Chronicles of a Birders Life List
Over the past 40 years I have had the good fortune to photographically document 85% of the bird species added to my “Life List.” This blog series showcases the images and anecdotal accounts that document those “Lifer” sightings and a little about the environment and culture of the area. This Lifer blog series begins with the first LIFER outside of the US, Lifer #624 and proceeds chronologically forward from there.
A Reflections of the Natural World Blog Post Series by Jim Gain
Gartered Trogon (Trogon caligatus) > Trogonidae > Trogoniformes
IDENTIFICATION: Relatively small and compact yellow-bellied trogon of tropical lowland forest, mainly in humid areas. Perches at mid to upper levels, often high in canopy. Male has yellow eyering, female has broken white eyering; both sexes have narrow black-and-white barring on underside of tail. Female Gartered has white barring on its closed wings which female Black-headed Trogon lacks. Digs its nest in large arboreal wasp nests. Used to be known as Violaceous Trogon.
FIRST “LIFER” OBSERVATION:
Birding with: My wife Maria
Date: 05 Dec 2021 @ Zona Arqueológica Muyil, Quintana Roo, MX
Zona Arqueológica Muyil (Chunyaxché) | MX-ROO
SPECIES GLOBAL eBIRD DISTRIBUTION MAP
Yellow Star indications the location of my Lifer sighting
DETAILS ABOUT SIGHTING: After 4 busy days of exploring so many interesting, but very much packed with people places, Maria and I wanted to return to visit Muyil knowing that it was not going to be very busy. We enjoyed another breakfast at our favorite restaurant, El Rincón Mexicano Muyil. We were not disappointed and pretty much had the whole area to ourselves. As we walked through the park-like entrance area all the way back to the small pyramid and back, we just casually explored the zone, pausing to sit and relax and just listen and enjoy. Over the course of the next 2 1/2 hours, I was able to add 7 new “Lifer” bird species.
4th Lifer – Muyil Visit on 12/5/21: Lifer #659 Gartered Trogon.
Maria and I were watching a female Summer Tanager in the trees above the entrance park-like area when this beautiful trogon was just “POOF” there. We never saw it fly in and it didn’t make a sound. Ever since seeing our first Elegant Trogon together in Madera Canyon, AZ, we have been in love with anything trogon-related. This bird didn’t disappoint!
PHOTOS TAKEN:
All images below, except the first one, were taken at Muyil. The first one below was photographed at Cobá.
Previous 3 posts in my LIFER Blog Series.
Reflections of the Natural World 