January 2020...Birding Unfettered

I this meme posted on social media and it took me a full two minutes to realize that people were making a joke that one shouldn’t 30-40 olives directly from a jar for dinner. I’ve done this more than once and have no regrets. It’s kind of the same way I feel about popcorn for dinner. Don’t get me wrong, I love to cook, but I hate doing dishes.

Possible dating profile picture…one should know what they’re getting into with me, deer rib cages and sub-zero temperatures and all.

I make jokes on social media using #DatingInYourForties is weird. Although, I’m sure I’ve probably inspired a few #DatingABirderIsWeird after someone found a frozen blue jay in my freezer when they went to get some ice. It is very hard for my brain to process that birding can now be a potential romantic activity. I have been a great compartmentalizer my whole. You are my birding friends. You are my sci fi friends. You are my friends through Bill. You are my travel birding friends. You are my comedy writing friends. And so on and so forth. After being with a non birder for a couple of decades, birding just never fell into the romantic category of activities. “Life pie” can have a whole new meaning.

Of course, birding in winter in Minnesota is a strange test because your clothes for single digit temperatures aren’t exactly what I would call “sexy time clothes.” But good birds can make even the most awkward date a good time.

I know I’m not the first person to find themselves unexpectedly in a completely new life circumstance where none of the old routines apply and you can make up completely new ones. I decided for one thing to say yes to all the invitations. It’s great to only check with myself before I do something. It’s a liberating feeling to just say yes to a birding trip without checking to see if something non birding had been planned or that I’ve not been spending enough time at home.

Want to go birding tomorrow morning? I’m not working, yes.

What to go to Texas next month? I have lots of frequent flyer miles, yes.

Want to go to a cabin this weekend and do some birding? Oh, hell yes.

View from a cabin.

In Minnesota, many people have cabins for the weekend. You have to get used to a different schedule when you have a friend with a cabin. They generally are unavailable for city plans on the weekend from spring until autumn and forget holidays. Sometimes you can get invitations to cabins, either staying in them or pitching a tent outside. Cabins run the gamut from very basic with no shower but all the fishing tackle you could ever want and can be grand lodgings with air conditioning and hot tubs. Some are closed down for the winter, but a few have good heating and insulation and can be fun winter getaway.

When I moved to Minnesota I got a real education on cabin culture when I ran a wild bird feeding store. The company even came up with a seed mix just for cabin people called, “Cabin Mix” that people could grab on their way out of town and into northern Minnesota. We also carried rustic looking houses and feeders to match cabin decor, but honestly, the people really need something strong enough to withstand being knocked down by bears.

Friends with cabins have been gracious hosts when I learned that they have a cabin near a public blind with a lek. I’d rather roll out of bed and drive twenty minutes in the dark to get to a sharp-tailed grouse blind than leave the Twin Cities at 2am.

Fresh pileated woodpecker work outside a cabin.

I had an invitation to visit a cabin with some friends in January for snowshoeing on frozen lakes, birding and maybe some fat tire biking. These are fun weekends that generally involve cooking together as well. There was some very visible pileated woodpecker activity around the cabin and the next morning a pair took turns wailing into a tree.

The bird was so close…so photographable…except for the storm windows.

The cabin was fun for me—warm winter foods and nonstop pileated woodpeckers. Even if we never made it outside, I could watch my spark bird all day long. Although, I did feel super taunted by the bird. It was a great digiscoping opportunity, however storm windows keep your place snug and warm, but they can blur the heck out of photos.

However, the next day the cabin owner had removed the storm window and even carefully opened it when the birds returned so I could take all the photos. That is one trusting cabin owner to let out precious heat for a bird photography opportunity.

A clearer view of the pileated. There’s still a bit of heat shimmer from the heat escaping the cabin through an open window, but I still dig this picture.

The next day we headed to Sax Zim Bog for some birding. It was such a great time, not only for the birds but because I ran into so many friends who were birding up there for the day. Some were guides and when I’d pul over to watch birds, I’d find text messages that said, “Hey, did I just pass you over by the goshawk?” Yes, yes they had.

