Hi all , I finally got this organized .This will be a three part report:
Oaxaca Mexico , Feb-4-2006 to Feb-10 2006
Located in central Mexico , Oaxaca holds more bird species than any other state in the country . Due to it’s diverse habitats and geographic location , there is plenty of quality birding , spending a solid week there could easily yield 250+ species. Our trip started and ended in Oaxaca City , located in a dry interior valley of the Sierra Madre del Norte mountain range on the western side of the continental divide . My father Peter Bahr and I spent 5 full days birding with the hawk-eyed
local guide Roque Antonio Santiago , other participants were Wink Gross and Becky Marsh from Portland Oregon and here is our report .
Pre-trip , 2-4-2006
We arrived at Oaxaca City Airport, which was the quietest airport I have ever been to in my life. Two planes were there, our plane which was landing and one which was parked outside of the terminal , the entire facilities was no larger than your average Lowe’s home center , no lines no fuss. Roque , our guide picked us up at the airport and taxied us around for the day.
We spent our first day downtown visiting some old friends of the family. We spotted a few birds in our travels, the brilliant Vermillion Flycatcher , Curve-billed Thrasher , and the abundant Wilson’s Warbler were the standouts. For the first few nights we stayed at Hotel Victoria on the outskirts of town where Western Tanager and Rufous-backed Robin were common behind the property.
7 species
4 Lifers
Bird of the Day: Vermillion Flycatcher
Day 1 , 2-5-2006 Monte Alban
Roque our guide picks us up before dawn for a drive to the Monte Alban Mayan Ruins located less than an hour south-west of downtown Oaxaca City .This was dry scrub habitat at 1800 meters elevation , and our first taste of how good Roque is as a professional in his craft . We worked the trails around the ruins and immediately started seeing birds. Our first birds were a handsome Black-throated Gray Warbler, Virginia Warbler, Orange-crowned Warbler and the very common Rufous-capped Warbler. Before the heat of the day we tallied several Flycatcher species including Nutting’s Flycatcher , also Hepatic Tanager , a stunning Bullock’s Oriole ,a skittish Blue Mockingbird and our first true endemic : Oaxaca Sparrow ! We continued to the top of the ruins where we saw a beautiful; male Townsend’s Warbler , a kiting Swallow-tailed Kite , Clay-colored Sparrows and Rock Wrens on the upper sections of the ruins among the rocks and weeds . The Monte Alban facilities has guided historic tours of the ruins and a resturaunt , museum , and giftshop which makes for a pleasant and educational day trip for the non-birder .
31 species
25 lifers
BOD : Oaxaca Sparrow
Day 2 , 2-6-2006 Teotetlan / Benito Juarez
This would turn out to be a stellar day of birding under very comfortable weather conditions. At the crack of dawn we piled into the van with Wink Gross, Becky Marsh and two other birders and headed for Teotetlan , located west of Oaxaca City at 1700 meters above sea level with marshy habitat ,open fields, and dry scrub trails .From this point forward Wink videotaped the trip and got some great footage as we continued on. There is great birding Teotetlan with a higher diversity of species. In the early morning the hummers were very active and we found Dusky and Berryline Hummingbird very early. Around the marsy areas we got Common Moorhen, American Coot, Sora Rail. In the fields near the marsh were American Pipit and Horned Lark, although they are North American breeders, most of these were lifers for me. We missed a calling Marsh Wren. Some good birds along the trails were Bewick’s and Becards Wren, Golden Vireo, a smartly dressed Black Pheobe and a cooperative Greater Pewee.
After a few hours we traveled to an impoundment north of Teotetlan for waterfowl and whatever else we could dig up. Roque scoped a nice Bridled Sparrow and several new Flycatchers. I struck gold when I noticed a large bird near some thorny bushes, a wonderful Lesser Roadrunner! Roque worked him out of the bushes with his audio tapes and It stuck around long enough for us to get some decent photos and film footage.
We then headed uphill to a small mountain village called Benito Juarez located at almost 3000 meters . We had delicious fresh stream trout there at a small restaurant and then continued birding. The Flora here was mixed Pines and Oaks and the birds were different as well. Roque took us to some flowering shrubs where we were entertained by a Cinnamon-bellied Flowerpiercer being harassed by a Green Violet-ear Hummingbird; White-eared Hummingbirds were around as well. We walked the road and ran into mixed flocks of some very impressive species one after another – Slate-throated Redstart, Painted Redstart, Crescent-chested Warbler, Hermit Warbler , Hutton’s Vireo and the brilliant white cheeked Red Warbler. It was very birdy here but things finally cooled off a bit and then further down the road we hit Acorn Woodpecker, Black-eared Bushtit, and Roque caught a glimpse of an Amethyst-throated Hummingbird. We headed back to Hotel Victoria for our last night in the Central Valley after this terrific birding day.
91 species
49 Lifers
BOD Lesser Roadrunner
Great trip! I'd love to go some day.