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.