Hoar frost in the bog.

If you’ve never birded the bog and you have lots of lifers to get, especially owls then hiring a guide is a must. But if you have mostly seen the birds or only need one or two lifers, you can get by on your own with a stop at the visitor center and eBird. I knew of a reliable northern hawk owl and that was our first stop. The crowd of birders on the side of the road alerted us that the bird was indeed there.

A lovely way to start the day with a northern hawk owl who gives very little care to the birders below.

A female black-backed woodpecker (was a lifer for one of us) found on the way to the Sax Zim Bog visitor Center.

We were getting all the bog birds fairly easily, except for boreal chickadee, but that’s ok. Canada jays, rough-legs and barred owls are a nice consolation prize. We continued to run into people throughout the day, including one of my fellow park rangers who had just retired last fall. We ran into him at Wilbert’s Cafe and ended up having lunch together.

From there we headed out to a spot to look for three-toed woodpeckers. And I ran into John Jonas, one of my favorite wildlife photographers. He saw me driving my Prius around the bog, pulled over and asked, “You brought a Prius to the bog???” I smiled and said, “That’s how badass I am.”

We had quite a bit of hairy woodpecker activity and Jonas found the three-toed, but it was camera shy for me. I paused to get a slefie of all of us in the bog and it was at that moment a three-toed flew over all of us.

Beardy men at the bog.

What we lacked in three-toeds was made up for with a cool mammal experience. We did find a snowshoe hare hiding near the trail. I’ve seen them here and there, usually hopping away. But this was one of the closest encounters I’ve had with one and what a treat to see its winter camouflage in action!

We tried to finish the day with a great gray owl, but no one was having any luck. At sunset we drove the usual hangouts and it seemed that every ten minutes we’d pass one of the Sax Zim guides in their vehicle with clients trying to find a bird. We’d already seen many great grays and headed back to the cabin at dusk for some celebratory beer and whiskey. I have never seen so many ruffed grouse in the trees and bushes. It was clearly a bumper crop year and it explained why goshawks were easy to find in the bog this winter.

Craptastic owl photo!

We did manage one more species of owl that day. We drove past a snowy owl as we headed back towards Aitkin County. Not a lifer, but a cool bird.

Sunrise at the cabin.

On one page, a cabin just seem like a second home that you have to take care of: extra cleaning, yard work and other maintenance. On the other page, cabin life is seductive when you watch the sunrise over coffee while bacon sizzles on the stove a fox darts through the yard. You feel like you could give up work and just live hand to mouth up there forever.

But work calls. And friends in the city call insisting on lunch plans.

The Magic Of Finding Owls

We're having our third straight weird winter in Minnesota. A third winter of unpredictable weather patters. February used to be my guaranteed snow shoe hike month and for the past three winters I've had to just call them hikes or cancel them because thaw cycles of turned the trails to ice. This past week like the rest of the country we experienced insane highs in the 50s - 60.

I'm not going to panic about it, but I am going to take advantage of a weird spring like day to go bike riding, it's one of the things I enjoy almost as much as birding. And it's a perfect combo when I can combine them both. I often listen to movie soundtracks while biking to make my ride more fun. 

The other day I was biking and listening to The Force Awakens, specifically the Jedi Steps part at the end of the movie. As I biked along, something suddenly got my attention. "Wow, that's a lot of poop."

Look at all those pellets!

Because it was a thick clump of cedars I immediately assumed it was a saw-whet owl roost. I noticed about four spots where the bird had spent lots of time and dropped lots of pellets. I gingerly walked around to try and look up in hopes of not flushing the bird (with that ruddy mysterious music playing through my headphones). The first two spots had no owl above, then I got to the spot in the above photo. I looked up and less than two feet from my head was an old robin's nest with a gray phase eastern screech-owl perched on it (just as the music swelled when it revealed Luke Skywalker in the movie). I immediately said, "Holy shit," crouched low to put as much space between us and backed away, hoping against hope that I wouldn't accidentally flush it. I was not expecting that bird to be that low...or in a robin's nest. It stayed in its spot and I wondered if felt a little bad ass, "Well, I showed that human!"

