Posted March 22, 2021

This photo was sent from Municipio de Livingston, near Taponcito Creek area, by a friend of park ranger Lucas Cuz.

In our FLAAR research garden (in Guatemala City) the squirrels harvest all the avocados and all the cacao fruits.

Posted January 18, 2021

We found and photographed two Great Blue Herons in the marshes inland from the Pacific Ocean coast of Guatemala. These tule reed marshes and mangrove swamps are west of Monterrico, Guatemala.

Next week we will be looking for waterbirds in Chocon Machacas Nature Reserve, Municipio de Livingston, Izabal, Guatemala, so on the Caribbean side of Central America.

Click to Enlarge It sure helps to have an 800mm prime telephoto lens on a Nikon D5 camera. Because if you get closer, the birds simply fly away. This is not like Florida or other national parks where you can have a blind to hide in; here in the swamps and marshes of Guatemala there is nowhere to put a blind. All photography is from a boat (rocking in the wind and low waves). Photograph by Nicholas Hellmuth, January 17, 2021, FLAAR Photo Archive of Fauna of Guatemala.

We thank Axel Cuellar, CECON, and his colleagues and two sons for helping arrange the boat each day so we could find and photograph diverse species of waterbirds on January 16 and January 17, 2021.

Posted January 12, 2021

We are interested in all flora and fauna that is shown in Classic Maya murals, stelae, ceramics, and figurines. Snakes, white tailed deer, and spider monkeys are the three most common animals in Maya art. There are no rattlesnakes known in the wetlands of the Caribbean part of Guatemala but plenty of pit vipers. Here is a nice example. We are also doing research and photography on all pollinators and we photograph all spiders and insects that we see during our hikes. Our primary focus is on waterbirds, since these are quite often pictured in Classic Maya paintings and on stelae. Rio Dulce and El Golfte, Municipio de Livingston, are great areas for waterbirds.

Click to Enlarge Photograph by Lucas Cuz, park ranger, FUNDAECO, Reserva Natural Tapon Creek using Google Pixel 3 provided by FLAAR Mesoamerica.

Posted December, 2020

Happy Holidays! Our very best wishes to you this festive season. May 2021 bring you peace, joy and prosperity. From all staff members of FLAAR Mesoamerica.

Posted October 28, 2020

Find it in Livingston: Pelican Paradise

Second virtual presentation of FLAAR Mesoamerica Photo Essays.

As you approach the city of Livingston, you will see more pelicans and other water birds in Izabal than any other water area in Guatemala. This is an amazing destination for birdwatching.

One of the goals from the FLAAR Mesoamerica photography team is to document and register different water bird species as a support for the ecological data base. During an expedition in February they managed to capture several photographs of Brown Pelicans. For this reason, the photographic report was made: Paraíso de Pelicanos.

In this second launch the team provided a brief explanation to organize an expedition to photograph birds and tips on photography.

You can see it here:

And you can download the Photo essays, english or spanish, here:

Download Photo Essays

Posted October 21, 2020

There are several basilisk lizards in Guatemala:

• Guatemalan helmeted basilisk, Corytophanes percarinatus
• Golden-colored Smoothhead helmeted basilisk, Corytophanes cristatus
• Yellow Striped Basilisk, Basiliscus vittatus
• Common Basilisk, Basiliscus basiliscus, Peten, Guatemala

Basilisk lizard, Corytophanes cristatus, Municipio de Livingston, Departamento de Izabal, Guatemala, Central America. Notice the change in color on this Corytophanes cristatus, basilisk lizard at Tapon Creek nature reserve, capably managed by Fundaeco, in Municipio de Livingston, photographed Oct. 10, 2020 with iPhone 11 Pro by Nicholas Hellmuth, FLAAR Photo Archive.

While on a field trip to the Caribbean coastal area of the Municipio de Livingston, Izabal, Guatemala, someone noticed a basilisk. UVG university student Boris Llamas identified this as a Corytophanes cristatus. You can see lots of photos of this camouflaged lizard on our webpage.

We are now preparing a photo essay with dozens more photos, especially to show the various colors it changed to (it’s not a chameleon, but it can change from brown gray to green).