2008 Tour Narrative
In Brief: This year’s Christmas trip to Oaxaca, Mexico, was superlative. The dry Oaxaca Valley, covered with acacias, flowering morning glory trees, and columnar cacti, provided a great backdrop as we explored several Zapotec ruin sites, local markets, and the impressive 2,000-year-old bald cypress, El Tule. The birds did not disappoint, either, with great views of endemics such as Pileated Flycatcher, Golden Vireo, Beautiful Hummingbird, and the amazing Bridled Sparrow. Our group tallied an excellent 297 species, including an astounding 14 new species added to the cumulative list from the past 13 years! The mountains above the city held much of interest, with views of Dwarf Jay and the stunning Red-faced and Red Warblers. Our side trip to Tuxtapec was stuffed with birds, from surprising Royal Flycatcher and Pheasant and Striped Cuckoos (all new for the trip) to foraging Collared Aracaris at eye level and a gorgeous male Red-capped Manakin. Just as important on a Christmas trip to Oaxaca is the opportunity to sample the vibrant local culture of Oaxaca City, steeped in a mixture of Catholic and Zapotec traditions. Christmas processionals through the town square contribute to the festive atmosphere in this pretty colonial city, and I trust that none of this year’s participants will ever look at a radish in the same way after witnessing the amazing sculptures created by the locals on the Day of the Radishes.
In Detail: On our first morning of birding we headed north to the nearby Sierra de Aloapaneca. A short picnic breakfast was quickly followed by flyover flocks of Gray Silky-flycatchers and Black-headed Siskins, as well as good views of Yellow-eyed Juncos and Chipping Sparrows feeding along the road. We spent the morning walking east from La Cumbre, marveling at the large oak and pine trees and lush epiphytic growths. A bumper flower crop this year allowed us to spend some time studying hummingbirds, with Green violet-ear and White-eared, Bumblebee, Broad-tailed, Ruby-throated, and Magnificent Hummingbirds putting on an excellent show. Several Rufous-capped Brushfinches and a few Cinnamon-bellied Flowerpiercers were also lurking in the flowerbeds. Repeated views of the raucous and inquisitive Gray-barred Wrens were a real treat. We ate lunch at a delightful café in the mountains and were surprised by a fabulous mixed warbler flock near the patio. Brief views of Red-faced and Red Warblers were a real thrill, and hordes of Townsend’s, Yellow-rumped, and Orange-crowned and a few Crescent-chested and Hermit Warblers rounded out the show. In the late afternoon we spent an hour strolling around the grounds of the hotel, finding Hooded Oriole, Vermilion Flycatcher, Western and Summer Tanagers, and Great Kiskadee to be quite common. Absurdly tame White-throated Towhees and a couple of Warbling Vireos capped off an excellent introductory day to the birds of Central Oaxaca.
We visited the Zapotec ruins of Monte Alban on our second day, picnicking below the ruins to a chorus of Cassin’s Kingbird and Ash-throated Flycatcher song. A walk through the brushy lower slopes gave us great views of Virginia’s, Rufous-capped, and MacGillivray’s Warblers, several Dusky Hummingbirds, and a wonderful kiting White-tailed Kite. Moving up to the ruins we quickly found a group of exquisite Elegant Euphonias feeding in fruiting mistletoe at very close range, and a distant teed up Ocellated Thrasher. Around the ruins were several Dusky and a couple of Hammond’s Flycatchers, singing Rock Wrens, and a flyover White-tailed Hawk. After a mid-afternoon siesta we wandered downtown to enjoy the astounding radish carving and cornhusk doll competition in the main square. Each year has a slightly different theme, and every time I see these displays I am amazed by the artist’s creativity—and by the versatility of the humble radish as an artistic medium. We wandered over to a local chocolate factory to whet our appetites for a delightful dinner near the main square.
