On December 12 we accompanied young ornithologist Emnet Marroquin in conducting a second bird census at Xibalba. Emnet is resident of one our nearby villages, who one day took a birdwatching course, loved it, then went home and memorized all the native and visitor bird species and their calls. Development of this skill has led him to employment throughout Guatemala and into the country’s most species-rich ecological pockets. Every sighting or vocalization was immediately identified by Emnet and could be accompanied with a comment on the bird’s characteristics, habits, or an anecdote. The eBird app that he uses to record his observations sends them to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology for assistance in monitoring world-wide bird numbers and trends.

This is the second time we have hired Emnet; the first time was on October 10. The reasons for continuing to hire him are related to monitoring of visitor migrant species at various times of the year, to insure accounting of all species, for comparison to species diversity in other types of nearby ecosystems such as cattle pastures and stages of rainforest cover, and for long-term monitoring of species and numbers changes that may reflect increasing tree cover and food species that we are planting at Xibalba.

Birds identified by sight or vocalization on December 12 were the 56 species listed below. In his previous visit of October 10, Emnet counted 78 bird species within 2 hours. These also are listed below.
Numbers and taxa observed on December 12, 2020:
8 Plain Chachalaca
2 Red-billed Pigeon
5 White-tipped Dove
7 Groove-billed Ani
1 Long-billed Hermit
2 Canivet's Emerald
2 Rufous-tailed Hummingbird
3 Black Vulture
1 Roadside Hawk
5 Collared Aracari
3 Keel-billed Toucan
1 Golden-fronted Woodpecker
2 Pale-billed Woodpecker
1 Golden-olive Woodpecker
2 Laughing Falcon
5 White-crowned Parrot
6 Red-lored Parrot
150 White-fronted Parrot -- Big flocks flying
12 Olive-throated Parakeet
2 Barred Antshrike
1 Olivaceous Woodcreeper
1 Stub-tailed Spadebill
3 Northern Bentbill
1 Slate-headed Tody-Flycatcher
1 Yellow-olive Flycatcher
1 Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
1 Least Flycatcher
1 Dusky-capped Flycatcher
1 Boat-billed Flycatcher
2 Social Flycatcher
1 Tropical/Couch's Kingbird
3 Lesser Greenlet
3 White-eyed Vireo
1 Brown Jay
4 Green Jay
2 Long-billed Gnatwren
1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
1 Carolina Wren
3 Spot-breasted Wren
1 White-breasted Wood-Wren
13 Gray Catbird
1 Yellow-throated Euphonia
1 Green-backed Sparrow
1 Black-cowled Oriole
8 Melodious Blackbird
1 Black-and-white Warbler
5 Gray-crowned Yellowthroat
1 Kentucky Warbler
3 Common Yellowthroat
3 Magnolia Warbler
2 Summer Tanager -- Female and male
11 Indigo Bunting
5 Blue-black Grassquit
4 Morelet's Seedeater
1 Yellow-faced Grassquit
6 Black-headed Saltator

Numbers and taxa observed October 10, 2020
1 Little Tinamou
1 Thicket Tinamou
30 Plain Chachalaca
1 Ruddy Ground Dove
3 Blue Ground Dove
1 White-tipped Dove
2 Gray-headed Dove
2 Canivet's Emerald
1 Rufous-tailed Hummingbird
3 Cattle Egret
6 Black Vulture
1 Roadside Hawk
2 Gray Hawk
1 Black-headed Trogon
1 Gartered Trogon
1 Golden-fronted Woodpecker
2 Smoky-brown Woodpecker
1 Pale-billed Woodpecker
18 White-crowned Parrot
10 Red-lored Parrot
60 White-fronted Parrot
12 Olive-throated Parakeet
3 Barred Antshrike -- Vocalizando
2 Olivaceous Woodcreeper
1 Ruddy Woodcreeper
2 Ivory-billed Woodcreeper
1 Plain Xenops
2 Stub-tailed Spadebill
1 Sepia-capped Flycatcher
2 Northern Bentbill
1 Eye-ringed Flatbill
1 Yellow-olive Flycatcher
1 Greenish Elaenia
1 Tropical Pewee
1 Least Flycatcher
1 Dusky-capped Flycatcher
1 Brown-crested Flycatcher
2 Great Kiskadee
2 Boat-billed Flycatcher
2 Social Flycatcher
1 Tropical/Couch's Kingbird
1 Lesser Greenlet
7 White-eyed Vireo
2 Yellow-throated Vireo
2 Red-eyed Vireo
6 Brown Jay
8 Green Jay
1 Long-billed Gnatwren
1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
2 Carolina Wren
3 Spot-breasted Wren
1 White-bellied Wren
1 White-breasted Wood-Wren
1 Swainson's Thrush -- Harmed
1 Scrub Euphonia
1 Yellow-throated Euphonia
1 Olive Sparrow
5 Green-backed Sparrow
15 Yellow-breasted Chat -- Vocalizando y observacion en fragmentos de bosque primario, secundario y guamil
3 Black-cowled Oriole
1 Baltimore Oriole
4 Melodious Blackbird
4 Black-and-white Warbler
1 Gray-crowned Yellowthroat
1 Hooded Warbler
1 American Redstart
8 Magnolia Warbler -- Juvenile
1 Golden-crowned Warbler
3 Red-throated Ant-Tanager
1 Gray-throated Chat
5 Blue-black Grassquit
11 Black-headed Saltator
2 Grayish Saltator