Violet-crowned Hummer

With the onset of winter, my garden list at Club de Golf has started to expand exponentially. Recent additions have included Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, House Wren and Bewick's Wren. Continuing the trend was this fine Violet-crowned Hummingbird.


Unlike most of the Hummers, the Violet-crowned are quite distinctive and fairly easy to identify. Reading Howell and Webb, I've just found out it's a Mexican endemic. I felt pretty privileged to get an endemic in the back yard!

Fuentesuelas Lago - The Three Teal Challenge

The town of Fuentesuelas is 10km west of Tequisquiapan, and I'd passed it numerous times on a bus, each time noticing a promising looking lake not too far from the main road.

This morning, I packed camera and bins and jogged there - birding along the way. The agricultural land along the Queretaro highway strongly contrasts with the semi-desert that surrounds the rest of Tequis, and consequently, I found a few different species.

The Trupials (Grackles, Cowbirds and allies) love feeding on agricultural waste and were particularly conspicuous. In amongst one flock, I was pleased to find a female Yellow-headed Blackbird. This poor picture has been brightened up to highlight it.

Also along the highway I had American Kestrel (5), Clay-coloured, House and Lark Sparrows (all in large numbers), Vermilion Flycatchers, Lesser Golfinch (10), Yellow-rumped Warbler (16), Loggerhead Shrike (8), Curve-billed Thrasher, all 3 doves, and 2 gorgeous Black-shouldered Kites.

Access to the Lake isn't ideal. The main road to the east of it is private property, so I had to crawl through a dried up tunnel to get close. Certainly worth it. The small lake held some stunning wildfowl. Rafts of American Coots were plentiful, but approximately 100 Pintail, some in stunning breeding plumage, stole the show initially. Some Northern Shovelers dabbled, but they weren't in the same concentration as they are at La Presa.

I walked around the shore and had just cottoned on to a wader flock including 6 Black-necked Stilts, a Spotted Sandpiper and 4 Lesser Yellowlegs (see below), when an angry looking pack of dogs popped up, putting the waders to flight.

I beat a hasty retreat, cursing the dogs, and wondering what I was missing on the other side of the lake. Walking back to the road, though, I saw a small spit teeming with birds. Closer inspection revealed a Great White Egret, some Snowy Egrets and a lot of roosting Pintails. In amongst them were some smaller duck, though. Firstly, Green-winged Teals, very similar to our Eurasian Teals, with only the males easily separable. Sitting very close to them were some beautiful summer-plumaged Blue-winged Teals, showing off their white face masks. Best of all though was a small rusty coloured duck nestled in with the BWTs - my first Cinnamon Teal.

With the 'Three Teal Challenge' duly completed it was time to head back to Tequis, via a stop at the conveniently located (100m down the road from the Lake) Restaurante La Galeria for a well-earned Coke. Interestingly, some introduced Monk Parakeets flew overhead to and from a communal nest in a nearby tree.

Morelia - Holidaying and not getting many birding opportunities

Took an agonising bus trip to Morelia at the weekend, passing a ridiculous amount of good habitat. The bus took the road through the middle of the huge Cuitzeo lake and surrounding marshland. In a car, I'd have stopped and put out some big scans. In the bus, though, I could only get fleeting glimpses of American White Pelicans, scores of Great, Snowy and Cattle Egrets, White-faced Ibises, Great Blue Herons, American Coots, Clarks/Western Grebes and lord knows what else.

Limited birding around Hotel Villa Montana in Morelia brought White-collared Swifts, White-tailed Kite, Turkey Vulture, Orange-crowned Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Western Tanager, Summer Tanager, American Robin, Canyon Towhee and Sharp-shinned/Cooper's Hawk.

White-collared Seedeater

White-collared Seedeaters are spreading.

That's the word..

Once just a bird of the two slopes in Mexico, they can now be found right through the interior.

I had heard and seen them around Tequisquiapan but never too close. However, whilst chowing down on some toast after work yesterday I saw this little blighter through the window about 2 yards away! Luckily I managed to grab my camera and get some close up shots before he dashed off.

Here's the Seed Eater in action - short stubby bill perfectly designed for tucking into the spiky plants of the Mexican desert.

