Jazz and Jizz

Jazz Tival 2011 happened in Morelia late last week, and I joined friends for the closing concert by Bobby Watson.

Here's a little known secret about me: I took 27 credits of African-American music at the University of Minnesota in the 70s. My life was greatly influenced by professors Geneva H. Southall and Reginald T. Buckner. Another teacher at that time was Percy Hughes, my mail carrier and very gifted saxophonist, who knocked on my door one day to ask why I, a white girl, was listening to all those spirituals and Kansas City swing (answer: homework assignment). Of course, I should also mention my father, George Birkett, who played trombone at Precidio. By listening to his extensive jazz record collection, my appreciation of jazz was launched.

Bobby Watson has quite a history. He's a saxophonist, composer, producer, and educator. Oh, let's not forget his association with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. (Here's another secret about me: I spent an afternoon at Horace Silver's home where he fed me and a friend tuna fish on melba toast and played the piano for several hours. But, that's another story.)

Saturday was a lovely, warm evening, and the concert was held in the courtyard of the Casa de Cultura. Several thousand people were in the crowd. The musicians came on stage, the music started, and, lo and behold, fireworks burst overhead. It just doesn't get much better than this.

Except that I caught sight of a bird flying over the domed building.

That's where 'jizz' comes into the picture. In a split second or two, I knew it was an owl. My mind very rapidly went from pigeon to owl, ruling out nighthawk along the way.

Jizz - what is it? To me, it's the overall impression of a bird. That impression runs the gamut of shape, posture, flight style, size, color, location, habitat, time of day, etc. And that summation of information helps narrow my options, especially when I get only a brief glimpse of a bird....at night. Based on what I saw, I could conclude that I saw an owl; I couldn't tell you what genus (although I highly suspect it was a barn owl).

Jazz and Jizz - what a combination of two loves of my life. What a night it was.

Serious Birding for 3+ Days

Okay, I give up.....Google has a bug in it today, and I've tried and tried to re-order the following photos and to eliminate a few duplicate photos to the point that I am not going to waste anymore time. The gist of our birding is found after the photos. When I get more photos from Liz, Sid, Jerry and Pat, I'll post them separately.

Swallow-tail butterfly larva

A bat under the eaves of my house

Male black-polled yellowthroat

Black-chested sparrow

Birding at La Estacion near Erongaricuaro

Behind the concession stand at Arroyo Frio
south of Tacambaro

Black-chested sparrow at Tacambaro


Yes, La Espiga bakery. What a way to start the day!

Maestro at La Espiga bakery

Prowling the bushes for Red warblers near Zarzamora

Sid just ticked off another bird on his life list!

Lunch break in Erongaricuaro on market day

Friends Liz and Sid visited from Tucson last week along their friends from Spokane, Pat and Jerry. Hugo was able to join us for two days before he headed to Long Point Bird Observatory.

We visited the bridge to Jaracuaro, La Estacion, Columpio near Zarzamora, and various favorite spots in the Tacamabaro area. Watching three hummingbird feeders at my house also kept us busy. No Rufous, Allen's or Calliope's have made an appearance yet this season.

With six pairs of eyes belonging to six serious birders, I was hoping for something rare to show up. No luck, however. No swifts, no unusual flycatchers, no new warblers.... the one bird that was a potential lifer - a largish owl - briefly caught my eye before delving deep in a tree on the other side of Rio Corucha. Hugo saw it, too, but not enough for either of us to identify it.

Liz and Jerry have promised photos of birds, bats, dragonflies, insects butterflies, moths, etc. I will post them when the CD arrives.

Species seen/heard (101):

Great egret

Little blue heron

Snowy egret

Cattle egretWhite-faced ibis

Black vulture

Turkey vulture

White-tailed ite

Cooper's haw

White-tailed hawk

Red-tailed hawk (dark morph)

Northern Jacana

Black-necked stilt

Killdeer

Inca dove

White-tipped dove

Groove-billed ani

Lesser roadrunner

Barn owl

Unidentified owl

Golden-crowned emerald

Violet-crowned hummingbird

Berylline hummingbird

Magnificient hummingbird

Russet-crowned motmot

Acorn woodpecker

Golden-cheeked woodpecker

Hairy woodpecker

Northern flicker

White-striped woodcreeper

Pileated flycatcher

Greater pewee

Pine flycatcher

Black phoebe

Vermilion flycatcher

Great kiskadee

Social flycatcher

Cassin's kingbird

Thick-billed kingbird

Rose-throated becard

Northern rough-winged swallow

Cliff swallow

Barn swallow

Gray silky-flycatcher

Spotted wren

Canyon wren

Happy wren

Bewick's wren

House wren

Curve-billed thrasher

Blue mockingbird

Eastern bluebird

Brown-backed solitaire

Orange-billed nightingale-thrush

Russet nightingale-thrush

White-throated thrush

American robin

Blue-gray gnatcatcher

Bushtit

Mexican chickadee

Bridled titmouse

White-breasted nuthatch

Brown creeper

Mexican jay

Common raven

House sparrow
Warbling vireo

Golden vireo

House finch

Black-headed siskin

Lesser goldfinch

Olive warbler

Crescent-chested warbler

Hermit warbler

Black-and-white warbler

Louisiana waterthrush

Black-polled yellowthroat

Gray-crowned yellowthroat

Red-faced warbler

Red warbler

Painted redstart

Slate-throated redstart

Rufous-capped warbler

Yellow-breasted chat

Hepatic tanager

Blue-black grassquit

White-collared seedeater

Rufous-capped brush-finch

Hybrid towhee (Collared + Spotted)

