The Spectacular Bird Diversity of Honduras

Our Bird Diversity tour combines interior rain and cloud forests, the breezy Caribbean north coast, and along the way; La Muralla National Park, one of Honduras’ best kept, and most bird diverse, secrets. Nearly 90% of Honduras’ 760+ bird species have been recorded along this route and with luck, we hope to see at least half of these. We begin in the rain forests of Lake Yojoa, and Cerro Azul, ascending to the cloud forests of Santa Barbara National Park (including an area known for the country’s endemic Honduran Emerald). From there, we travel to 2,000 meters pine-oak and cloud forests of Opatoro- Rufous-Winged Tanager Guajiquiro Reserve and La Tigra National Park, before heading northwest for the pristine and rarely habitats of La Muralla National Park and finally Pico The Spectacular Bird Bonito National Park, and the breezy Caribbean north coast. Diversity of Honduras Dates 12 Nights/13 Days | Multiple Departure Dates We offer this tour to individuals and groups throughout the year, with November to June being the best period for weather and bird activity. Page 1 • The Spectacular Bird Diversity of Honduras Tour Overview This afternoon we have our first species. We will make a stop at chance for the regionally endemic Santa Elena, where Black-headed Day 1: Arrival San Pedro Sula Airport Keel-billed Motmot, as well as Little Siskins and Grace’s Warblers (SAP, transfer to Panacam Lodge Tinamou, Collared and Gartered are present in these tropical pine Day 2: Panacam Lodge, Lake Yojoa Trogons, and Mayan Antrush. forest habitats. Along the way we Day 3: El Cajon Reservoir, Honduran Violet Sabrewing and White-bellied also have a good chance for Spot- Emerald Emerald hummingbirds are bellied Bobwhite and many other Day 4: Opatoro Biological Reserve Day 5, 6: La Tigra National Park common delights at the feeders grassland species. After a full Day 7: Transfer La Tigra to La here. morning on Panacam Road we’ll Muralla National Park stop for lunch and afterwards Day 8, 9: La Muralla National Park Meals: Dinner make a visit to Finca Luna del Day 10: La Muralla National Park to Lodging at Panacam Lodge Puente and the shore of Lake Indura Lodge Yojoa. Day 11: Lancetilla Botanical Gardens Day 2, Birding Panacam Road and Day 12: Laguna de Los Micos Lake Yojoa: Finca Luna del Puente is a Day 13: Departure San Pedro Airport secondary growth forest area with cacao, coffee and citrus We begin the day with birding near plantations, and the numbers of the lodge for the handsome 12 Night/13 Day Itinerary: birds here are simply amazing. Prevost’s Ground-Sparrow and Some of the highlights include, muted Green-backed Sparrow, Green Jay, Northern Potoo, Green the first of many endemics of Day 1, Transfer to Panacam Lodge: Jay, Tody Motmot, Slate-headed northern Central America possible Tody Flycatcher, Great Horned Owl Pick up at San Pedro Sula airport on this itinerary. The edges of and many more. and transfer to Panacam Lodge. this broadleaf rain forest lead to Depending on our arrival time, we’ll Embalse de Yure, one of the best After 3:00 pm we will head back to do some late-afternoon birding in wetland spots in the area to try for the lodge and relax by birding the the gardens of Panacam Lodge. Sungrebe and other water-loving very active hummingbird feeders at Red-capped Manakin Panacam. Meals: Dinner Lodging at Panacam Lodge Day 3, Birding El Cajon Reservoir: After an early breakfast, we will head for El Cajon Reservoir, just an hour away. The target of our search, the beautiful but critically endangered Honduran Emerald survives only in remaining pockets of tropical dry forest, as well as transitional pine forest in Honduras. The recent discovery of a population of these birds will have us birding transitional pine Page 2 • The Spectacular Bird Diversity of Honduras White Hawk opportunities to observe several forest for the Emerald, as well as Day 5, Transfer from Opatoro- northern Central America other targets such as White necked Guajiquiro to La Tigra National Park: Puffbird, Berylline Hummingbird, endemics that are difficult to see After another morning in the Spot-bellied Bobwhite, Elegant anywhere else within their range. Opatoro-Guajiquiro highlands to Trogon, Lesser-ground Cuckoo and High on the list of priorities will be target any remaining species, we Lesser Roadrunner among others. the stunning Blue-throated make our way around mid-morning After lunch, we’ll pack up and drive Motmot, a species which occurs to La Tigra National Park high southward through a landscape only in a narrow strip of mountains above the city of Tegucigalpa, the of pine clad mountains to arrive at that stretch from southern Mexico capital of Honduras. We’ll arrive our next destination. We’ll make a to Honduras. Regional endemics our hotel in the early afternoon, stop along the way for lunch at a that we will seek here include and will soon begin focusing our then head up to the mountains of Fulvous Owl, Green-throated