Guatemala 2008: Mangroves

We were able to spend two generous half-days in the mangroves around Monterrico, where far and away the most impressive sight was provided by flocks of up to 150 Ruddy-breasted Seedeaters in the grassy vegetation along the open channels. And it was here, too, that we came across the most disturbing sight of our week: a slaughtering ground for Wood Storks, skulls and wings and long bony feet piled up along the trails where hunters had killed them. Our boatmen told us that the silly birds had just blundered into trees and wires, but it was only too obvious that these birds had been clubbed, field dressed, and taken home to the stewpot. We saw more dead storks those two days than we saw live ones the entire week.

More heartening were roosts of Boat-billed Herons, allowing close approach in the dense mangroves and making us hope out loud that their flesh was fishy and tough. Other herons were abundant on the open water–there’s nothing like a slow cruise on a Central American river to convince you of the astonishing abundance of Green Herons! A slight disappointment was the scarcity of kingfishers; we saw a grand total of one Green Kingfisher, and just a few Belted; only Ringed Kingfisher was anything like common.

A stop at a dry cleared woodlot was surprisingly birdy, with Spot-breasted Oriole and Turquoise-browed Motmot the stars. And while we’d enjoyed superb looks at Pale-billed Woodpeckers in the north, here, in this more recently cleared landscape, it was Lineated Woodpeckers that stole the show.