Name: Classic Honduras Birding Tour
Location: Honduras

Beaks and Peaks

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6 reviews

Duration: 14 days

Group size: 1 - 8

Classic Honduras Birding Tour

Honduras

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Beaks and Peaks

Email address verified
Facebook verified
Twitter verified

6 reviews

Duration: 14 days

Group size: 1 - 8

This Honduras’ Birding Tour was elaborated for the more avid birders. We will have time to learn about culture, history, and nature in general, but the focus is clearly on seeing a variety of great Honduran bird species. Also, though you don’t have to be an athlete, the trip does require a general level of fitness, as some of the walks can be a bit more strenuous, especially in El Cedral during our cloud forest day. The trails are not difficult and no special experience is necessary, but you should be able to walk while birding – of course at a slow pace and with many stops as we will be birding all along the way.

Honduras is the heart of Central America. The country is sandwiched between Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua. It has a long coastline in the north, on the Caribbean Sea, and a small piece on the Pacific coast in the south, the Gulf of Fonseca. The capital is Tegucigalpa, often abbreviated to Tegus. San Pedro Sula is the second largest city in the country and the economic center. Other towns of any size are La Ceiba on the north coast and the twin cities La Esperanza and Intibucá in the central highlands.

Honduras is a mountainous country (the highest point being Cerro de las Minas in Celaque NP, towering 2849m above sea level), with a whole range of vegetation and habitat types: rainforest, deciduous forest, pine forest, mangrove, sandy beaches (pearly white on the north coast, volcanic black in the south), cloud forests, and so on. That diversity in ecosystems also explains the huge variety of birds (776 species to date, and more are being discovered regularly), insects, plants, mammals...

Since Honduras has not yet been discovered by the big crowds of tourists, there are still many unspoilt natural places. Here you can still spend hours or days wandering the mountains and forests without ever encountering even one other person. Honduras is therefore a paradise for any nature lover.

Copán Ruins is where our Honduras birding adventure is going to start. Copan is located in western Honduras, 14 kilometers from the El Florido border with Guatemala. For many years, Copán Ruins have been famous for its magnificent Mayan ruins, declared by UNESCO as Archaeological World Heritage Site in 1980. Today Copán Ruins is considered the Paris of the Mayan world in Central America.

Copán. It is not the largest site, and doesn’t boast the highest pyramids, but it is culturally incredibly advanced. The sculptured stelae and hieroglyphic staircase are of unparalleled value to archaeologists. The world’s biggest archaeological cut allows you to see the different layers of Mayan architecture, and witness how colorful the acropolis once was. Birds such Red-throated Parakeets (green Parakeets) Turquoise-browed Motmot, Spot-breasted Oriole, Bushy-crested Jay and more wonderful birds can be found here.

Rising majestically above the beautiful Lake Yojoa in central Honduras are two of the country’s more impressive mountain ranges: Montaña Santa Barbara and Cerro Azul Meámbar. Here the combination of limestone and volcanic landscapes surrounding the lake supports a rich diversity of habitat types — including freshwater wetlands, pine-oak forest, lowland rainforest and cloud forest — and a corresponding diversity of plants and animals. Some species of interest we can find here are the Keel-billed Motmot, Prevost ground-Sparrow, Resplendent Quetzal, Emerald-chinned Hummingbird, Barred and Collared Forest-Falcons, Collared Araçari, Blue-crowned Motmot, Masked Tityra, Crimson-collared Tanager, Northern Barred Woodcreeper.

The north-facing coast is characterized by long beaches interspersed with rocky headlands, coastal wetlands and mangroves and the coastal mountain ranges of Nombre de Dios and Pico Bonito National Park. The extensive rainforest of these mountains harbors a wealth of top species including the Shining Honeycreeper, Yellow-bellied Tyrannulet, Long-billed Hermit, Crowned Woodnymph, Rufous Mourner, Black-and-White Owl, Purple-crowned Fairy or Tody Motmot, whereas the mangroves are home to specialties such as American Pygmy Kingfisher, White-necked Puffbird, or Agami Heron.

Cayos Cochinos (Hog Cays) a Natural Marine Monument and is located 20 km from the garifuna village of Sambo Creek and consists of 2 big cays and 13 smaller cays. Here you can go hiking in search of the endemic Pink Boa, or go snorkeling, birdwatching or just relax on the white sand beaches the cays offer to its visitors. The Honduras Coral Reef Fund jointly with the Forestry Institute comanage a fully equipped scientific station in Little Hog Cay. Some birds we will find here Smooth-billed Ani, White-crowned Pigeon, Yucatan Woodpecker, Mangrove Cuckoo, Caribbean Dove, Yellow-lored Parrot, Red-breasted Merganser, American Golden Plover, Short-tailed Nighthawk, Central American Pygmy-Owl, and many terns and boobies.

