Find Tom Find Tom 4

Birds, Critters and Trees in Tikal 26 Mar 2012

Of our four days at Tikal, one day was devoted exclusively to searching for birds and other animals. There were two birds that I especially hoped to find. They were the Emerald Toucanet and the American Pygmy Kingfisher. The toucanet is similar to a toucan but smaller and mostly green. I was thrilled to find one for my 500th bird species sighted.

Ocellated Turkeys were everywhere and very tame. I found a Crested Guan which is another large ground bird but I saw it sitting in a tree. It is brown with white spots and has a red throat. Saw one once before in Belize.

We saw a large tree with several nests of a bird called the Montezuma Oropendola. Their nest is like a large bag hanging from a branch. Orioles make a similar nest, but much smaller. The Oropendola makes a strange noise that sounds like a ray gun from a science fiction movie.

The Ridgeway’s Rough-winged Swallow lives inside some of the ruins. They are difficult to photograph as they fly away whenever anyone enters the room. I did manage to find one that sat still long enough for one photo.

I saw several different kinds of flycatchers including the Social, Sulpher-bellied, Royal and Piratic Flycatchers.

We saw some Swallow-tailed Kites flying overhead. This is a large, magnificent, black-and-white raptor with a split tail. I rushed up the stairs of Temple Two to get closer for a photo. While up on the temple I also saw an Orange-breasted Falcon and a Plumbeous Kite.

I had seen the Keel-billed Toucan a few times before but was really happy to get a nice close look at one. Didn’t have any Fruit Loops handy to feed him.

I also found a bird called a Strong-billed Woodcreeper which is a scarce bird.

No sign of the Pygmy Kingfisher. I had been looking for this bird since November.

We were lucky to find a huge Walking Stick. They are really difficult to find.

We also saw a tarantula.

Spider Monkeys were fairly common but they were always in the dark places where it is difficult to get a nice photo. It can be quite dark in the jungle even on a sunny day.

I searched the lagoon several times for the Pygmy Kingfisher but no sign of one. We did find a few small crocodiles.