Chapala Birders Newsletter, May 2, 2022 | | Sightings this Month
There were 165 species reported for the lake area in April. The complete list is shown at the end of this newsletter. Interesting sightings included the following:
- Nicola Cendron photographed a rare Ovenbird (new for the Lake Chapala List) on the Caracol Trail to the oak forest, and also a Semi-palmated Plover in Chapala's Cristiania Park.
- Kate and Carl Anderson saw a Least Bittern in the Riberas marsh and also a White-striped Woodcreeper in the hills above Las Trojes.
- We are still receiving sightings of our resident group of feral Red-lored Parrots in San Antonio and Chapala. We don't know if they are continuing to breed here.
Global Big Day
The Cornell Bird Observatory (developer of eBird and the Merlin app) has declared that Sunday May 8 will be 'Global Big Day'. This means that everyone is encouraged to join others around the world in going birding on that day and in uploading their sightings to eBird. Originally a Big Day was one on which a team would compete with other teams to see who could observe the most species in the 24-hour day specified.
Ovenbird
The Ovenbird (seen here last month) is a warbler that looks like a small thrush with a streaked breast. Chapala is at the northern edge of its winter range which covers southern Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. It summers in Canada and the north-eastern US. It is known as the walking warbler, as it forages and nests on the ground. The nest has a dome with a side entrance, looking like an oven. | | Featured Bird: Snowy Egret | | A Snow Egret showing some of the longer feathers associated with breeding plumage. | | - The Snowy Egret is a small white heron found throughout the Americas. In North America it tends to be migratory, but not in South America.
- It is a common bird on the shores of Lake Chapala throughout the year.
- It lives near shallow fresh or salt water where it can catch fish, crayfish, crabs, snakes, lizards, frogs and rodents.
- It nests in colonies in trees together with other similar types of herons.
- Both sexes share in building the nest of sticks, incubating four blue eggs for 3 weeks and feeding the chicks for 4 weeks.
- For 40 years in the late 1800s the long, lacy breeding plumes on the head and tail were in high demand internationally for women's hats. Ultimately this was stopped to protect the remaining egret population before it was wiped out.
| | 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. Note that we will limit car trips to four vehicles 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, we suggest you make a contribution to your driver for gas and tolls (perhaps $50-100 pesos for a half day outing, $150-200 pesos for a day trip).
Government protocols for Covid will apply. When traveling by car, masks will be worn in the car. You will need a mask to enter the restaurant.
On Thursday May 12, we will meet at 8.00 am at the "Sculpture" (at the only traffic light in La Floresta, south side near Restaurant Pranzo), leaving immediately for the Sierra de Tapalpa (90 minutes away). We will bird from 9.30 till 12.30. We expect to see higher altitude birds such as Acorn Woodpecker and Slate-throated Redstart and if we are lucky Trans-volcanic Jay. Bring your own refreshments for the morning. At 1.00 pm We will have lunch at a restaurant on the square in Tapalpa. Expect to be back about 4.00 pm. You must reserve - email John at chapalabirders@yahoo.com at least 2 days ahead indicating that you can bring a vehicle and can take others, or you would like to be a passenger. (We don't always have enough cars).
On Wednesday May 25, we will meet at 8.00 am at the "Sculpture" (at the only traffic light in La Floresta, south side near Restaurant Pranzo), leaving immediately for Agua Escondida and the Two Dams (20 minutes drive). We may see Northern Jacana, and a variety of other water birds, woodpeckers and orioles. We will bird until 10.15 am when we will go for breakfast to La Palapa de Don Juan in Chapala and complete the bird list. If you plan on going, please email John at chapalabirders@yahoo.com at least 2 days ahead indicating that you can bring a vehicle and can take others, or you would like to be a passenger. (We don't always have enough cars). | | On April 6, we had nine people out at 'Puerta Nueva', our newest Ajijic birdwalk location. We were all pleased to see 57 species including American Wigeon, Groove-billed Ani, Crested Caracara, Monk Parakeet, Bushtit with nest, Lesser Goldfinch, Stripe-headed Sparrow and Bullock's Oriole.
