A week in the Chelemhá Cloud Forest Reserve for training local farmers
for bird monitoring begun with 30 hours of rain, strong winds, chilliness, and fog
... the typical November weather, unusual in March. Within the forest it was
pretty silent; only few bird species were recorded, like Common Bush-Tanager, Chestnut-capped
Brushfinch, Paltry Tyrannulet, Highland Guan, Wilson's Warbler, Yellowish Flycatcher,
Tufted Flycatcher, and Golden-browed Warbler.
Once the bad weather was over, bird life awakened in the cloud forest. We encountered
a female Highland Guan on the forest floor; it ran quickly a few meters through
the understory before flying and climbing from branch to branch into the upper
canopy. Two more females and a male perched in a neighboring tree, tail and
wings half spread to dry their plumage. The view was not perfect, because we
observed against the skylight into the dense foliage.
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Under better conditions I saw two adult male Highland Guans
at dusk in an aguacatillo tree on the opposite side of a small valley. They
balanced with their wings and long tail
to reach the fruit on the outer twigs. The red of their bills, wattles, eyerings,
and legs was shining within the green foliage. Both guans roosted in the same
branches; they were still there at the following dawn.
This was the first morning with gaps in the cloud cover and birds were singing
actively. Several Resplendent Quetzals were calling farther
upslope. I remained on a treefall gap with good view into the canopy. The calls
became louder, the birds were approaching. Suddenly the quetzals flew into the
treefall gap at canopy height, calling and chasing each other. Each of them
landed in the upper branches of a different tree around the clearing. I counted
four adult males with their exaggerated long ornamental plumes, and an immature
male. They were calling for a few minutes before flying off synchronously
and chasing each other farther down slope like a group of teenagers.
In a mixed-species flock several Nearctic-Neotropical migratory birds foraged
together with Common Bush-Tanagers: Wilson's Warbler, Solitary Vireo, Townsend's,
and Black-throated Green Warbler. Also a resident Brown-capped Vireo was in
the same group.
Local Q'eqchi' farmers were preparing their plots for planting corn adjacent to the cloud forest. Secondary
shrub is being slashed with machetes and later it will be burned. A new species
record for the Chelemhá Reserve is Lincoln's Sparrow.
At least 10 were feeding loosely associated with Rufous-collared Sparrows, Prevost's Ground-Sparrow, White-naped
(Yellow-throated) Brushfinch, White-collared Seedeater, and Yellow-faced Grasquit.
Twice we saw a Northern (Guatemalan) Pygmy Owl perched on the
edge between forest and corn field.
The mammal most commonly seen in the cloud forest was Deppe's Squirrel. Also
Mexican Black Howler Monkeys are common in the cloud forest
of the Yalijux Mountain. Although we heard them howling just twice during the
whole week, we had five encounters with groups between three and five individuals.
Along a trail crossing the mountain ridge we found footprints of a Puma.
Some of the late afternoons I stayed at the balcony of the Maya Cloud Forest
Lodge. All species of robins recorded in the area showed up and fed on fruiting
trees: Black, Rufous-collared, Mountain, and Clay-colored
Robin. Two Mountain Elaenias moved through the low
canopy of the secondary forest. Blooming thistles (Cirsium mexicanum),
Fuchsia microphylla, and a species of Ericaceae attracted Amethyst-throated,
Garnet-throated, White-eared, and Magnificent Hummingbirds.
Knut Eisermann
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