The temples built by the Mayans are some of the most sturdy structures in the world. These steps have quite literally stood the test of time. Despite man’s finest creations, nature will find a way to take it back like it always does. We were very fortunate to be admiring the ancient Mayan ruins of the city of Tikal, one of the largest and strongest cities of the Mayan empire. Tikal stood for over 1,000 years, but since its abandonment in 900 CE (common era) the forest has since conquered the city. This world UNESCO site is now one of the best birding spots in all of Guatemala with 57,600 hectares (142,332 acres) of protected land extending down into Belize and up into Mexico, connecting with Calakmul, another ancient city and one of Tikal’s biggest rivals at the time. (A city that we visited a few years back.)
The jungle setting only adds to the ambiance in my opinion and it was slow going for us as we birded our way to the temples. In the two days we spent here, we walked over TWENTY miles (over 32km)! It’s easy to do when you wake up before dawn and the activity never stops. Tikal was an endurance test in the best way.
We started before light by seeing 5 species of nocturnal birds: Mottled Owl, Middle-American Screech-Owl, Northern Pootoo, Common Pauraque, and Yucatan Poorwill. We then entered the National park just as dawn approached. The Great Currassow on the walk in was a fortunate sighting and the most adorable Tody Motmot singing from a branch just at first light was one of the biggest highlights, as it was a bird we talked about wanting to see long before we left home.
And then we walked and walked and walked, birding all along. When we finally climbed out onto the temples, we could see just how far the jungle extended. It was surreal to picture what life must have been like for the Mayans back in their hay-day. We scanned over the temples and then, sitting on the top of Temple IV, sat one of our main targets, Orange-breasted Falcon. If the day wasn’t already a success, it surely was now with this one under our belts.
And then, mid afternoon, while back down exploring the forest, we found a big bird flock. I mean big as in size of bird. This flock was chalk full of woodcreepers, orioles, tanagers, trogons, and other similarly-sized birds. And it was huge. This particular flock held our main target, Black-throated Shrike-tanager, along with four species of trogon! It had so many of our other targets in it as well that it was one of the best moments of the whole day sorting through all of the birds overhead.
The cloud cover made it birdy all day long and without a doubt our first day birding Tikal was one of my most favorite days of birding ever! A Tawny-winged Woodcreeper put on a show followed shortly after by a Northern Barred Woodcreeper attempting to one-up the performance. We had excellent views of Black-faced Antthrush and Northern Schiffornis. In the end we had 122 species for the day! (Here’s the full eBird Checklist for anyone who wants to check it out!)
Conditions were sublime for birding. It was just the right temperature with just the right amount of cloud cover. The temples themselves were a fantastic added bonus to an amazing day where everything seemed to go just right.
Just outside of the park is an abandoned air strip, where we noticed exactly no evidence whatsoever that an airstrip used to exist here. The habitat here is drier and contains a whole slew of different species so we focused the late afternoon/early evening there, picking up Rose-throated Tanager, Gray-headed Chat, Royal Flycatcher, Yucatan Vireo, and Pheasant Cuckoo. (I have to admit I missed the Pheasant Cuckoo as I walked back to the tent about 15 minutes before Ross because I simply needed to sit down. Goes to show, those who take no breaks see more birds!) When we finally hit our tent that night, we were out!
And then we woke up at 4 AM and did it all again the next day, focusing on species we may have missed the first time around. (Checklist here.)
Two days isn’t a long time, but we certainly did the place justice, stepping foot on nearly every trail and visiting every temple. By the end our legs were so tired we could barely walk, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Tikal is one of those places you could visit again and again and still find it mesmerizing.
And because there are simply fewer tourists out and about with COVID-19 still a major concern, we had the place almost entirely to ourselves. Don’t get me wrong, it would still be amazing to see these ruins even if there were people everywhere, but seeing them in their purest form only made the whole thing feel more surreal.
