K' u m a r c a a j
Last visited
10th April 2006
This is not really a major birding
site and I have only made one brief visit, but I include it because
it has some good highland birds and it is an archaelogical area
visited by many tourists. It is close to the town of Santa Cruz
del Quiché (or just Quiché for short), which lies
19km to the north of the tourist destination of Chichicastenango.
The ruins are the site of the ancient Mayan capital of the Quiché
(the main Mayan group in the region). The ruins are of little interest
to anyone who has seen the impressive structures further north in
the Yucatan Peninsular such as Tikal (where the underlying rock
is limestone, allowing a strong building material compared to the
weaker volcanic rock available in the south), but, unlike Tikal,
this is still an important Mayan site and a small religious ceremony
was being carried out during my visit. Its a pleasant site that
would be of interest to non-birders as well.
The habitat is mostly pine, but
there is a mixture of broadleaved trees that give the bird life
a bit more variety. My sightings are based on only a couple of hours
at the site and I was not there in the early morning, so I expect
that there is probably quite a lot more to be seen.
Access
The site lies a few km to the west of Quiché (N15º01.42'
W091º10.17'). I didn't see any signposts and it would be hard
to explain the directions, but if you ask anyone in town they will
point the way. The road from Quiché is unpaved and a bit
rough in places, though most cars should be able to make it there
without any real difficulty. Lonely Planet gives a number a buses
that regularly go to Quiché from the surrounding area and
hotels in the town. They also say that the only way to get to the
ruins is by taxi, which would cost around $6.50 if they wait for
a couple of hours and then bring you back. It is not too far to
walk, but birding would be limited along the route back.
Species list
(10.4.06)
| English name |
Genus |
Species |
Abundance |
| Turkey
Vulture. |
Cathartes |
aura |
C |
| Lesser
Roadrunner. |
Geococcyx |
velox |
F |
| White-collared
Swift. |
Streptoprocne |
zonaris |
C |
| Vaux’s
Swift. |
Chaetura |
vauxi |
C |
| Blue-headed
Vireo. |
Vireo |
solitarius |
F |
| Steller’s
Jay. |
Cyanocitta |
stelleri |
C |
| Black-capped
Swallow. |
Notiochelidon |
pileata |
F |
| Bushtit. |
Psaltriparus |
minimus |
C |
| (Southern)
House Wren. |
Troglodytes |
(musculus) aedon |
F |
| Brown-backed
Solitaire. |
Myadestes |
occidentalis |
C |
| Rufous-collared
(Thrush). |
Turdus |
rufitorques |
C |
| Blue-and-white
Mockingbird. |
Melanotis |
hypoleucus |
F |
| Gray
Silky-flycatcher. |
Ptilogonys |
cinereus |
C |
| Townsend’s
Warbler. |
Dendroica |
townsendi |
C |
| Black-and-white
Warbler. |
Mniotilta |
varia |
C |
| Ovenbird. |
Seiurus |
aurocapilla |
F |
| MacGillivray’s
Warbler. |
Oporornis |
tolmiei |
F |
| Wilson’s
Warbler. |
Wilsonia |
pusilla |
C |
| Lesser
Goldfinch. |
Carduelis |
psaltria |
F |
| House
Sparrow. |
Passer |
domesticus |
C |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
.: C=Common ; F=Fairly
Common ; U=Uncommon ; R=Rare :. |
)
.jpg'))