The next day I took Non Birding Bill with me to see the bird and try to digiscope it. The branch it chose is perfect for hiding. It's on the lowest and thickest branch and the branch curves, creating a tent over the owl. I flattened my tripod as low as it would go, crawling on the ground to get a view as far away from the owl as I could. I found one window through the needles to get a glimpse and snapped a few photos for my own documentation.

This owl maybe low, but it has figured out a great hiding spot. 

I've never found a screech-owl roosting in cedars in winter. I've mostly seen them in natural cavities or nest boxes. And as always when I find an owl, I wonder how many I've passed because I assumed they wouldn't hide in a particular spot. 

I like this photo because the owl turned away from me. It no longer saw me as threat enough to stare down. All in all we were there three minutes getting pictures and grabbing a few more pellets. 

And for now this owl will be left alone. If it stays warm I'll bike past but I won't stop except to collect a pellet or two. I'm going to have try and hit that area in March at dusk to see if I can hear any screech-owl trilling. 

Owl Attacks Heron On Live Cam

I love all the live nest cams that are available for us to watch online but knowing all the things that can go wrong with nesting, I keep waiting for the day when a nest cam witnesses something violent.  Sure, we've had epic peregrine battles, but when we are we going to see something pick off nestlings...we might get that this year with the Cornell Live Heron Cam. Recently, a great horned owl tried to go all Hunger Games on the incubating heron.  Check out the video and the heron gets angry and loud, so keep that in mind if you are watching this at work or if you have headphones on (don't worry, it's not bloody):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=RBGYPQKt3wA

The birds have just started incubating, but if that great horned is that brazen now...will it return when the chicks hatch?  I don't think this is a matter of the owl desiring a nest, I've seen great horneds take a nest in a heron rookery--it was interesting to note that the herons didn't take any of the nests next to the owl nest but seemed to get along fine with a red-tailed hawk nesting among them.

Will the herons be able to protect their young from an owl? A few years ago there was a raccoon that was systematically climbing up trees at a heron rookery in MN and eating the young one by one.  The MN DNR got video footage of it and in some cases the parents watched from a nearby branch without attacking the raccoon that was eating the chicks alive.

How will this nest cam end? Happily with all five chicks flying off or brutally with some being eaten by an owl? It certainly has my attention.

Barred Owl On The Bike Trail

On Saturday Non Birding Bill and I were taking advantage of the beautiful weather and the Twin Cities bike trail system.  We passed into a neighborhood and hear blue jays, cardinals and nuthatches going bonkers.  I took a quick glance but figured since NBB was with me, I might as well ignore whatever was being mobbed by birds.  Then I heard NBB say, "Got it! Owl!" I stopped, pulled over and saw NBB behind me pointing to a tree.  "Great horned?"

"No," he said, "I think it's  barred owl."

It sure was.  We finished our circuit and on the way back found the owl in the same spot but it was no longer being mobbed.  When we heard the blue jays earlier, they some sounded young and I wondered if the adults were using the owl as a chance to teach mobbing behavior.  Did the young ones lose interest when the owl didn't do anything?

When we got home, I debated about biking back to get a scope.  I have a system for packing up my Swarovski scope and camera, but the owl was in a residential neighborhood and I don't like to take my scope in those areas if I don't have to.  Plus, my thighs were putting up a bit of a protest.  I decided to go for it and figured the worse case scenario would be that the owl was gone and I'd get a little more exercise on a gorgeous summer day.

As I suspected, the owl was still there.  This is a well used neighborhood for bike riders, joggers and walkers.  This owl was used to roosting over people and not a lot was going to make it flush.

I aimed my scope, taking special care to never aim it at any windows or house and getting shots of the owl.  What a cutie--I even got to hear it call a few times.

The head feathers of the owl looked like it hadn't quite filled out with the rest of the body and there seemed to be hints of down.  Is this a young barred owl?  I took a quick look under the tree and found a pellet.  Just as a grabbed it, the person who lived in the home came out.  I hoped that I wouldn't have too much explaining to do and she smiled and asked, "Is the owl here?"

