Finally, we’ve come to our last full day in Honduras. We were off on our final big adventure – a snorkeling trip out to Cayos Cochinos, a pair of islands about 19 miles northeast of La Ceiba. Despite the looming dark clouds, the boat ride was fairly smooth as we headed out on the open water.
"La Tortuga" - Turtle Island
Our first stop was within swimming distance of one of the islands. Here, there was great snorkeling. The coral reef surrounding the area (known as the Meso-American Barrier Reef) is the second largest in the world! (The largest is Australia’s Great Barrier Reef). Our guide informed us that Japan previously held the title for second, but that title was gone after use of explosives, likely for fishing. But here, the water was clear and the reefs were healthy and teeming with fish.
Brain Coral
Lettuce Leaf Coral
There's a fish!
Staghorn Coral
More Brain Coral and an urchin
After a lovely bit of snorkeling, we were ready to head over to the next island for lunch and a little bit of birding. As we came closer to the island, we were absolutely mesmerized by the sights above us and on the edge of the island – 35 Magnificent Frigatebirds! These are one of our all time favorite species, and one that we miss dearly from our South Florida days. We had never seen so many, and definitely not in such close range. We were absolutely thrilled!
Oh, just a bunch of Mag Frigs sitting in a nearby tree
Close-up of some Juvenile Mag Frigs
Juv. Magnificent Frigatebird in Flight - Love that tail!
Adult Male Magnificent Frigatebird
We finally were able to momentarily pull ourselves away from the Frigatebirds while the island residents cooked up a fresh catch for lunch. Our guide for the trip then led us around the tiny island in search of Yucatan Vireos and their unique resident, the pink Boa Constrictor.
Freshest of fish lunches with plantains and rice and beans… Mmmmm….
Checkered-Skipper sp.
Fungi
The only pink boa we ended up seeing was the one the local children brought up to our boat upon arrival to have us tourists take pictures of it for tips. We didn’t partake in the activity, and wanted to find one on our own, but alas, it was a no go. However, we were quickly perked up by successfully finding Yucatan Vireos, which have a very limited range within the Caribbean coast and islands of Mexico, Belize and Honduras, as well as Grand Cayman and the Bay Islands.
Yucatan Vireo
Yucatan Vireo with a beetle?
Wild Almonds
After lunch, we once again spent our time adoring the Mag Frigs. One was perched on a pole the whole time we were there, allowing for close, still shots. At one point he was resting that big bill of his on the pole. I guess sometimes one just needs a little rest. Other mag frigs just kept flying by with their powerful, graceful flight.
Up Close and Personal
Just resting
We also saw some familiar faces. Sandwich Terns swooped by, and Brown Pelicans somehow delicately perched on the seemingly fragile palm fronds with their bulky bodies.
Sandwich Tern
A young Brown Pelican pondering life
We headed back to our lodge so completely satisfied with our beautiful day of snorkeling, deliciously fresh food, and amazing views of Mag Frigs.
Adult Male Magnificent Frigatebird skimming the water for food
Juvenile Magnificent Frigatebird
Magnificent Frigatebirds - So many and so close!!!
My favorite bird silhouette
The last outing we had to take advantage of was a night hike around the lodge. We had already seen our fair share of owls, so anything else would have just been icing on the cake. Well, we didn’t pick up any more owls, and no new mammals like we were hoping, unfortunately. But we did get a good listen of and ok looks at the Red-Eyed Tree Frogs as well as a Variegated Treefrog.
Red-Eyed Treefrog
Variegated Treefrog
Spider!
And we unexpectedly found a perching Great Black Hawk! It wasn’t an owl, but still a cool raptor to see from a decent distance! Another beautiful winged creature we somehow found in the darkness was a lovely Clearwing-Satyr of some sort. Its clear wings with just a touch of bright pink and bright blue eye spot was just so pretty.
Great Black Hawk
Blushing Phantom - a type of clearwing-satyr
Hummingbird nest
The next morning, we said goodbye to our beloved Lodge at Pico Bonito, sipping on delicious local coffee and watching the hummers and Olive-backed Euphonias buzz around us one last time. It was a trip we will never forget, and we left with amazing photos, but more importantly, amazing experiences.
We were happy to get a bonus day with our amazing birding guide, German. We stuck around the lodge and hiked around slippery trails. Hiking these trails were some of the hardest I’ve ever walked. Although the trails were well maintained, the rain, the steepness of some of the steps, and the slippery debris compounded with the humidity and mosquitoes was all quite taxing on me, especially when wearing 10+ lbs. of gear. But, despite all of that, it was so rewarding to be in this beautiful, lush place.
