Of Birders and Breaking the Rules
In a prior Tumblr, "A Blue Morpho ... and a Jaguar," I mentioned a trip to the lush rain forest La Selva Maya, or the Mayan Forest of Belize.
The Mayan forest ecosystems are among the richest in the world, extending from Chiapas through the Peten, Guatemala to Campeche, Quintana Roo (Mexico) and Belize. This region includes pine and oak forests to tall evergreens and humid lowlands. Tropical rain forest is the most common environment found there.
I took a trip with a fairly large group of serious "birders" courtesy of Victor Emanuel Nature Tours. La Selva Maya is home to a diverse and truly amazing bird community. We stayed at Chan Chich Jungle Lodge, a perfect choice and very comfortable. I recommend it highly to anyone traveling in this region.
Keep in mind, I was a novice birder. My colleagues carried with them telescopic lenses, sophisticated binoculars, detailed field guides, and years of experience. They were eager to fill-up their "life lists" with new bird species and other wildlife, and to do so before their fellow tourists.
I had drilled myself in the proper etiquette of birders well in advance. The Audubon "Birdist’s Rules of Birding" web page gives you a good idea of what behaviors are expected.
My experience is that birders will stand silently in groups in the midst of a beautiful forest, not far from one another, all staring intently in one direction waiting for a rare bird(s) to come into view, and for significant lengths of time. I quickly became exhausted with this punishing stance. One day, I decided to break ranks.
"Oh, look, what is that bird down the road?"
I had turned in the exact opposite direction to discover a small group of magnificent Great Curassow slowly making their way along the forest's edge.
This turned out to be the case the entire week-long trip. Every evening we would gather for cocktails and homemade beer (delicious!) before supper to report our discoveries and to fill our "life lists." Mid-way through the trip, someone remarked during one of our happy hours:
"Go with her. She is seeing all the really great stuff."
Hence, I have these "hints" for people participating on birding trips:
Without being rude, break the rules once in a while;
Go on walks by yourself now and again (which is how I saw the jaguar), or take a bit longer nap in the hammock on the patio (where I was able to awake to amazing hummingbirds flying around the flowers of the plants nearby);
Do not believe wildlife do not or cannot "see" you when you are standing with a large group of humans bearing funny-looking contraptions like binoculars and cameras with telescopic lenses, standing still for long periods of time.
Case in point regarding the last suggestion: during our trip, a fellow tourist with a magnificent camera (including a two-foot-long telescopic lens) was singled-out by a troop of spider monkeys one afternoon. The others in our VENT Group saw them coming; our colleague refused to budge. He was pummeled relentlessly from the treetops with nuts and other forest detritus! Funny in hindsight, smiles ....
