 |
Chapala Birders Newsletter December 2, 2018
|
Join us on the Ajijic Christmas Bird Count December 17.
|
The Ajijic area Christmas Bird Count (CBC) will be held on Monday December 17. All are welcome to participate in this annual century-spanning event.
This is one of the birding highlights of the year. We invite all of you to take part - it's a fun day of intensive birding in an assigned territory with your team. We plan several teams of about five people, each with a leader and an assigned area. Most teams start at about 8.00 am and are usually through by lunch time. There is no cost to take part in the count, but there is a charge for the evening dinner celebration at 6.00 p.m. where we share details of each team's adventures. Feel free to invite friends along if they have an interest in birds. We ask all participants to preregister so we can plan the counting teams and the dinner.
Bird Count Registration:
Registration will take place on Saturday December 15, between 10.00 a.m and 1 p.m at John Keeling's home, Condominium Villas del Tepalo, Callejon al Tepalo #140, Villa #46. This is three blocks up-hill from Donas Donuts, on the east side of the school. For detailed driving instructions, or if this time does not work for you, phone John at 766-1801, or email chapalabirders@yahoo.com; we can arrange an alternate registration time for you.
The 'Cienega' Christmas Bird Count
The second Christmas Bird Count is on Wednesday December 19. This is the La Cienega (marsh) CBC at the east end of the lake some 80 km (50 miles) away. This is generally attended by our keener birders but all are welcome. We set up two teams assigned to different parts of the dyke across the lake. The teams leave Ajijic about 8.00 am and meet for a sandwich lunch at about 1.00 pm on the shore of the Lerma River. You can sign up for this count at the same time as signing up for the Ajijic CBC.
|
| 137 Species sighted last month |
The Complete list of species seen around Lake Chapala last month is shown at the end of this newsletter.
Current Sightings:
- We are seeing more Roseate Spoonbills - two at Lake Cajititlan and fourteen at Rosa Amarilla.
- There are currently six Osprey at the reservoir on the Rosa Amarilla Loop.
- Our winter birders are back. Don Bell is finding the La Cristina area productive, while John Roynon is finding the Allen Lloyd Trail productive.
- Carlo Cuevas continues to hear the Ferruginous Pygmy Owl in Jocotepec.
|
A male Black-backed Oriole as seen at Lake Chapala.
The Black-backed Oriole is an endemic species only seen in Mexico. It is found at higher altitudes in the Transvolcanic Belt which runs east-west from Pico de Orizaba volcano to Colima volcano. Some individuals migrate locally in the summer a few hundred miles north to breed, and some individuals migrate locally in the winter a few hundred miles south. It is fairly common in Ajijic, and more common at the east end of Lake Chapala.
The bird is not well-known because it was named as a species only 23 years ago, and does not show up in the major bird books. It was considered a sub-species of Bullock's Oriole based on similar appearance, until DNA evidence showed the two species are not closely related.
Like other orioles, the females and immature birds are pale yellow with very little black. The nest is a shallow hanging bag, six-inches diameter, hidden ten feet up in the branches of a tree. These birds are insectivores, but also suck nectar from large flowers.
|
Upcoming Trips and Bird Walks
|
Our bird walks are open to all those interested in birds, both beginners and experienced birders. Just bring binoculars. We always have knowledgeable birders on hand to identify the species. We will try to limit day trips to four vehicles, as larger convoys are less manageable. If you are being given a ride, please make a contribution to gas and tolls (perhaps 50-100 pesos for a half day outing, 100-200 for a day trip).
On Monday December 10 we will walk the one-mile long Allen Lloyd Trail which has lots of underbrush in which birds love to hide. We Meet at 8.30 am at the trail head. Expect to see Stripe-headed Sparrow, Tropical Kingbird and Groove-billed Ani. At about 10.15 we will head to Cafe Negro restaurant for breakfast and to complete the bird list.
How to Get There: Drive up the Libramiento a half mile from the traffic light at Walmart, and park on the north side of the road across from the two Condominium towers.
On Friday December 28 we will carpool at Donas Donuts at 8.00 am, leaving immediately for Villa Corona (60 minutes drive). We expect to see various shore birds such as White-faced Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill and Snow Goose. Bring your own mid-morning refreshments. There will be a break for snacking at 11.00 am. We will be back in Ajijic by about 1.30 pm. If you plan on going, please email John at chapalabirders@yahoo.com at least 48 hours ahead of time saying whether you will bring a vehicle, to help in carpool planning. (We don't always have enough cars).
|
Bird Walk and Trip Reports
|
On November 7, six of us explored the El Bajio road on the west side of Ajijic. We saw 41 species including Social Flycatcher, Varied Bunting, Black-backed Oriole, Blue Mockingbird, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Cinnamon-rumped Seedeater, Rufous-backed Robin as well as Greenish Elaenia which is a bird more commonly heard than seen.
On November 14, we had seven keen birders out on a cold windy morning to explore the lakeshore going west from Chapala as far as San Nicholas de Ibarra. With water levels up, the birds were closer than usual. We recorded both Blue-winged and Cinnamon Teal, Black-necked Stilt, both Green and Little Blue Heron, Fulvous Whistling Duck, Monk Parakeet and a large cloud of Yellow-headed Blackbirds from a total of 50 species.