Back to familiar pastures

I had a post-work walk around La Presa, my local patch in Tequisquiapan. It was nice to be back among familiar birds. The shot below gives an idea of the vast swathes of Northern Shoveler that are wintering on the lake. It was also good to see some Blue-winged Teals in breeding plumage and a handful of Green-winted Teals as well. Ruddy Ducks, a couple of Eared Grebes and American Coots were also on the water. I didn't get far enough around to get a proper count in though.

Wader numbers are down from the fall-migration peaks of September, but there are still good numbers of Black-necked Stilts, as well as the odd Lesser Yellowlegs and Baird's Sandpiper.

La Presa always throws up a raptor or two, and this trip was no different. A fine Peregrine circled with a more languid Turkey Vulture.

Clay-coloured Sparrows are now in good numbers, like their close relative, the Lark Sparrow. Both form flocks of up to 100 and are hard to miss in the lakeside scrub. Cassin's Kingbirds, Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers and Vermillion Flycatchers are equally common, but some birds aren't as showy. House Wren and Ruby-crowned Kinglet were both new patch ticks for me, and took a bit of digging out.

Puerto Vallarta - El Quelele

I got a chance to visit El Quelele, a lagoon mentioned in Howell's 'Where to watch birds in Mexico'. The track leading from the highway to the lagoon (signposted to the Crocodile Restaurant) was really productive. Common and Ruddy Ground Doves were on the track and the nearby vegetation. Also there were some fine Blue Grosbeaks

And the odd Groove-billed Ani...

A gorgeous tiny Tropical Parula flicked along a bit of swamp, but my favourite of all were a flock of Dickcissels, posing wonderfully in the morning Sun.

I finally reached the Laguna, and was immediately into a huge mixed flock of White Ibis and Snowy Egret.

A Black-crowned Night Heron and some Great Egrets were around as well. And soon I was into my 8th Heron of the trip, as this Striated Heron stalked along a board-walk.

Unfortunately the Laguna itself held too much water for the large flocks of waders that can sometimes be found here. I had to settle for Whimbrel, Belted Kingfisher, Tricoloured Heron, and Black-bellied Whistling Duck.

I asked the guy if it was possible to walk around the Lagoon. No chance, he told me, too many crocodiles!!

The walk back to the main road was still productive, though - the highlights being great views of Gray Hawk and Common Black-hawk.

Puerto Vallarta - El Tuito

You're a bit stranded trying to bird in Mexico without a car. Though the bus services are OK, it's impossible to reach the more remote sites. Fortunately on the Wednesday I hired an excellent local birding guide for the morning. Alejandro Martinez picked me up from El Nogalito at dawn and took me up into the mountain area of El Tuito for a great mornings birding.

Firstly, we stopped off in an area known as Las Juntas to see what was around. Common Ground Doves and Inca Doves took off from under our feet and in the shrub, a Yellow Grosbeak flitted around with a Streak-backed Oriole and some Blue Buntings. An Acorn Woodpecker joined the party.

The drive to El Tuito yielded some more new species. A couple of Northern Ravens chowed down on some road-kill, and a Blue Mockingbird flew in front of the car.

Straight away El Tuito threw up some bonuses. A pair of Elegant Trogons first, and then another flurry of jungle birds - Tennessee Warbler, MacGillivray's Warbler, Plumbeous Vireo and Gnatcatchers.

Alejandro was excellent, picking out some of the trickier species that I would have struggled to nail straight away - Greater Pewee, Western Wood Pewee, Dusky-capped Flycatcher, Northern Beardless Tyrannulet and Brown-backed Solitaire. A Red-tailed Hawk drifted overhead with big numbers of Black and Turkey Vultures. Unfortunately, we were unable to find the rare Solitary Eagle...

On the way back, I was dropped off at the Botanical Gardens. The highlight here was excellent views of Stripe-headed Sparrows, another endemic in this wonderful part of the World.

Guide Contact Details

Alejandro Martinez Rodriguez
birdinginmexico@gmail.com
www.birdinginmexico.com

Puerto Vallarta - Jungle Birding El Nogalito

I stayed at the marvellous Casa de los Monos in El Nogalito, run by charming hosts Lorena and Blas. What a fantastic place! The hotel overlooked the jungle valley and was absolutely brimming with birds. Each morning, I had a pre-breakfast stroll, and picked up an amazing collection of top-quality jungle birds.

Small flocks of Orange-fronted Parakeets regularly screamed overhead. They fed on the tree right outside the balcony of my hotel room!

