I glanced at my husband, Dennis Beall, with a big grin on my face as we walked from the airplane to the terminal in San Pedro Sula. The heat of the tropics soaked in to our wobbly and jet-lagged bodies, warming our numb minds. It was late January and after having lived through 57 inches of rain in Northern California so far this year, two weeks birding Honduras was going to be easy to take.
At the baggage claim we discovered that my suitcase and our dive bag had not made it on the airplane. We would be detained for an extra day in San Pedro Sula waiting for the baggage. We picked up our four wheel drive red Mitsubishi at the car rental and headed for the city. We had decided to keep our itinerary loose and other than a reservation for the car and four days prepaid for a stay on the island of Roatan at the end of the trip, we were free as the birds we planned to chase. I picked up a few things to get me through the next day and after an early dinner, we went to bed.
The next morning we woke to the loud shrieks, whistles, babbles and burrs of the Great-tailed Grackle. I jumped up and on my knees on the bed, and opened the window. A pair of Great Kiskadees were busy chasing each other and a Golden-fronted Woodpecker was working on a telephone pole across the street. 'We soon had our binoculars in hand and were birding out the fifth story building window. Who would have thought we would see our first life bird of the trip from our hotel window in San Pedro Sula? A large wren with a bright rufous back soon had all our attention. Dennis grabbed the book and identified it, the Rufous-naped Wren.
After breakfast, we drove toward the Rio Piedras Forest Reserve. 'San Pedro Sula sits at the foot of this protected green watershed. The rich and affluent live in grand haciendas with large grounds at the foothills . We found a children's park next to the water purification center that became our first hot spot. Excitedly, we began ticking off Green Jays, Collared Aracari, and Aztec Parakeets. A majestic Keel-billed Toucan sat at the top of a tree eating fruit with his massive bill, a collage of color. We found a brilliant oriole that had black spots on the breast. Bingo - we had scored our next lifer, The Spot-breasted Oriole. We heard the gurgly chkks of an oropendula. But on closer scrutiny, this one was different from the Montezuma Oropendula. 'It had a bright chestnut head and a pale bill that appeared almost white; we identified it as the Chestnut-headed Oropendula. What a morning, three life birds and we weren't even out of town yet.
The next day, all luggage accounted for, we headed the red Mitsubishi north towards Puerto Cortez. The plan was to take a longer northern route that would eventually drop us down in to Cusuco National Park. It looked good on the map. We were driving past Omoa when I saw a sign, 'Eco Rancho.' I had seen that name listed on the internet before we departed. As a writer, I was intrigued. Dennis and I drove in and met the owner, Cesar Lopez. Eco Rancho is a working finca. 'Mr. Lopez has built two camping cabins, high in the tall green mountains that stand erect and proud above the ranch. He told us that he had a birder friend come out and identify and photograph a Harpy Eagle up in these mountains. He also told us that Pygmy Kingfishers make it their home here. He was in the process of preparing for guests that would be arriving the following week. He also informed us that we could not get to Cusuco. The road would soon put us in Guatemala and then peter out. Graciously, he invited us to stay the night in his hacienda as his guests.
He sent a small muchacho bearing ice water with us up the fragrant forest slopes behind Eco Rancho in search of birds. We huffed and puffed our way up the mountain in the heat of the day. At last we found a flowering tree with many birds actively feeding. We quickly began calling out to each other, 'Yellow Warbler, Black and White Warbler, Yellow-Green Vireo, Black-throated Green Warbler, Scrub Euphonia, Shining Honeycreeper' to name a few. An olive backed bird with yellow underneath came in to view. The head was gray with a thick rufous eyebrow, the Rufous-browed Peppershrike. We didn't really expect to get the Harpy Eagle but it was always in the back of our minds as we kept searching the sky.
