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Jewel of the Tropics: Birding Honduras at Pico Bonito 7

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Jewel of the Tropics: Birding Honduras at Pico Bonito 7 JEWEL OF THE TROPICS: BIRDING HONDURAS AT PICO BONITO 7-NIGHT READER RENDEZVOUS March 13-20, 2018 DAY 1, Arrive San Pedro Sula airport and transfer to Lodge at Pico Bonito An early evening arrival at The Lodge at Pico Bonito usually affords us time to get to know the lodge’s grounds and do some light birding before dinner. DAY 2: The Lodge at Pico Bonito - Lovely Cotingas Our first day at the Lodge at Pico Bonito will begin at 6:00 a.m., with an early breakfast/orientation on the spacious front deck of the lodge’s Itzama Restaurant. For the next several hours our guide will lead us throughout the lodge grounds, spotting numerous bird species that are common in the early hours. A climb to the top of the “toucan tower” observation platform offers a bird’s eye view of the forest canopy that can include heart-stopping views of the coveted lovely cotinga. Throughout the morning we will bird areas of tropical, secondary, and gallery forest, and plantations areas along the Rio Coloradito. Along this route, diversity is the rule, and examples of sightings include lovely cotinga; masked and black-crowned tityras; blue-crowned and turquoise-browed motmots; tody motmot; keel-billed toucan; collared aracari; ferruginous pygmy- owl; black-cowled oriole; black-headed, -1- violaceous, collared, and slaty-tailed trogons; royal flycatcher; green, shining, and red-legged honeycreepers; and 18+ species of hummingbirds, including crowned woodnymph, rufous-tailed hummingbird, violet sabrewing, purple-crowned fairy, stripe-tailed hummingbird, brown violet-ear, green violet-ear, and white-necked jacobin. Lunch at The Lodge at Pico Bonito After lunch and a light siesta, we’ll ascend with our guide along the lodge’s loop trail system in search of the more interior forest birds this rainforest paradise has to offer. In addition to the toucan tower at the trail’s beginning, this route offers an elevated ridge platform, which overlooks the Rio Coloradito and surrounding forested slopes. We’ll also visit observation Tower #3 along the way, set amid an area of bird-rich secondary forest and overgrown plantation. White-collared and red-capped manakins occur at various locations here. Both keel-billed and tody motmots are frequently encountered along this route. Other species include the great curassow; crested guan; slaty-breasted tinamou; little tinamou; scaly-throated leaftosser; keel-billed, emerald, and yellow-eared toucanet; collared aracari; a host of flycatcher species, including the royal flycatcher; and many of the trogon, woodpecker, woodcreeper, tanager, and oriole species on the lodge’s 420+ species bird list. In addition to superb viewing from the lodge’s towers, this route passes several overlooks along the Rio Coloradito, and sightings of many raptor species can be made here. Great and northern potoo are common here as well. Dinner at The Lodge at Pico Bonito -2- DAY 3: Cuero y Salado Wildlife Refuge Cuero y Salado Wildlife Refuge is named for the Cuero and Salado rivers, which meet the ocean here. The refuge comprises more than 35,000 acres of rivers, lagoons, mangroves, and forests that are home to diverse wildlife and a variety of birds exceeding 350 species. We’ll meet our guide early for breakfast, and depart for the refuge by 6:30. Access into this wilderness is via a small, motorized train, which takes us along a century-old track through bird-rich ranchlands, marshlands, and plantation areas, ultimately arriving at the mouth of the Salado River and the refuge itself. Birding from the train is always fun and exciting, as the conductor is eager to stop and point out species of interest along the way. Depending on the season, a variety of raptors, wading birds, and edge-habitat species abound along the railway. Once at the refuge, we will explore the various aquatic and forest habitats from small, motorized skiffs. Our guides and boat handlers are superbly trained spotters, and when needed, prefer to silence our boat’s motor and quietly paddle in for a better look. Agami heron, boat-billed heron, bare-throated tiger heron, yellow-crowned night- heron, tricolored heron, jabiru, pygmy kingfisher, gray-necked wood-rail, laughing falcon, bat falcon, lesser yellow-headed vulture, and sungrebe are but a few potential highlights of a visit to Cuero y Salado. Other wildlife commonly seen