After five hours on buses and vans, we arrived at Jocotan (about half an hour from the Honduras border east of Chiquimula) in a pouring thunderstorm. Fortunately, the rain dropped several species of swifts down from their normal foraging areas higher up in the mountains. From my window at the hotel I was able to identify two Great Swallow-tailed Swifts, two Black Swifts, two smaller White-chinned Swifts, as well as 20 additional Cypseloides sp. swifts flying about in the rain before dark. 30 Lesser Goldfinches came in to roost in a tree near my window, and I was also able to spot two Blue-gray Tanagers, one Yellow-winged Tanager, a Great Kiskadee, two Tropical Kingbirds, and a male Purple Martin with a couple other Progne (probably Grey-breasted Martins) martins roosting on the cell tower in front of the hotel. Finally, some real Central American birds!
Friday, September 15, 2006
Swifts in Jocotan
After five hours on buses and vans, we arrived at Jocotan (about half an hour from the Honduras border east of Chiquimula) in a pouring thunderstorm. Fortunately, the rain dropped several species of swifts down from their normal foraging areas higher up in the mountains. From my window at the hotel I was able to identify two Great Swallow-tailed Swifts, two Black Swifts, two smaller White-chinned Swifts, as well as 20 additional Cypseloides sp. swifts flying about in the rain before dark. 30 Lesser Goldfinches came in to roost in a tree near my window, and I was also able to spot two Blue-gray Tanagers, one Yellow-winged Tanager, a Great Kiskadee, two Tropical Kingbirds, and a male Purple Martin with a couple other Progne (probably Grey-breasted Martins) martins roosting on the cell tower in front of the hotel. Finally, some real Central American birds!
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