southern Sonora, Mexico, for Christmas bird counts (1 Viewer)

Several months ago on the Arizona/New Mexico birding listserv I learned about the Christmas Bird Counts in Alamos and Reserva Monte Mojino, both in southern Sonora, Mexico; the offer of West Mexican endemics was too much to pass up and I was determined to go. After all, now that I live in Tucson, it's only a little over 8 hours to drive to Alamos... according to Google Maps, anyway, miles-long truck backups over water rights not withstanding.

This was my fourth visit to Mexico, with previous visits to San Luis Potosi (twice, non-birding fieldwork over a decade ago) and Chiapas. I had never driven my car into Mexico before, but I figured if I survived a month of driving a rental around South Africa, I could handle Mexico, so I posted an offer on the local listserv to drive and take three others.

The following information is mostly for anyone interested in planning a similar trip, so those for whom this is irrelevant may want to skip to later posts about the trip itself.

Logistics

Driving to Alamos

David and Jen McKay of Solipaso tours (www.solipaso.com)/ El Pedregal in Alamos have written very detailed directions for the drive from Nogales to Alamos. I believe they are on the website somewhere, but if not I'm sure they would be happy to provide them. One thing that was rather uncertain was the ever-changing car permitting process. There is supposed to be a Sonora-only car permit (never mind that it costs the same as a federal permit and the granting facility is located in southern Sonora.... so the point of that is?), but even with a native Spanish-speaking friend to help me navigate the process, we ended up getting the federal permit issued at the same location as the tourist visas, 21 km beyond the border. As of late 2012 this now requires a $300 USD !! deposit (plus the $50 fee), of which I was unaware before arriving. Supposedly this transaction was cancelled when I left the country- if you are returning to the US in your own car, watch for the rather unofficial-looking booths immediately across from the tourist visa facility, you have to pull off the road and go through this booth to get your deposit refunded.

Driving in Mexico - general

Driving in Sonora was generally very easy- I dare say easier than in many places within the US, as there seemed to be far fewer distracted drivers. The main toll highway south is currently under construction, and many of the older sections are potholed, but it's not too bad. Watch for speedbumps that may or may not be well-marked while passing through towns. While getting gas, I always watched the attendant carefully to make sure the pump was set back to zero before they began fueling, but had no issues.

Of course, there were exceptions that lent a sense of adventure to driving my own car into Mexico. There is currently some dispute over water rights (I don't know the full details), and in demonstration one group is stopping all commercial truck traffic at the tiny village of Vicam between Guaymas and Cuidad Obregon (apparently they let the trucks pass at 5 pm daily). They let passenger cars go by, but this is no easy task when hundreds of semis are occupying both lanes for kilometers in either direction. The solution? Just drive over the median and drive against traffic on the other side. If the median happens to be a ditch where you need to cross, well, tough luck. I've taken my Saturn on some pretty crazy roads before, so I knew what it was capable of and managed to get across said ditch with no more than an uncomfortable scraping sound and proceeded to drive against traffic into Vicam- but lots of other cars were doing that, so no big deal, right?

Stops along the way

On the way to Alamos we stopped at San Carlos, a small town by Guaymas, for lunch and a quick bit of birding. This is a rather touristy but quiet town on the Sea of Cortez, and we stopped to eat at Charley's Rock which is on the main road into town from the highway. The food was decent and the view incredible, the restaurant being situated on the beach with the likes of Blue-footed Boobies flying by while you eat. We ended up staying overnight in San Carlos on the way back in order to break up the drive (excellent idea in itself) and to do some birding- more on that later.

For a late morning snack we had some delicious tacos at a random taco truck in Hermisollo- in general, I highly recommend stopping at a taco/Sonoran hot dog truck. Cheap, fast, and delicious.

With the holidays (plus anniversary for my husband and I) coming up, I may be slow to fill in the rest of the report. We'll see. In the meantime, here are a couple of photos- Heerman's Gull and tropical deciduous forest.

Day 1: Alamos Count

We arrived at the small foothill town of Alamos after dark, spent at least a half hour lost within the maze of streets before arriving at El Pedregal. There we joined 6 or 7 of the other count participants in David and Jen's yoga studio, where we slept on cots for a small fee. We were given our team assignments, a couple of us walked into town for a quick Sonoran hot dog dinner, and then it was off to bed.

