Chapala Birders Newsletter, February 2, 2023 | | Sightings this Month
There were 199 species reported for the lake area in January. The complete list is shown at the end of this newsletter. Unusual sightings included:
- Carlo Cuevas photographed Lilac-crowned Parrots in Jocotepec (see below)
- Mary Paston observed Bufflehead and Ring-necked Duck at the Chapala Golf and Country Club.
- Jules Evens identified Red Crossbill by its call on the Mezcala Mountain
Another New Species for the Lake Chapala Area
The Lilac-crowned Parrot is a Mexican endemic that occurs in the wild on the Pacific Slope from Sinaloa to Oaxaca. It has also adapted to living in city parks, so it is now found in every major city in Mexico. It is considered to be an "Exotic Species" rather than "Wild" in these cities. It is a medium-large green parrot with some lilac color on the head. Carlo has seen seven of these birds in Jocotepec for several months, only now photographing them to establish a correct ID.
Notes for eBird and Merlin Users
Some people occasionally put an X for the number of birds of a species they have seen. If you do not put in your best estimate of the number seen and only put an X, then your entry becomes useless for researchers. If you are not good at estimating then at least put in a conservative ball-park figure. Researchers need to know: was it approximately 18 birds, or approximately 200 birds or approximately 3,000?
If you are trying to look up a bird by name but Merlin will not display that species then either you need to go Explore Birds, select the sub-menu (triangular three bars) and select "all installed birds", OR, you need to download the proper Bird Packs. Go to the main menu (three bars) select 'Bird Packs' and download the following two packs: "Mexico All, and "US and Canada Continental" | | Featured Bird: Lucy's Warbler | | The Lucy's Warbler looks somewhat like a very pale Blue-gray Gnatcatcher or a Virginia's Warble without any yellow patches. The male has maroon feathers in the cap and a reddish-brown rump, but these two features are usually not easily visible. The female is even paler colored. | | - The Lucy's Warbler breeds in the deserts of Northern Mexico and in the U.S. border states. It comes down to the Pacific Slope of Mexico for the six months of winter. We are on the edge of its winter range.
- It is our smallest warbler and is usually seen in continuous motion in search of food just like other warblers.
- It eats insects, caterpillars and spiders which it finds on the tree leaves.
- So if you see a pale and plain-looking Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, you should ask yourself: Is it perhaps a Lucy's Warbler? Does it have any evidence of a reddish-brown rump?
| | Upcoming Bird-walks and Trips | | 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 $150 pesos for a half day outing, $300 pesos for a day trip).
On Thursday February 9, 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 Friday February 17, we will meet at 8.00 am at the "Sculpture" (at the only traffic light in La Floresta, (south-east corner), 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 if 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 Tuesday February 21, 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), Because of construction you must turn right and continue to the end of the malecon (end of the sales booths) then turn left passing by the Red Cross and park as close as you can to the main entrance of the park on your right. | | On January 9, we had 19 people out in the sunshine to the 'Lakeshore East' from Chapala to 'fisherman's point ' and the pumping station. We observed Common Yellowthroat, Gadwall, Northern Mockingbird, Yellow-breasted Chat, Wilson's Snipe and American Redstart out of a total 65 species.
On January 17, we were joined by eleven birders on the popular Rosa Amarilla Loop on the plateau on the south side of the lake. We saw 75 species including Chihuahan Meadowlark, Brewer's blackbird, Say's Phoebe, Lesser Scaup, Willet, White-tailed Hawk and Wood Stork.
