Four years ago, on a tour, one of our guests asked us if we did birding tours. Ralph and I replied in unison, "No!".
Then we went up hiking in Capulalpam with my sister-in-law and her husband, and Leon, our guide, asked if we were birders. "No!", in unison, we chanted. He then proceeded to make me think that maybe we could do a birding tour. Over the next five hours of hard hiking through pine forest, he would point out the occasional bird and show us in his well thumbed bird guide. He would lend us his binoculars and take a picture and zoom it in. I started to ask him questions. Bird watching behaviour questions. I am a hiker. Not a speed hiker, I love to stop and look at vistas and mushrooms, flowers and smell the forest around me. But a hiker. Taking 3 hours to walk 2 kilometres was not my ideal of a great outing.
Almost two years ago, we started bird tours. Ralph had gone out with our friend Gail and got hooked on birding, and so we started offering outings. I was the chase vehicle, lunch setter upper, driver and assistant for all things bird related, but Ralph took our guests and together he and the guests always saw a bird that was "Worth the trip!". Like the Vermilion Fly Catcher, for example.
I quickly realized birding was a competitive sport. From long intense binocular discussions to camera debates, to theoretic debates about using an app to "call" the birds with different bird sounds. Which app to use to track, find, look up... endless. As part of building new tours, the "homework" involves going out to new places to consider if it would be worth building a tour to that location, and also figuring our ideal timing, stopping, walking distances. all those good things guests like you to know before you take them walking in the bush.
During this quarantine period we have gone out to bird (once we had the car back!) to Yagul, my most favorite archaeological site in the valley, and taken the side trails to see what birds were hanging around. Last week there were two great horned owls, which were amazing and I could have set up a chair and watched them for hours.
This week, I really enjoyed this little guy, who I named "Betty" before really thinking through that I should pick more masculine names for these fine featured fauna. Betty is a Rufus Capped Warbler. Super sexy, no?
Last year we went birding with a woman from Texas who was talking about when she started birding 30 years ago. In my head I was thinking, "Crap, that is so much experience!" but then I realized that when I am 75, if I started birding today, I could say the same thing! I am enjoying myself. And the Lesser Road Runners.
Then we went up hiking in Capulalpam with my sister-in-law and her husband, and Leon, our guide, asked if we were birders. "No!", in unison, we chanted. He then proceeded to make me think that maybe we could do a birding tour. Over the next five hours of hard hiking through pine forest, he would point out the occasional bird and show us in his well thumbed bird guide. He would lend us his binoculars and take a picture and zoom it in. I started to ask him questions. Bird watching behaviour questions. I am a hiker. Not a speed hiker, I love to stop and look at vistas and mushrooms, flowers and smell the forest around me. But a hiker. Taking 3 hours to walk 2 kilometres was not my ideal of a great outing.
Almost two years ago, we started bird tours. Ralph had gone out with our friend Gail and got hooked on birding, and so we started offering outings. I was the chase vehicle, lunch setter upper, driver and assistant for all things bird related, but Ralph took our guests and together he and the guests always saw a bird that was "Worth the trip!". Like the Vermilion Fly Catcher, for example.
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| Vermilion Fly Catcher. Photo Credit Ralph Gault. May 2020. Yagul. |
During this quarantine period we have gone out to bird (once we had the car back!) to Yagul, my most favorite archaeological site in the valley, and taken the side trails to see what birds were hanging around. Last week there were two great horned owls, which were amazing and I could have set up a chair and watched them for hours.
This week, I really enjoyed this little guy, who I named "Betty" before really thinking through that I should pick more masculine names for these fine featured fauna. Betty is a Rufus Capped Warbler. Super sexy, no?
 |
| Rufus Capped Warbler. Photo Credit Ralph Gault May 2020 Yagul |
 |
| Rufus Capped Warbler. Photo Credit Ralph Gault May 2020 Yagul |
Last year we went birding with a woman from Texas who was talking about when she started birding 30 years ago. In my head I was thinking, "Crap, that is so much experience!" but then I realized that when I am 75, if I started birding today, I could say the same thing! I am enjoying myself. And the Lesser Road Runners.
 |
| Lesser Road Runner. Photo Credit Ralph Gault. May 2020. Yagul. |
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