|
Lake Chapala Birders
Observadores de Aves del Lago de Chapala
Your hosts
John and Rosemary Keeling
If you have reports of interesting bird sightings near Lake Chapala, or need information about birding around the lake, email us at:
ChapalaBirders@yahoo.com
or phone 376-766-1801
Website:
ChapalaBirders.org
| | | 114 Species Sighted in May |
| At the beginning of the month we saw the stragglers before they flew north (Townsend's warbler, Virginia's warbler, yellow-rumped warbler, Savannah sparrow, white-crowned sparrow, blue-winged teal, and cinnamon teal). At the end of the month we saw some newly arrived summer visitors (blue-black grassquit, and wood stork). The full list for the month is shown below.
Another New Species for Lake Chapala
John Keeling sighted a Spotted Towhee (previously known as Rufous-sided Towhee) at the Tepalo waterfall. This is a first sighting for the Lake Chapala area. |
|
|
| | Spotted Towhee |
|  Observed in May at the Tepalo waterfall. |
|
|
| | Bird Walk at Flossies on Thursday |
| Our first "bird walk" this month will be Thursday June 2, at Flossie's to see the Sparkling-tailed Hummingbirds. These tiny birds come through for only a few weeks every year. Expect to see four or five other species of hummingbirds, of course. Flossie is currently running 14 feeders simultaneously. We will have two viewing sessions, the first at 8.00 a.m., the second at 9.00 a.m. Please bring a donation of plain sugar for Flossie as most of her social security goes to buy sugar for the hummingbirds.
How to Get There: Go to Independencia #2 in Ajijic, just one block up from the pier. The house has a blue-gray door across from Barbara's Bazaar. Pull hard on the rope to ring the bell. |
|
|
| | Birdwalk at El Bajio |
| Our second bird walk will be at El Bajio, Tuesday June 14 at 8.00 a.m. The variety of tall trees draws a good selection of large and small birds. Expect to see black-backed and streak-backed orioles, rufous-backed robin, social flycatcher, and western wood pewee. At about 10.00 a.m. we will go for breakfast at Doña Lola.
How to Get There: Drive one mile west of Ajijic. There is a sign for El Bajio on the highway. The exit is on the south side. Park on the lateral road beside the carretera. |
|
|
| | Bird Walk Reports |
| On May 9 we had eleven birders out at Villa Corona to see the birds on Lake Atotonilco. There was an unusually good selection of bird species, 36 in all. Interesting species were wood stork, roseate spoonbill, American avocet, fulvous whistling duck and perhaps a hundred Wilson's phalarope on their way north.
On May 24, John Keeling led a group of 9 birders to the area behind the pumping station at Santa Cruz. 45 species were sighted which was considered good for the time of year. Less common species included common ground dove, white-tailed kite, eastern meadowlark, red-winged blackbird, American avocet, and one that should have already flown north, the northern shoveler.
Bird's Nests
Two nests were seen on the bird walk. A loggerhead shrike's nest consisting of a few twigs in the fork of a small tree on the road; and a bushtit's nest in a piece of mistletoe overhanging the road. This nest appeared to be made of leaves and spider's web in the shape of a tube sock, such that the nest expanded as the bird moved around inside. In previous years we have seen inca doves and vermilion flycatchers sitting on minimalist nests in the same area. |
|
|
| | May Sightings List |
| These are the 114 species observed in May around Lake Chapala:
Groove-billed ani
American avocet (Cs,Dp)
Red-winged blackbird (Cs)
Yellow-headed blackbird
Varied bunting
Bushtit
Crested caracara
American coot
Neotropic cormorant
Bronzed cowbird
Squirrel cuckoo (At)
Common ground dove
Inca dove
Mourning dove
White-tipped dove
White-winged dove
Black-bellied whistling duck (Dm)
Fulvous whistling duck (Dm)
Mexican duck
Cattle egret
Great egret
Snowy egret
House finch
Ash-throated flycatcher
Dusky-capped flycatcher
Gray-silky flycatcher
Social flycatcher
Vermillion flycatcher
Lesser goldfinch
Great-tailed grackle
Blue-black grassquit (Tu)
Least grebe (Dm)
Pied-billed grebe (Dm)
Black-headed grosbeak
Blue grosbeak
Laughing gull
Cooper's hawk
Black-crowned night heron
Great blue heron
Green heron
Little blue heron
Tri-colored heron
Berylline hummingbird
Broad-billed hummingbird
Calliope hummingbird (Av)
Magnificent hummingbird (Av)
Ruby-throated hummingbird (Av)
Sparkling-tailed hummingbird (Av)
Violet-crowned hummingbird
White-eared hummingbird
White-faced ibis
Killdeer
Cassin's kingbird
Thick-billed kingbird
Tropical kingbird
Great kiskadee
White-tailed kite
Eastern meadowlark (Cs)
Blue mockingbird
Common moorhen
Russet-crowned motmot
Buff-collared nightjar
Black-backed oriole
Black-vented oriole
Streak-backed oriole
American white pelican
Greater pewee
Western wood pewee
Wilson's phalarope (Cs)
Rock pigeon
Common raven
Rufous-backed robin
Spotted sandpiper
Western sandpiper
White-collared seedeater
Loggerhead shrike
House sparrow
Rusty-crowned ground sparrow
Savannah sparrow (Cs)
Stripe-headed sparrow
White-crowned sparrow (Cs)
Roseate spoonbill (Dm)
Black-necked stilt
Wood stork (Dm)
Bank swallow (Cs)
Barn swallow
Cliff swallow (Cs)
Northern rough-winged swallow
Western tanager
Blue-winged teal
Cinnamon teal
Caspian tern
Curve-billed thrasher
Orange-billed nightingale thrush
Canyon towhee
Spotted towhee (At)
Warbling vireo
Black vulture
Turkey vulture
Orange-crowned warbler
Townsend's warbler
Virginia's warbler
Yellow warbler
Whimbrel
Golden-fronted woodpecker
Ladder-backed woodpecker
Bewick's wren
Cactus wren (Av,Tu)
Canyon wren
House wren
Spotted wren
Greater yellowlegs
Lesser yellowlegs
Common yellowthroat
Location codes:
Ac - Ajijic: La Cristina/El Bajio
At - Trails above Ajijic
Av - Ajijic village
Ch - Chapala
Cl - Lake Cajititlan
Cs - Santa Cruz/pumping station
Dm - Dike near Malteraña
Dp - Dike near La Palma
Hv - Hidden Valley oak forest
Jo - Jocotepec
Lc - La Cañada
Ld - Lerma & Duero rivers
Pe - Petatan causeway
Po - Poncitlan
Pt - San Pedro Tesistan
Pz - San Pedro Itzican
Rc - Santa Rosa: Carnero dam
Rp - Riberas del Pilar
Sc - San Juan Cosala
Sv - San Antonio/Chula Vista
Te - San Juan Tecomatlan
Tr - Las Trojes/oak forest
Tu - Tuxcueca
Xl - Ixtlahuacan/Las Campanillas
|
|
|
| |