That night our host took us and three of his workers to the beach to Masda, a garifuna (black-carib) community, for dinner. We sat next to the ocean, a full moon coming up overhead, our feet in the sand and watched a black lady cook in an open shack. Large steaming plates of fish and plantains fried in coconut oil were served with chilies. We ate until our bellies rolled over our belts.
The next morning after thanking our host and saying our goodbyes, we decided to head south to Lake Yajoa, Honduras' largest natural lake. According to our guide book and what we found off the internet, Hotel Agua Azul was a must for bird watchers. The hotel accommodations are definitely basic. The attraction are the grounds, and the large outside restaurant veranda that overlooks many old trees with outstanding views of the lake. This could be developed into a birder's hotel and in time, I'm sure it will. Bird feeders would be a grand addition. We stayed two days there and from that veranda we saw Bare-throated Tiger Heron, Limpkin, Common Moorhen, Greater Pewee, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Rufous Mourner, Southern House Wren, Yellow-throated Vireo, several North American warblers, Buff-throated Saltators, Ocher-bellied Flycatcher, and the Masked Tityra. A Turquoise-browed Motmot sparkled in the sun as he twitched his tail revealing his two distinct racket-tips adding another life bird to our list.
We turned the Mitsubishi north towards Tela, a banana port with clapboard houses. Just south of Tela is the Lancetilla Botanical Gardens. United Fruit established this center in 1926 with the guidance of the famed William Popenoe. Today it is one of the largest and most important botanical gardens in the world and besides the gardens, it has a huge area of unexplored secondary growth and this attracts the birds. Dennis and I spent many hours birding these gardens. We discovered that the road into the Visitor's Center was often more attractive to birds. Some of the notable birds we spotted there were White-crowned Parrot, Spectacled Owl, Squirrel Cuckoo, Black-headed Trogan, Streak-headed Woodcreeper, Great Antshrike, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Cinnamon Becard, Rose-throated Becard, Yellow-throated Euphonia, Yellow-winged Tanager, Scarlet-rumped Tanager, and six different species of orioles.
Punta Sal National Park is located in close proximity to Tela. This beautiful peninsula has untouched beaches and high rugged cliffs. We had made plans to go to Punta Sal the next day. However, as it happens in the tropics, it began to rain and it rained hard for three straight days. Not to be deterred, we attempted to go to sea in a storm in swelling waves in a dugout boat with motor and a Garifuna as a pilot. Our pilot Hector Ramos turned back. He took us to Los Micos Lagoon instead. This lagoon is the nucleus of Punta La Sal National Park, a wildlife refuge for abundant marine life and over 342 species of birds. In pouring down rain, we drifted past many Garifuna dugouts with soaked fishermen. Our birding that day was a wipe-out. We did manage to see a Mangrove Warbler and a Northern Waterthrush. But the highlight was seeing two endangered White-faced Monkeys. I will never forget watching one pat the rain from the top of his head, just as I had been doing all day.
Our next adventure was at the Punta Izopo Wildlife Refuge. This was an excursion that involved sea kayaking to the mouth of the Rio Hicaque. There we surfed in and began the trip upstream. The weather was ominous but it was not raining yet. The Rio Hicaque is a maze of mangroves, where trees rise out of black inky water and bromeliads and orchids explode with color in contrast to the green background. It became very quiet and then the skies discharged their buckets of water once again. Families of Howler Monkeys raged and roared their protests. We saw few birds but the trip was saved for me when I heard an explosion of wing beats and turned to look up, just in time to see a Boat-billed Heron take off. It was a life bird that I have been waiting to see for a long time.
Fortunately, the weather improved on the day we took off in a small airplane to go to Roatan, famous for its coral reefs. It was there where we picked up most of our water birds that we missed due to the rain. We visited Carabola Botanical Gardens. Birding along the creek bed was excellent and Dennis was thrilled when he found a North American warbler that he had never seen, a Worm-eating Warbler.