Canyon towhee

Black-chested sparrow

Stripe-headed sparrow

Rufous-crowned sparrow

Rusty sparrow

Striped sparrow

Song sparrow

Yellow-eyed junco

Back-headed grosbeak

Great-tailed grackle

Bronzed cowbird-juvenile

Streak-backed oriole

Yellow-winged cacique

It pays to be on your toes: a new bird seen

On a whim a few of us spent last Sunday at one of my favorite birding spots - El Columpio. As we opened the car door, we heard a Mountain trogon. Saw it too. Not bad for a start.

Lots of birds around. If I could put my hands on the list at the moment, I'd let you know all of them.

The best sighting of the day, at least for me, was a new bird. I'd been watching for a Red warbler, saw one, and followed it into a tree. Well, imagine my surpise when I had two birds in my binoculars at the time. A Red warbler and something new for me.

I immediately got Hugo onto it, and it was new for him, too. Warbler-like, kinda brownish with a blue-gray facial spot. Hmmm.

Well, we didn't have to wait long for the answer to the quandry: a juvenile Red warbler. No doubt about it when an adult REWA came in to feed it. Whoa, what a treat.

I tried to find a photo of a juvenile REWA on the Internet without success. This photo is from "Warblers of the Americas, an identification guide" by Curson, Quinn, and Beadle, 1994, the only reference book in my library with a drawing of the bird. Mind you, our bird wasn't so red. It was more brownish than this drawing shows. And the facial spot was definitely more blue-gray. Hard to say how much the lighting played with the colors.

Regardless, it was a good bird to see. And, I wish I had a good digital camera to record the moment. Algun dia (one day, as they say hereabouts).

Good birding to you.

Exciting News about Hugo, our local bird guide

Many of you know that I have been working this past year with Victor "Hugo" Valencia, a local birder from Erongaricuaro. He is an exceptional birder, and I couldn't have a better partner if the field. (see June 8, 2009 entry for more information about Hugo)



We recently received news that he has been selected one of three individuals from Latin America to receive free training from Long Point Bird Observatory in Ontario. His program begins mid-August and ends early Novemember. While in Ontario, he will receive advanced training in bird banding and data management techniques and other field techniques related to bird research and conservation. Since Mexico is recognized as being an important wintering area for Canadian songbirds in Latin America, this training has practical benefits to Canadian researchers and conservationists. This program is also supported by the government of Canada, in particular Environment Canada's Canadian Wildlife Service. Both Hugo and I hope his training will enhance the field work being done by Dra. Laura and Dr. Fernando Villasenor Gomez at the Universidad de Michoacana in Morelia.


While all of his air travel costs, course training, and all living expenses in Canada are covered, he will need financial assistance to support his wife Lupe and two young daughters (Mariana 5 yrs) and Lucia (5 months) in his absence, and to pay for his visa. Moreover, it would be nice to send him north with a bit of pocket money.



I will underwrite some of his expenses but, more importantly, Hugo wants to do as much as he can to pay for his training. This is a poor area of Mexico and there are not many full time jobs. If you are reading this blog and live in the area, perhaps you have some work on the back burner that Hugo could do. He's a master tile-setter, has a certificate to repair refrigerators and air-conditioners (he can fix most appliances!), has a green thumb, does interior and exterior painting, and is able to handle most plumbing and electrical work. There is no job big or small that he will turn down. Oh, I almost forgot - he's fluent in English, so he can act as a translator for you.


This is a chance of a life-time for him. Some of you have added life birds to your list or have experienced many rare sightings in the field due to his skills. If you have birded with him, no doubt you will agree that no one sees or hears birds as soon as he can! He's a patient and exceptional teacher as well. If you don't have a job for him but you are willing to donate funds on his behalf, please write to me privately {antep10[at]aol[dot]com}. I have set up an account for deposits on his behalf. Nothing is too little or too big.


Let's congratulate and support a local birder!

The Challenges to Gardening Hereabouts

As I planted one of my raised beds about 7 weeks ago, I heard a repeated chittering nearby. Yep, an adult hummer was letting me know I was invading her territory. This Broad-billed hummer had built a nest and had two eggs awaiting her attention. I let her be for the most part, and she fledged two youngsters. Now, my Oregon sweet peas and Chinese peapods are about to blossom, and I am looking forward to eating them. (FYI, these edibles are NOT available hereabouts.)