here include: black howler monkey, white-faced monkey, lesser anteater, Central American coati, raccoon, green iguana, American crocodile, and spectacled caiman. Note: Due to limited space on the small train and skiffs, we will take this trip in two separate groups, either on the same day or on consecutive mornings. Lunch at the lodge, and afternoon to relax, visit the lodge’s butterfly farm, or birding from the lodge’s decks and gardens. Lunch and Dinner at The Lodge at Pico Bonito. After dinner, we’ll be guided around the lodge’s gardens and plantation areas, where mottled owl, vermiculated screech-owl, black-and-white owl, and both great and northern potoo may be found. We’ll stop by the lodge’s frog ponds and, with luck, encounter red-eyed tree frogs, and keep our eyes out for kinkajous, wooly opossums and other nocturnal wildlife at the lodge’s feeders. -3- DAY 4: Big Sit at Pico Bonito, or Guide’s Choice Our activities on Day 4 will depend on what we’ve seen so far and what we’ve missed. BWD’s own Bill Thompson, III, is itching to do a Big Sit from one of Pico’s birding towers and will welcome Rendezvous participants to join him. The rest of the group will be able to go on a long loop hike into the wilderness area, stick around the Pico grounds for some easy birding, or head to a nearby hotspot in search of new species. In the afternoon, options include a siesta, more birding on your own, visiting Pico’s excellent spa, or booking a snorkeling trip to the nearby offshore islands are also possibilities. Weather conditions will have some say on our Day 4 activities. Lunch and Dinner at The Lodge at Pico Bonito. DAY 5: Hummingbirds of Rio Santiago Rio Santiago Nature Resort is a 150-acre, private preserve located 18 miles west of Pico Bonito. Its secluded, rainforest location and impressive number of hummingbird feeders has made it the “hummingbird capital of Honduras.” Throughout most of the year, Santiago’s trails and main garden areas abound with bewildering numbers of some of Honduras’ best-known hummingbird species. You can stand just inches away from the feeders and feel the wind from the wings of these tiny rockets. Among the species we may encounter are: rufous-tailed hummingbird, cinnamon hummingbird, brown violet-ear, band-tailed barbthroat, violet sabrewing, crowned woodnymph, stripe-throated hermit, long-billed hermit, stripe-tailed hummingbird, white-bellied emerald, and scaly-breasted hummingbird. Black-crested coquette can also be seen on Santiago’s main trail. In addition, both the spectacular keel-billed motmot and rufous-tailed jacamar are frequently seen, along with red-capped and white-collared manakins along Santiago’s trail system. Lunch at Rio Santiago. -4- Afternoon activity options as above. Dinner at The Lodge at Pico Bonito. DAY 6: Lancetilla Botanical Gardens We’ll meet our guide for breakfast, and depart for the Lancetilla Botanical Gardens by 5:30 a.m. Set amid a coastal valley flanked by low, rain-forested hills, the United Fruit Company founded Lancetilla as a station where tropical fruit and wood trees were studied for commercial value. The gardens were founded in 1925, and some of that work continues. However this diverse tropical treasure, composed of a mosaic of forest and edge habitats, is today best known for its superb birding. A typical day of birding here could yield: little tinamou, common black hawk, ornate hawk-eagle, ruddy crake, white-fronted parrot, red- lored parrot, squirrel cuckoo, black-headed trogon, violaceous trogon, collared trogon, turquoise-browed motmot, blue-crowned motmot, rufous-tailed jacamar, great antshrike, barred antshrike, long-billed gnatwren, and a host of other resident and migrant species. We’ll complete our morning at Lancetilla with lunch in the beachside town of Tela, and return to Pico Bonito by late afternoon. Beachside lunch in Tela. Afternoon activities as above. Dinner at Pico Bonito DAY 7: Relaxing day of whatever we wish! Today we’ll have time to revisit The Lodge’s upper and lower trail system, and either try for species we haven’t yet seen, or better looks at some we have. Guests can also choose to relax around the main Lodge grounds and gardens and do whatever they wish. By this time, the spa might be calling your name! Lunch and dinner at The Lodge at Pico Bonito. DAY 8: Breakfast and Departure After our final breakfast, we’ll leave the Lodge at Pico Bonito in plenty of time for return flights departing from San Pedro Sula International Airport. -5- .
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