We went up to the sierra above Oaxaca City again the next day, this time to the lower peaks of Cerro San Felipe. Here the forest is more lush and the trees larger than along the road to the east, and several small creeks run down the flower-laden ravines. At breakfast we were treated to a mixed flock of Gray-barred Wrens, Steller’s Jay, and the secretive and endemic Dwarf Jay. A pair of Hairy Woodpeckers and a singing and visible Brown-backed Solitaire provided a more than adequate supporting cast to our yoghurt, pastries, and fresh fruit. Afterwards we alternated driving and walking along the road, always attentive to any flock activity or call notes. Several mixed warbler flocks entertained us for much of the morning, with Red Warbler, Slate-throated Redstart, and Crescent-chested, Golden-browed, Hermit, Townsend’s, Olive, Wilson’s, and Orange-crowned Warblers all in attendance. Mexican Chickadees appeared in a few flocks, as did Spot-crowned Woodcreeper and Cassin’s and Hutton’s Vireos. A homogeneous flock of no less than five Mountain Trogons was a surprise, but the best find of the day had to be an out-of-range Golden-crowned Kinglet, a write-in for our tour list.
Hummingbirds were also in evidence, with Amethyst-throated a new species for the 2008 tour and much better views of multiple Green Violet-ears and male White-eared Hummingbirds. Several participants commented that honors for favorite bird of the day went to the pair of Chestnut-capped Brushfinches that actually came out into the open for the entire group. In the evening we went downtown for dinner and enjoyed the Christmas processionals, some delicious gelato, and the festive and very family-friendly atmosphere.
On Christmas Day we ventured east down the Oaxaca Valley to the town of Teotitlan del Valle, a famous site for Oaxaca weavings. At a small reservoir above town we enjoyed breakfast with a view of Least Grebes tending young, a flyover Zone-tailed Hawk, Tufted and Vermilion Flycatchers, and our first waterbirds, with a nice selection of shorebirds, herons, and waterfowl. Some Erythrina trees above the lake held multiple Black-vented and Bullock’s Orioles as well as fabulous views of Gray Silky-flycatcher. Still further up the road, the terrain shifts to brushy slopes with scattered oaks and cacti. Walking along the road we lucked into a distant Golden Vireo and two close West Mexican Chachalacas. Other finds included the southern race of Western Scrub-Jay, several Black-eared Bushtits, and some extremely cooperative and beautiful Bridled Sparrows.
With the heat climbing, we decided to go even farther up the road into the pine-oak zone, where feeding violetears and a singing pair of Painted Redstarts soon rewarded our decision. After lunch we visited town for some shopping at the textile market and a view of the centuries-old church and huge fruiting fig trees filled with feeding vireos, tanagers, warblers, and a single Rufous-backed Robin. After a siesta we returned in the late afternoon to La Cumbre West for a wonderful picnic Christmas dinner in the mountains, a calling Mexican Whip-poor-Will, and a flyby Blue Mockingbird.
An early start the next day allowed us to arrive at the northern base of the Sierra del Aloapaneca by dawn, and we ate breakfast on the banks of the rushing Rio Grande among the multitude of Berylline, Dusky, and Violet-crowned Hummingbirds. Walking around the brushy slopes of the river valley, we located a cooperative pair of Oaxaca Sparrows, in close proximity to several Rufous-crowned Sparrows for comparison, and a beautiful Audubon’s Oriole. Some other new species for the trip included a small flock of Cinnamon-rumped Seedeaters, Spotted Towhee, a female Painted Bunting, and a Black-and-White Warbler fairly glowing in the dawn’s rays. We passed up and over the Sierra de Juarez, through an expansive pine-oak and pine forest, before descending into the cloud forests above Valle National. A male Bumblebee Hummingbird toyed with the group over lunch, and by walking short stretches of the road we enjoyed such gems as Unicolored Jay, Scaly-throated Foliage-Gleaner, Yellow-winged Tanager, and Gray-breasted Wood-Wren. We arrived in the Atlantic lowlands shortly before dark and marveled at the change in scenery. Here, instead of arid cactus- and thorn-covered slopes and dusty agricultural fields of corn or agaves, we found rivers, sugar cane and rubber tree plantations, and lush greenery at every turn. An early dinner allowed us to catch up on some sleep and prepare for what we hoped would be two bird-rich days in the lowlands.
