In a message dated 96-01-16 14:24:03 EST, you write:

>Would love to hear more of your Mazatlan et al trip. Did you get up to
>see Tufted Jay? Haven't been there for 10 (ugh!) years. Have you birded
>San Blas?
>Steve Herman

At the risk of being flamed (again), this time for a long discourse on
something irrelevant to the Pacific Northwest, but with several postitive
responses to my accidental posting yesterday on Panama, I thought I'd share
this with you. Just skip it or file for future reference as you wish. I've
never been to San Blas, Steve.

Tufted jays can be pretty easy along rt. 40 toward Durango, east of Mazatlan.
I found them in three places on this recent trip in early October, and have
seen them on every visit up there without trying very hard. Amazing birds,
conspicuous, noisy, and always in flocks of 10-30. I suppose among the ABA
birders and tour groups, sites are published and relatively common knowledge.
I'm not into any of that, and just went there blind and found them on my
own. Tufted jays are roamers, often quickly filtering through the forest.
They can be there one minute and gone the next.

Along rt. 40, tufted jays were seen at (west to east) kilometer post (kp)
206, 200, and kp? (El Indio). I suspect that the site at kp200 is probably
well known. This is the best overall and accessable area along rt. 40 since
there is a lovely stream there, a good place to park, and you just follow the
trail uphill (east side of the tiny settlement there). Good for just about
everything including trogons, hummingbirds, thrushes, white-striped
woodcreeper, blue mockingbirds, red and crescent-chested warblers, redstarts,
red-headed and stripe-backed tanager, hooded grosbeak, et.al.; a must for at
least one day or morning's worth of birding. Supposedly, thick-billed
parrot, eared trogon, and Aztec thrush can be seen here, but I've never had
any luck or know anyone personally who has.

There is a great place to stay ~35 km west of that site, back toward
Mazatlan. It is called Hotel Villa Blanca (kp233). It is inexpensive ($N80)
and the proprietors are used to birders, speak English, and serve up
Mexican/German food. Rt. 40 has just been repaved, at least from the Durango
border east, and meets U.S. standards -- a welcome relief. The really scenic
part starts from km200 and continues to the top of the plateau (~km154) where
it becomes decidedly cooler. Cold! -- I felt really out of place in my shorts
up there, with frost on the ground while the Mexicans were all bundled up in
heavy coats, gloves, and ear muffs. Construction of rt. 40 through there is
nothing short of a miracle. Awesome!

A good spot for Aztec thrush was along the road at kp155, near the top, the
only ones I found. I particularily enjoyed the *El Indio* site (~57 km east
of Hotel Villa Blanca). There is a sign post there, and a wide spot along
the road to park. An old overgrown road heads uphill from there. I walked
it early one morning, and shall never forget the large flock of assorted
birds including the flock of 7-10 silky flycatchers working the mistletoe at
eyelevel in perfect sunlight. A golden moment for sure -- Sigh!!

Further along, you have to scramble around an area where the trail has been
obliterated by a small land slide to get to the flat top of the hill. Up
there is where I found more tufted jays, and a sea of wildflowers with
hummingbirds everywhere. Wear something red and they'll be in your face all
the time. This area struck me as a perfect place to set up a campsite. With
a clear 270: view of the surrounding Barrancas, valleys, and lowlands, you
can look down into the canopy at things and I'd think this might be a great
spot for thick-billed parrots passing by. Also there and a downright
memorable and unexpected highlight was a high-flying flock of 115 southbound
white pelicans. They floated up there directly overhead, so high, at least
25,000 feet I'd guess, and appeared as mere specks even in 10X binos. I had
to study them for a long time to determine what they were.

I've heard horror stories of birders, and in fact whole birding tours being
victims of robbery, some even murdered, in these wild highland areas of
Durango. At kp208, there is a beautiful picnic area under the pines. It
would seem like an ideal spot to camp overnight. But it may be too good to
be true (safe). Also, I had a bit of a fright one morning when a pickup
truck passed me, then stopped in the middle of the road just ahead of me to
turn around. Had that been a robbery in the making, I would have been a
victim for sure. Most of rt. 40 is narrow and winding with no place run or
turn around in a hurry. This is rugged rural country and I'd think ideal
hunting grounds for banditos.

I can never stress enough, get out early and be ON SIGHT at the crack of
dawn. The dawn chorus of brown-backed solitares cranking up everywhere is
unforgettable. When the first rays of sun hit the southeast facing slopes
along rt. 40, some areas are crawling with a long list of birds you can
scarcely keep up with. I'm always wishing that that first hour of the day
could be frozen for several more. You always want to be in a hundred places
at that time at the same time. The whole area can be desperately quiet after
9 or 10am and until the late afternoon surge kicks in. just about all one
sees or hears during the heat of the day are the white-eared hummingbirds
that are everywhere. Probably not a problem after mid-October, but it clouds
up, fogs in, and rains after noon to 2pm or so during which time it can be
deathly silent.

Oh yeh, and on the way up from Mazatlan, watch for military macaws in the
deciduous wooded foothills NE of Concordia. Early morning is a good time to
see them flying around as is true with all parrots. I'm still looking for
thick-billed parrot and eared trogon. Maybe someone can suggest other areas
in the Barrancas or elsewhere.

Richard Rowlett <pagodroma at aol.com>
Bellevue, WA, USA