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. 

La Laja, Fuentesuelas

I checked out Fuentesuelas on Thursday night, primarily to see if there were any waders around ahead of the visit from DUMAC.  I found, however, that the water level here was very high, thus making it difficult to access, and meaning that there were few exposed banks for waders to feed on.  Nevertheless, there were a good array of impressive birds here.  

Female Ruddy Duck and duckling

Of particular note were late breeding waterbirds.  Recently fledged Ruddy Ducks, American Coots, Moorhens and Eared Grebes were unexpected.  There is, however, a lot of cover and vegetation here which does suit these species.  There were also approximately 1,000 non-breeding ducks present as well, including Blue-winged and Green-winged Teal, Mexican Duck and Northern Shoveler.  This spot is also fairly reliable for Cinnamon Teal and might attract one or two as the winter wears on.

On the wader front, there were approximately 500 Wilson's Phalaropes feeding in very tight groups in each corner of the lake.  Also, the ever-present Killdeers, and a handful of Yellowlegs sp., and Black-necked Stilts on the far shore.

Raptors included Crested Caracara and Northern Harrier, and passerines included Vermilion Flycatchers, Blue Grosbeaks and Lesser Goldfinch.

Male Vermilion Flycatcher, Fuentesuelas