sungrebe
Saturday 12th March 2005, 02:54
Last month, February 2005, a birding buddy and I travelled to Northeastern Mexico to attend the 'EL CIELO NATURE FESTIVAL' in Southern Tamaulipas State in Mexico to get a taste of neotropical birding within a day's drive of the United States. This festival was arranged in an attempt to promote the area as an ecotour destination and familiarize participants with the avifauna of this unique area.
Located at the climate transitional zone between North and South America, the reserve's biodiversity is among the highest in the world; it is comprised of four eco-systems: tropical jungle, mountain forest, pine-oak forest, and dwarf oak/heath forest. The elevation ranges from 650 to 7500 feet above sea level.
Our tour left from Brownsville, Texas early Sunday morning for the 8 hour drive to Ciudad Mante, where the festival was based. We birded on the road and saw the expected species, wintering waterfowl such as Snow goose, Pied-Billed Grebe, the ubiquitous Turkey and Black Vultures, and many common Herons. A stop at a roadside juice stand yielded Squirrel Cuckoo, Clay-Colored Robin, Social Flycatcher, and Buff-Bellied Hummingbird.
Upon arriving in Cd. Mante (we stayed at JJ inn, a lovely, well appointed hotel), we decided to do some urban birding before dinner. The walk was quite productive, as we came up with Scrub Euphonia, Merlin, and White-Collared Seedeater. A special treat was the City Square, where a fruiting tree provided food and shelter for many species, such as Nashville and Yellow-Throated Warbler, Yellow-Winged Tanager, Red-Billed Pigeon, and,at the northernmost limit of its range, Blue Gray Tanager.
Up at 5AM Monday for our first formal birding foray, to the towns of Gomez Farias and Alta Cima, high altitude forest areas of El Cielo. Gomez Farias yielded Fan-Tailed Warbler and flyover Military Macaws, and was the beginning of a six-mile ride over dirt roads to Alta Cima. This community felt an impact on the formation of the Reserve, as logging, a staple industry,was halted. To adapt, citizens formed co-ops to develop their tourism and birding industries, forming hotels and offering guided birding outings. Highights of Alta Cima were Aplomado Falcon, Bat Falcon, Rufous-Capped Warbler, Flame Colored Tanager, Masked Tityra, Yellow-Throated Euphonia, and Melodious Blackbird.
The next day took us to El Naranjo, an area containing a dry waterfall (and a lovely wet waterfall as well). Highlights here were Amazon Kingfisher, Black-Headed Saltator, Elegant Trogon, Spot-Breasted Wren,and as a double treat, Painted and Varied Bunting.
Perhaps the high point of the entire trip was the time we spent at Rio Frio, a small river that runs through the area. A stop at the headwater of the river gave us good looks at Blue-Crowned Motmot, Blue Bunting, Bronze-Winged Woodpecker, and White-Crowned Parrot. We had arranged on our own a boat trip on Rio Frio, which was a smashing success, finding Sungrebe,
Boat-Billed Heron, (both at the extreme northern limit of their ranges), Aztec Parakeet, Crimson-Collared Grosbeak, and Ivory-Billed Woodcreeper.The final tour took us to Ocampo, another small town in scrub/forest area. Here we got looks at Grey-Crowned Yellowthroat, Brown-Backed Solitaire, Rose Throated Becard, Short-Tailed Hawk, and Muscovy Duck.
All in all, in 4 days, we totalled 151 species, of which 21 were lifers for me.
We left with a quite favorable impression of the area; the Mexican guides were knowledgeable and willing to help, and for those who want a taste of neotropical birding without traveling far from the United States, the El Cielo reserve is an area well worth exploring.
Information on accomodations and guides can be found on the internet.
I'm going to try to attach my trip list as a .doc file. I hope it works . . .
Located at the climate transitional zone between North and South America, the reserve's biodiversity is among the highest in the world; it is comprised of four eco-systems: tropical jungle, mountain forest, pine-oak forest, and dwarf oak/heath forest. The elevation ranges from 650 to 7500 feet above sea level.
Our tour left from Brownsville, Texas early Sunday morning for the 8 hour drive to Ciudad Mante, where the festival was based. We birded on the road and saw the expected species, wintering waterfowl such as Snow goose, Pied-Billed Grebe, the ubiquitous Turkey and Black Vultures, and many common Herons. A stop at a roadside juice stand yielded Squirrel Cuckoo, Clay-Colored Robin, Social Flycatcher, and Buff-Bellied Hummingbird.
Upon arriving in Cd. Mante (we stayed at JJ inn, a lovely, well appointed hotel), we decided to do some urban birding before dinner. The walk was quite productive, as we came up with Scrub Euphonia, Merlin, and White-Collared Seedeater. A special treat was the City Square, where a fruiting tree provided food and shelter for many species, such as Nashville and Yellow-Throated Warbler, Yellow-Winged Tanager, Red-Billed Pigeon, and,at the northernmost limit of its range, Blue Gray Tanager.
Up at 5AM Monday for our first formal birding foray, to the towns of Gomez Farias and Alta Cima, high altitude forest areas of El Cielo. Gomez Farias yielded Fan-Tailed Warbler and flyover Military Macaws, and was the beginning of a six-mile ride over dirt roads to Alta Cima. This community felt an impact on the formation of the Reserve, as logging, a staple industry,was halted. To adapt, citizens formed co-ops to develop their tourism and birding industries, forming hotels and offering guided birding outings. Highights of Alta Cima were Aplomado Falcon, Bat Falcon, Rufous-Capped Warbler, Flame Colored Tanager, Masked Tityra, Yellow-Throated Euphonia, and Melodious Blackbird.
The next day took us to El Naranjo, an area containing a dry waterfall (and a lovely wet waterfall as well). Highlights here were Amazon Kingfisher, Black-Headed Saltator, Elegant Trogon, Spot-Breasted Wren,and as a double treat, Painted and Varied Bunting.
Perhaps the high point of the entire trip was the time we spent at Rio Frio, a small river that runs through the area. A stop at the headwater of the river gave us good looks at Blue-Crowned Motmot, Blue Bunting, Bronze-Winged Woodpecker, and White-Crowned Parrot. We had arranged on our own a boat trip on Rio Frio, which was a smashing success, finding Sungrebe,
Boat-Billed Heron, (both at the extreme northern limit of their ranges), Aztec Parakeet, Crimson-Collared Grosbeak, and Ivory-Billed Woodcreeper.The final tour took us to Ocampo, another small town in scrub/forest area. Here we got looks at Grey-Crowned Yellowthroat, Brown-Backed Solitaire, Rose Throated Becard, Short-Tailed Hawk, and Muscovy Duck.
All in all, in 4 days, we totalled 151 species, of which 21 were lifers for me.
We left with a quite favorable impression of the area; the Mexican guides were knowledgeable and willing to help, and for those who want a taste of neotropical birding without traveling far from the United States, the El Cielo reserve is an area well worth exploring.
Information on accomodations and guides can be found on the internet.
I'm going to try to attach my trip list as a .doc file. I hope it works . . .