Common Loon at Umecuaro

On December 7, 2008, while coming to the end of a day hike with friends, I spotted a Common loon in basic plumage on Umecuaro's reservoir. (Seeing the bird made us a bit homesick, for three of us hail originally from Alaska and the Pacific Northwest where this species is, well, common.)

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

According to Howell and Webb, this species is not commonly found on Mexico's inland lakes.

I reported the sighting to Dr. Laura Villasenor Gomez and Dr. Fernando Villasenor, sister and brother ornithologists at the Morelia University, who were quite excited about the sighting. And, I also reported it to the American Bird Association, but it was not included in its publication of unusual sightings for Mexico.

Umecuaro is little known among the expat population in the Morelia-Patzcuaro area. It's a lovely area, one that is very popular on weekends when Mexican families spend the day picnicking. If you can find the kartadromo sign on the highway between Morelia and Patzcuaro, Umecuaro is a couple villages south. Follow the signs for the ashram and you cannot miss the reservoir.

Trails follow alongside a cascading stream

Other trails wind through pine-oak forests

The grounds of the ashram are well maintained and secluded

Dorothy and Al were here.....

Thanks to a couple of birders among a tour who had come to the area to see Monarch butterflies, Victor Hugo and I had the opportunity to re-visit Cerro Burro and the Tacambaro area (all are south of Patzcuaro): Dorothy Parker from Missouri and Al Mickey from Winnepeg. A marvelous day was had in the field and all of us saw life birds, including a Golden-browed warbler.

Photo courtesy of Charlie Moores at 10,000 Birds.com

Birds seen:

Black vulture
Turkey vulture

Sharp-shinned hawk

Banded quail

Photo courtesy of Wayne Colony, who first mentioned seeing these quail at Rio Corucha

Rock pigeon
Mourning dove
Inca dove
White-tipped dove
Squirrel cuckoo
Groove-billed ani
Lesser roadrunner (high in a tree, no less)
White-eared hummingbird
Violet-crowned hummingbird
Magnificent hummingbird
Blue-throated hummingbird
Acorn woodpecker
Golden-cheeked woodpecker (nesting)
Ladder-backed woodpecker
Pileated flycatcher
Greater pewee
Vermilion flycatcher
Bright-rumped attila (my lifer on this trip)
Social flycatcher
Cassin's kingbird
Thick-billed kingbird
Northern rough-winged swallow
Barn swallow
Eastern bluebird
Rufous-backed robin
Amercian robin
Blue-gray gnatcatcher
White-breasted nuthatch
Brown creeper
Mexican jay
House sparrow
Plumbeous vireo
House finch
Pine siskin
Lesser goldfinch
Yellow-rumped warbler
Black-and-white warbler
Lousianna waterthrush
Common yellowthroat
Wilson's warbler
Red warbler
Painted redstart
Rufous-capped warbler
Hepatic tanager
White-collared seedeater
Hybrid towhee (Collared and Spotted)
Canyon towhee
Stripe-headed sparrow
Chipping sparrow
Lincoln's sparrow
Yellow-eyed junco
Blue grosbeak
Indigo bunting
Varied bunting
Western meadowlark
Great-tailed grackle
Streak-backed oriole
Orchard oriole

RV Birders

RV birders? What the heck!

It never occurred to me that there would be carvans of people traveling around Mexico to see birds. However, after I thought about it awhile, I realized that my birding friend Sam Woods leads birding by bike trips for Seattle Audubon Society so why not RV birding.

In any case in January, I was contacted by two separate RV groups. The first, led by Bert Frenz, visited Patzcuaro January 22 and 23. Soon thereafter, the second group from Quebec arrived and Victor Hugo and I spent a lovely day with Rachel and Jacques Pepin.

I believe both groups found me via BirdingPal.org. It's a great way to connect with birders around the world.

You may want to check out Bert's detailed account of their adventures on: http://www.bafrenz.com/birds/Belize09/MEX2009-C4.htm



He talks about a hybrid towhee found in this area: a hybridization of a Collared towhee and Spotted towhee. Most often we find the hybrid; only occasionally do we find either of these towhees as pure breeds. Here is a photo of the hybrid, thanks to Bob Whitlatch of Boise:


Although Bert has visited Tacambaro on previous RV tours of Mexico, I introduced him to Arroyo Frio and Rio Corucha, both south of Tacambaro:

I also took him to Cerro Burro, a spot he often has passed but never explored.....the hybrid towhee is often located before heading uphill.

Updating my blog......

We moved into our new house December 15 and are still without Internet. There are nearby Cyber Cafes; however, they do not have enough juice to upload photos. Just because I´ve been silent on this blog, that does not mean I have ignored the birds. In fact, I have been doing lots of birding - here, Colima, and San Diego (pelagic and local species were added to my ABA list). Please stay tuned. I will be going to Patzcuaro fairly often and will be posting a backlog of information and photos.

Broad-billed Hummingbird Nest

On the ides of March, Sergio, who is helping build our house, discovered a hummingbird nest in the undeveloped land next to ours. First, there was one egg, then another, followed by one hatchling, then a second. Two weeks later both birds fledged. Check out the following photos:

Sorry, my camera finally died and I wasn't able to photograph their progress until several days later. Big changes in their growth occurred in just a few days...

The bird with bill pointing to the right was the first to fledge:

Maiden flight:

Trip Report - Jaracuaro Bridge

Eleven of us met at the Jaracuaro Bridge on Monday evening: David and Karin (Patzcuaro), Glen and Tracy (Patzcuaro/Texas), Ed and Dottie (Texas), Mike (North Carolina), Ursula (Erongaricuaro), Francis (Arocutin), and Chuck and Georgia (Patzcuaro/Arocutin). We had an hour before a downpour sent us hither and yon.

Birds seen:

Great egret
Snowy egret
Little blue heron
Great blue heron
White-faced ibis
Northern jacana
Common moorhen
Mexican duck
Barn owl

Cassin's kingbird
Vermilion flycatcher
Black phoebe
Canyon towhee
Song sparrow
Common yellowthroat
Yellow-headed blackbird
Brown-headed cowbird

The endemic Black-polled yellowthroat, however, evaded us.

My friend Victor and I took a road trip yesterday to Cocucho, a village west of Paracho. Paracho is famous for its guitar-making. Cocucho is also near Parocutin, a famous volcano. (Just Google both of these places, and you'll no doubt find much information about this area of Michoacan.)

Cocucho is famous for its pottery, and I wanted to pick up a couple of pieces. In case you're interested, one of these pieces is going to Seattle for a local charity auction, the proceeds of which will support bird habitat.

Calle Hidalgo, the main street of Cocucho

As I venture into new places, I use the Guia Roji to guide me. This is an atlas of the roads of Mexico. Though smaller in size, it's much like a Rand McNally or DeLorme atlas in the US. The Guia Roji served its purpose for this trip until we left the main road by Paracho. So much road work is being done in Michoacan that the Guia Roji 2008 is no longer accurate. The federal government is investing in fine asphalt road to the villages, and I was pleased to find with few topes. Because few road signs had been erected yet, we had to ask directions on several occasions. No problem: everyone we met cheerfully directed us on our way.

Most Mexicans I've met fear owls, but these artisans made owl figures and knew the vocalizations of the Great-horned owl.

Naturally, I made my purchases from them.

Victor is now the owner of the large pot to the right of Fidelina and her mother.

Not yet finished items at Fidelina and Domingo's workshop.

Most of the time that I bird, I wonder where the raptors are. Today, however, I saw seven adult Red-tailed hawks, two American Kestrels, and two Sharpies. I didn't count the many Turkey vultures.