Pelicanos

The Caracaras mentioned in the last post were found on the edge of a small lake that I discovered, purely by chance. I'd spied the lake from a few hundred metres away, and assumed the white blobs on it were merely Egrets - fine birds, but nothing to get excited about.

Closer inspection revealed that there were Egrets (Great, Snowy and Cattle) around the lake, but the blobs I had seen were in fact a huge raft of American White Pelicans. They winter in Mexico, but I had never expected to see so many within a bike ride from home. (Co-ordinates 20.560374,-99.95121)

American White Pelicans - Tequisquiapan

White Pelicans fish in large groups, dipping their huge beaks into shoals of fish. I watched them for a bit, as soon as 1 group found a school and started 'fishing', the rest of the birds on the lake realised something was happening and flew in to join them.

This rich body of water held some other water birds as well. American Coots, 30 Green-winged Teal, 8 Northern Shoveler, 6 Ruddy Duck and a nice group of American Wigeon.

I walked around the edge of the lake and was lucky enough to find a mixed flock of American Wood Warblers. It contained a few Yellow-rumped Warblers, 1 Wilson's Warbler, 2 Orange-crowned Warblers, 1 Black-and-White Warbler (the first I've seen away from the coast) and, best of all, 1 Common Yellowthroat (lifer).

Orange-crowned Warbler

Also perched up in the early morning Sun were a few Eastern Meadowlarks, another long overdue lifer in these parts.

Other interesting birds around the lake included Great Blue Heron (2), White-faced Ibis (flocks numbering up to 600), Common Ground Dove, Grey Flycatcher, Say's Phoebe, Loggerhead Shrikes, Spotted Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs (4) and Killdeer (3).

More to come on a superb day.