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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
| | | November Sightings |
| In November a total of 135 species were reported around the lake (see the full list below).
There were two unusual sightings in our area last month. Don Bell identified a Western Bluebird on the heights of the Rosa Amarilla loop on the south side of the lake. These birds are commonly seen 90 minutes drive away at the higher elevation of Tapalpa, but our Rosa Amarilla has a very similar elevation above sea level.
The other rarity was the sighting of a Herring Gull (first year plumage) by Dave Bengston, a visting birder from California. He reports that it stood out from all the Ring-billed Gulls at Mezcala Island. This bird is a vagrant here, as it is normally confined to the coasts of Mexico which it visits in the winter.
Don't forget to register for the Ajijic Christmas Bird Count coming up very soon. (See details below.) |
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| | Western Bluebird |
|  Seen last month at Rosa Amarilla. Note that the plumage of the female is duller than the male, and is even duller in the winter. |
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| | Christmas Bird Counts |
| The Lake Chapala Christmas Bird Count will be held Wednesday, December 14. It is necessary to pre-register in order to pay the fee and to be assigned to a team. The count will be followed by a dinner at 6.00 p.m. at Sunrise Restaurant. The fee for the count is 100 pesos (much of which goes to the Audubon Society) and the dinner cost is 150 pesos - including tip, drinks extra.
Everyone is welcome to participate in the count - typically we get about 36 participants. This will be the sixth "CBC" for Ajijic and the 112th for the Audubon Society. Our area, a fixed 15-mile diameter circle, is divided into six areas for six teams.
The Cienega Christmas Bird Count on the dike at the other end of the lake will be held Friday, December 16. This is an all-day affair that attracts the serious birders.
Registration for both counts will take place Monday and Tuesday (December 12 and 13) from 10.00 to noon at the residence of John Keeling in Ajijic, Condominium Villas del Tepalo, villa 46, 766-1801. (Go uphill from Donas Donuts, fork half right in front of Min Wah Restaurant, continue uphill and turn in at Callejon al Tepalo #140, on the right, opposite the school.) |
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| | Gallery Showings of Bird Pictures |
| We currently have three displays of bird pictures in town. The first and most impressive is Paul Hart's exhibition "A Celebration of Birds" at Galería Sol Mexicano, Colon #13 in Ajijic. The front gallery is devoted to large color photos of mainly local birds. These are for sale, as is Paul's new calendar, and will be on display until December 9. Be sure to visit.
The other two shows are part of the recent Bird Festival aimed at the Mexican community. In the Ajijic Cultural Center on the square is a show of 20 color photos by Jesus Moreno, a remarkable photographer from Guadalajara. These are displayed on easels on the upper level until December 19. Moreno is known for the high quality calendars featuring his work published for the last two years. His 2012 calendar should be available soon.
At the Centro Cultural Gonzalez Gallo (the old train station) in Chapala there is a show of paintings of birds by Lizzy Martinez. This is in its own room on the upper level, east wing until December 19. Martinez is the leader of the Guadalajara Birders Group and works in the Education Department of the Guadalajara Zoo. |
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| | Bird Walks and Reports |
| Wednesday, December 7, at 8.15, John Keeling will lead a bird walk at the pumping station. This continues to be the location that offers the best variety of birds conveniently accessible on foot. At 10.15 we will head for Las Delicias for breakfast.
How to Get There: Drive east from Chapala towards Mezcala. After passing Santa Cruz on your left look out for the pumping station with 3 gray pump towers on your right with the sign 'Aqueducto'. Immediately after the station take the first semi-hidden gravel road on the right. After a mile turn left at the T junction, then right, and park near the lake.
November Bird Walk Reports:
On November 9, Don Bell led 17 birders (including two biology students from Guadalajara) at La Cristina and El Bajio. They saw 44 species including belted kingfisher, blue-winged teal, cinnamon teal and common raven.
On November 19, 17 people drove for 90 minutes to Tala to enter the Primavera Forest at 8.30 a.m. Our leader, Francisco Leon, apologized for not having insisted that we got up even earlier to see the best birds. The scenery was gorgeous, and many saw a few lifers, such as Arizona woodpecker and acorn woodpecker. A few problems with Vialidad Police taking two foreign license plates off our cars while we were having breakfast completed an interesting morning.