Day 1
Day 1
Arrival at San Pedro Sula Airport.
Today we meet in the airport, I will take you too the hotel so you can rest and be prepare for the drive to Copan. We are going to have a welcome dinner this night.
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Day 2
Day 2
Transfer to Copan\ Hacienda San Lucas
4-hour drive to Copan, Honduras, with a few stops for gas, toilet service and to stretch our legs along the way. The border cross-ing into Honduras in the afternoon is usually quick and easy. Copán lies in a fertile valley traversed by the Copán river, boarded by hills covered in dry pine and mixed forests.
Nestled in the hills above the tranquil Copan Valley, Hotel Hacienda San Lucas is a 100-year old family-owned retreat uniquely situated directly above the world-renowned Maya ruins of Copan. Hacienda San Lucas is a 100-year old property that was converted into an eco-lodge in 2000. Owned for many years by the Cueva family, the hacienda is situated on 300 acres of pristine tropical forest in Western Honduras, and overlooks the renowned Maya Ruins of Copan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The hacienda was lovingly restored by hand to its original design using only local materials, techniques and labor.
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Day 3
Day 3
Birding at the Archaeological World Heritage Site of Copan.
The UNESCO World Heritage site of Copán Ruínas offers a grand combination of Mayan history and a beautiful natural setting including easily viewed Scarlet Macaws. Although not the largest Mayan city, Copán was the principal Mayan cultural center during the 400 years when the city was at the peak of its development. It was far ahead of other larger Mayan cities in its development of sculpture, astronomy, and hieroglyphic writing.
The Mayan city of Copán as it exists today is composed of a main complex of ruins with several secondary complexes encircling it. The main complex consists of the Acropolis and five important plazas. From what is known today, the sculpture of Copán appears to have attained a high de-gree of perfection. The Acropolis, a magnifi-cent architectural complex, appears today as a large mass of rubble which came about through successive additions of pyramids, terraces and temples. The world’s largest ar-chaeological cut runs through the Acropolis. In the walls of the cut, it is possible to distin-guish floor levels of previous plazas and cov-ered water outlets. The construction of the Great Plaza and the Acropolis reflects a pro-digious amount of effort because of the size of its levelled and originally paved expanse of three hectares.We will have a guided tour through the ruins by a knowledgeable local specialist. After a full morning of archaeology, we will have some birdwatching opportunities around the grounds. The biological diversity found in the area surrounding Copan allows for excellent birding: White-throated Magpie-Jays, White-fronted Parrots, Elegant Trogon, Rufous-naped Wren etc. are some of the spe-cies of interest here.We’ll then enjoy a delicious dinner at Haci-enda San Lucas.
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Day 4
Day 4
Transfer to Lake Yojoa\Panacam Lodge.

After breakfast, we drive to our hotel PANACAM Lodge. Once we are settled, we have time for af-ternoon birding around the Lodge in search for the Black-crested Coquette, Barred Forest- Fal-con, Collared Araçari, Keel-billed Motmot, Blue-crowned Motmot, Masked Tityra, Crimson- col-lared Tanager, Blue-crowned Chlorophonia, White-throated Thrush, Long-billed Hermit, Vio-let Sabrewing and more.
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Day 5
Day 5
Birding Panacam Lodge
Starting early with coffee or tea, the morning will start with some birdwatching around the gar-dens and birding tower. Species such as Keel-billed Motmot, Northern-barred Woodcreeper, Black-crested Coquette, White-collared Swift, Lesson’s Motmot and more.We’ll have breakfast at the hummingbird deck with a lovely view to the lake. After that we will keep birding for another hour or so and then head down to the lake, to El Cortijo del del Lago, a great place for waterbirds, warblers, tanagers, hummingbirds etc. And they serve excellent fish for lunch!After lunch, we will visit el Sendero la Naturaleza. This trail has many wonderful bird species such as: Golden-hooded Tanagers, Olivaceous Piculet, Green Honeycreepers and more.
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Day 6
Day 6
El Canal\Archaelogical Park
Today we do a wonderful boat trip to the Lake, local fisherman take us in this great birding adventure searching for more great species such as the Masked Duck, Least Bittern, Fork-tailed Flycatcher, Black-crowned Tityra, Green-backed Sparrow, Rufous-breasted Spinetail, Grey-breasted Crake and others. We will have breakfast at the D&D Brewery. After breakfast we will visit different locations and after lunch we will visit Los Naranjos.

