Newsletter

99 Species in June; Upcoming trips for July.

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View this email in your browser Chapala Birders Newsletter July 2, 2025 eBird News & Sightings Last Month submitted by Duncan Poole eBird Community News In June of this year the eBird community surpassed TWO BILLION observations! You can read more about this milestone here. The Mobile eBird app recently upgraded for more accurate calculations of your distance, including the ability to edit your track start and end point. Learn more here. Sightings This Past June There were 99 species reported for the lake area in June.  The complete list is shown at the end of this newsletter. Interesting sightings included the following: Russet Nightingale-Thrush, reported by Kate and Carl Anderson, Road Cedros to Las Trojes, Jalisco Blue-Black Grassquit, reported by Thomas Bravo, Presas de San Nicolas de Ibarra (Mainly Summer Species) Feature Bird: Cinnamon-rumped Seedeater (Sporophila torqueola) submitted by Jules Evens.    Photo credit: Sam Shepherd This is a common, and gregarious bird, often seen in small flocks foraging  actively near the ground, mostly on grass seeds (as its name suggests!), but also berries and occasionally sallying into the air for flying insects. Its distribution is Pacific lowlands extending not much higher than 2000-m frequenting weedy fields and pastures. It is a small and chubby bird. The sexes are distinct: Males with a blackish head, back, and wings contrasting with a wide white patch on the nape (formerly known as the White-collared Seedeater); underparts and rump are a warm cinnamon. Females are more muted, a uniform grayish-olive overall, lacking any distinctive pattern, at least to the human eye. Some female seedeater's plumages shine ultraviolet, visible to the avian eye. The bill of both sexes is the most reliable field mark—short, conical and very stubby. This is helpful in distinguishing from other small, plain female finches such as the Indigo and Lazuli buntings. Males often sing a cheerful sounding series of notes from a low perch, described as a clear "sweet sweet sweet cheer cheer cheer." There are two subspecies, both non-migratory and essentially endemic to Mexico. (There are a few records from the southernmost U.S., but their provenance is questionable.) Our local race (torqueola) occurs from Jalisco south to Oaxaca. The other (atriceps) extends farther north along the coast to Sinaloa and southern Baja. Sporophila is a genus of neotropical finch-like birds, now considered more closely relative to the tanager family than the sparrows. The genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek words sporos (seed) and phiilos (loving). Another neotropical endemic—Blue Seedeater (Amaurospiza concolor)—occurs sparingly in Jalisco; although similar in jizz (general impression of shape and structure) it is in the cardinal family. Upcoming Bird Walks & Trips Our bird-walks are open to all those interested in birds, both beginners & experienced birders. We always have knowledgeable birders on hand to identify the species. Note that we will try to limit most car trips to 3 vehicles and 12 people because larger convoys are hard to manage when trying to stop on country roads to look at the birds. If you are being given a ride, you are expected make a contribution to your driver for gas and tolls ($150 pesos for a half day outing, $300 pesos for a day trip). 1st SUNDAY OF THE MONTH: July 6th there will be a birding outing along the Allen Lloyd Trail. Meet up with trip leaders Kate and Carl Anderson at 8am. Come prepared for a wee hike. Expect to see Blue Mockingbird and Happy Wren. Please confirm your attendance at least 2 days in advance by sending an email to hdd@hdd.net How to get to the trail head: Drive up the Libramiento a half mil (1 km) from the traffic light at Walmart, then turn left (carefully) as you would for the hospital (Ribera Medical Center). Double back and drive up the left side of the hospital. Keep going uphill another half mile, and park on the only street to your left. Here is a pindrop. On Tuesday July 15th, meet team leader Thomas Bravo at 7:30 am at the "Sculpture" (see pindrop). It's at the only traffic light in La Floresta, opposite Restaurant Pranzo). We will depart immediately for Villa Corona on Lake Atotonilco (60 minutes drive). We expect to see various shore birds such as White-faced Ibis and Roseate Spoonbill. Bring your own mid-morning refreshments. There will be a snack break at 11.00 am. We will be back in Ajijic by about 1.30 pm. You must reserve - email Kate and Carl at hdd@hdd.net at least 2 days ahead of time. Please indicate if you can bring a vehicle and can take passengers, or you would like to be a passenger. Each passenger pays the driver $150 pesos to cover gas and tolls. On Tuesday July 29th, meet team leaders Robert and Mugs McConnell at 8:00am at the "Sculpture" (see pindrop). It's at the only traffic light in La Floresta, opposite Restaurant Pranzo). We will depart immediately for La Manzanilla de la Paz on the south side of the lake, enroute to Mazamitla. Expect to see a variety of hawks, woodpeckers, sparrows, warblers and wrens. We will park 1/2 way up the creek path and walk up to the Presa and back for a small refreshment break. Then we shall continue down the lower half of the creek path back to our vehicles for lunch (approximately 2.5 km in total). Bring your own mid-morning refreshments and food for a 1:00pm lunch. We'll be back in Ajijic about 3:00pm. You must reserve as there will be a maximum of 12 people. Please email Robert McConnell at bob.mcconnell58@gmail.com at least 2 days ahead, indicating if you can bring a vehicle and can take others, or if you would like to be a passenger. (We don't always have enough cars). Each passenger pays the driver $300 pesos to cover gas and tolls. Bird Walk Trip Reports submitted by June Trip Leaders On June 1, 7 birders ascended the Allen Lloyd canyon trail with Kate and Carl Anderson. 