Whew--I wasn't assumed a bicycle perv but assumed to be a birder--yay!  She was really nice and told me that they had seen the owls all summer and that the babies even hung out on the porch rails when learning to fly.  Her young daughter came out and said, "The sat on the porch on my birthday!"

What an awesome birthday treat!

We talked bird a little bit and then I headed home suddenly aware that I was in my bike clothes, sweaty and stinky.  I can only imagine what my mother would say about doing sweaty stinky bird chat with strangers.

Relaxed owl toes! What a bonus for biking--a random barred owl.  I love the variety of nesting predators we have in my general neighborhood.  Birding truly can be done anywhere, even in an urban area.

Cruise Ships Potential Habitats For Burrowing Owls?

Probably not, but intrepid burrowing owl sure did try.

The above Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is of a burrowing owl that tried to set up a territory mini-golf course on Royal Caribbean International's "Oasis of the Seas" last Saturday.  The ship was about to depart Port Everglades for the high seas when a crew member called the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission regarding this unusual passenger.

FWC Lt. David Bingham and a Broward County Sheriff's Office deputy were able to safely remove the small owl from the golf course. Bingham released the owl in an open field in western Broward County.

"Never in all of my 25 years with the FWC have I seen anything like this, and I have responded to some strange calls," Bingham said. "I am very pleased the owl wasn't injured and that we could get it back to a normal habitat."

As a species of special concern, Florida burrowing owls, their burrows and their eggs are protected from harassment and/or disturbance by state law. Burrowing owls also are protected by the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

"Burrowing owls need to be in open, treeless areas where they can dig their burrow," said FWC biologist Ricardo Zambrano. "The artificial turf on the ship's golf course resembles the fields they use for nesting in urban areas; however, it was obviously not suitable habitat for this owl."

One has to wonder how long this owl was there and what it might have been feeding on.  According to Cornell's Birds of North America Online, burrowing owls are "pportunistic feeders; primarily arthropods, small mammals, and birds; amphibians and reptiles also reported and may be important in Florida."

Unexpected Afternoon Owls

I am terrible with people names--bird names are generally not a problem.  However, if I've met someone at a bird festival in Texas and see in them in winter in Minnesota, I have a tough time remembering them.  Same with meeting one of Non Birding Bill's friends at the grocery store--totally clueless.  Sometimes that happens with birds too.

Saturday, NBB and I met up with some friends who live along the St. Croix River and were gracious enough to take us out on their boat.  It was the perfect low key way to spend the summer day.  What was especially fun for me was cruising through this area for fun, not work.  I've been on this stretch when we've banded bald eagles and as we coasted along, I recognized nests.

The area was chock full of herons, egrets and osprey--we even had fly by of a family group of sandhill cranes.  Above is a great blue heron perched on top of a snag.  We marveled at how peaceful an area so close to the Twin Cities can be.  The back waters were still with lush patches of arrowhead and cottonwoods.  Green frogs sounding like a bunch of musicians trying in vain to tune up for a 21 banjo salute called from the vegetation.  Taking in all the sounds of summer, I heard a familiar screech. I knew instantly that the screech sound was a raptor...but what kind...the little hamster wheel in my head churned...I'd heard it before...but where...it was a begging call...it was daytime...but I knew it wasn't a hawk...owl...it was an owl...daytime...late afternoon and time of year could be barred owl...but barred owl doesn't sound like that...it sounded...like...a great horned owl.

Our friends eased their boat into a small channel and one owl flushed but then we found another perched on the side of the tree--it was a total great horned owl (all the way).  Since we were in a pontoon boat, I thought I would give digiscoping the owl a try.

Getting the great horned owl in the scope was a challenge because any slight movement on the boat moved the scope view and then the darned bird was looking way.  As I lined up my camera, I whispered to Non Birding Bill to sound like an injured mouse.  He helpfully said in a less than enthused manner, "Ow."

