Along the Rio San Juan

An early morning stroll along the Rio San Juan yesterday morning was rewarded with 56 species in good numbers.

I had a good nuber of raptors hunting above and around the river (Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk, American Kestrels, Crested Caracaras).

As usual, many, many warblers (70+ Yellow-rumped Warblers, and then a nice mixed flock including Black-and-white, Nashville, Orange-crowned and several Wilsons).

It was also good to pick up Greater Pewee, Blue Mockingbird, Great Kiskadee, many Black-backed Orioles, and good numbers of Woodpeckers (22 Golden-fronted, 1 Ladderback and 4 Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers).

Great Horned Owl in Fuentezuelas

Great Horned Owl

A lovely evening in the mountains behind Fuentezuelas yesterday - the highlight of which was this calling Great Horned Owl at dusk.  I've not seen many around Queretaro, but this could be a hotspot for this species.

In the same area, I had fleeting views of an Elegant Trogon, as well as the endemic Blue Mockingbird and several Northern Mockingbirds.  A Warbling Vireo was a nice addition, as well as a surprise Hermit Thrush (odd in this habitat away from forests).

A bit higher up, this area opens into grasslands interspersed with cacti.  Here, I found a few Brewer's Sparrows, as well as Vesper, Chipping, Clay-colored and Lark.

At dusk, there were also a few Lesser Nighthawk.

Curve-billed Thrasher

Warbling Vireo

Cascada Chuveje

A really excellent morning's birding last Monday on the track to Cascada Chuveje in the Sierra Gorda.  It's a very beautiful location, and we stumbled on some really interesting species.  

Chuck Aid had heard some Singing Quails earlier, and as I caught up with him, he was studying a fine pair of Olivaceous Woodcreepers.  Bird activity was high, and as well as several Vireos (Blue-headed, Cassin's, Huttons)  and Warblers (Black-and-white, Rufous-capped, Slate-throated Redstart, Painted Redstart, Townsends, Wilson's, Yellow-rumped) we caught up with a fine Rufous-browed Peppershrike.

Rufous-browed Peppershrike

Acorn Woodpekers (at least 10) were a constant feature of the birding here, flying back and forth across the valley with some Ladderbacks present as well.  We were also treated to fly-bys of 2 Broad-winged Hawks.  

Int he more open areas, several Elegant Euphonias were present, as well as family parties of Spotted Wrens and some Rusty Sparrows.

Rusty Sparrow

Additional highlights over the course of the morning included Grey Catbirds, Vaux's Swifts, White-throated Swifts, Greater Pewees and many more.

Presa Jalpan

I had a few visits this weekend to Presa Jalpan, in the heart of the Sierra Gorda.  It's a pleasant spot, and a great place to catch up some birds typical of Tropical Deciduous habitat.

I was fairly surprised to see a Bufflehead on the Presa, in a mixed flock of duck (also present were Ring-necked Ducks, Redheads, American Wigeons, 1 Northern Pintail, Green-winged, Blue-winged Teals and Ruddy Ducks).  Pied-billed Grebes, Least Grebes, Eared Grebes and Neotropic Cormorants were knocking around as well.

In the scrub around the Presa and uptowards Rio Adentro, I bumped into 1 Elegant Trogon, Northern Cardinal, Eastern Phoebes, Golden-crowned Warblers, White-eyed Vireo, Brown-backed Solitaires, Ash-throated Flycatchers, Boat-billed Flycatchers, Great Kiskadees, Social Flycatchers, Spot-breasted Wrens etc etc (full list for both trips below).