The next morning I joined two other participants (one a local guide) to spend the morning counting at a nearby community-owned ranch. The ranch was a large expanse of tropical deciduous forest, dotted sparsely with small corrals and houses for occasional use by Alamos residents. It was clear and cold when we arrived, and the first birds we saw were the iconic Black-throated Magpie-Jays- now that's a nice way to start a CBC! As we scanned the fence row of a corral, birds popped up left and right, many of them migrants: Nashville Warbler, House Wren, tons of Black-headed Grosbeaks, and the ubiquitous White-winged Doves for starters. House Finches flew overhead in droves, a few Gray Flycatchers pumped their tails in low shrubs, and Pacific-slope Flycatchers obligingly identified themselves by calling. We heard Purplish-backed Jays in the distance, but never managed to see them- in part because we were distracted by so much passerine activity nearby. A stunning scope view of Five-striped Sparrow was probably the highlight of the morning. A small watering hole attracted Lazuli Buntings and Northern Cardinals, Blue-gray and Black-capped Gnatcatchers whined from the shrubs, and Plumbeous Vireo, Lucy's Warbler, and Wilson's Warbler flitted above our heads.

Around 10 am, as the day quickly warmed, somebody shut off the bird faucet, and the remaining three or so hours of the count were exceedingly slow. The landscape was still something to behold though; I didn't get a chance to learn the names of many plants, but the forest of mesquite, morning-glory trees, and various towering columnar cacti was impressive.

We returned to El Pedregal and watched the feeders for a little bit, spotting Violet-crowned Hummingbird, Cassin's Vireo, and Elegant Quail. Late in the afternoon we visited a river (mostly dry) on the outskirts of town. The bird activity remained low, with only a Rock Wren, a few Rufous-backed Thrushes visiting a fruiting fig, and a smattering of migrants in the shrubbery. We all convened for an enjoyable compilation dinner at El Mirador, a restaurant on a hilltop overlooking town.

Photos: Ladder-backed Woodpecker, tropical deciduous forest, Black-throated Magpie-Jay, Pacific-slope Flycatcher

We had a little time for birding around El Pedregal before leaving for the Reserva. I searched unsuccessfully for nightjars and owls before dawn (although the previous morning I had heard Western Screech-Owl). There was an apparent lek of Violet-crowned Hummingbirds along the trail, with three males hidden in the foliage and emitting their "squee squee squee" sounds. I heard a distant Happy Wren, but was never able to track it down. A small group of us went down the street for breakfast, and as we returned we flushed a large group of Mexican Parrotlets from a roadside shrub.

We piled into several different vehicles for the drive: I was part of the team that was heading to the higher-elevation site named Santa Barbara. It was a long, slow drive on a rocky road (more than four hours to go about 20 miles, I have literally run that distance in less time), but it was quite scenic. We arrived at Santa Barbara, in a basin surrounded by oaks and pines, in the late afternoon, with time for a quick bit of birding. The basin itself contained a small farming community, with some shrub/open-country birds such as Eastern Bluebird, Chipping Sparrow, and Rufous-bellied Chachalaca. In the oaks above the station house were numerous Acorn Woodpeckers. A hike upstream netted Painted Redstart, Rufous-capped Warbler, Rusty Sparrow, and Grace's Warbler. After dark we were treated the sounds of Colima Pygmy-Owl and Whiskered Screech-Owl.

In the early morning darkness we gathered in the cold outdoor kitchen for some coffee and granola, listening for owls to start off the day's count. A distant pair of Great Horned Owls were duetting in the basin, and as the sky began to lighten, the pygmy- and screech-owls joined in. When it was light enough to see, my team of 5 left for the hike down the mountain. We hiked quickly through the basin and down into a ravine, since we had to cross other teams' count areas before arriving at Arroyo Verde, a lush canyon leading from the oak forest down into the tropical deciduous forest.

When we crossed into our count area, we were immediately greeted with a mixed-species flock, chock-full of migrants: Cordilleran and Hammond's Flycatchers, Yellow-rumped, Orange-crowned, and Wilson's Warblers, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, and Warbling Vireos. A Bare-throated Tiger-Heron perched on a distant log reminded us that we weren't in Arizona. We continued on, adding other species to the count: Sinaloa Wren, Plumbeous Vireo, Greater Pewee. Black-throated Magpie Jays were common and curious, groups of 7 or so often flying from the other side of the canyon to peer and cackle at us.

