Urban Birding

When I arrived at Tequis. last year there was a large colony of Cattle Egrets in Parque La Pila. They disappeared in November and the park was suddenly very quiet. During the last few weeks, a few characters have started to return though..

A breeding colony of 40 pairs of Great Egret and counting.

Hunchback was knocking around..

But so was the Croucher..

Evil Eye was flying around the park. A few pairs of Black-crowned Night Herons have set up shop here, but these lurkers are more difficult to pick out than the Egrets.

Other classic Park birds included Yellow-rumped Warblers, White-winged Doves, Verm Flickers and Great-tailed Grackles.

This confiding Black Phoebe was a bonus.

Tequisquiapan Farmland

I was out in search of feeding Grackles and Cowbirds this afternoon. Apart from a mixed flock of 10,000 Yellow-headed Blackbirds and Brown-headed Cowbirds, it was fairly unsuccessful under the scorching hot sun.

I did come across the 6 of the 'Farmland 7' raptors: American Kestrel, Black-shouldered Kite, Crested Caracara, Peregrine, Red-tailed Hawk and Turkey Vulture. Only Northern Harrier was missing.

I spent the morning doing a bit of garden birding, and caught nice views of Cactus Jack, a Mexican classic...

The supporting cast in the garden consisted of Violet-crowned and Broad-billed Hummingbirds, House Finches, Abeille's and Hooded Orioles and some House Sparrows.

The farmland held plenty of 'New World' Sparrows. Vesper (below), Lark and Clay-coloured in big flocks and a single Grasshopper Sparrow.

Loggerhead Shrikes (below) seem to be everywhere at the moment, I even had one in the garden this morning. Some posed quite nicely in the farmland scrub. Lots of Curve-billed Thrashers and 3 Eastern Meadowlarks as well.

I flushed a Brown Hare. It stopped briefly after sprinting across the fields..

In the evening, it was back to the plaza to count the roosting Grackles and Cowbirds. Whilst watching I had 4 Swallows migrating North, and good views of Great Egrets coming into roost.

Opossum

A pretty unpleasant character all right!

In Mexico, these are known as 'tlacuaches'. Apparently people eat their tails to improve fertility.

Not a folk remedy I fancy getting involved with!

Garden Pics 13th Feb

Some pics from today in the garden. The Hummers were showing down to 1 metre.

'Dr' House Finch

Violet-crowned Hummer

Broad-billed Hummer

Tequisquiapan Farmland

A morning of bird counting North of Tequisquiapan allowed me to come across a good number of species.

Visited Farmland (f), Lago Pelicanos (LP), La Laja (LL)

Raptors (7)

Northern Harrier - 3 hunting at LP

Crested Caracara - common

American Kestrel - common

Peregrine - male LP

Black-shouldered (White-tailed) Kite - many including a pair at LP

Red-tailed Hawk - common

Turkey Vulture

Red-tailed Hawk

Black-shouldered (White-tailed) Kite

Duck (10)

Shoveler - LL

Pintail - 30 LP, 30 LL

Mexican Duck - 50 LP

Ruddy Duck - 10

Blue-winged Teal - 5 LL

Green-winged Teal - 10 LL, 5 LP

Cinnamon Teal - 4 LL

American Wigeon - 4 LP

Lesser Scaup - 1 drake and 3 duck at LP

Gadwall

Assorted Ducks and Waders - La Laja

Other Waterbirds (6)

American White Pelican - 1 at LP

White-faced Ibis

Snowy Egret

Great Egret

Cattle Egret

American Coot - 300+ LL

Waders (8)

Baird's Sandpiper - 4 LP (return passage?)

Long-billed Dowitcher - 16 LP (probable wintering birds)

Black-necked Stilt - 2 LL

American Avocet - 1 LP

Spotted Sandpiper

Greater Yellowlegs - LL

Solitary Sandpiper - LL

Killdeer

The 'Farmland Pests' (6)

Great-tailed Grackle

Starling - 6

Red-winged Blackbird

Brewer's Blackbird - 15

Yellow-headed Blackbird - a flock at least 8000 strong

Brown-headed Cowbird - large numbers

Brown-headed Cowbird and Yellow-headed Blackbird

HUGE flock of Yellow-headed Blackbirds!