There is no one field guide for Honduras. Before we left, we pondered what books to take with us. When traveling by air, weight becomes a factor. We ended up taking Peterson's Field Guide to Mexican Birds, Irby Davis' Birds of Mexico and Central America, and Stiles and Skutch's Birds of Costa Rica. We should have included Curson, Quinn, and Beadle's Warblers of the Americas. We ended the trip with 20 North American warblers and since many of them are eastern warblers in winter plumage, we were often confused. We were disappointed in our hummingbird count. We only saw four species, Little Hermit, Fork-tailed Emerald, Cinnamon Hummingbird, and the common hummer, the Rufous-tailed Hummingbird.
Our Birds of Prey included Osprey, Hook-billed Kite, White-tailed Kite, Common Black Hawk, Gray Hawk, Crested Caracara, Barred Forest-Falcon, and Collared Forest-Falcon.
Birders flock to Costa Rica and Belize when they go to Central America. Costa Rica was the first Central American country to realize what natural treasures they possessed and led the way to eco-tourism. Belize was soon to follow. Honduras is at the beginning brink of paving the way for protection of their natural resources and developing eco-tourism. It has not always been that way. Many years of military rule and 'Contra' opponents of the Sandinistas supported by American funding and troops, kept this land in chaos. Now Honduras is a free country with elections and is ripe for tourism. As the second largest country in Central America, Honduras has given national park status to 18 natural wonders. Many of these parks are not set up yet for visitors on their own, and access is difficult.
Dennis and I first visited Honduras five years ago, six months after the 'Contras' left. We found the people gentle and curious to know American people, other than American soldiers. There were no postcards or souvenirs to buy. Today, San Pedro Sula is a thriving city with shopping centers, 'Pizza Huts,' and 'Burger Kings.'
Birding Honduras is definitely for the more adventurous birders at the present time.There are no bird watching tours to Honduras. Being able to speak a little Spanish is a great advantage. The paved highways are in excellent condition but the back roads, especially during the rainy season, should be driven with a four wheel drive. The maps are often wrong and there are few signs. But for those who want virtually untouched white sand beaches, a kaleidoscope of tropical birds, and people as warm as the weather, then Honduras is for you. Who said Honduras just has bananas?
To make reservations at Hotel Agua Azul, telephone 573-9821or Fax 572-2763. It is located at the northern part of the lake. Look for the sign 'Las Brisas del Lago' and turn there. The hotel is located 4.3 Kilometers from the turn off. Rates begin at $21US and are subject to change.
Hotel Honduras Plaza, 6 calle, 4 Ave., is a new hotel and an excellent choice for staying overnight in San Pedro Sula. It is off the main plaza but in walking distance to the center of town, the Archeological Museum, and the market. It is less expensive than the better known, Gran Hotel. Rates start at $75US a night and are subject to change.
In Tela, there are many inexpensive hotels. However, they usually come with cold water and shared bathrooms. The site of Hotel Telamar is where the banana-company families resided. Accommodations are in clapboard cottages set above the ground on stilts and the romantic setting of the past surrounds the guests. Rates begin at $60 a night for rooms and $110 for villas and are subject to change.
To book tours to Punta La Sal, Laguna de los Micos, and Punta Izopo Wildlife Refuge, contact Garifuna Tours at (504) 48-2904; Web: http://www.garifuna.hn. The office is on the main street across from the central park.
Pamela Conley was an international flight attendant for 18 years and an international travel consultant for a major insurance company for eight years. She is now a freelance travel writer and has a weekly nature column in a regional newspaper, The Bodega Bay Navigator. For Planeta.com, she has written the following articles: Birding the Banana Republic, Birding the Highlands of Honduras, Birding Two Diverse Rain Forests in Costa Rica, The Garifuna: A Changing Future. She can be reached via email: chukartales@thegrid.net.
Her husband's book, Field Checklist of the Birds of Honduras is a great asset for any birder and a bargain at only $3.50. You can get a copy from the American Birding Association Book Store or direct from the author.
Eco Travels in Honduras
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