan finished off with a nice slideshow of trip photos, many that we share here. 

Photo Credits:
Alan Harper: ©2010 Alan Harper, www.alanharper.com
Group of 4, Blue-crowned Motmot, Rufous-naped Wren, Las Sepulturas, Collared Trogon, Bird-of-Paradise, Gargoyle, Barbara riding, Orchid Garden,  Ivory-billed Woodcreeper, Grayish Saltator
Robert Gallardo: Group of 5, Orchid shots, Alan riding, Group relaxing, sunset

 

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