What a tree! I couldn't tell you what kind it was, but I knew that, during my stay, I picked up the following species of birds in it: Masked Tityra (see below), Rufous-backed Robin, White-throated Thrush, Hermit Thrush, Warbling Vireo, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Happy Wren, Sinaloa Wren, Greyish Saltator, Wilson's Warbler, Social Flycatcher, Golden-cheeked Woodpecker and an Empid. sp.

El Nogalito is magical. Jungle birding is sometimes quiet, but then there will be a flurry of activity. This happened on my first morning. A Black-and-white Warbler and some Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers were making a racket in the undergrowth. A moment later, I saw why - a gorgeous Ferruginous Pygmy Owl was perched up menacingly close..

On the Friday morning, I walked up to the Jungle Restaurant. En route, I heard a loud 'double-tap'. I thought at first that it might have been a Mexican worker hammering away at something. Then I spotted a huge male Pale-billed Woodpecker smashing away at a tree trunk. All the while, the endemic San Blas Jays and Yellow-winged Caciques torpedoed through the canopy.

Up at the restaurant, I found a much rarer Jay. Despite their status, this group of Green Jays come right up to the tables to feed off scraps.

The best sightings came from my breakfast table at Casa de los Monos. I couldn't concentrate on the food, the birding was so good. Firstly, a Citreoline Trogon alighted at the top of a nearby tree. Trogons are surely one of the finest families of birds, found across Africa and Asia as well as the Americas. The Citreoline is endemic to Western Mexico. My attention was soon drawn to a strange screeching in the sky, though. Two small Falcons were hunting. Once they landed I had plenty of time to get my scope on them and identify them as Bat Falcons!

The final highlight came on the last morning. Out of the corner of my eye I saw two huge birds bombing over the valley. Their sheer size meant only one thing - one of the most sought after Mexican birds, Military Macaws!

Puerto Vallarta - Masters of the Ocean

This is the first of a number of blogs about my past week in Veracruz. I'll concentrate here on one of my favourite genres of birds - tropical seabirds. The Bay of Banderas was excellent. Despite the throngs of tourists on the beaches, a number of quality seabirds fished close in, allowing for some nice photos.

Most noticeable were the Brown Pelicans, loafing around on boats, and divebombing spectacularly into the ocean.

Equally impressive were the Magnificent Frigatebirds. Class acts, and masters of the sky.

This adult male soared for a while before dipping down to the ocean to grab some food.

I'd seen the Pelicans and Frigatebirds at Veracruz, but next up were two members of a new family - the Boobies.

There were plenty of Brown Boobies in the bay, often joining up with the Pelicans in fishing parties.

The rarer Blue-footed Boobies took some picking out, though, and I was pleased to capture this one plummeting from the sky.

Terns were a constant presence offshore. Hordes of Elegant Terns fished close in, and further out were a mass of Black Terns, wintering in these warm waters.

Perhaps the biggest bonus, though, came on a boat trip to Yelapa. I picked out a Black Storm-Petrel skipping along the waves. Superb birding!

Puerto Vallarta - Yelapa

I took a boat trip to Yelapa for an afternoon with some friends. Yelapa is a small coastal inlet with a gorgeous beach and river mouth. I knew straight away that the birding had real potential, but unfortunately couldn't escape the attention of Gringo - our annoying Mexican tour guide. He didn't realise that I wanted to bird, not listen to his dodgy stories or buy weed off him!

I finally broke free of the group and managed about an hour exploring the river mouth. The beach was packed with some pretty nasty customers...these Black Vultures allowing a close approach.

Nearby were some nicer bids, though. Black-necked Stilts waded as elegantly as ever, and this Spotted Sandpiper hopped along the side of a boat, reminiscent of the Turnstones at Bridlington Pier.

I expected the birdlife to be best up the river, though, and so employed a controversial tactic - the river wade. This allowed me to get very close to some great birds. Firstly, I picked up a couple of White Ibises on a sand bank with a Snowy Egret, and then things started to kick off on the forest edge. A Lineated Woodpecker alighted on a nearby tree, and underneath it a big, clumsy bird smashed through the undergrowth. It's white belly and rufous chest revealed it as a West Mexican Chachalaca, quite a find.

It was time to head back to the group, but not before I got very close to a Neotropic Cormorant and a fine Little Blue Heron.