Then last week, Hugo pointed out another hummer nest. This one a Broad-tailed. Lucky for me, I can monitor the progress with my spotting scope planted in the living room. She seems comfortably brooding two eggs. Hopefully, she too will fledge her youngsters.

Difficult to spot this nest, isn't it?

Soon to be youngsters

Here's how I monitor the nest.

Nesting Barn Owls (Tyto alba)

Photo by Nunes D'Acosta, Brazil. Check out his website at www.brasilaves.com.br

Thank you, Nunes, for permission to use your photo!

Here's the thing: I get to learn something about birds nearly everyday. This time my lesson was about barn owls.

I knew there were barn owls (Tyto alba) under the bridge to Jaracuaro, thanks to my good friends Wayne and Susan Colony, formerly of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, and now living in the Tucson, Arizona, area. As many times as I have birded the bridge, the owls never made their presence known until Wayne and Susan mentioned the owls to me.

Last month, Bruce and I went to the bridge to check out the owls. It's not an easy access, for one must duck under a barbed wire fence, manage to traverse a steep rocky slope, and climb some stones to get under the bridge to where one might peer into the dark ledges of the underside of the bridge to where the owls might be. Of course, there's also the garbage one must step through to get to the vantage point and the very active bee hive one must avoid to reach the best spot to see the owls. I am wary of the hive, for I have been stung twice now.....the last time my arm swelled twice normal size and hurt for several days.

The bridge to Jaracuaro.

A climb up the right side offers a view into the left side where the second set of owlets are.

Along the way, we flushed two owls. No problema, I thought. We focused our binocs on the ledge and, lo and behold, spotted some owlets. We stayed a moment to count them - three babies no more than a day old. How cool can that be?!

We returned the next day to photograph them. Only this time, we flushed one adult and could not find the owlets. I was frantic, and Bruce was left holding a camera with nothing to shoot. I started to scan the area in case the family moved from one part of the bridge structure to another. Eventually, on the other side of the water channel, I spotted an adult. She didn't move, and I wasn't sure what she was doing. Was she hiding the owlets?

Puzzlement set in. Was she hiding the owlets? Had they been moved? If so, how could that be, given their sharp talons and beaks? Mostly I worried about the owlets we had seen - they were freshly hatched and so very vulnerable.

I emailed a couple of experts, and Jamie Acker from Bainbridge Island, Washington, suggested that I make sure there wasn't another nest under the bridge. Duh! It hadn't occurred to me. But sure enough, the next time I visited, I was able to count three adults.

Thus, I can admit to having learned some lessons about barn owls over the last couple of weeks:

• I have come to believe that the set of three owlets perished, probably due to our having flushed the adults.
• I know there are three adult barn owls living under the bridge: two females and one male.
• I have also discovered that the second female hatched two owlets and they are doing just fine. They are white, fuzzy balls very similar to those in Nunes' photo.

The new family is living in the dark area at the top of the columns.

Bats, not birds

I hadn't really thought about bats since we moved from Seattle. There we installed a bat house on our home. We have also installed one here in Arocutin, and it is being used as evidenced by the bat poop beneath.

While birding recently, Hugo and I stopped at one of our favorite spots - the Santa Juana road. At this location, we've often been thrilled by Mountain trogons, Red warblers, Hairy woodpeckers, Mexican jays, and Gray-barred wrens. This time we were met by destruction: numerous trees had been removed, probably by illegal timber harvesters. This assessment according to our local forestry advocate, Jose Luis.

Among the debris, we spotted a lonely bat hanging on the remains of a small branch - a Hoary bat. Lasiurus cinerus. In Spanish, it is known as Murcielago nevado.

Murcielago. Murcielago. For me a difficult word to pronounce. Nonetheless, it is a good word to know, and it is good to know about these creatures.

According to a poster I saw recently at the Rosenthal's furniture facture (http://www.mfa.eronga.com/), the following bats are found in Mexico, in addition to the Hoary bat:

Lasiurus cinerus - Lesser long-nosed bat:

Leptonycteris curasoae - Hairy-legged vampire

Diphylla ecaudata - Ghost-faced bat

Mormoops megalophylla - Funnel-eared bat

Natalus stramineus - Free-tailed bat:

Tadarida brasiliensis - Great false vampire bat

Vampyrum spectrum - Sharp-nosed or Long-nosed bat:

Rhynchonycteris naso - Fringe-lipped bat

Trachops cirrhosus - Fishing bulldog bat

Tonatia evotis - Golden bat

Uroderma bilobatum - White-lined tentmaking bat

Corynorhinus townsendii - Townsend's big-eared bat:

Artibeus jamaicensis - Jamaican fruit bat

Sturnira lilium - Yellow-shouldered bat

Glassophaga soricina - American leaf-nosed bat

Antrozous pallidus - Pallid bat

Carollia perspicillata - Seba's short-tailed bat

Thyroptera tricolor - Spix's disk-winged bat