But that did the trick and the owl turned to look at us.  There are plenty of times when I suspect an owl is nearby or I can hear a sound and know what bird is there, but I don't always get the opportunity to show friends that what I saw is actually there in the trees.

There were at least three different owls in the area based on the screeching calls and the directions the vocalizations came from.  Great horned owls make several sounds besides the expected hooting.  They screech, they twitter, they bark, heck, they even snap and hiss.  I realized that the screech I heard was the same sound  I have heard imprinted great horned owls give at The Raptor Center when they beg for food--I generally don't hear it in the wild, especially in the afternoon.  I thought it odd that great horneds would have begging chicks right now, that seems late for Minnesota.  But if there first nest failed, the adults could have tried a second clutch.

I thought this was interesting too because we were near one of the bald eagle nests that in 2009 was used by great horned owls.  I wondered if the parents of this group of owls had been the ones to use the eagle nest last year?

Always appreciate an unexpected owl.

Random Owl Chicks

I was archiving some photos and found this photo from this year's Detroit Lakes Festival of Birds of a great horned owl nest with 2 chicks.  I figured the least I could do is post this photo after yesterday's link to a flycatcher eating what appears to be Cthulu.

Screech Owl Kind Of Day

As I type this entry, this is what the snow cloud RADAR looks like from KSTP. Non Birding Bill and I live in Minneapolis. The surrounding clouds kind of look like Oogie Boogie Man from The Nightmare Before Christmas about to nom us up. We may also be feeling the benefits of the bubble effect, sometimes big storms pass around the Twin Cities rather than right through. I am suspicious of the hype with this storm. Suspicious that we will not get the 24 inches predicted all week. NBB says I'm crazy to doubt this, but I'll believe Snomaggedon when I see it.

I thought I'd go out and do some birding before the pending Snowpacolypse today. I wanted to see if I could find a snowy owl at the Minneapolis St Paul Airport but did not--got totally skunked. All I found were eagles and a few snow buntings. I ran into my buddy Linda and her husband and she told me about an eastern screech-owl that was visible from one of the trails at Minnehaha Park.

When I arrived at the park, I could see the true spirit of the Minnesota. There was an artist out with his easel set up and all his layers appropriately applied so he could do a landscape in oils of the frozen creek. It was twenty-nine degrees, so with some well placed SmartWool socks, he could be quite comfortable while he painted the landscape with the snow that we have already accumulated this month. I searched the surrounding tree based on Linda's instructions. I scanned for every potential cavity then was surprised when I found the owl roosting in a cavity up above the artist! The artist's back was to the owl, he had no idea of the tiny silent sentry keeping watch while he worked his oils.

I got a few photos of the gray phase eastern screech-owl (I even took a photo with by hand holding my Blackberry to my scope and sent it to Twitter), then went over to the artist to point out the owl. I think he was expecting something larger, but still found it cool. I know screeches are urban owls, years ago there was a pair of red phases nesting a few blocks from our apartment. This bird seemed very used to this spot, I noted the well worn sledding tracks right beneath and around the tree with the owl's roost--this owl is very used to people.

Trees aren't the only place to look for screech-owls. Yesterday, I got a photo in my inbox. Someone had a surprise roosting in the slot for their daily newspaper below the mailbox:

A red phase eastern screech-owl (the same species I saw, but just a different color variation). I did not take this photo. The photographer lives in the Midwest but would prefer that their name not show up on the Internet. Screech owls naturally nest and roost in old woodpecker cavities, kestrel boxes or wood duck boxes. Sometimes, if they can't find a cavity, they make do with an unusual structure. Another reason to put up a wood duck box or let old trees with cavities stay up if they are in a spot that won't risk damage to your home.

Now to watch and see if we get any of the snOMG!

Las Vegas And Urban Burrowing Owls

Las Vegas is a strange world that I cannot quite fathom.  I get the spectacle of it, I love how just as a visitor, you yourself become a part of the overall Vegas ambiance, you become part of the background of someone else's vacation.  I love that I can go into a casino and have my photo taken with parts of Barry Manilow's wardrobe (I know that looks like something Liberace would wear, but believe me, that is classic Manilow). I love that there is a store that sells nothing but Barry Manilow items--a whole store, in this economy, a whole store dedicated to Mr. Copacabana himself (a note--Donny and Marie have a case as a casino shop, but not their own store, that's how big Barry rates).  I love that I can turn my phone from a mere Blackberry to a Blackbarry Manilow.