Other (38)

Cactus Wren

Marsh Wren - LP

House Sparrow

Vesper Sparrow

Clay-coloured Sparrow

Lark Sparrow

Lincoln's Sparrow

Savannah Sparrow

Audubon's Warbler

Wilson's Warbler - 1 LP

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Blue-Grey Gnatcatcher - common

Loggerhead Shrike - everywhere

Cassin's Kingbird

Phainopepla - 3 (pictured)

Phainopepla

Inca Dove

Common Ground Dove

Mourning Dove

Feral Pigeon

Broad-billed Hummingbird

Violet-crowned Hummingbird

Eastern Meadowlark - 3 LP

House Finch

Blue Grosbeak

Varied Bunting - garden

Monk Parakeet - close to LL (introduced birds)

Vermilion Flycatcher

Say's Phoebe - 5 farmland

Golden-fronted Woodpecker

Ladder-back Woodpecker (Garden)

Hooded Oriole - garden

Abeille's Oriole

Northern Mockingbird - 1 LP

Swallow

Violet-green Swallow - 3 hawking over LP with swallows

Northern Raven

Curve-billed Thrasher

American Pipit

La Presa, Tequisquiapan

Short afternoon stroll around La Presa in Tequisquiapan yesterday. Still huge numbers of duck present:

Shoveler 10,000?

Pintail 200

Blue-winged Teal 100

Green-winged Teal 50

Gadwall 30

American Wigeon 15

Ruddy Duck 400

And I covered less than half of the lake. Still plenty of Eared Grebes (50) and a few Least Grebes around. White-faced Ibis, Great, Snowy and Cattle Egret and the usual birds in the scrub including good numbers of Blue Grosbeaks flocking with Lark Sparrows.

Highlights perhaps splendid views of an inquisitive Ruby-crowned Kinglet and a male Varied Bunting..

Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Tequisquiapan

Varied Bunting, Tequisquiapan

Flycatcher Nightmare

I came across a number of Myiarchus and Empidomax flycatchers, notoriously difficult to identify..

This Myiarchus was down on the Playa d'Oro road. In this neck of the wood, up to 4 species of these flycatchers can sometimes be found on the same tree. The bright wing bars of this individual rule out Dusky-capped, and the broad-based, long bill lead me to plump forBrown-crested Flycatcher.

This next one (taken up by La Maria) had a much shorter bill. The lack of contrast between the primary edgings and secondary edgings combined with the bill points towards this one being a Nutting's Flycatcher.

Now onto Empids.. Pacific Slope, Cordilleran, Least and Willow all winter on the Pacific Coast. The clues to this one lie in the bold eye ring, the generally pale underparts, the bill shape and the bright white wing bars. These all point to an adult Least Flycatcher.

Though I am willing to be corrected...

Colima Pics

Volcan de Colima

Tufted Flycatcher, La Maria

Whimbrel, Cuyutlan

Squirrel Cuckoo, Playa d'Oro

Smoky-brown Woodpecker, La Maria

Rusty-crowned Ground Sparrow, La Maria

Roosting Swallows, Cuyutlan

Orchard Oriole, Cuyutlan

Common and Ruddy-Ground Doves

West Mexican Chachalaca, Playa d'Oro

Black Vultures, Tamazula

Black-headed Grosbeak, Colima

Calliope Hummingbird (female), Colima

American Kestrel

Acorn Woodpecker

Roadtrip to Colima

A huge roadtrip to Colima and back this morning provided a few opportunities for birding...

The following sites were visited:

Laguna La Barca - A small lagoon between the towns of La Barca and Suhuayo

River at Tamazula - A fast flowing clean river (a rarity in Mexico) follows the road between Mazamitla and Tamazula, providing some good birding.

Laguna Cuyutlan - South of Manzanillo

Playa d'Oro road - North of Manzanillo, as described by Howell

Laguna La Maria - Camping spot on the slopes of Volcan de Fuego

Laguna La Barca

A brief 5-minute stop here was enough to catch views of American White Pelicans, Neotropic Cormorants, Great and Snowy Egrets, Great Blue Heron, American Coots, Common Moorhen, Northern Jacana, Caspian Tern, Laughing Gull, American Wigeon, Northern Shoveler and Blue-winged Teal.

A longer explore would reveal a lot more birds, but this isn't the nicest spot in Mexico, plagued by litter and youths shooting wildlife with pellet guns.

Rio at Tamazula

Again, only a brief stop at this picturesque spot. Managed to find Green Kingfishers, Spotted Sandpipers, Striated Heron, Black-necked Stilts. Also close by, 60 feeding Black Vultures.

Volcan de Fuego slopes

We followed Howell's directions from Atenquique, but unfortunately the track was blocked off after about 6km, meaning we had no access to the higher slopes. On the lower slopes were Thick-billed Kingbirds, Chipping and Lark Sparrows, Varied Buntings, Grey Silky, Black-headed Grosbeak, Bumblebee Hummingbird, Hooded and Streak-backed Orioles, Greater Peewee, Acorn Woodpecker, Orange-crowned, Wilson's, Audubon's, and Blue-throated Grey Warblers.