Our first full day in the lowlands certainly did not disappoint. The forest trail that we discovered a few years ago continues to be amazingly productive, and this year we added no fewer than 5 new species to the cumulative list here. We spent the early hours birding along the road outside the forest, where all three saltators, Painted Buntings, three species of oriole, three species of parrot, a Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, and a flock of Black-faced Grosbeaks kept us amply entertained before we entered the forest. Some highlights inside the woods were Black-throated Shrike-Tanager, Rufous Mourner, Plain Xenops, a male Pale-billed Woodpecker, White-bellied Wren, and an amazingly close Pheasant Cuckoo! At times the number of birds was almost overwhelming, and I’m certain this spot formed lasting memories for the group. After a siesta we spent a few hours along a river just north of town, watching Mangrove Swallows flying underneath the bridge. Along the riverbanks we lucked into a feeding Limpkin and a pair of Gray-necked Wood-Rails, both very rarely encountered on this tour, and a flyover Lesser Nighthawk and calling Thicket Tinamou as dusk fell.
We had a second full day to explore the forests around Tuxtapec, and we made the most of it. Early morning found us at a picnic breakfast along a small stream at the base of a forested ridge. Perhaps the most interesting sighting involved the interactions of two pairs of Ringed Kingfishers and a family group of Amazon Kingfishers, all vying for a small stretch of creek, with Belted and Green Kingfishers nearby. Also making the morning interesting were a host of migrant warblers, Aplomado and Bat Falcons, Red-lored Parrots, and Montezuma Oropendolas; but the prize of the morning had to go to two perched and cooperative male Violaceous Trogons, fairly glowing in the early morning sun. Next we walked along a forested road in the agricultural heart of Tuxtapec and enjoyed a mixed flock of saltators and orioles (both Yellow-tailed and Black-cowled), another singing Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, and two very close Collared Aracaris. A nice lunch back at the hotel and a siesta revived us nicely for an afternoon outing back to yesterday’s forest trail, where we encountered two more new birds for the tour in the form of Ruddy Woodcreeper and Royal Flycatcher, and had wonderful views of a male Ruddy Quail-Dove and several Stripe-throated Hermits. Over our picnic dinner we enjoyed calling Common Paraques, and on the drive back to the hotel we found a foraging Black-crowned Night-Heron and briefly disturbed a sleeping Osprey, a most surprising night bird!
We reluctantly left the lowlands behind and undertook the drive back to Oaxaca City with high hopes for the cloudforests above Valle National. The highlights included two Crested Guans, a calling Central American Pygmy-Owl, a stunning male Red-capped Manakin, Green Honeycreeper, Squirrel Cuckoo, and a very cooperative male Amethyst-throated Hummingbird. In the late afternoon we found two Acorn Woodpeckers busily stuffing acorns into a telephone pole and a really pretty Spotted Towhee. We arrived at our hotel in time for a nice dinner and a good night’s rest before our last full day in the field.
It was a great day in a dry valley just east of the Oaxaca Valley. Here we found a pair of Banded Wrens, numerous White-lored Gnatcatchers, a cooperative Pileated Flycatcher, Elegant Trogon, a male Varied Bunting, and the most surprising bird of the trip, a very cooperative Russet-crowned Motmot. This species is fairly common but hard to see along the Pacific Coast of Oaxaca, and was entirely unexpected so close to Oaxaca City. After the valley we visited the archeological site of Yagul, where among the ruins we found Gray-breasted Woodpecker, Boucard’s Wren, Grasshopper and Lark Sparrows, and several Beautiful Hummingbirds, including a stunning male. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch,and some nice mescal at a nearby restaurant, then shopped at the Mitla market before stopping in to admire the Tule Tree, a 2,000-year-old Montezuma Bald Cypress some 45 feet in diameter.
This was a fantastic trip, with a great selection of habitats and birds. Every year brings new surprises, and the tour is always fun to lead. I look forward to seeing you in 2009!
- Gavin Bieber
Updated: January 2009