I had an absolute MEGA morning at this reservoir near San Juan del Rio today. Presa de la Constitucion has the advantage of being up river from the factories of industrial San Juan, and so its waters are significantly cleaner and full of fish than many others in Queretaro. Furthermore, it has a good combination of deep water, muddy exposed shores and well-vegetated marshland. This myriad of habitats allows a greater variety of bird-life to thrive compared to Presa Centenario in Tequisquiapan, for example.
Where to start? After a day in which I photographed 4 species new for the state of Queretaro? Best to split the birds of Constitucion into categories....
1. HERONS et al.
A group of 50 Black-crowned Night Herons on a feeding flight early in the morning pointed to local breeding. Also present in extremely large numbers were the '3 white egrets'. There were huge numbers of Cattle (200+), scattered Snowy Egrets (20+) and over 50 Great Egrets..
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| Great Egret |
More surprising was just how many Great Blue Herons were present. At least 40 were present, including a group of 11 feeding together in the shallows and a couple more in nearby fields.
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| Great Blue Heron |
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| Great Blue Heron |
Three American White Pelicans loafing in the shallows were a pleasant bonus, as were the masses of Neotropic Cormorants. The presence of pescivores such as these two indicated that the Presa was full of fish..
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| American White Pelicans and Neotropic Cormorant |
There were a few groups of White-faced Ibis present as well, but best of all was this 1st year ROSEATE SPOONBILL seen here with a large group of Cormorants. Roseates are strictly coastal birds in Mexico, with very few inland records. This young bird is a long way from where it should be.
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| Neotropic Cormorants and ROSEATE SPOONBILL |
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| Roseate Spoonbill close up |
To follow...Swallow Spectacle, Ducks and Waders and Passerines!
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