In light of today’s horrific events in Kabul I decided to post some old photos that I took in Mexico over the years. The above howler was just outside of the archeological site some 20 meters up near the canopy of the forest. AT the time it was eating leaves and perhaps acorns.
The above hawk was soaring over the archeological site at Palenque. It was difficult metering for the bird and not the bright sky. Obviously it was difficult.
This tanager was eating palm nuts from the porch of the hotel at Coba.
Over the years I have seen many hundreds of Laughing Falcons, but this one, and its family were very special. Susan and I have always traveled with recorders and would make recordings of interesting sounds. This was one of five that we had simultaneously behind the hotel at Coba. In less than 45 minutes we were able to both make excellent recordings of these birds including every known vocalization.
Sorry about the quality of this photo, I have not yet scanned the slide of this bird, or the others that I posted today. All of these photos were donated to the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology website back in the 1990s. At some point in the past I copied them in from UMMZ. Some day I will scan the slides and repost them. But this bird was on the edge of the lake at Coba, at first light, another very challenging photo opportunity. But I did get a decent recording of the bird.
On this sad day I think that we have to all look back at things of beauty that brought joy and relive the day, or times.
More tomorrow…
Michael's Place 