Eastern Phoebe

      Full Species List over 2 visits

American Wigeon  4
Blue-winged Teal  5
Northern Pintail  1
Ring-necked Duck  4
Bufflehead  1
Ruddy Duck  3
Pied-billed Grebe  5
Eared Grebe  5
Neotropic Cormorant  4
Great Blue Heron  2
Snowy Egret  1
Cattle Egret  2
Turkey Vulture  6
Spotted Sandpiper  1
Eurasian Collared-Dove  1
Vaux's Swift  100
Elegant Trogon  1
Green Kingfisher  1
Great Kiskadee  4
Social Flycatcher  8
Couch's Kingbird  3
White-eyed Vireo  1
Common Raven  2
Northern Rough-winged Swallow  40
Canyon Wren  3
Spot-breasted Wren  4
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  5
Ruby-crowned Kinglet  2
Brown-backed Solitaire  3
Blue Mockingbird  6
Gray Catbird  1
Nashville Warbler  2
MacGillivray's Warbler  2
Townsend's Warbler  1
Hermit Warbler  1
Rufous-capped Warbler  14
Golden-crowned Warbler  1
Wilson's Warbler  6
Blue-gray Tanager  1
Olive Sparrow  1
Flame-colored Tanager  1
Yellow-throated Euphonia  2
Gadwall  3
Green-winged Teal  6
Redhead  2
Least Grebe  3
Roadside Hawk  1
White-tipped Dove  2
Broad-billed Hummingbird  3
Golden-fronted Woodpecker  1
Eastern Phoebe  2
Vermilion Flycatcher  1
Dusky-capped Flycatcher  1
Ash-throated Flycatcher  1
Great Kiskadee  2
Barn Swallow  20
Black-crested Titmouse  4
House Wren  2

Ruby-crowned Kinglet  1
Orange-crowned Warbler  1
Northern Cardinal  1

Rio Ayutla, Sierra Gorda

This particular spot, near 'Las Adjuntas' south of Conca in the Sierra Gorda, is certainly one of the best spots for birding that I have come across in Queretaro.

I bumped into Chuck Aid, a visiting birder from the States in the morning, and we had a very productive time.  All together, I encountered 60 species.  My personal highlights were Montezuma Oropendola, Masked Tityra and Plain Chachalacas (none of which I've previously seen in Queretaro).  There were a lot of other very good birds to keep us occupied, though, including Squirrel Cuckoos,  several Black-throated Green Warblers, Wedge-tailed Sabrewings, Golden-crowned Warblers, Golden-browed Warbler, Elegant Trogons etc.

Here's a few photos, and below them is the day list.  Incredible spot, and highly recommended.

Squirrel Cuckoo

Plain Chachalaca

Plain Chachalaca  3
Neotropic Cormorant  1
Black Vulture  15
Turkey Vulture  6
Common Black Hawk  1
Red-tailed Hawk  1
Spotted Sandpiper  1
Inca Dove  1
White-tipped Dove  3
White-winged Dove  2
Squirrel Cuckoo  2
Wedge-tailed Sabrewing  4
Elegant Trogon  5
Green Kingfisher  2
Golden-fronted Woodpecker  1
Ladder-backed Woodpecker  2
Bat Falcon  2
Tufted Flycatcher  10
Greater Pewee  4
Western Wood-Pewee  1
Black Phoebe  6
Eastern Phoebe  2
Dusky-capped Flycatcher  3
Brown-crested Flycatcher  1
Great Kiskadee  6
Boat-billed Flycatcher  4
Social Flycatcher  4
Masked Tityra  1
Cassin's Vireo  1
Blue-headed Vireo  3
Warbling Vireo  1
Green Jay  6
Northern Rough-winged Swallow  5
Black-crested Titmouse  2
Canyon Wren  4
House Wren  2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  15
Ruby-crowned Kinglet  2
Clay-colored Thrush  5
Blue Mockingbird  3
Northern Waterthrush  1
Black-and-white Warbler  2
Nashville Warbler  1
MacGillivray's Warbler  1
Black-throated Green Warbler  6
Rufous-capped Warbler  14
Golden-browed Warbler  1
Golden-crowned Warbler  3
Wilson's Warbler  10
Yellow-winged Tanager  1
Olive Sparrow  1
Lincoln's Sparrow  1
Hepatic Tanager  4
Flame-colored Tanager  1
Altamira Oriole  4
Audubon's Oriole  12
Baltimore Oriole  1
Montezuma Oropendola  1
Scrub Euphonia  3
Yellow-throated Euphonia  2

Remember - for any further information or tours, drop me an e-mail at jontyhiley@hotmail.com

La Trinidad Opal Mines Tequisquiapan

I had a very long walk up to the Opal Mines near Tequisquiapan last week.  This is a popular tourist attraction and the road up goes through some interesting cactus-dominated habitat.  Unfortunately, the weather was poor when I went.  Nevertheless, I found some good birds, particularly at the top when it brightened up a bit.

