Chapala Birders Newsletter, July 2, 2022 | | Sightings this Month
There were 93 species reported for the lake area in April. The complete list is shown at the end of this newsletter.
We have reached the time of year when most of the resident birds have completed the first nesting cycle and the young have fledged. The visiting Sparkling-tailed Hummingbirds are still being seen on the Lakeshore, but they will soon return to their regular territories.
We are getting more frequent reports of African Love Birds being seen in Chapala and Ajijic. These are cage escapes. They are tiny parrots which are common as pets with green body and orange and yellow head and neck. They are all originally from Africa and are famous for their affectionate, monogamous pair bonding. Feral populations (wild birds derived from escapes) can now be found in the southern U.S, and southern Australia. | | Featured Bird: Curve-billed Thrasher | | A Curve-billed Thrasher showing the yellow-orange eye and the curved bill. | | - The Curve-billed Thrasher is a non-migratory native of Mexico and the southern U.S.
- It is adapted to desert and dry scrub land, and is also found in suburbs in such areas.
- It generally feeds on the ground, being potentially omnivorous. It usually consumes insects, beetles, snails and fruit.
- It has a 'rib-it' call, and sings beautifully in the spring. A member of the mimid family, it will mimic other bird's songs, and is imitated by other mimids such as the Northern Mockingbird and the Blue Mocking bird.
- Where possible it will nest in a cactus plant. Both sexes share in nest building, incubation and feeding of the chicks.
| | Godwits are wading birds with long legs and long bills adapted to dip into mud and sense moving things like worms and moluscs. Four hundred years ago when such birds existed by the million, they were considered a delicacy in Great Britain, being naturally fattened up for migration.
They are part of the 70 bird species that migrate every year between the northern hemisphere and the southern hemisphere.
In the spring the Godwits go to the far north of Alaska and Asia to make nests in pairs. The chicks can run and feed only two hours after hatching. Even so more than half of the chicks are eaten by predators before the summer is out. The surviving birds fly south to tidal mud flats in New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.
There are four species: Bar-tailed Godwit (Alaska, Europe, Australia, New Zealand,) Black-tailed Godwit (Europe, India, Thiland, Australia) Hudsonian Godwit (Alaska, United States, South America) Marbled Godwit (Alaska, United States, Central America)
Generally they have stopping points on their migration route, One species, the Bar-tailed Godwit has the choice of increasing its flying time by stopping off in China, or flying directly south across the center of the Pacific Ocean to New Zealand. Last year one bird was tracked leaving leaving Alaska in September and arriving near Aukland, New Zealand 11 days later. It had flown 13,000km (8,100 mi.) non-stop.
In order to accomplish this they metamorphose into a different beast in the two months before flying south. The flying muscles, lungs and heart double in size. They double their weight with a load of fat as fuel, which is used to provide energy very efficiently, producing carbon dioxide and water. At the same time they shrink their kidneys, liver and guts.
While flying, one side of the brain is able to shut down for sleep, as in whales. Where they really excel is with powers that no mammals are capable of. They can sense where they are on the planet, which direction they need to fly, what weather systems are in front of them, and what that implies in terms of winds.
As with a majority of birds, populations are declining. We know many of the threats. For example, we know that due to Global Warming, the Hudsonian Godwits nesting in Manitoba are finding that the peak of the insect food supply is already declining when the chicks hatch. We know that a preferred wintering area of these birds is on the coast of the island of Chiloé in Chile, which is becoming increasingly developed for tourism and industry. | | 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 $100 pesos for a half day outing, $200 pesos for a day trip).
On Friday July 8, we will meet at 8.00 am at the "Sculpture" (at the only traffic light in La Floresta, south-east corner, near Restaurant Pranzo), leaving immediately for the Rosa Amarilla Loop (60 minutes drive). Expect to see a variety of grassland birds and possibly a White-tailed Hawk. Bring refreshments for the morning and sandwiches for the 12.30 lunch stop. We will be back about 3.00 pm. You must reserve - email John at chapalabirders@yahoo.com at least 2 days ahead indicating that you can bring a vehicle or you would like to be a passenger. (We do not always have enough cars.)