Lobster Claw Heliconia Plant
Basilisk Lizard
And of course, we were also rewarded with all of the beautiful birds surrounding us. As we started walking up a trail we had trekked before, we picked up some familiar birds from our trip, like Turquoise-browed Motmot and a female Slaty-tailed Trogon.
Turquoise-browed Motmot
Female Slaty-tailed Trogon
A lizard in the middle of shedding
Metalmark sp.
We also got some new birds, including Violet-headed hummingbird, Tawny-crowned Greenlet, Short-billed Pigeon, White-breasted Wood-Wren, Red-crowned Ant-Tanager, and Wedge-billed Woodcreeper. How fun it is to walk the same trails just a few days ago yet pick up brand new birds.
Wedge-billed Woodcreeper
Butterfly sp.
Some rad red bug
As we kept walking up the trail, German suddenly stopped in his tracks with a gasp. It was a Black-and-white Owl perched in the canopy just ahead of us. During our whole trip, German hadn’t been as surprised and delighted as he was with this bird, so we knew it was a good one! This was the first he had seen during the day, and he had only seen it at night once or twice before in the past few years. This was an absolute treat. This large owl could peer into your soul with those large black marbles for eyes. His bold black and white pattern was only broken up by the bright yellow-orange of his bill and feet.
The piercing stare of the Black-and-white Owl
Black-and-white Owl
This was such a significant finding that German called up the general manager and told him about our finding and where to locate it, marking the ground with a heap of vegetation so that he would know where along the trail to stop.
Black-and-white Owl
Crimson Passionflower with a funky leaf-footed bug underneath its left petals (see next pic)
Awesome leaf-footed bug - Anisoscelis sp.?
We made our way around the trail, but nothing topped that gorgeous Black-and-white owl. We go back to the lodge’s main lobby area and got one last treat before parting ways with German. He somehow spotted a tiny Boa Constrictor stealthily hiding amongst the branches hanging over the raised walkway from the main lobby to the restaurant. The boa had been known to perch there patiently waiting for a tasty little hummingbird to fly by. After snapping some photos of this lovely snake, we bittersweetly said goodbye to German before getting some much deserved lunch.
Female White-necked Jacobin - a potential meal for the Boa
Parting ways with our fantastic guide, German
After some lunch and a quick hammock nap, we head out to some easy, flat trails around the lodge on our own. Around the pool area, there were a pair of adult Collared Aracaris that we had seen hanging out, which we finally figured were a nesting pair. Just feet away from one of the adults in the trunk of a tree poked out a darling little head of a baby Collared Aracari, looking just as sweet and curious as can be with those baby blues. Along the trails, we spotted a Giant Cowbird hanging around, surely waiting around to leave an egg in an Oropedula nest. We were also able to get our best looks ever of the impressive Cocoa Woodcreeper. It’s kinda like a Brown Creeper on steroids crossed with a mid-sized woodpecker.
Baby Collared Aracari
Giant Cowbird
Cocoa Woodcreeper
White Peacock butterfly
As we continued along the trail by the serpentarium, the sun delighted us with its presence, as well as another special treat. Here we had seen a pair of Gartered Trogons a few days before. They were keen on this spot as it housed a large wasp nest full of yummy grubs. This time it was just the male hanging around, but the lighting was much more favorable to really show off the bold and bright colors of this bird. We could see the shimmering iridescent green back the dark violet sheen of its head.
Gartered Trogon
Gartered Trogon with what we think was a wasp larva
Not only was this trogon well-behaved and sat still just feet away from us, it put on quite an interesting display. He would leave his mouth agape (displaying his somewhat serrated bill), and move his head slowly 180 degrees while also slightly tilting his head in different directions and eyes wide open. It was so weird and so mesmerizing. He’d also do a little shimmy and make a little cackling sound every so often, too. We spent a good time photographing him and capturing videos of this oh-so-strange but delightful bird and his behavior.
We ended our day in one of our favorite spots – the tower that overlooked the valley of the rain forest. Here we got to see 200 magnificent White-collared Swifts swoop in front of the verdant hills in the dusky sky. These large swifts were a joy to watch sweeping across the sky with their long, slender wings. It was a brilliant way to end such a fabulous day.
