Guatemala: Aguateca

February 22: The generator had ceased its clacking promptly at 10 pm, but another, uncanny noise awaited when we woke up at 4:00: Howlers! We would see these spectacular monkeys several times over the next days, and their spidery cousins as well, but nothing can replace the strangeness of first hearing that roar.

There was a drowsy stillness in our boat that morning until the sun came up, and with it the birds. We saw no fewer than 5 (!) American Pygmy-Kingfishers on the trip this time, along with impressive numbers of herons coming off the roost. Great Egrets and Little Blue Herons were actually fishing in flight, hovering floppily over the water and dipping their bills to come up with little bits of prey; I’d never seen this before.

Aguateca was a wonder, a Mayan citadel that we had all to ourselves. Surrounded by deep clefts called grietas, the ruins were the perfect place to wander and to ponder, and full of birds.

We walked through these narrow passages, discovering bats, bright fungi, and a nest built by White-collared Swifts.

Plastered to the rock wall of the grieta, the fuzzy, grapefruit-sized nests have opening facing straight down; what I wouldn’t give to see the world’s largest swift swooping into this construction!

Back out of the bowels of the earth, we perched atop the ruins to watch for raptors. King Vulture, Plumbeous Kite…. And then someone said the word: “Solitary.” And for real and for true, an adult Solitary Eagle soared above us for five minutes, a bird all had dreamed of, and none had hoped to see.