Laura Kaltenstein's Artwork

Earlier this year, Laura Kaltenstein visited from Sitka, Alaska. In the wintertime, many Alaskans escape the harshness of northern weather (if my memory serves me correctly, it tends to rain sideways in Sitka).

This year, she chose to visit Mexico's Central Highlands for a number of reasons: to practice and improve her Spanish, visit the nearby Monarch butterfly sanctuary, and bird the central highlands. Together we birded around Erongaricuaro, Arocutin, and Tacambaro. We also spent several days birding Lake Camecuaro and Colima (see previous postings).

Unbeknownst to me, Laura is an accomplished artist. Her specialities are beadwork and linoleum block prints.

Here are some photos of her bird-related work. You can also find examples of her beadwork. Check out her website: http://www.lauraalaskaart.blogspot.com/.

Some examples of her beadwork:

Lapel pins

Purses

Super Dulce Birding in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon

Hugo and I drove from Patzcuaro to Monterrey to spend the weekend birding with Adrian Ganem Sada and Rene Sada. These guys are "super dulce" birders!

Many, many thanks to them for their hospitality, incredible birding skills, not laughing at me for frequently performing the lifer dance, and mentoring and including Hugo into the Mexican birding circle.

I would also like to thank Jesus Fernando Cerra Luna for giving me permission to add some of his photos. He is a Super Mega Dulce photographer whose website is http://www.birdsandpictures.com/. My dream is to one day introduce him to the birds in our area. Come on down, Fernando.

Dwarfed by the canyon walls

We drove from Cola de Caballo to Los Lorios with a lunch stop at nearly 11,000 feet for higher elevation birds and a breath-taking view of the valley below. Today we birded La Estanzuela State Park.

Lunch stops don't get much better than this

No birding day is complete without elote smothered with mayonaise and chili

Species seen or heard:

Thicket tinamou (heard)
Turkey vulture
Black vulture
Gray hawk
Short-tailed hawk
Zone-tailed hawk
Red-tailed hawk
American kestrel
Plain chachalaca
Rock pigeon
Band-tailed pigeon
Mourning dove
White-winged dove
Common ground-dove (heard)
Inca dove
White-tipped dove (heard)
Maroon-fronted parrot

Yellow-billed cuckoo (heard)
Ferruginous pygmy-owl
White-throated swift
Broad-billed hummingbird
Buff-bellied hummingbird
Blue-throated hummingbird
Black-chinned hummingbird
Broad-tailed hummingbird
Elegant trogon
Green kingfisher
Blue-crowned motmot
Acorn woodpecker
Golden-fronted woodpecker
Ladder-backed woodpecker
Hairy woodpecker
Golden-olive woodpecker (heard)
Cordilleran flycatcher
Say's phoebe
Great kiskadee
Sulphur-bellied flycatcher
Cassin's kingbird
Gray-collared becard
Violet-green swallow
Barn swallow
Gray silky-flycatcher
Canyon wren
Spot-breasted wren
Carolina wren
House wren (brown-throated)
Long-billed thrasher
Curve-billed thrasher
Western bluebird
Brown-backed solitaire
Russet nightingale-thrush
Clay-colored robin
American robin
Blue-gray gnatcatcher
Mexican chickadee
Bridled titmouse
Black-crested titmouse
Pygmy nuthatch
Green jay
Brown jay
Mexican jay
Common raven
White-eyed vireo
Yellow-green vireo
House finch
Pine siskin
Lesser goldfinch
Olive warbler
Colima warbler
Tropical parula
Painted redstart

Golden-crowned warbler (performing a wounded-bird display that we all agreed was the bird experience of the trip)

Hepatic tanager
Flame-colored tanager

Photo by Wayne Colony, San Miguel de Allende

Yellow-faced grassquit
Rufous-capped brush-finch
Olive sparrow
Spotted towhee
Chipping sparrow
Yellow-eyed junco
Crimson-collared grosbeak

Northern cardinal
Blue bunting
Blue grosbeak
Varied bunting
Great-tailed grackle
Bronzed cowbird
Hooded oriole
Audubon's oriole

Introducing Victor Hugo Valencia - Bird Guide Extraordinaire

Victor Hugo Valencia

I have mentioned, and will be mentioning more often, Victor Hugo Valencia. I didn't meet him through birding; he came to us because we needed a good tile setter and several people recommended him to us. When he toured our house and discussed our needs, he interjected the conversation to ask me if I liked birds. At the time, I thought this an odd thing to ask and assumed someone had told him that if he simply talked about birds, he'd get the job. After all, everyone around here knows that I am nuts about birds and birding.

Well, for Hugo, birds are also his passion. He came to work the next day with binoculars in hand as well as a National Geographic field guide, both unusual items for residents of this area. During lunch hours, he often can be found with one of my many bird books.

He has become my birding pal and co-guide of the Patzcuaro Bird Guides. His skills are quite exceptional, especially his knowledge of local birding locations, command of the English language, and birding by ear. Moreover, there are few who can match his ability to find a bird.


