Chapala Birders Newsletter, April 2, 2021 | | 171 Species Seen in March | | The complete list appears at the end of this newsletter. Highlights this month included:
- A group of us went up the Caracol high altitude trail once again to see Red-faced Warbler, Townsend's Warbler and Flame-colored Tanager.
- We continue to see Cedar Waxwings looking for fruit.
- Jules Evens has been going up the Allen Lloyd trail where he has identified a number of Empidonax Flycatcher species including: Willow, Least, Gray, Dusky, and Hammond's Flycatchers.
| | Featured Bird: Greater Roadrunner | |
Greater Roadrunner on the International School Road. (Photo by San Antonio Tlayacapan birder Jules Evens). | | - The Greater Roadrunner is a year-round resident of our area, being found from here to central USA., from sea level to 9,000 ft.
- Its preferred habitat combines grassland for hunting with some bushes or trees for roosting overnight and for nesting.
- it will eat anything that moves - insects, scorpions, lizards, snakes, mice, as well as fruits and seeds in season. With strong legs it will jump up to catch low-flying small birds and insects.
- Roadrunners mate for life and will defend a territory up to a half mile across. They have elaborate mating rituals, sharing the task of building a nest of twigs and grass in a bush or cactus. Some 2 to 6 eggs are laid and are incubated for 20 days. However incubation starts when half the eggs are laid, resulting in older and younger chicks competing in the nest, and not all survive. Roadrunners sometimes lay eggs in the nests of other birds such as the Northern Mockingbird,
- Predators include hawks, raccoons, coyotes and snakes.
| | We are proposing to continue with our reduced-size birdwalks for which you must reserve a place by email ( chapalabirders@yahoo.com) ahead of time. Masks will be worn and social distancing will be required. There will be no indoor activity, meaning no group breakfast at the end of the walk. Maximum attendance will be ten people, or in the case of a local car trip, a maximum of three cars with a maximum of three people per car.. Please reserve a space by email at least 48 hours ahead of each birdwalk or local bird trip.
On Tuesday April 6, we will meet at 8.30 am at El Bajio on the west side of Ajijic. We will walk down the lane to the lake, expecting to see a good variety of birds in the tall trees and fields. You must reserve - email John at chapalabirders@yahoo.com at least 2 days ahead of time How to Get There: From Ajijic go about 2 mi. (3 km) west from the light at Colon, turn downhill at the sign for El Bajio opposite the west end of the new retirement community El Pueblito and park immediately on the lateral road parallel to the carretera..
On Thursday April 15, we will meet at 8.30 am to carpool at the gas station on the Chapala-Guadalajara highway at the intersection of the Ajijic Libramiento (max 3 cars, max 3 persons per car) leaving immediately for the Cajititlan Marsh (30 minutes drive). We expect to see a variety of marsh and lake birds such as Black-necked Stilt, Snowy Egret, and perhaps American Avocet. You must reserve - email John at chapalabirders@yahoo.com at least 2 days ahead of time.
On Monday April 26, we will meet at 8.30 am to walk the one-mile long Allen Lloyd Trail which has lots of underbrush in which birds love to hide. Expect to see Stripe-headed Sparrow and Groove-billed Ani and hear the Happy Wren - if we are lucky. You must reserve - email John at chapalabirders@yahoo.com at least 2 days ahead of time. How to get to the trail head: Drive up the Libramiento a half mile from the traffic light at Walmart, and park on the north side of the road next to the new hospital.across from the Radisson Blu / El Dorado Condominium towers. | | On March 8, we had a group of nine birders out at the Pumping Station (Lake Chapala Road East). We observed a good list of 55 species including Yellow-headed Blackbird, American Avocet, White-tailed Kite, Caspian Tern, Lucy's Warbler and Common Yellowthroat.
On March 17, a group of nine of us assembled to walk the one-mile Los Arrieros Trail in Ixtlahuacan de los Membrillos. We recorded 34 species including Bushtit, Loggerhead Shrike, Yellow-breasted Chat, Rusty-crowned Ground Sparrow, Cooper's Hawk, Squirrel Cuckoo and Common Ground Dove.