But other parts of Las Vegas baffled me, like golf courses aka lush areas of grass made to fit in a desert landscape.

And then there is the casino itself.  If someone wanted to torture me or if I believed in a hell, I think that my version would be in the center of a casino surrounded by slot machines and the only way out is desert heat of 105 degrees.  I'm unnerved by the number of slot machines based on my childhood like above Dukes of Hazard or Green Acres (or That Girl, and yes I mean THAT Girl or R2D2 or Indian Jones).  Standing in the middle of a place like the Flamingo surrounded by an overhead speaker pumping in Lady Gaga surrounded by blinking machines all playing a different computerized tune with no outdoor lighting totally freaked me out.  I marveled at people who think, "Yes, this is how I'm going to spend my hard earned vacation money!"

I know I am not one to be putting on airs when it comes to how one should spend relaxation time, we all recharge our personal batteries in our own way.  Just as I am baffled by those who sit in the din of electronic over stimulation of a casino, I'm sure there are tons of people who would find my personal heaven of sitting in a dark box on a cold fallow farm field at the crack of dawn waiting for a hawk to fly by so we can band it equally as torturous. To each their own, I suppose.

Fortunately, there are plenty of birding opportunities in Vegas.  One of the best ways to take advantage of them is to contact the Red Rock Audubon Society who hooked our crew up with Rita Schlageter.  They were happy to help us find birds and suggest locations, one being a spot for one of my favorite birds, the burrowing owl (above, claiming taloned victory over a rather large beetle in the middle of a street).

If you want to enjoy the burrowing owls in Vegas, you MUST contact Red Rock Audubon.  The members are engaged in a partnership with US Fish and Wildlife for the Urban Burrowing Owl Monitoring Project in the Las Vegas Valley.   The goals of this project are to map and monitor the location of burrows used by breeding owls and to educate the public about collecting scientific data and bird conservation.  Rita took us to owls that would be good light for filming and were also not too skittish around people.  She had a specific distance she wanted us to stay from the burrows so as not to disturb the owls.  With her help we got the best view we possibly could have and for me, these were the best looks I have had of this species.

Burrowing owls are a crowd pleasing bird, even my husband Non Birding Bill enjoyed filming the owls.  How can you not enjoy an owl that is active during the day, are about nine inches long (with long legs), who take over old burrows or dig their own and lurk at the entrance like a little boy cautiously defending his tree fort from cootie laden little girls?

Even though we kept our distance, the owls were not disturbed by us in the least little bit.  One burrowing owl we were watching, took off and flew with four feet of our group.  We marveled at its bouncy flight, watched it flip around, heard a faint snap and fly back to its original location.  Clay asked, "Did that bird just grab something?"

Yes it did!  Some sort of ginormous beetle that was flying behind us (yuck, that's what's flying around in Vegas--EW!).  Clay estimated that the owl saw it flying in from behind us and when it came in range, made it's move.  I just enjoyed having the bird in flight so close to us, what a treat to watch its feeding behavior in action.  Rita was a distance away and was impressed by the owl's hunting technique.

Look at the wild look in the bird's eyes as it nom, nom, noms up that crunchy big beetle.  What great pest control for the neighborhood.  Alas, it appears to be on borrowed time.

This is the small lot where we found the owls.  There's another one across the street and between these two lots were about a dozen owls, perhaps four family group.  Rita said that according to Red Rock's numbers, there are about 27 pair in and around Las Vegas.   These two lots are slated for development, but thanks to the recession, all construction on the two lots is currently on hold.  Once the economy bounces back, construction will begin and all of the burrowing owls will have to move on.  Where will they go? Flat open space without trees and buildings is harder and harder to find.