On Tuesday July 19, we will meet at 8.15 am at the entrance to Cristiania Park in Chapala. We should see an interesting selection of species in the park and on the shore of the lake. At about 10.00 we will go to 'La Palapa de Don Juan' for breakfast and complete the bird list. How to Get There: From Ajijic go to the traffic light at the main street of Chapala (Av. Madero), cross straight over and keep going straight for five blocks, turn left at the T intersection and park on the right, near the Park entrance. | | On June 15, we had five keen birders out at Hacienda La Cristina on the west side of Ajijic. It was a windy day so the species count reached a disappointing twenty one species. These included Killdeer, White-winged Dove, Black-crownned Night Heron, Bewick's Wren and Rufous-backed Robin.
On June 24, seven people went out to Lake Cajititlan managing to see 48 species, which is a good count for this time of year. We saw Tri-colored Heron, Fulvous-whistling Duck, Black-bellied Wistling Duck, Spotted Wren, Loggerhead Shrike, Black-backed Oriole and Wood Stork. | | Here are the 93 species sighted around Lake Chapala in June:
Ani, groove-billed Avocet, American (Sn) Bittern, least (Rp) Bobwhite, northern (Ca) Bushtit Caracara, crested Coot, American Cormorant, neotropic Cowbird, bronzed Cowbird, brown-headed Cuckoo, squirrel (Sa,Av) Dove, Eurasian collared Dove, Inca Dove, white-tipped Dove, white-winged Duck, black-bellied whistling (Ca,Rp) Duck, fulvous whistling (Ca,Rp) Duck, Mexican Egret, cattle Egret, great Egret, snowy Euphonia, elegant (Sa) Finch, house Flycatcher, ash-throated (Sa) Flycatcher, dusky-capped Flycatcher, gray silky (Sa) Flycatcher, social Flycatcher, vermilion Gallinule, common Goldfinch, lesser Grackle, great-tailed Grebe, least Grebe, pied-billed Grosbeak, black-headed Grosbeak, blue Gull, laughing (Rp) Gull, ring-billed (Sa) Hawk, red-tailed (Sa) Heron, black-crowned night Heron, great blue Heron, tri-colored (Ca) Hummingbird, berylline Hummingbird, broad-billed Hummingbird, sparkling-tailed (Sc,Av) Hummingbird, violet-crowned Hummingbird, white-eared (Sc) Ibis, white-faced Jacana, northern Killdeer Kingbird, Cassin's Kingbird, thick-billed Kingbird, tropical Kiskadee, great Mockingbird, blue Motmot, russet-crowned (Sa,Av) Oriole, black-backed Oriole, black-vented Oriole, streak-backed Osprey (Rp) Owl, ferruginous pygmy (Rp,Av) Parakeet, monk Pelican, American white (Rp,Jo) Pewee, greater Pewee, western wood Pigeon, rock Roadrunner, lesser (Sa) Robin, rufous-backed Seedeater, cinnamon-rumped Shrike, loggerhead Sparrow, house Sparrow, rusty-crowned ground (Rp) Sparrow, stripe-headed Stilt, black-necked Stork, wood Swallow, barn Swallow, cliff Swallow, northern rough-winged Tern, Caspian Thrasher, curve-billed Thrush, orange-billed nightingale (Sa) Towhee, canyon Tyrannulet, northern beardless Vireo, golden (Sa) Vulture, black Warbler, rufous-capped (Av0 Warbler, yellow Woodpecker, golden-fronted Woodpecker, ladder-backed Wren, Bewick's Wren, canyon Wren, happy (Sa) Wren, spotted Yellowthroat, gray-crowned (Ch) | | 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.
Illustrated color folders showing our common birds are available for $200 pesos at Diane Pearl's Gallery, 11 am to 4 pm, Santa Margarita #23, in Riberas del Pilar.
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