In his own words, here is his introduction:


Hi, my name is Victor Hugo Valencia Alberto, but most people know me by Hugo. I am from the small town of Erongaricuaro, Michoacan, Mexico. In Purhepecha language, Erongaricuaro means "place for waiting." I married Lupe who is also from Eronga. We have a beautiful little girl named Mariana. She is four years old. Now my wife is expecting our second child.


I love my family so much. I am teaching Mariana about birds, like my father used to do with me. He used to take me fishing and camping in the mountains when I was young. This is why I love Mother Nature and am curious about birds. Having this opportunity to be a bird guide is a dream come true. I feel so lucky to meet the great persons Georgia and Chuck Conti. She has become my teacher. I want to thank her very much for helping me and showing me more about birds.


Well, this is my history. We will be so happy to take you out birding and have a good time.

Hugo doing what comes natural: helping someone get on a bird.

Photo taken at a recent outing of the Patzcuaro Bird Club.

Birding Colima's Two Volcanos

During the first week of February, I accompanied Laura Kaltenstein of Sitka, Alaska, to the volcanic region of Colima. We visited a number of sites listed in Howell's guidebook and, thanks to Wayne and Susan Colony of San Miguel de Allende, we thoroughly enjoyed Agua Dulce.

Plumes erupted fairly often during our three-day stay

Such beauty! It aches to be climbed.

Laura is in this hedge, really

We didn't have to move far to see birds at Agua Dulce.

As dusk arrived, we drove toward the village of Agua Dulce simply to check it out. On our way back down the hill, we spotted a nightjar along the road. Our look at the bird was curtailed when a car approached. Luckily, Laura was a sport and didn't mind going a ways further and turning around to try to relocate the bird. We did find the bird and had ample time to study it until another car disturbed us. Back in my car, we drove a bit and turned around for another try. We spotted the bird again and had really good looks at it. That's when we discovered that we'd been looking at two different species, not the same bird: a paurauque and buff-collared nightjar. What a double treat for us!

136 species seen:

Least grebe

American white pelican

Neotropic cormorant

Great blue heron

Great egret

Little blue heron

Snowy egret

Black-crowned night-heron

White-faced ibis

Blue-winged teal

Cinnamon teal

Black vulture

Turkey vulture

Osprey

Sharp-shinned hawk

Gray hawk

Short-tailed hawk

White-tailed hawk

Red-tailed hawk

American kestrel

Peregrine falcon

Crested guan (what a racket they make!)

Long-tailed wood-partridge (another lifer for me)

Common moorhen

American coot

Spotted sandpiper

Caspian tern

Inca dove

Thick-billed parrot

Lilac-crowned parrot

Squirrel cuckoo

Groove-billed ani

Paurauque

Buff-collared nightjar

Green violet-ear

Broad-billed hummingbird

White-eared hummingbird

Cinnamon hummingbird

Violet-crowned hummingbird

Berylline hummingbird

Magnificent hummingbird

Citreoline trogon

Mountain trogon

Yellow-bellied sapsucker

Ladder-backed woodpecker

Hairy woodpecker

Gray-crowned woodpecker

Tufted flycatcher

Greater pewee

Least flycatcher

Hammond'd flycatcher

Cordilleran flycatcher

Buff-breasted flycatcher

Black phoebe

Vermilion flycatcher

Dusky-capped flycatcher

Great kiskadee

Social flycatcher

Tropical flycatcher

Cassin's kingbird

Rose-throated becard

Violet-green swallow

Northern rough-winged swallow

Ruby-crowned kinglet

Gray silky-flycatcher

Gray-barred wren

Spotted wren

Canyon wren

Happy wren (finally I got to see this bird - a loud one at that)

Bewick's wren

House wren

Blue mockingbird

Eastern bluebird

Brown-backed solitaire

Swainson's thrush

Rufous-backed robin

Blue-gray gnatcatcher

Bushtit

Mexican chickadee

Pygmy nuthatch

White-breasted nuthatch

Loggerhead shrike

White-throated magpie-jay

Mexican jay

Common raven

House sparrow

Dwarf vireo

Cassin's vireo

Hutton's vireo

Warbling vireo

Golden vireo

House finch

Pine siskin

Lesser goldfinch

Olive warbler

Orange-crowned warbler

Nashville warbler

Crescent-chested warbler

Tropical parula

Yellow warbler

Yellow-rumped warbler

Black-throated gray warbler

Townsend's warbler

Hermit warbler

Black-and-white warbler

Northern waterthrush

Common yellowthroat

Wilson's warbler

Red warbler

Painted redstart

Slate-throated redstart

Rufous-capped warbler

Golden-browed warbler

Yellow-breasted chat

Hepatic tanager

Summer tanager

Red-headed tanager

Rusty-crowned ground-sparrow

Collared towhee

Stripe-headed sparrow

Chipping sparrow

Lark sparrow

Lincoln's sparrow

Yellow-eyed junco

Black-headed grosbeak

Blue bunting

Blue grosbeak

Lazuli bunting

Indigo bunting

Varied bunting

Painted bunting

Yellow-headed blackbird

Great-tailed grackle

Streak-backed oriole

Bullock's oriole

Yellow-winged cacique

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.