I think we got some great footage for a birding segment here.  I'm glad we had an opportunity to experience this spot chock full of cute owls.  Consider giving Red Rock a call if you are interested in seeing and learning about burrowing owls in Vegas.  Here is some raw footage of burrowing owls, I especially love the little guy lurking in the burrow.  I think you will see four individual owls in this clip.  One is eating another ginormous beetle.  Note how the burrowing owl eats it like parrot by holding it with its foot.  Also, I recommend having the volume down, there's quite a bit of wind in this footage:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-2A0AU-6Vg[/youtube]

More on Los Andes in Guatemala

Look at this pygmy-owl outside of Los Andes lodge! This one perched right out the front door. There was some debate as to whether this was a ferruginous pygmy-owl or mountain pygmy-owl. The debate seemed to center around the spots on his head. Ferruginous pygmy-owls should have streaks, mountain pygmy-owls should have more spots. To me, it looks streaky. Bottom line, it was a tiny owl.

Pygmy-owls were all over the place in Guatemala, this was a pygmy-owl that was spotted as our bus was passing through a small town. You know how in the US, some people will try to whistle like an eastern screech-owl, in Guatemala, birders whistle like pygmy-owls to get smaller birds to come in closer. One day our group saw a yellow-wing cacique fly over. In trying to get it to come back, someone in our group started the pygmy-owl call and I noticed something small and brown fly up to a telephone pole with a hole. At first I thought it was a wren, but it was a ferruginous pygmy-owl--we actaully called one in.

How's this for a Guatemala sunrise? This was just off of the organic tea farm at Los Andes Private Nature Reserve. The tea is bordered by cloud forest where resplendent quetzals can be found. I'm generally not a fan of early rising (I know, I know, I'm a birder, I'm supposed to enjoy getting up in the dark, but I don't). However, when I'm forced to get up, what a treat to get a fabulous sunrise.

Here's a zoom in, you can see the puffs of smoke coming off the volcano--beautiful. We took our time walking in to the forest, many birds were already singing. I mentioned early on that digiscoping was a challenge in Guatemala--digiscoping in the tropics is hard work and this was a trail where I had to make a decision: spend a few wasted seconds trying to get the camera an scope lined up, or use those precious seconds to enjoy the bird. One was an antpitta, I can't think of any way to describe it but maybe, combine an American robin and a nerf football with long legs. It was a bird I expected to only hear and not see, but as our group made it through the forest, one was walking along the path searching for food. What a treat to see this secretive brown bird.

Here's the view of the tea farm outside of the forest with the quetzal. This was a cool spot to stand in and just watch birds go by.

We searched this forest more than once for the quetzal but I only heard it, I did not see it. I heard two different versions of quetzal sounds. One was a rather pleasant, almost ticking call. The other scared the crap out of me. I found a very distant version of it on Xeno Canto, you'll hear this kindy of shrieky gobble, that's what I heard, only it was right behind me and ten time louder. I literally ducked when I heard it. Alas, did not see the quetzal, but we saw their nest boxes scattered about. We saw so many other birds including azure-rumped tanager, emerald touchanette, blue-crowned chlorophonia, and collared trogon that I could live with living to see a quetzal another day.

They did have resplendant quetzal tail feathers on display at the lodge. I stood next to one to give some perspective as to how long their tails can get. I'm five foot and that tail is over half as long as I am.

I should mention that the road to the quetzal area is quite adventurous. Our group was packed into the pack of this truck and we had to stand...I had to be careful where I stood. My head was at the top bar level and if I stood in one of the corners, I would end up hitting my head.

The ride is about about twenty minutes long on what I would call minimum maintenance roads...and the above was about as flat as they got. There were curves and hills and large rocks and we were bounced all over in the back. It was nerve racking enough to watch when it was daylight and even more so when it was dark--our drivers were great, they knew how to drive on those roads, but to me who is not used to those types of mountain road--it was exciting. But the upside of when it was dark was that we'd periodically stop for pauraques sitting in the road, I'm sure they followed our vehicle a bit as toddled down the road, going after insects kicked up.

I have to get back to Los Andes. At least to see the quetzal, but also because it's a cool place.