On March 25, we had six people out to bird the Cristiania Park in Chapala. We saw Northern Jacana, Tri-colored Heron, Wilson'S Phalarope, Rufous-backed Robin, Forster's Tern, American Wigeon, and Lesser Yellowlegs out of a total of 45 species. | | Here are the 171 species sighted around Lake Chapala in March:
Ani, groove-billed Avocet, American Blackbird, Brewer's (Ra) Blackbird, red-winged (Ra) Blackbird, yellow-headed Bluebird, eastern (Ra) Bunting, indigo Bunting, lazuli Bunting, painted Bunting, varied Bushtit Caracara, crested Chat, yellow-breasted (Sa) Coot, American Cormorant, neotropic Cowbird, bronzed Cowbird, brown-headed Cuckoo, squirrel (Ct) Dove, common ground (Ra) Dove, Eurasian collared Dove, Inca Dove, mourning Dove, white-tipped Dove, white-winged Dowitcher, long-billed Duck, fulvous whistling Duck, Mexican (Ra) Duck, ring-necked (Ra,Sn) Duck, ruddy Egret, cattle Egret, great Egret, snowy Elaenia, greenish (Ct) Euphonia, elegant (Ac) Finch, house Flycatcher, cordilleran Ct) Flycatcher, dusky (Sa) Flycatcher, dusky-capped (Ct) Flycatcher, gray (Sa) Flycatcher, Hammond's (Sa) Flycatcher, least (Sa) Flycatcher, Nutting's (Ct,Sa) Flycatcher, social Flycatcher, vermilion Gallinule, common Gnatcatcher, blue-gray Goldfinch, lesser Grackle, great-tailed Grebe, least Grebe, pied-billed Grosbeak, black-headed Grosbeak, blue Gull, ring-billed Harrier, northern (Ra) Hawk, Cooper's Hawk, gray (Ra) Hawk, red-tailed Hawk, sharp-shinned Ct) Hawk, white-tailed Hawk, zone-tailed Heron, black-crowned night Heron, great blue Heron, green Heron, tri-colored Hummingbird, broad-billed Hummingbird, violet-crowned Hummingbird, white-eared (Ct) Ibis, white-faced Jacana, northern Kestrel, American Killdeer Kingbird, Cassin's Kingbird, thick-billed (Av) Kingbird, tropical Kingfisher, belted (Ra) Kiskadee, great Kite, white-tailed (Ps,Ra) Meadowlark, eastern (Ra) Mockingbird, blue (Av) Mockingbird, northern (Ps) Motmot, russet-crowned Nighthawk, lesser (Ch) Nightjar, buff-collared (Av) Oriole, black-backed Oriole, black-vented Oriole, Bullock's Oriole, hooded Oriole, orchard Oriole, streak-backed Osprey (Ra) Owl, ferruginous pygmy (Av) Owl, great horned Owl, mountain pygmy (Ct) Parakeet, monk Parrot, red-lored (Ch) Parula, tropical Ac) Pelican, American white Pelican, brown (Ra) Pewee, greater Phalarope, Wilson's (Ch) Pigeon, rock Pintail, northern (Ra) Pipit, American (Ps) Raven, common Roadrunner, greater (Ra,Ch) Robin, rufous-backed Sandpiper, least Sandpiper, western Seedeater, cinnamon-rumped Shoveler, northern Shrike, loggerhead Solitaire, brown-backed (Ct) Sparrow, Botteri's (Ra) Sparrow, clay-colored Sparrow, house Sparrow, lark Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow, rusty-crowned ground Sparrow, savannah (Ps) Sparrow, stripe-headed Stilt, black-necked Stork, wood (Ca) Swallow, barn Swallow, northern rough-winged Swallow, tree Tanager, flame-colored (Ct) Tanager, hepatic (Ct) Tanager, western Teal, blue-winged Teal, cinnamon Teal, green-winged Tern, Caspian Tern, Forster's Thrasher, curve-billed Thrush, orange-billed nightingale (Sa) Towhee, canyon Towhee, green-tailed (Ct) Tyrannulet, northern beardless Vireo, black capped (Sa) Vireo, Cassin's Vireo, golden Vireo, plumbeous Vireo, warbling Vulture, black Vulture, turkey Warbler, black and white Warbler, black-throated gray Warbler, Lucy's (Ps) Warbler, MacGillivray's (Ct) Warbler, Nashville (Ps) Warbler, orange-crowned Warbler, red-faced Ct) Warbler, rufous-capped (Ct) Warbler, Townsend's Ct) Warbler, Virginia's Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, yellow (Jo) Warbler, yellow-rumped Waxwing, cedar Wigeon, American (Ch) Woodpecker, golden-fronted Woodpecker, ladder-backed Wren, Bewick's Wren, canyon Wren, happy (Ct) Wren, house Wren, marsh (Rp) Wren, spotted Yellowlegs, greater Yellowlegs, lesser (Ca) Yellowthroat, common (Ca) | | Sighting Location codes: Ac - Ajijic: La Cristina / El Bajio At - Trails above Ajijic Av - Ajijic village Ca - Lake Cajititlan & marsh Ch - Chapala Ct - Caracol Trail / Int'l School Dm - Dike: Jamay to Malteraña Dp - Dike: Maltaraña to La Palma Hv - Hidden Valley oak forest Ja - Jamay La - La Cañada-Hidden Valley Jo - Jocotepec Ld - Lerma & Duero rivers Oc - Ocotlan 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.
Check our website: | | | | | | |