Blue-grey Gnatcatcher

It's the closest to Tequis that I have found Rock Wrens.  Spotted Towhees, White-throated Swifts, Blue Mockingbirds, Scott's Orioles and 2 Lucifer Hummingbirds were also very nice to see.

Ash-throated Flycatcher is fairly easy to see around Tequis, but the 10 I found up at La Trinidad represents a good number.

Fancy a brew?

It was Sparrow-tastic on the outskirts of Tequis yesterday, where I found a nice bit of scrubland.

The pick - my first Brewer's Sparrows. But they certainly weren't alone.  Also knocking about in a short stretch were Grasshopper Sparrows, loads of Vesper Sparrows, Lark Sparrows and Clay-colored Sparrows.

Clay-colored Sparrow

Brewer's Sparrow

Vesper Sparrow

It was arguably even better a day before when I found a cheeky Pyrrhuloxia.  Only the second 'Desert Cardinal' I've seen, and certainly the first in this part of Queretaro.

Rio San Juan - The new River of Raptors?

Left my house this morning to see a big raptor circling in the distance over the Rio San Juan.  Didn't quite look right for the commoner species, so I dashed back to get my bins and camera and drove down to explore further.

I straight away locked onto a couple of raptors - Crested Caracaras perched high up.  Great birds, but not top draw.  Next an American Kestrel mobbing the Caracaras.  Again, not bad.

Lower down in the same tree, though, was the original raptor - showing well and confirming my initial thoughts of Common Black Hawk.

Common Black Hawk

An exceptional bird for this part of Queretaro.  While there are a few plateau records, this species is primarily a bird of the slopes and lowlands - where it is commonly found along rivers and lakes.  

Things got even better when another raptor started mobbing the Black Hawk - a fine juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk.

Red-shouldered Hawk

Another rarish species here, though probably fairly regular in winter.  I've previously seen a couple at Centenario.  This species hunts along rivers and swamps.  After buzzing the Black Hawk, it perched up getting mobbed in turn by the angry American Kestrel.

My species list along the Rio San Juan is now up to 122.  These exceptional raptors go to the top of that list, alongside the likes of Broad-winged Hawk and Dickcissel. 

The Two Presas

I showed two representatives of DUMAC (http://www.dumac.org/dumac/habitat/esp/index.htm), a wetland conservation body, around Presas Centenario and Constitucion on Saturday and we had a bumper day, clocking up some huge flocks of ducks, waders and herons, and some really unexpected birds along the way.

The highlights were as follows:

1. Hooded Merganser - This duck is an accidental visitor to Northern Mexico, so we were very excited to find a female at Presa de la Constitucion.  Unfortunately, it stayed in cover for most of the time, so we couldn't photograph it.  However, this is a superb record for Queretaro.

2. Black-bellied Whistling Duck - Considered common and widespread across both slopes in Mexico, Queretaro is our of range for this duck according to the map in Howell and Webb.  Nevertheless, both species of Whistling Duck are renowned for being nomadic.  We found a nice pair at Constitucion.

3. Tricolored Heron - A winter visitor across parts of Central Mexico and recorded once by Pineda-Lopez and Arrelaon-Sannaphre (2010).  The individual we saw at Constitucion, however, represented my first sighting of this elegant heron in Queretaro.

4. Black Tern - We had three American Black Terns passing high over Constitucion.  Following my sighting at Centenario (Hiley 2012), this is apparently only the second documented record of this migratory marsh tern.

5. Long-billed Curlew - This juvenile Long-billed Curlew was at the far end of Presa Centenario, associating with American Avocets and Black-necked Stilts.  This is the first documented record of this species for the state of Queretaro.

6. Green Kingfisher - A fly by Green Kingfisher at Constitucion was an interesting record in as far as it confirmed (along with the presence of Cormorants and Pelicans) that Constitucion is a clean, fish-filled reservoir.  Also, my first sighting of any Kingfisher away from the Sierra Gorda in Queretaro.

Full list to follow.