attention on the road leading to Marcala La Paz. Depending on the Mountain-gem, Black-throated Jay, La Tigra National Park, a mosaic activity we may be lucky enough to Highland Guan, Black-capped of pine forest, pastures, gardens, spot Stellers Jay, a subspecies of Swallow, and Brownbacked and cloud forest. Large and noisy the North American species which Solitaire. family parties of Bushy-crested don’t show the long crest as do Jay commonly frequent this area. their North American counterparts. Other species here include; Yellow-backed Oriole and Flame- Highland guan, Buffy-crowned colored Tanager, two strikingly Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Wood Partridge, Resplendent colored birds, often accompany Lodging at Hotel La Casona Quetzal, Black-vented Oriole, Gray- breasted Wood-wren, Sparkling- them, while brushy roadside edges tailed Hummingbird, Great provide habitat for the perky Day 4, Birding Opatoro-Guajiquiro Swallow-tailed Swift, Northern Rufous-browed Wren and dapper Biological Reserve: Flicker, Black Thrush and White- Blue-and-white Mockingbird. Today will be a full day of birding faced Quail-Dove. Flowering bushes attract a variety the Opatoro area. We depart at of highland hummingbirds such 5:30 AM for the Opatoro-Guajiquiro Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner as the near-endemic Green- highlands, which feature the Lodging at Hotel La Casona breasted Mountain-gem and highest elevation forest accessible more widespread White-eared by road in Honduras, providing Hummingbird. Page 3 • The Spectacular Bird Diversity of Honduras Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner at Los Gloriales Inn Day 6, La Tigra National Park: Established in 1980 as the first national park in Honduras, La Tigra National Park protects a large tract of cloud forest in the mountain range above the bustling capital city of Tegucigalpa. After breakfast we’ll ascend to this verdant forest cloaked in moss and blowing mist, and pursue a varied assortment of Mesoamerican specialties occur such as Singing Quail, Mountain Trogon, and Black Thrush. Forest clearings and brushy areas often feature an abundance of flowers which may attract some of the most distinctive and beautiful hummingbirds in Central America: Garnet-throated Hummingbird, Amethyst-throated Hummingbird, Lovely Cotinga and the incredible Wine-throated Hummingbird. Finally, the Central America, the Ocellated of eastern and western Honduran spectacular Resplendent Quetzal, Quail. species. Access here is easy, and a bird venerated by the ancient much of our birding will be along Aztecs and Mayas due to its great We’ll arrive our hotel in La Union in roads and ample trails, in areas beauty, also dwells in this forest. late afternoon, and will bird along very few birders have seen, and The subspecies found here is the way, looking out for species seeing birds that have rarely if ever slightly larger with longer and such as; White-tailed Hawk, White- seen people. broader ‘tail streamers’ than the breasted Hawk, Double-striped one found in Costa Rica. Thick-knee, Canivet’s Emerald, Thanks to the discovery of a large Orange-billed Nightingale Thrush, population of these birds in 2008 Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Lesser Roadrunner and more. near La Union, the rare and highly Lodging at Los Gloriales Inn sought after Ocellated Quail is now Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner perhaps easier to see in Honduras Lodging at La Muralla Hotel than anywhere else within its Day 7, La Tigra National Park to limited range. We will focus our Olancho: Day 8, Birding Olancho and La time here on obtaining views of After some early morning birding Muralla: this shy inhabitant of pine-oak near our lodge for any outstanding woodland, searching proven sites La Muralla National Park is a species, we continue our journey where this species is most often remote, virtual island of transitional north to the department of Olancho recorded. With a bit of luck and tropical forests, combining pine- where we will be in position to see skill, we stand a good chance of oak, broadleaf, and pine forests in one of the most poorly known and seeing this holy-grail bird. If we one, providing home for a rich mix most sought after birds in northern manage to see the quail well, we Page 4 • The Spectacular Bird Diversity of Honduras doing some light birding around the grounds and gardens of the luxurious Indura Lodge. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Lodging at Indura Lodge Day 11, Birding Lancetilla Botanical Gardens: Our first day at Indura will begin at 6:00 AM, with an early breakfast and a short drive to Lancetilla, just 10 minutes away. For the next several hours our guide will lead us throughout the gardens, Ferruginous Pygmy Owl spotting numerous bird species that are common in the early will move on to explore the nearby Manakin, Slaty Antwren, Plain hours.

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