Subject: Re: Mexico and SE Arizona Birding
Date: May 08 18:09:00 1996
From: "Gates, Bryan" - BGATES at assessment.env.gov.bc.ca


Barry Levine and others asked for more details about my recent Mexican trip
and suggested that other tweeters may be interested. So, the following are
a few notes about the trip, which may stimulate some of you.

My Baja explorations this year were confined to La Paz and the nearby Sea of
Cortes, including many of the desert islands from Isla Cerralvo north to Isla
del Carmen. I have a list of species I have seen in Baja California Sur
over the past 6 years (roughly the s. half of Baja), but unfortunately it is
not on this computer.

This years Baja highlights include a flock of 9 Black-bellied Whistling Ducks
at the La Paz sewage treatment ponds, and later, by shear chance, a flock of
about 9 birds that I am quite certain were Black-bellied Whistling Ducks,
well offshore near Isla Partida... possibly the same birds, flying back to
mainland Mx?? Howell (Birds of Mexico, etc.) says that the species is not
known to occur on Baja except as farmyard escapes. I'm not going to push this
observation too far...waterfowl are too common in captivity. But, why would
escapes be well offshore?

The typical species on the islands and adjacent Baja mainland include
Costa's Hummer, Black-throated Sparrow, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Verdin,
Loggerhead Shrike, Northern Mockingbird, Northern Cardinal and, on Isla Santa
Catalina, Black-chinned Sparrow, among others. Yellow-footed Gull,
Heermann's Gull, Magnificent Frigatebird, Brown Pelican, Blue-footed and
Brown Boobies (have seen Masked Boobies on two occasions near the s. tip of
Baja), Elegant, Royal and Caspian terns and Red-billed Tropicbird are
present. Seasonal shorebirds include Wandering Tattler, Black Turnstone,
Spotted Sandpiper, Snowy, Wilson's and Semi-palmated plovers, Dowitcher sp.,
Willet, Marbled Godwit and a few Least and Western sandpipers. Black-vented,
Sooty and Pink-footed shearwaters and Black and Least Storm-petrels are
fairly common. As mentioned here earlier, I've also seen 2 individual Fork-
tailed Storm- Petrels off the s. and w. sides of Baja. Howell does not
recognize any Mexican record for that species. Raptors include Peregrine
Falcon, Red-tails, Osprey, Cooper's Hawk, Great-horned Owl, Crested
Caracara. On mainland Baja are Greater Roadrunners and the endemic Xantus's
Hummingbird and Gray Thrasher. I've not seen the endemic San Lucas Robin
(high); may have seen the endemic Belding's Yellowthroat, but didn't
recognize that it was (now) a separate species.

I was on the train most of the time on mainland Mexico - - a most frustrating
form of birding - - no way to stop and confirm a sighting. However, I did
manage to get in some good birding along the El Fuerte River during 2 over-
nights at the old town of El Fuerte. (A great place to stay is the El
Fuerte Hotel (or Lodge?)--- it's a newly renovated old spanish dwelling -
perfect); and during 2 overnights at Divisadero, at the top of Copper
Canyon.

El Fuerte birds included Crane Hawk, Crested Caracara, Curve- billed
Thrasher, Bare-throated Tiger Heron (missed), Costa's Hummer, Common Ground
Dove, Great Kiskadee, Social Flycatcher, various migrating warblers, Hooded
Oriole, Green-tailed Towhee, Phainopepla, Inca and White-winged doves, White-
faced Ibis, Double-crested Cormorant, Happy Wren (missed), etc.

>From the train while travelling east (up), we did see Black-throated Magpie
Jay, Black and Turkey vultures, Rufous-backed Thrush, Rufous-bellied
Chachalaca (?), Great Black-hawk, possibly Gray Hawk, Western Tanager,
possibly the newly recognized Black-backed Oriole (formerly a Northen Oriole
form), and many of the larger, easily-recognized species. The smaller birds
went unidentified, for the most part.

At Divisadero (Copper Canyon - 7800 ft and up) I enjoyed some great birding
in cool but pleasant temps: Olive Warbler, Colima Warbler, Bridled
Titmouse, Mexican Chickadee, Eastern Bluebird, Painted Redstart,
Greater Pewee, Pigmy and White-breasted nuthatches, Chipping Sparrow, Canyon
and Rock wrens, Gray Hawk(?), Short-tailed Hawk, Magnificent, Blue-throated,
Broad-tailed and Broad-billed hummers (missed the White-eared), Steller's
Jay, Canyon Towhee, Yellow-rumped, Wilson's, Black-throated Gray and Orange-
crowned warblers, Bushtit (Black-faced), Hutton's Vireo, Solitary
("Plumbeous") Vireo and some confusing, silent "Empids" -- Hammond's?,
Cordilleran?, Pacific-slope?-- and , again, many others. I missed what
apparently was a Flamulated or Northern Pigmy owl being mobbed by many small
passerines - seen by another part of our group.

If a birder is to take the Chihuahua al Pacifico Railway, it's essential to
stop and overnight at least at the top (Divisadero), if not at 2 or 3 small
towns along the way. Watch the water and food, though. We were in special
rail cars with special food and "agua puificado", so we survived with very
little illness. We stayed at Hotel Divisadero Barrancas (Whoop! I still have
a room key); Others stayed at the Posada Mirador.

Birding from Divisadero to Chihuahua was equally frustrating - at up to
50 mph - but I did manage to identify 30-40 species, including a Peregrine
Falcon, Striped Sparrow, Burrowing Owl, Brewer's, Yellow-headed and Red-
winged blackbirds, meadowlark sp., Lark Sparrow, etc.

One can drive from the east (Chihuahua to Divisadero at 7800 ft), but only
with great difficulty from the west (Los Mochis/El Fuerte to Divisadero).
The better, more diverse birding appears to be on the western slope of the
Sierra Madre. Military Macaws, Thick-billed, White-fronted and Lilac-
crowned parrots, and Mexican Parrotlets occur here, as do some of the trogons
at the higher elevations. Unfortunately, we missed.

Hope this helps someone, and I welcome any possible corrections or additions.

Bryan Gates, Victoria bgates at assessment.env.gov.bc.ca