On January 27, we had 19 congenial birders out on the Allen Lloyd Trail close to Ajijic. We identified 42 species including Lincoln's Sparrow, Virginia's Warbler, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Short-tailed Hawk, Squirrel cuckoo, Happy Wren and Bullock's Oriole. | | Here are the 199 species sighted around Lake Chapala in January:
Ani, groove-billed Avocet, American Bittern, American (Rp) Bittern, least (Jo) Blackbird, Brewer's (Ra) Blackbird, yellow-headed Bufflehead Bunting, indigo Bunting, lazuli (La,Sc) Bunting, painted Bunting, varied Bushtit Canvasback Caracara, crested Chat, yellow-breasted (Ps,Sa) Coot, American Cormorant, neotropic Cowbird, bronzed Cowbird, brown-headed Crossbill, red (Mz) Cuckoo, squirrel (La,Sa) Dove, common ground (Dp) Dove, Eurasian collared Dove, Inca Dove, mourning Dove, white-tipped Dove, white-winged Dowitcher, long-billed Duck, black-bellied whistling (Ld) Duck, fulvous whistling (Ld) Duck, Mexican Duck, ring-necked (Ld,Sn) Duck, ruddy Egret, cattle Egret, great Egret, snowy Elaenia, greenish Euphonia, elegant (Mz,Sc) Finch, house Flycatcher, ash-throated Flycatcher, buff-breasted (Mz) Flycatcher, cordilleran Flycatcher, dusky (Mz0 Flycatcher, dusky-capped Flycatcher, gray silky Flycatcher, Hammond's (Mz) Flycatcher, least Flycatcher, Nutting's (Sa) Flycatcher, social Flycatcher, tufted (Jo) Flycatcher, vermilion Gadwall Gallinule, common Gallinule, purple (Rp) Gnatcatcher, blue-gray Goldfinch, lesser Grackle, great-tailed Grebe, Clark's (Ja,Ld) Grebe, least Grebe, pied-billed Grosbeak, black-headed Grosbeak, blue Gull, Bonaparte's (Jo) Gull, laughing Gull, ring-billed Harrier, northern (Oc) Hawk, Cooper's Hawk, gray (Sa) Hawk, red-tailed Hawk, sharp-shinned Hawk, white-tailed Short-tailed (Jo,Sa) Hawk, zone-tailed Heron, great blue Heron, green Heron, little blue Heron, tri-colored Hummingbird, berylline Hummingbird, black-chinned (Sa) Hummingbird, broad-billed Hummingbird, Rivoli's (Sa) Hummingbird, rufous (Sa) Hummingbird, violet-crowned Hummingbird, white-eared (Cv) Ibis, white-faced Jacana, northern Kestrel, American Killdeer Kingbird, Cassin's Kingbird, thick-billed Kingbird, tropical Kingbird, western Kingfisher, belted Kingfisher, green (Dp) Kinglet, ruby-crowned (Mz) Kiskadee, great Kite, white-tailed (Ps,La) Meadowlark, Chihuahuan (Ra) Mockingbird, blue Mockingbird, northern Nighthawk, lesser Nightjar, buff-collared Oriole, black-backed Oriole, black-vented Oriole, Bullock's Oriole, hooded Oriole, orchard Oriole, streak-backed Owl, ferruginous pygmy (Rp) Owl, great horned Owl, mountain pygmy (La) Parakeet, monk Parrot, Lilac-crowned (Jo) Pewee, greater Phoebe, black Phoebe, Say's (Ra) Pintail, northern Pipit, American (Dp) Rail, Aztec (Rp) Raven, common Redstart, American Redstart, painted (La) Robin, rufous-backed Sandpiper, least Sandpiper, spotted Sandpiper, stilt (Dp) Sapsucker, yellow-bellied (Jo) Scaup, lesser (Ra) Seedeater, cinnamon-rumped Shoveler, northern Shrike, loggerhead Snipe, Wilson's (Ps,Ra) Solitaire, brown-backed (La) Sora Sparrow, chipping Sparrow, house Sparrow, lark Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow, rufous-crowned (Mz) Sparrow, rusty-crowned ground (La) Sparrow, savannah Sparrow, stripe-headed Spoonbill, roseate (Dp) Stilt, black-necked Stork, wood (Ra) Swallow, barn Swallow, cliff (Ct) Swallow, northern rough-winged Swallow, tree (Dp) Swallow, violet-green Tanager, hepatic Tanager, summer (Mz) Tanager, western Teal, blue-winged Teal, cinnamon Teal, green-winged Tern, Caspian Tern, Forster's (Dp) Thrasher, curve-billed Thrush, orange-billed nightingale (Mz) Towhee, canyon Tyrannulet, northern beardless Vireo, Cassin's Vireo, plumbeous Vireo, warbling Vulture, black Vulture, turkey Warbler, black and white Warbler, black-throated gray Warbler, Grace's (Mz) Warbler, hermit (La) Warbler, Lucy's (Sa) Warbler, MacGillivray's Warbler, Nashville Warbler, orange-crowned Warbler, red-faced (La) Warbler, rufous-capped Warbler, Townsend's Warbler, Virginia's Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, yellow Warbler, yellow-rumped Waterthrush, Louisiana (Jo,Rp) Waterthrush, northern Wigeon, American Willet (Ra) Woodpecker, acorn (Cv) Woodpecker, golden-fronted Woodpecker, ladder-backed Wren, Bewick's Wren, canyon Wren, happy Wren, house Wren, marsh (Oc) Wren, spotted Yellowlegs, greater (Dp) Yellowlegs, lesser (Dp) Yellowthroat, common Yellowthroat, gray-crowned (Ct) | | 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 Mz - Mezcala 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 once again available for $200 pesos at Diane Pearl's Gallery, 11 am to 4 pm, Santa Margarita #23, at the east end of Riberas del Pilar. Also available from John Keeling.
There you will find our newsletters, illustrations of our birds and advice on buying binoculars, books and birding apps. | | | | | | |
