Rumors can be fun. Mel and I were looking over MexBirds, the birding email list for Mexico, and today there was a post reporting a sighting of Imperial Woodpecker (Campephilus imperialis). This magnificent woodpecker, long thought to be extinct, was (is?) the largest woodpecker in the world at 24 inches, even larger than the Ivory-billed Woodpecker (also long thought to be extinct and rediscovered this spring in Arkansas).

Perhaps the best source to learn more about the Imperial Woodpecker is an article by the late James Tanner, an ornithologist most known for his studies on Ivory-billed Woodpeckers, published in The Auk, 81: 74-81. January, 1964 (pdf format).

Also, while searching around on the net, I found this article about Imperial Woodpeckers in the wake of the Ivory-billed’s rediscovery. One of the most depressing but informative things about this article is a map showing the distrubution of old growth pine forests (Imperial’s habitat) in Mexico in 1880, and one showing what’s left of this habitat in 1995. Also depressing is the amount of hope if this species does still exist. Martjan Lammertink, a scientist involved in the rediscovery of the Ivory-billed who’s looked for Imperial states: Read the rest of this entry »

After breakfast at the Cafe “San Francisco”, which has excellent coffee and biscuits, we headed over to Ocampo. We birded briefly in town, but headed up towards the highlands (over 4000 feet elevation), where we wanted to bird before it got late.

I made a new friend today named Guzman. He lives in Ocampo, and has been interested in birds for about a year now. I think he’d like to become a bird guide one day. Guzman had a great sense of humor and accompanied us throughout the day.

On our way up, we saw a campaign slogan that read “Vota para Pedro”. If you’re under 30 and have seen the movie Napolean Dynamite, you’ll appreciate the humor I found in this message.

Also on the way up, we ended up behind a pickup truck which had a bumper sticker that I found shocking. It had an american flag on the left, a confederate flag on the right, and words in the middle which took me a while to make out.

Yankee’s - 1
Rebels - 0
Halftime

I wasn’t shocked so much by the bumper sticker (unfortunately, I’m all too accustomed to this type of stupidity having grown up in Texas), but rather by the fact that the person driving the truck in all likelihood has no understanding what the sticker means. Mexico has a thriving after-market for cars once they’ve reached the end of their life in the US, and no doubt the sticker came with the truck when it was bought by it’s new owner.

We hit the jackpot for birding on a road down to the small town of Gallito (at least Saul and Guzman tell me that’s the name of the town) off Highway 66 between the cities of Ocampo and Tula. This road was notable for two reasons. First, we got great looks at species which can be very hard to see (Blue Mockingbird, Mountain Trogon, Crimson-collared Grosbeak, and many more). Second, the birding stayed good throughout the morning. This was an exciting change from the other mornings of feast or famine.

Mel and I observed a fascinating interaction between a Wedge-tailed Sabrewing (5 inch hummingbird) and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (woodpecker) that defied belief. The hummingbird would swoop at the woodpecker, to chase it off, and then land on the side of a tree like the woodpecker! It spread its tail, and drooped its wings, and sat on the side of a sizeable tree branch like it was a woodpecker. The sapsucker would then swoop at the sabrewing, to chase it off. This behavior continued for several minutes before the sapsucker left the area.

After getting tired and hungry, we headed up to Tula to get lunch. This town is over 400 years old, and looked different than typical Mexican cities. The streets were much narrower, and the whole city was placed atop steep hills, such that walking around was a tiring experience, either going up or down. I continue to eat like a king, and if it’s possible to gain weight while hiking 5 to 10 miles a day, I’ll probably do it.

After lunch, we birded areas lower in elevation down Highway 66, finally reaching Ocampo. Though we found some birds hear and there, it was very slow once again. Since we plan on spending a good deal of time in the lowlands of Llera (we’re scouting there tomorrow), we may come back to the Hotel a bit early on the day we bird this area on the post-festival trip.

Here’s the day’s list for those interested. Read the rest of this entry »

Today we birded around El Naranjo, including areas accessible from Highway 80 (notably the road to El Maguey de Oriente, the small town of Plantanillo, and the higher (and dryer) regions around Agua Zarca), and along the river coming from El Salto Falls.

The elevation at the spots along Highway 80 is higher than Gomez Farias. The montane forests in these locations are filled with Oak. By the time you reach the region of Agua Zarca, the forest becomes quite dry. I really enjoyed Agua Zarca. I found it to be a nice change of habitat. Whereas birding in dense forests can become tiring because of the difficulty in locating and tracking birds, Agua Zarca’s open spaces and grasslands provided easy viewing to a very birdy area. The habitat (and accordingly the species) are less “tropical” than one might imagine for Mexico, but there are still some good target birds to look for, such as Spotted Wren, which we saw well today.

The birding overall in Mexico has been harder than usual. There are many good species to be found, and I’m confident that the upcoming festival trip will be a success. At times though, the birding has been slow. It may very well be the time of year. It also may be affecting higher elevations more than lower. For example, the road to El Maguey de Oriente saw intense bird activity this morning from about 7:30 to 9:30. After that though, it was very quiet. Whatever it is, our strategy will be to bird areas as long as they’re productive, and move to new locations if things slow down.

The proof that there are still nice birds to be found is in today’s list. I’ve included it for those interested. Read the rest of this entry »

Oh the ironies. Today we had 73 species of birds. Yesterday we had 73 species of birds. Today the birding was excellent. Yesterday the birding was mediocre. After a description of the day, I’ll include details on the birds we saw.