Visiting Los Naranjos Archaeological Park will give you an insight in the Lenca culture, all the while chasing a host of specialities such as the beautiful Rufous-naped Wren, Rufous- and-white Wren, and Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture. As we walk along the trails, we will be surrounded by Montezuma and Chestnut-headed Oropendulas, we are going to have dinner at the Lodge.

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Day 7
Day 7
Resplendent Quetzal at El Cedral.
El Cedral will be or next location, Leonel Chavez is protecting a big extension of cloud forest, next to Santa Barbara National Park. Several special hummingbirds such the Wine-throated Hummingbird, Rivoli's Hummingbird, Green-throated Mountain-gem and of course opportunities to see the Resplendent Quetzal and other cloud forest species.

We will wake up early and drive for about an hour, we will have breakfast at Leonel's place.
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Day 8
Day 8
Bird at Eco-finca Luna Del Puente and Honduran Emerald spot.
Eco-Finca Luna del Puente is a coffee and cocoa farm and a private nature reserve. Its main objective is protecting the environment by raising awareness of biodiversity and applying sustainable agroforestry practices. The finca has also created some excellent birdwatching trails, which we are more than happy to explore. We will be on the lookout for Northern Potoos, Green Jays, Blue-throated Goldentails, Tody Motmots, White-collared Manakins, Prevost’s Ground-Sparrows, Yellow-billed Caciques and more.

As the owner of the Finca, Cecilia, also serves an excellent breakfast, we enjoy a traditional Honduran típico before going to El Cajon in the Quest of the Honduran Emerald endemic bird of Honduras.
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Day 9
Day 9
Transfer to Pico Bonito Lodge
We have a long drive today. After breakfast we will drive to Pico Bonito Lodge.

Will be a good chance to rest. We are going to stop in Tela for lunch in a Garifuna community, where we are going to enjoy a delicious fish or sea place at the beach.
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Day 1

Arrival at San Pedro Sula Airport.

Today we meet in the airport, I will take you too the hotel so you can rest and be prepare for the drive to Copan. We are going to have a welcome dinner this night.

Beaks and Peaks

6 reviews

Beaks and Peaks is an ethically and ecologically responsible birding and adventure tour company based in Gracias Lempira, Honduras. Sustainability, authenticity and diversity are the core values our company is built on. In combining the extensive knowledge and experience of Latin America’s very best guides and naturalists with the hospitality and authenticity of the local communities we strive to create a successful, productive partnership that benefits all.

This was my first trip to Honduras and William, GM and Tour Leader at Beaks and Peaks was awesome! He is an incredibly knowledgeable birder. The finest birding guide I have ever had the pleasure of working with. For the first few days, almost every bird was a lifer for me, which was to be expected. I'm sure we didn't miss a single species! William knew just where to expect certain species and we also saw a few very rare birds. Our trip began normally enough, but midway through, the country was locked down because of the virus, COVID-19. William kept informed and we continued to bird as planned. William took very good care of us and went above and beyond the duties of guide to help us feel worry free in this crazy time. He made sure we weren't left stranded and looked after us like family. I'm not sure what we would have done without his help. We were lucky to have Katinka, Operations Manager and Tour Leader join us at the end of the tour. Their combined expertise is amazing! I would recommend this tour, it was wonderful. The country was beautiful, the lodges were first rate, and the food was phenomenal. I can't say enough good things about William and Katinka of Beaks and Peaks.