Cuyutlan - Lagoon and Beach

On the beach at Cuyutlan was a nice Whimbrel, and out to Sea were familiar birds of the Pacific Coast - Magnificent Frigatebirds, Brown Pelicans, Elegant Terns and a nice bonus, a flock of 7 Tricoloured Herons.

A very brief stop at the lagoon turned up Blue-Grey Gnatcatchers, a Yellow-breasted Chat, huge numbers of Herons including Great Blue, Little Blue, Tricoloured and Reddish, Snowy, Cattle and Great Egret. Also present were Anhingas and Neotropical Cormorants.

The coastal scrub around Cuyutlan town threw up a few more interesting species, including MacGillivray's Warbler, Nashville Warbler (many), Orchard Oriole, Lineated Woodpecker, Yellow Warbler, Common Ground and Ruddy Ground Doves.

Playa d'Oro

All these sections were rushed as I only had a few hours to spare on Sunday morning. Still the potential of this stretch was immense. With only minimal stopping I found Squirrel Cuckoo, Yellow-winged Caciques, Groove-billed Anis, Golden-cheeked Woodpeckers, Great Kiskadees, Social Flycatchers, White-bellied and Happy Wrens, Masked Tityras, Stripe-headed Sparrows, Rose-throated Becards, West Mexican Chachalacas, 2 soaring Wood Storks and a whole lot more.

Laguna La Maria

The trip ended with some fantastic birding at this camping site. Though busy in the afternoon with holidaying Mexicans, first thing Monday morning was magical. Birds here included Orange-billed Nightingale Thrush, Slate-throated Redstart, Tufted Flycatcher, Rusty-crowned Ground Sparrow, Least Grebe, Plumbeous, Warbling, Black-capped and Golden Vireoes, Smoky-brown, Grey-crowned, Ladder-backed and Golden-cheeked Woodpeckers, Northern Waterthrush, Louisiana Waterthrush, Ovenbird, Flame-coloured and Red-headed Tanagers, Ivory-billed Woodcreeper, Blue Mockingbird, Vaux's Swift and a whole lot of others.

Perhaps the highlight was picking out a Lesser Roadrunner on the road back to Comala.

Nevado de Toluca mark 2

Camped on the mountain last night, and, although I wasn't birding, I still found some nice birds around the campsite and on the volcano itself. These Yellow-eyed Juncos were very brave and approachable as they scavenged around for scraps..

I also had some nice flocks of Eastern Bluebirds. 3 at the campsite, and 7 higher up the slopes.

At dusk I heard some metallic calls and successfully tracked down 3 Striped Sparrows, a bird endemic to the Mexican highlands. Also knocking around was a stunning Stellar's Jay flying from pine to pine.

Nevado de Toluca highlights:

Yellow-eyed Junco,

Eastern Bluebird,

Stellar's Jay,

Yellow-rumped Warbler,

American Kestrel,

Raven

Striped Sparrow

Sierra Gorda - Chuveje

Close to Rio Escanela, this beautiful site hosts a spectacular waterfall..

Visited here in the afternoon, so there wasn't as much bird activity as in other spots, but it still threw up a few crackers, such as great views of this Rufous-capped Warbler.

Sierra Gorda - Xilitla

Upon leaving Queretaro for San Luis Potosi, the scenery changes once again, and by the time you reach Xilitla, you are in some serious tropical rainforest.

Dinner in Xilitla, a town full of character, was accompanied by a loud Grackle roost, and overflying Bat Falcons as well as night-hunting Tropical Kingbirds.

The real treats here, though, were saved for the morning. After camping in a drug baron's garden, we woke up to a jungle cacophony. Squadrons of Brown Jays zoomed over, and there were singing Montezuma Oropendolas, a bizarre bird with a bubbling call which captures the very essence of jungle birding..

Large numbers of Black and Turkey Vultures circled overhead, and in the garden scrub I found Clay-coloured Robins and Wilson's Warblers. A large flock of Parakeets screeched over but I wasn't switched on enough to I.D. them. With work the next day and a long drive ahead, we had to cut our time here short - a huge shame.

Nevertheless, the drive out of the campsite still brought more lifers. Firstly, a superb Blue-crowned Motmot, and later, the more common Scrub Euphonia.

I also managed to cook down on some Greyish Saltators and Hooded Orioles.