Guatemala 2008: Finca El Pilar
ByIf I had to choose one single site from all the great locations we visited in Guatemala, Finca El Pilar would come out on top. This coffee plantation just outside of Antigua was among my favorite places last year, and it more than lived up to my eager expectations this year, too.
The hummingbird feeders were just as spectacular as I’d remembered them, with great views of Purple and Rufous Sabrewings, Azure-crowned Hummingbird, and another half dozen species, but on this visit, it wsa the upper stretches of the finca that impressed me most. Not only was it cool and dry up there–a welcome change from the wet heat of the Pacific Coast–but the trees were full of birds, including large numbers of singing Crescent-chested Warblers and Red-faced Warblers on their way (it pleased me to imagine) to Arizona for the summer. As dusk fell, Swainson’s Thrushes materialized all around us, plinking from every bush. Black-capped Swallows and the occasional Vaux’s Swift filled the sky, and all was right with the world!