On November 26, John Keeling led nine birders at Cristianía Park in Chapala as part of the Bird Festival aimed at getting the local Mexican people more interested in birds. The majority were Guadalajara residents. Sightings included crested caracara, American white pelican and semipalmated plover. |
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| | November List |
| These are the 135 species observed in November around Lake Chapala:
Ani, groove-billed
Avocet, American
Becard, rose-throated (Ac)
Bittern, American
Blackbird, red-winged
Blackbird, yellow-headed
Bluebird, western (Ra)
Bunting, painted
Bunting, varied
Bushtit
Caracara, crested
Chat, yellow-breasted
Coot, American
Cormorant, neotropic
Cowbird, bronzed
Cowbird, brown headed
Dove, inca
Dove, white-tipped
Dove, white-winged
Duck, Mexican
Duck, ruddy
Egret, cattle
Egret, great
Egret, snowy
Elaenia, greenish (Ac)
Euphonia, elegant
Finch, house
Flycatcher, ash-throated
Flycatcher, cordilleran
Flycatcher, gray-silky
Flycatcher, social
Flycatcher, olive-sided
Flycatcher, vermilion
Gadwall
Gallinule, common
Gnatcatcher, blue-gray
Goldfinch, lesser
Grackle, great-tailed
Grebe, eared
Grebe, least
Grebe, pied-billed
Grosbeak, black-headed
Grosbeak, blue
Gull, herring (Te)
Gull, laughing
Gull, ring-billed
Hawk, Cooper's
Hawk, red-tailed
Hawk, white-tailed
Hawk, zone-tailed
Heron, black-crowned night
Heron, great blue
Heron, green
Heron, little blue
Heron, tri-colored
Hummingbird, berylline
Hummingbird, broad-billed
Hummingbird, magnificent
Hummingbird, rufous
Hummingbird, violet-crowned
Ibis, white-faced
Jacana, northern
Kestrel, American
Killdeer
Kingbird, Cassin's
Kingbird, thick-billed
Kingbird, tropical
Kingbird, western
Kingfisher, belted
Kiskadee, great
Kite, white-tailed
Meadowlark, eastern (Ra)
Mockingbird, blue
Mockingbird, northern
Oriole, black-vented
Oriole, hooded
Oriole, streak-backed
Osprey (Ra)
Parula, tropical (Ac)
Pelican, American white
Pewee, greater
Pigeon, rock
Plover, semipalmated (Ch)
Raven, common
Redstart, American
Robin, rufous-backed
Sandpiper, least
Sandpiper, spotted
Sandpiper, stilt (Cs)
Sandpiper, western (Cs)
Seedeater, white-collared
Shoveler, northern
Shrike, loggerhead
Snipe, Wilson's
Sparrow, clay-colored
Sparrow, house
Sparrow, lark
Sparrow, Lincoln's
Sparrow, rusty-crowned ground
Sparrow, stripe-headed
Stilt, black-necked
Swallow, barn
Swallow, cliff
Swallow, northern rough-winged
Swallow, tree
Tanager, hepatic
Tanager, summer
Tanager, western
Teal, blue-winged
Teal, cinnamon
Teal, green-winged
Tern, Caspian
Tern, Forster's
Thrasher, curve-billed
Towhee, canyon
Tyrannulet, northern beardless
Vireo, Bell's
Vireo, Cassin's
Vireo, warbling
Vulture, black
Vulture, turkey
Warbler, black and white
Warbler, Lucy's
Warbler, Nashville
Warbler, rufous-capped
Warbler, Wilsons'
Warbler, yellow
Warbler, yellow-rumped
Woodpecker, golden-fronted
Woodpecker, ladder-backed
Wren Bewick's
Wren, canyon
Wren, house
Wren, spotted
Yellowlegs, greater
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
Ld - Lerma & Duero rivers
Pe - Petatan causeway
Po - Poncitlan
Pt - San Pedro Tesistan
Pz - San Pedro Itzican
Ra - Rosa Amarilla loop
Rc - Santa Rosa: Carnero dam
Rp - Riberas del Pilar
Sc - San Juan Cosala
Sv - San Antonio/Chula Vista
Te - San Juan Tecomatlan/Mezcala
Tr - Las Trojes/oak forest
Tu - Tuxcueca
Xl - Ixtlahuacan/Las Campanillas
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