Guatemala: Los Andes Yardbirds

Los Andes, one of Guatemala’s finest Private Nature Preserves, is one of those rare birding destinations that cater to all tastes. There’s hiking in the uplands, puddlewatching on the grounds, and a temptingly comfortable dining room and reading corner from which one can look up from a book or a cup of coffee to enjoy, oh, White-collared Seedeaters and Blue-tailed Hummingbirds just off the porch. Unbeatable! I’m giving serious thought to devoting our latest lottery winnings to a long weekend here (Guatemala is a lot closer to Tucson than is central New York, for example).

The approach to the reserve took us through some warmish, humidish lowlands with White-throated Magpie-Jays and other open-country wonders, but by the time our trusty bus had gone up the hill to the house, it was once again cool and beautiful. We wandered the yard for a couple of hours after lunch, enjoying old friends and new faces among the birds. Yellow-winged Tanagers were abundant, feeding and posing in the trees surrounding the house.

A couple of Yellow-bellied Elaenias haunted the edges, too; I couldn’t remember ever having heard the species before, and enjoyed the chance to learn its breathy, burry calls.

The true prize of this incredibly birdy yard popped up when we were following a couple of male Painted Buntings bounce around under a magic orange-flowered bush. A nice Blue-tailed Hummingbird blew in, and while I was watching it, a Prevost’s Ground-Sparrow fluttered up to perch in the open! Like the other Melozone, this is a very secretive bird, and though we looked long and hard, it never reappeared in the two part-days we spent in the yard.

Because this is a birding b-log, I have to include at least one sewage pond, this (scentless) one just below the lodge at Los Andes and the happy hunting ground of a Green Kingfisher.