30 species were counted that day.  Although our winter migrants have left, they still saw some lovely birds. Right away they had a nicely perched Curve-billed Thrasher with mate back in the palms. There were many Northern Rough-winged swallows. Unusual for this time of year were the 11 Turkey Vultures in a kettle riding the thermals near the mountains. It was postulated that perhaps these vultures were gathering to migrate north together. Special was the nesting Greenish Elaenia. Even the Russet-crowned Motmot made a showing. All participants were able to hear and identify the sound of the Motmot. Kate's favorite, a pair Rusty-crowned Ground-sparrow, made a brief appearance. This marks the first trip on the first Sunday of each month up Allen Lloyd canyon. Click here to view the full list of bird sightings. On June 12, 13 keen birders joined Robert Taylor at the San Antonio Malecon which continues to be a popular spot for birding. After the rain season start in the earlier days of June the weather was doubtful but we were blessed that morning with clear skies and a lot of of sun. A total of 47 species were observed, 15 of which were shore birds. Our list included Cliff swallows, Common Yellowthroat, both Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks and Fulvous Whistling-Ducks, Yellow Warbler, and a Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl was heard. Carl Anderson kept a complete list of birds observed. Follow this link to view them. Monthly Sightings List submitted by Duncan Poole Here are the 99 species observed around Lake Chapala in June (in Taxonomic order): 1    Black-bellied Whistling-Duck 2    Fulvous Whistling-Duck 3    Mexican Duck 4    Rock Pigeon 5    Eurasian Collared-Dove 6    Inca Dove 7    White-tipped Dove 8    White-winged Dove 9    Mourning Dove 10  Groove-billed Ani 11  Greater Roadrunner 12  Broad-billed Hummingbird 13  Violet-crowned Hummingbird 14  Berylline Hummingbird 15  Common Gallinule 16  American Coot 17  Black-necked Stilt 18  American Avocet 19  Killdeer 20  Caspian Tern 21  Northern Jacana 22  Least Tern 23  Least Grebe 24  Pied-billed Grebe 25  Neotropic Cormorant 26  White-faced Ibis 27  Least Bittern 28  Black-crowned Night Heron 29  Little Blue Heron 30  Tricolored Heron 31  Snowy Egret 32  Green Heron 33  Western Cattle-Egret 34  Great Egret 35  Great Blue Heron 36  American White Pelican 37  Black Vulture 38  Turkey Vulture 39  White-tailed Kite 40  Red-tailed Hawk 41  Great Horned Owl 42  Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl 43  Russet-crowned Motmot 44  Golden-fronted Woodpecker 45  Ladder-backed Woodpecker 46  Crested Caracara 47  Monk Parakeet 48  Military Macaw 49  Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet 50  Greenish Elaenia 51  Western Wood-Pewee 52  Vermilion Flycatcher 53  Dusky-capped Flycatcher 54  Brown-crested Flycatcher 55  Great Kiskadee 56  Social Flycatcher 57  Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher 58  Tropical Kingbird 59  Cassin's Kingbird 60  Thick-billed Kingbird 61  Golden Vireo 62  Loggerhead Shrike 63  Common Raven 64  Northern Rough-winged Swallow 65  Barn Swallow 66  Cliff Swallow 67  Bushtit 68  Canyon Wren 69  Bewick's Wren 70  Spotted Wren 71  Happy Wren 72  Sinaloa Wren 73  Blue Mockingbird 74  Curve-billed Thrasher 75  Northern Mockingbird 76  Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush 77  Russet Nightingale-Thrush 78  Rufous-backed Robin 79  House Sparrow 80  Elegant Euphonia 81  House Finch 82  Lesser Goldfinch 83  Stripe-headed Sparrow 84  Savannah Sparrow 85  Rusty-crowned Ground-Sparrow 86  Canyon Towhee 87  Black-vented Oriole 88  Streak-backed Oriole 89  Black-backed Oriole 90  Bronzed Cowbird 91  Brown-headed Cowbird 92  Great-tailed Grackle 93  Common Yellowthroat 94  Yellow Warbler 95  Rufous-capped Warbler 96  Blue Grosbeak 97  Varied Bunting 98  Blue-black Grassquit 99  Cinnamon-rumped Seedeater What is the "Lake Chapala Area"? We define it as the whole area of the lake plus all land within 15 km (7 miles) from the edge of the lake. We combine sightings for the month from Chapala, Jocotopec, Poncitlán, and Jamay. John and Rosemary Keeling Lake Chapala Birders is an informal group of bird observers let by a team of Chapala Birders on behalf of John & Rosemary Keeling. Overall Coordinator: Cheshta Buckley Newsletter: Mugs McConnell Website: Robert McConnell Feature Bird: Jules Evens Monthly Sightings List: Duncan Poole Bird Trip Leaders & Reports: Cheshta Buckley, Thomas Bravo, Kate & Carl Anderson, Jules Evens, Duncan Poole, John Roynon, Robert Taylor, Robert & Mugs McConnell. Illustrated color folders showing our common birds are available for $200 pesos from your birding group leaders on bird walks. Also available at Diane Pearl's Gallery, 11am to 4pm, Santa Margarita #23, Riberas del Pilar. We like to hear of bird sightings at birderschapala@gmail.com. Check our website: ChapalaBirders.org . There you will find our newsletters, illustrations of our birds and advice on buying binoculars, books & birding apps. Copyright (C) 2025, Lake Chapala Birders. All rights reserved.