The Backyard Birdman

 I just came across an interesting post from Mike Bergin over at 10,000 Birds he writes:

“Have you ever started your day knowing that the word “mundane” just wasn’t going to apply? That’s how I felt this morning when I woke up in GUATEMALA!  I’m here to participate in the fourth Birding Encounter courtesy of the Guatemala Tourism Commission.  This noble enterprise has been conceived to promote bird watching and ecotourism in Guatemala, a Central American jewel oft overlooked by travelers.  Frankly, I feel that selling Guatemala to birders should be about as easy as selling water to people whose hair is on fire.  We’re talking about a country smaller than Tennessee harboring more than 550 bird species.  The numbers do not lie: Guatemala is a birding paradise”.

The Illusive Quetzal Bird photo by Steve Winter

I am looking forward to more updates on Mike’s trip to Guatemala.  It is a beautiful country with friendly native people.  A real joy to visit.

Here are some pictures of the hand woven wall hanging Brigitte and I brought back from our trip to Guatemala many years ago.  They depict the Guatemalan national bird, the Quetzal that is now endangered.

Close Up

I just read this great article on Will Taft’s blog at:

http://willtaft.com/organic-food/bird-friendly-coffee/

He writes “Recently, when reaching for the organic beans, I noticed a big “Bird Friendly” label on the bag. I thought “Oh that’s cool”, but did not have any idea what it really meant. I had read about the importance of supporting economically and environmentally sustainable coffee producers and importers, and when the choice is available, I will always choose organic food, but this was the first time I had heard of “bird friendly” coffee.”

I am going to do some research and find some bird friendly coffee in my area!

Male Broad-billed Hummingbird (Cynanthus latirostris)

photo by Gregg Scott

I found this photo by Gregg Scott on the Science Blogs site and he actually had a link to a desktop wallpaper size photo that you can download here Hummer .  This is one of the coolest wallpapers I have (and I have lots of ‘um).  The Science Blogs site had lots of cool info on birds too so I put a link to their site in my blogroll.  Go check them out and download Gregg’s Hummingbird wallpaper and go to Gregg Scott’s website to see some great bird photography.