By Joan V for Lake Yojoa & North Coast on Apr 03, 2020

We have recently returned from a wonderful 18 day holiday with Beaks and Peaks. The focus of the first five days was Mayan culture and we had a spectacular time at Tikal in Guatemala and Copan in Honduras. Our Mayan guides at both sites were superb with a wonderful ability to bring the ancient ruins to life. William of B&P included some super birding in and around the ruins and the whole experience was truly memorable. This was helped greatly by stays at the Tikal Jungle Lodge and Hacienda San Lucas in Copan. The remainder of the holiday focussed on birding in Honduras. The country is a largely undiscovered gem: great birds especially at migration time, good to very good, clean lodges set in jungle reserves or on the edge of National Parks with excellent food – both local and western. Guanaja was a fitting finale – a beautiful island that hasn’t even made it into the Lonely Planet – white sandy beaches, warm sea, a day trip around the island by boat (there are essentially no roads), some Yucatan bird specials and wonderfully hospitable people and clean well-appointed guesthouses. William was both a good and thoughtful host as well as being an excellent bird guide. Through his contacts we met many interesting people and had a chance to learn something of the culture and history of the region – from the founding of the State of Honduras to the details of growing coffee and making chocolate. We drove from Copan in the west, via Gracias, La Esperanza, Lake Yojoa and the Panacam Lodge, to Pico Bonito Lodge between Tela and La Ceiba. Quite a lot of driving, but the roads were generally good. We flew from La Ceiba to Guanaja and back – about 30 min flight. The only downside to the trip was an unexpected 3-day cold front from the north which brought lots of rain and unseasonably cold weather – which meant we missed a few birding possibilities. It was nevertheless a first class trip.

By John G for Mayas and Birds 2020 on Feb 08, 2020

My recent bird photography excursion to beautiful Central American country of Honduras has proven to be quite fruitful. Yielding a great number of exotic bird species to my lifer list thanks to the amazing team of William Orellana and Katinka Domen of Beaks and Peaks. This adventure tour company is by far the most hands on, professional, knowledgeable, friendly, attentive and accommodating outfit I have had the pleasure to employ. I always felt safe and in good hands with William throughout my 5 day private excusion. Catering to off the beaten path adventures (both private and small groups), Beaks and Peaks takes you to places no one else goes. This exotic central American country still has unspoiled natural places where you can spend hours, days trekking through mountains and forests without ever encountering another person. You can truly feel one with nature. A true nature lovers paradise. William (aka, to me as the "bird whisper"), along with Katinka have an amazing nack of locating birds, coupled with their extensive knowledge of birds will make your experience truly one you will never forget. William's enthusiasm and unrelenting commitment and love of birding, enables you to get the birds you came to see, along with others you didn't expect. Our home base was at a wonderful National Park lodge called Panacam. Within 20 minutes of arriving at the lodge I was able to photograph 12 different exotic species of birds. You can just stay at the lodge and within several feet of you room you can start bird watching or photographing. This place is that amazing. Rooms extremely clean, food very good, and service excellent. Although Beaks and Peaks is located in Honduras, they also organize tours to Equador, Colombia and Peru, and more locations to be added in the future. Staying at top notch lodgings whatever country you choose. With Beaks and Peaks Adventure Tours you are always looked after with top notch professional personal attention and care. With Beaks and Peaks all you need is your camera, binoculars and sense of adventure. Really a great experience!!!!! Carlo @tikimon1021

By Carlo B for Private Photography Tour Honduras on Apr 15, 2019

Our guide Katinka was the best, very knowledgeable, helpful, pleasant and she wanted to do the best that she could for us. The lodges we stayed at were top rate with great food, very helpful staff and comfortable accommodations. The tour was quite strenuous but Katinka on the whole made sure we did not over stress ourselves. She made changes on the fly to take in sites that we were not expecting since we had already seen some target birds elsewhere. Over all it was a wonderful experience. Have to admit the people of Honduras are wonderfully friendly and cheerful. We saw over 320 species of birds including many hummingbirds.

By Otto P for 12-day Honduras Birding Highlights on Mar 23, 2019

This has been a wonderful experience. Having met William and Katinka here in the USA, we were prepared for a rich and thoroughly enjoyable tour, but we could not have imagined how marvelous and personally rewarding it would be. The tour sounded perfect on paper, but still we kept being amazed by all the friendly, interesting local people we met and interacted with, by the many beautiful national parks, world heritage sites, and other cultural sites we visited, by all the incredible birds William (our guide) found for us and his obvious desire that we each see them in the scope and in our binoculars and get to know their habitats and behavior, and by all our deeply thoughtful discussions with William along the way, while driving, and during all the delicious meals. This is a person who deeply loves and cares about his country, is committed to building a more sustainable future from the ground up, and has a passion to transmit his understanding and appreciation of Honduras to others. He engages easily and meaningfully with people from all walks of life, both locals and visitors from afar, and wants to help us to do so too. We also had an opportunity to spend some time with Katinka, who was out with a small group of her own on a different itinerary that intersected with us at one lodging, and it was clear that members of her group felt the same way about her as we did about William. The experience has been truly extraordinary.