On November 26, we had four carloads of birders going round the Rosa Amarilla loop which is at 6,500 ft (1,500 ft above lake level). We saw Roseate Spoonbill, Loggerhead Shrike, Greater Roadrunner, Wood Stork, Black Phoebe, White-tailed Hawk and six Osprey on the reservoir for a total of 54 species.
|
Here are the 137 species sighted around Lake Chapala in October:
Ani, groove-billed
Avocet, American (Ra)
Blackbird, yellow-headed
Bunting, Indigo (Sa)
Bunting, painted
Bunting, varied
Caracara, crested (Ra0
Chat, yellow-breasted (Ac)
Coot, American
Cormorant, neotropic
Cowbird, bronzed
Cowbird, brown-headed
Cuckoo, squirrel
Dove, Eurasian-collared
Dove, Inca
Dove, mourning (Jo)
Dove, white-tipped
Dove, white-winged
Dowitcher, long-billed
Duck, fulvous whistling
Duck, Mexican (Ra)
Duck, ruddy (Ra)
Egret, cattle
Egret, great
Egret, snowy
Elaenia, greenish
Finch, house
Flycatcher, ash-throated (Ra)
Flycatcher, cordilleran
Flycatcher, dusky-capped
Flycatcher, gray-silky
Flycatcher, social
Flycatcher, vermillion
Gallinule, common
Gnatcatcher, blue-gray
Goldfinch, lesser
Grackle, great-tailed
Grebe, least
Grebe, pied-billed
Grosbeak, black-headed
Grosbeak, blue
Gull, laughing
Gull, ring-billed
Hawk, common black (Jo)
Hawk, Cooper's
Hawk, red-tailed (Ra)
Hawk, sharp-shinned
Hawk, white-tailed (Ra)
Heron, black-crowned night
Heron, great blue
Heron, green
Heron, little blue
Heron, tri-colored
Hummingbird, beryline
Hummingbird, broad-billed
Hummingbird, ruby-throated (Ac)
Hummingbird, rufous (Jo)
Hummingbird, violet-crowned
Ibis, white-faced
Jacana, northern
Kestrel, American
Killdeer
Kingbird, Cassin's
Kingbird, thick-billed
Kingbird, tropical
kingbird, western (Ac, Sa)
Kingfisher, belted (Ps)
Kinglet, ruby-crowned (Ra)
Kiskadee, great
Mockingbird, blue
Mockingbird, northern
Oriole, black-backed
Oriole, black-vented
Oriole, Bullock's
Oriole, hooded
Oriole, orchard
Oriole, streak-backed
Osprey (Ra)
Owl, ferruginous pygmy (Jo)
Owl, great horned
Parakeet, monk
Pelican, American white
Pewee, greater
Phoebe, black (Ra)
Pigeon, rock
Pintail, northern (Ra)
Raven, common
Redstart, American (Ac)
Redstart, painted (Jo)
Roadrunner, greater (Ra)
Robin, rufous-backed
Seedeater, cinnamon-rumped
Shoveler, northern
Shrike, loggerhead
Sparrow, house
Sparrow, lark
Sparrow, rusty-crowned ground
Sparrow, savannah (Ra)
Sparrow, stripe-headed
Spoonbill, roseate
Stilt, black-necked
Stork, wood (Ra)
Swallow, barn
Swallow, northern rough-winged
Swallow, tree
Swallow, violet-green
Tanager, summer (Av)
Tanager, western (Ac)
Teal, blue-winged (Ra)
Teal, cinnamon
Teal, green-winged (Ra)
Tern, Caspian
Thrasher, curve-billed
Thrush, orange-billed nightingale
Towhee, canyon
Tyrannulet, northern beardless
Vireo, Cassin's (Sc, Sa)
Vireo, plumbeous (Ac)
Vireo, warbling
Vulture, black
Vulture, turkey
Warbler, black-throated gray
Warbler, hermit (Jo)
Warbler, Lucy's (Ac)
Warbler, MacGillivray's (Sa)
Warbler, Nashville
Warbler, Wilson's
Warbler, yellow
Warbler, yellow-rumped
Woodpecker, golden-fronted
Woodpecker, ladder-backed
Wren, Bewick's
Wren, canyon
Wren, happy (At)
Wren, house (Ac)
Wren, spotted
Yellowlegs, lesser (Ra)
Location codes:
Ac - Ajijic: La Cristina/El Bajio
At - Trails above Ajijic
Av - Ajijic village
Ca - Lake Cajititlan
Ch - Chapala
Cu - Cuitzeo/Ocotlan
Dm - Dike near Malteraña
Dp - Dike near La Palma
Hv - Hidden Valley oak forest
Ja - Jamay
La - La Cañada-Hidden Valley
Jo - Jocotepec
Ld - Lerma & Duero rivers
Pe - Petatan area
Ps - Pumping Station/Santa Cruz
Pt - San Pedro Tesistan area
Pz - San Pedro Itzican area
Ra - Rosa Amarilla loop
Rc - Santa Rosa/Carnero dam
Rp - Riberas del Pilar & canyon
Sa - San Antonio/Allen Lloyd Trail
Sc - San Juan Cosala
Sn - San Nicholas/Golf Club
Tz - Tizapan canyon
Te - San Juan Tecomatlan/Mezcala
Tr - Las Trojes/oak forest
Tu - Tuxcueca/San Luis Soyatlan
Xt - Ixtlahuacan/Las Campanillas
|
|
Lake Chapala Birders is an informal group of bird observers led by John and Rosemary Keeling. Don't hesitate to contact us if you are seeking information about birding in the area. We also like to hear about sightings of birds or nests at: chapalabirders@yahoo.com or 376.766.1801. Check out the website: chapalabirders.org.
A laminated folder "Quick Guide to the Birds of Lake Chapala" illustrating 150 local species can be purchased for $150 pesos at Diane Pearl Collecciones, Colon #1, in the center of Ajijic.
|
|
|
|
| |
