The first thing you notice in most town parks are the Grackles. San Miguel was no different. If you don't see them, you'll surely hear them. The noisy males perch conspicuously and create a cacophony of sound.
Every time I've been birding this winter in the central Mexican highlands, I've encountered many Yellow-rumped (Audubon's) Warblers. Again, city parks are an excellent place to find these little gems. Less common, but perhaps more impressive are Wilson's Warblers. I had a fantastic male today, but he skipped away before I could get my camera on him.
This Ruby-crowned Kinglet was a bit more confiding.
Like Goldcrests and Firecrests, their relatives in Europe, these guys are tiny, flit a lot and are very difficult to photograph. It was only through some controversial (in a town park) 'pishing' that I got close enough to this one!
There was a lot of tapping on the trunks of some of the bare trees in the park. Golden-fronted Woodpeckers were the guilty party here. This one wouldn't quite hop into the Sun for me.
Mexico is a superb country for Flycatchers, particularly in the insect-rich coastal lowlands. Even up here, though, one can expect to see Vermilion Flycatcher and Cassin's Kingbird every day. There were plenty of both species in Juarez Park today. I also found a Great Kiskadee high in the canopy, a species which I have seen by the coast, but never this far in land.
I was at the park in the middle of the day, so there wasn't a huge amount going on. However, the occasional skyward scan is often rewarded, and here it turned up a bonus lifer.
The small size, and 'sawn-off beak' profile of the above bird led me to presume it was a Chihuahan Raven - relative of the more widespread Northern Raven.
A couple of Snowy Egrets and Broad-billed Hummers were the only other birds I managed today. Still, not a bad haul for 'covert birding'.
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