After biscuits and coffee with Saul, we drove up to Gomez Farias for a long day of birding. The temperature started out quite cool, in the lower 60s I’m guessing, but was very comfortable once it warmed up a bit. Mel and I spent some time trying to figure out the best way to take a group of approximately 30 people through the area. Though we started out on some nice trails, they were too narrow for a large group. We discovered that the beginnings of the road which leads to Alta Cima had excellent habitat, great views, and was very birdy. It was also wide and easy to walk on (no boulders to climb over like some of the trails). Mel and I birded this until lunch.

After lunch, we headed up to Alta Cima (by car), getting out occasionally to bird along the way. Despite a few extra species here and there, it was incredibly slow, though Mel provided some entertainment by managing to get himself into a swarm of army ants on the way up. The pictures I snapped are quite entertaining. The town of Alta Cima is higher elevation than Gomez Farias, and the birdlife found there is more or less than same as other places we’ll be visiting, such as the road to El Maguey de Oriente near El Naranjo (which Mel and I travel to tomorrow). Because of this slowness at Alta Cima, we’re considering skipping it and focusing on the areas below Gomez Farias along the river.

Here’s what you’ve all been waiting for. I’ve included a complete bird list for those interested. Read the rest of this entry »

Well, our transportation turned out to be a little different than I was expecting. Our contact Saul (”pronounced just like the name in the bible — Sa-ool”) had an obligation this morning, so he dropped Mel and I off at Nacimiento, which is the birth place of the river that runs through Mante. The birding was slow, and we ended up spending too much time walking through agricultural areas in a vain attempt to reach habitat that hadn’t been cleared to the ground for cattle. Highlights of the morning included Northern Jacana, Amazon Kingfisher, Melodius Blackbirds, Blue-gray Tanagers, Scrub Euphonia, Roadside Hawk, and a host of other birds familiar to US birders. Seeing as the birding was slow, I turned my attention on photographing butterflies, and got some wonderful shots. (I’ll have to get back to the US before I can share them). One that was just spectacular is called Blue-eyed Sailor, and is a rare stray to south Texas. I managed to find pictures of the upperside and underside on the net, though my pictures are better. Males are golden green above, and their pattern below is like nothing I’ve ever seen.

Saul (remember, Sa-ool, not Sawl), picked us up late in the morning and took us to his restaurant for lunch. Given an open invitation to the menu, I tried the Rib-eye. Though a tad tough, it tasted good. I learned that Saul is well connected with the tourist board and one of the people working to bring people down to Mexico for the “post-festival” trip. After lunch, we met with several officials who are helping with the festival trip coming up. We met with a nurse who’ll be available should anyone need help, and with a lady who’ll come with us to speak on the history of the places we’ll be going.

After lunch, we headed back out and Saul drove us to places in the vicinity of Mante. The reason for doing this is to decide if, on the festival trip, we’re going to fit in a brief stop somewhere near Mante on our day driving back to the US. Highlights of the afternoon included Pale-billed Woodpecker, Yellow-throated Euphonia, Green Parakeet, Ruddy Ground-Dove, Gray Hawk, and Groove-billed Ani. If you’re reading this list and thinking things sound slow, you’re right — they were. However, we had two memorable encounters late in the day. The first was a pair of Bat Falcons that had an insatiable appetite for dragonflies. The falcons would take turns, coming off a radio tower like bullets, returning in under a minute with another dragonfly. They’d rip the heads off, eat the bodies, and let the wings slowly flutter to the ground. We must have watched for 30 minutes.

The highlight of the day came on our way back, when we encountered four Aplamado Falcons that put on quite a show. They were chasing each other, calling, diving, and spinning in mid-air. It was something else. Aplomado’s are big, like Peregrine Falcons, but have much longer tails. These guys were just too graceful. Driving back for dinner, we saw another Aplomado, bringing the total for the evening to five!

Though the birding was slow, we still managed 73 species today. It’s just that most of them can be found in the US. Tomorrow, we head for Gomez Farias and the higher elevations of Alta Cima. This should be excellent birding, with a good diversity of Mexican species that do not reach the US. Seeing as we’re waking up at 5am, I should sign off and go take my first shower in three days.

Adios y via con Dios.

All’s well that ends well, and tonight at least, we’re staying at the Hotel Mante. After a walk about the town and a quick dinner, we’re relaxing for the evening before an early start tomorrow. I wanted to take a quick moment to comment on my travel down here so far. Read the rest of this entry »

Buenos Noches from Cuidad Mante, Tamaulipas, Mexico. There’s so much I want to share, but this may be the only chance I get tonight. After two long bus trips, Mel Piñeda and I have just arrived in Cuidad Mante. The day has gone smoothly until now. The hotel has no reservation on record for us, and this was supposed to be taken care of by some of the people who are helping conduct the “post-festival” trip here in a couple of weeks. We’re trying to convince them of how important we are right now, and how they should give us a room for free, but if that doesn’t work out, we’ll be headed up to Gomez Farias, which is about 35 minutes from here. We’ve already been promised a car (tonight) by the people who’ve failed to make our reservation. (I’m keeping my fingers crossed on that one). If we should end up in Gomez, unfortunately, I may not have internet access. So, if you don’t hear from me for until next Tuesday, you’ll now know why. If we should end up staying tonight, I’ll post a more detailed account of some of my adventures today.