2007 Tour Narrative
DIVERSITY: one word that sums up this year’s tour, from pine-evergreen mountain forests to coastal lowlands, from rainforest to desert scrub, with birds ranging from Collared Aracari and Rosita’s Bunting together, from visually bright Pink-headed and Red Warblers to aurally haunting Slate-colored and Brown-backed Solitaires, from Giant Wren to Dwarf Jay, from electrically bright Orange-breasted Buntings to elusive Nava’s Wrens… And so our 10 days of birding in southern Mexico produced many wonderful birds, including 33 Mexican endemics and 33 regional endemics, plus a great time with a fun group.
On our first morning we headed out to the spectacular Sumidero Canyon north of Tuxtla Gutiérrez, where the day started a little slowly (if Fan-tailed Warbler, Varied Bunting and Russet-crowned Motmot at breakfast means slow) and then took off with a bang. A fruiting tree was FULL of birds, with male Painted Bunting, Yellow-throated Euphonias, Yellow-winged Tanagers, Yellow Grosbeak, Couch’s Kingbird, Black-vented Oriole, warblers and a nearby Banded Wren. We tried walking down the road but didn’t get far when Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush and Clay-colored Thrushes in the road stopped us, then out came Blue-and-white Mockingbird, Green Jays, Blue-crowned Motmot, a trio of Singing Quail, Belted Flycatcher and even a Lesser Roadrunner in the lesser road. Whew! Other highlights, besides clouds flowing in and out of the canyon, were a male Slender Sheartail and male Blue Bunting. After lunch and a siesta we headed to the world famous Tuxtla Zoo, displaying only regional fauna and emphasizing environmental education. There were plenty of birds outside the cages, as well -Great Curassow and others including chachalacas everywhere, Green Jays and lots of motmots.
The next day we headed east and up to San Cristobal, a very different environment from Tuxtla, with humid pine-evergreen forest and striking landscapes that recall neighboring Guatemala. Morning birds included the stunning Pink-headed Warbler, plus Hooded Grosbeaks, Garnet-throated Hummingbird, Mountain Trogon, some handsome Yellow-backed Orioles and some surprise Northern Bobwhites (of the black-headed local subspecies). For lunch we visited a coffee shop in town and took a walk around the zócalo, which brought back memories for some of us. We tried a little more afternoon birding in the woods near town where the highlight was undoubtedly a fine Blue-and-white Mockingbird. Our third day of birding featured a morning at Sumidero then an afternoon in some montane Atlantic Slope rainforest, now accessible “thanks” to the building of a big new toll highway to Mexico City. Morning birds included a migrant Golden-cheeked Warbler, the not-so-plain Plain Wren, handsome Barred Antshrikes, an obliging Violaceous Trogon and Flammulated Flycatcher. The afternoon option was quite a contrast, in montane rain forest with Slate-colored Solitaires singing, plus Lovely Cotinga, Long-tailed Sabrewing and the very local Nava’s Wren sought out in the gloomy understory.
After four days based out of Tuxtla we headed for the coast via a wonderful morning of birding at El Ocote, where birds included Green Shrike-Vireo, displaying Keel-billed Toucans, a White Hawk, great views for all of Nava’s Wren, and the near-constant background of Slate-colored Solitaires. After a picnic and some raptor watching we headed through the dry Central Valley and over the continental divide, with a stop that produced our first Rosita’s Buntings, a stunning male Canivet’s Emerald and a bonus Long-tailed Manakin. We arrived in good time to settle in and rest before an early dinner followed by a walk around town in search of ice cream. The next day we headed to the coastal lowlands near Puerto Arista where, at our first stop, we found the well-named Giant Wren – as groups of Orchard Orioles, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and Western Kingbirds streamed by. Other birds in the morning included lines of White Pelicans, Roseate Spoonbills, Spot-breasted Oriole, Mangrove Black-Hawk, the enigmatic “Del Toro’s Flycatcher” and the first state record of California Gull. The heat kicked in and a long siesta was appreciated, after which we birded the nearby hills and watched the spectacle of thousands of Turkey Vultures streaming over (including a leucistic pseudo King Vulture) as hundreds of Scissor-tailed Flycatchers moved through the trees beside the road; oh, and the Orange-breasted Buntings weren’t bad either.
A morning up in the hills inland of Arriaga attested to the biogeographic mixing-ground that is the Isthmus, with Collared Aracaris, West Mexican Chachalacas and more Rosita’s Buntings in one spot, with the haunting songs of Banded Wrens all around us. After an early lunch at the hotel we loaded and drove to Tehuantepec, where we arrived in time for a siesta and, for some, a refreshing jump in the pool. Optional owling featured a surprise visit from a band of Zapotec worshippers headed for a ritual, which somewhat compromised the owling; nonetheless, we heard three owl species plus Collared Forest-Falcon. An early start the next morning found us out in the thorn forest again, where birds included a very obliging Sumichrast’s Sparrow, lots of Orange-breasted Buntings, some nice Rufous-naped Wrens and Doubleday’s Hummingbirds, and an incredible Lesser Ground-Cuckoo – by which time it was HOT. We then made the long, winding and spectacular drive up to the Oaxaca Valley, with stops to stretch (plus Bridled Sparrow, Gray-breasted Woodpecker, Green-fronted Hummingbird and our last Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl), and to eat at a colorful restaurant with a mezcal production tour and Boucard’s Wrens in the woodpile. After arriving in Teotitlán we took the afternoon to relax and enjoy the settings of our new home for two nights.
Our first full day in new surroundings revealed how much the birds had changed from those of the Chiapas highlands – here we saw Red (not Pink-headed) Warblers and Blue (not Blue-and-white) Mockingbirds. We started in oak scrub above the reservoir (where numerous Lesser Nighthawks were flying late, among the swallows) and headed up to 9,500 feet in the humid pine-oak forests above Teotitlán. Despite a cold wind we saw a good variety of species, including Ocellated Thrashers, Oaxaca Sparrow, Boucard’s and Gray-barred Wrens, Elegant Euphonia, Tufted and Pine Flycatchers, Cinnamon-bellied Flowerpiercers and three species of towhees. Our next morning at Yagul was a striking contrast, amid beautiful cactus desert and spectacular vistas from the ruins. Bird activity picked up as the sun hit and species here included a Lesser Roadrunner, lots of White-throated Towhees, Bridled Sparrows, Dusky Hummingbirds, Rock and Canyon Wrens and, with some work, Beautiful Hummingbirds and a Pileated Flycatcher. After lunch in Teotitlán we loaded and headed to Oaxaca City. After settling in and a siesta we headed up to Cerro San Felipe for late-afternoon birding (nice Red Warblers and Collared Towhees, plus a superb Strong-billed Woodcreeper), a picnic dinner, and owling under intense starry skies in temperatures some found a little cool! Our last full day we started on the oak scrub slopes above Oaxaca City and enjoyed great views of some great birds, including singing Ocellated Thrasher and Slaty Vireo, good views of Oaxaca Sparrow, Golden Vireo, sunlit Black-vented Orioles and a surprise Red-headed Tanager. The “beautiful” sunny weather meant that the pine-oak forests at Cerro San Felipe were relatively quiet, but nonetheless we found Mountain Trogon and an 11th-hour Dwarf Jay before heading down after lunch for a free afternoon to relax, pack and take a walk downtown around the zócalo.
We enjoyed a fine last-night dinner, reviewed some digital photos of birds and places, and slept well after an incredible trip.
Steve Howell