San Marcos Record, San Marcos, TX

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  • A Nicaraguan cowboy poses with his mule. For more information on the upcoming trip, e-mail Jerry Hall at jdothall@verizon.net.

    Nicaraguan Cowboy
July 28, 2007

Locals birders planning for Nicaragua trip

By Jerry Hall

Proverbs and wise sayings come in handy when you zip around the world looking for birds and enjoying exotic places and colorful people.

For example: “A thing of beauty is a joy forever.” The resplendent quetzal is certainly a thing of beauty. In fact, the male bird is easily the most ornate and spectacular of all the trogons. Truly resplendent with bright green plumage and brilliant red breast, his white and green tail feathers stream down an amazing 24 inches.

My first attempt at seeing this striking bird came in Costa Rica in January, 1997. We were in the Monteverde cloud forest and our group split into two segments at the base of a steep hill. One segment went to the left and the other took a path to the right. Those of us on the left trail saw a squirrel cuckoo; those who went right saw the resplendent quetzal.

As they say: “A handful of luck is better than a sack full of wisdom.”

Or: “If fortune favor you, be not elated; if she frown, do not despond.”

Also: “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.”

I did not despond, after all, the squirrel cuckoo is a fairly neat bird. Instead, I tried again.

About eight months later, I visited Panama, another country where quetzals abide. We were returning in late afternoon from a long bird walk when our guide pointed to a tree just off our path and calmly showed us a resplendent quetzal perched on a limb. The light was a glowing, buttery yellow and the bird stood out in very distinct red, white and green colors. Just lovely. Well worth waiting on.

As they say: “Who changes country changes luck.” Or: “The bird of prosperity has lodged on his head.”

If you have never seen a resplendent quetzal, I have a trip to tell you about – Nicaragua in March, 2008. I can’t promise you’ll see the bird, but the area we’re visiting is home to quetzals – and some 680 other bird species.

I think it will be a great trip, but there’s no guarantee on that, either. As they say: “If an ass goes traveling, he’ll not return a horse.” But it is a lovely country with a varied topography that supports an amazing variety of birds, plants and wildlife. It’s an eight-night trip, sponsored by the Wimberley Birding Society, and we will visit Managua, Matagalpa, Granada, Esteli and Leon. We’ll see lakes, volcanoes, cloud forests, fumaroles and hot springs. We’ll visit a coffee plantation, an open-air native market, a rum factory and a cigar factory.

Cost, with group air from Austin, should be about $2,300 per person, including all meals, guides, transfers, lodging and instructors. As they say: “Money is like manure; of very little use unless it be spread.” Send an e-mail at jdothall@verizon.net.

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