On April 19, we had 8 participants on the trip to the Rosa Amarilla loop. We mangaged to spot an impressive 68 species including Black-necked Stilt, Killdeer, Wood Stork, White-faced Ibis, Northern Harrier, Sharp-shinned Hawk, White-tailed Hawk, Eastern Bluebird and Eastern Meadowlark. | | Here are the 165 species sighted around Lake Chapala in April:
Ani, groove-billed Avocet, American (Dp) Bittern, least (Rp) Blackbird, red-winged (Ra) Blackbird, yellow-headed Bluebird, eastern (Ra) Bobwhite, northern (Ch) Bunting, indigo Bunting, painted (Ct) Bunting, varied Bushtit (Ra) Caracara, crested Chat, yellow-breasted Coot, American Cormorant, neotropic Cowbird, bronzed Cowbird, brown-headed Cuckoo, squirrel (At) Dove, common ground Dove, Eurasian collared Dove, Inca Dove, mourning (Ct) Dove, white-tipped Dove, white-winged Dowitcher, long-billed Duck, black-bellied whistling Duck, fulvous whistling Duck, Mexican Duck, ruddy (Ra) Egret, cattle Egret, great Egret, snowy Elaenia, greenish (Rp,Ct) Euphonia, elegant (Tr) Finch, house Flycatcher, ash-throated Flycatcher, cordilleran Flycatcher, dusky-capped Flycatcher, gray silky (Av) Flycatcher, least Flycatcher, social Flycatcher, vermilion Gadwall (Ch) Gallinule, common Gnatcatcher, blue-gray Goldfinch, lesser Grackle, great-tailed Grebe, pied-billed Grosbeak, black-headed Grosbeak, blue Gull, laughing Gull, ring-billed Harrier, northern (Ra) Hawk, Cooper's (Ps) Hawk, red-tailed Hawk, sharp-shinned (Ra) Hawk, white-tailed (Ra) Heron, black-crowned night Heron, great blue Heron, green Heron, little blue Heron, tri-colored Hummingbird, berylline (Ac) Hummingbird, broad-billed Hummingbird, violet-crowned Hummingbird, white-eared (Ct) Ibis, white-faced Jacana, northern Kestrel, American Killdeer (Ra) Kingbird, Cassin's Kingbird, thick-billed Kingbird, tropical Kingfisher, green (Rp) Kiskadee, great Kite, white-tailed (Rp) Meadowlark, eastern (Dp,Ra) Mockingbird, blue Mockingbird, northern (Ra) Motmot, russet-crowned Nighthawk, lesser (Ps) Nightjar, buff-collared (Av) Oriole, black-backed Oriole, black-vented Oriole, Bullock's Oriole, streak-backed Osprey (Oc,Ch) Ovenbird (Ct) Owl, ferruginous pygmy (Av) Owl, great horned (Av) Owl, mountain pygmy (At) Parakeet, monk Parrot, red-lored Pelican, American white Pewee, greater Pewee, western wood Pigeon, rock Pintail, northern (Ac) Plover, semipalmated (Ch) Raven, common Redstart, American (Ct,Rp) Robin, rufous-backed Sandpiper, least Sandpiper, solitary (Rp) Sandpiper, spotted Seedeater, cinnamon-rumped Shoveler, northern (Ra) Shrike, loggerhead Solitaire, brown-backed Sora Sparrow, Botteri's (Ps) Sparrow, chipping Sparrow, clay-colored Sparrow, house Sparrow, lark Sparrow, rusty-crowned ground Sparrow, savannah (Ch) Sparrow, stripe-headed Spoonbill, roseate Stilt, black-necked Stork, wood (Ra) Swallow, barn Swallow, cliff (Ch) Swallow, northern rough-winged Swallow, tree Tanager, flame-colored (Tr) Tanager, hepatic (Tr,Ct) Tanager, western Teal, blue-winged Teal, cinnamon Teal, green-winged Tern, Caspian Tern, Forster's Tern, least Thrasher, curve-billed Thrush, hermit (Ct) Thrush, orange-billed nightingale Towhee, canyon Tyrannulet, northern beardless Vireo, golden Vireo, Hutton's (Ct) Vireo, plumbeous (Ct) Vireo, warbling Vulture, black Vulture, turkey Warbler, black and white Warbler, black-throated gray (Ch) Warbler, crescent-chested (Ac) Warbler, hermit (Ct) Warbler, MacGillivray's (Ct) Warbler, Nashville Warbler, rufous-capped Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, yellow Warbler, yellow-rumped Warbler, yellow-throated (Rp) Wigeon, American (Ac) Woodcreeper, white striped (Tr) Woodpecker, golden-fronted Woodpecker, ladder-backed Wren, Bewick's Wren, canyon Wren, happy Wren, spotted Yellowlegs, lesser | | 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 Cv - Cerro Viejo 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 - Potrerillos / Las Trojes / Chupinaya Tu - Tuxcueca / San Luis Soyatlan Xt - Ixtlahuacan / Las Campanillas
What is the "Lake Chapala Area"? We define it as the whole area of the lake plus all land within 15km (or 7 miles) of the edge of the lake. | | | Lake Chapala Birders is an informal group of bird observers led by John and Rosemary Keeling.
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