In mid-morning we reached a side canyon leading uphill; our guide told us we could leave some stuff here, since we would spend some time exploring the upper reaches of this canyon before continuing downhill. This area was quiet but somewhat magical; tall figs and burseras shaded the canyon and lent a distinctly tropical feel and we clambered up the boulder-strewn floor. With many fruiting trees, this canyon often attracts Eared Quetzals. However, it's hit-or-miss, and after a while it was clear that this year was a miss: and no amount of searching and hoping would make the not-quite-ripe fruits suddenly attract a quetzal for us. There were plenty of Elegant Trogons though, and a Slate-throated Redstart.

We returned to our stuff, ate some lunch, and were about to move on when birds started trickling in above our heads: White-striped and Ivory-billed Woodcreepers, plus many of the usual migrant warblers, then a group of Masked Tityras- a widespread Neotropical bird, but a nice find in Sonora. One person spotted a Rusty-crowned Ground Sparrow, also a very nice bird, but it refused to show for the rest of us. We spent the rest of the afternoon hiking down the canyon, with a slow but steady trickle of birds that included a great view of a Colima Pygmy-Owl. We reached our rendevous point at dusk, where we were picked up and driven to the station at Palo Injerto, where the other teams had spent the previous night. It was a very slow 4 miles, probably about 45 minutes, but we had beer (well, Tecate, not sure that qualifies as beer ) in the van to tide us over until dinner.

Photos: Sinaloa Wren, Black-throated Magpie-Jay, Colima Pygmy-Owl

On our last morning at the Reserva, I wandered up the road a bit to see if I could track down Happy Wren or Blue Mockingbird (both still heard-onlys for me). The road in this section of the reserve follows a cypress-lined stream through tropical deciduous forest, and bird activity was high near the water. There was a noisy Belted Kingfisher, a soaring Great Black Hawk, a group of Black-vented Orioles, and oodles of migrants. I heard several Happy Wrens, but only managed to lock eyes onto the Sinaloa Wrens. The weedy areas were filled with Lazuli Buntings, Lincoln's Sparrows, and Five-striped Sparrows, in addition to the wrens. One area was particularly hopping, with a pair of curious Rufous-capped Warblers, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Wilson's and Orange-crowned Warbler, and... wait, was that a Black-capped Vireo? Yes! A smart male with jet black hood, red eyes, green back, white belly... not on my radar and not to be expected in Sonora, it had been more than 8 years since my last sighting of this species in Texas. What a treat! I tried to approach to get a photo, when a Happy Wren burst into song from an adjacent bush. Dilemma... see life bird or photograph rare vireo? My attention torn, eyes shifting directions wildly, in the end I managed neither- the wren refused to show, and the vireo vanished along with the rest of the mixed flock.

Well it was a good way to end our visit to southern Sonora. We arrived back into Alamos just after noon, and my friends and I drove back up to San Carlos to stay the night (fortunately with less time lost to the truck blockade on the way).

Before driving back to Tucson, we spent much of the following morning birding around San Carlos. First off, we drove through the main part of town and ended up at a little bay with some mangroves. Here we found Groove-billed Ani and Great Kiskadee- widespread, but decent finds for this location. The mangroves were full of roosting Black-crowned Night-Herons, with a decent diversity of herons on the bay itself including Reddish Egret. A group of 20 Eared Grebes bobbed about right next to shore, and a Pacific Loon was diving and surfacing farther out.

We made a quick stop by the shore back in town, wishing for a scope as we gazed at distant boobies on the rocky islands. A group of Mangrove Swallows was a surprise lifer for a couple people.

Outside of town, we turned off the road toward the Delphinario and stopped at a shorebird-filled mudflat. We walked through the desert scrub between the road and the mudflat, adding Black-tailed Gnatcatcher and Cactus Wren to the trip list. The flats were teeming with Wilson's and Semipalmated Plovers, Willets foraged out in the shallows, and stately Long-billed Curlews were probing into the deeper water. Many species of herons and egrets, both species of pelicans, and several species of gulls (trip first Bonaparte's Gulls included) rounded out the show.

All too soon it was time to head out, since we wanted to cross the border before dark and get home at a reasonable hour. The drive home was mostly uneventful- we had to circle back near the border when we missed the poorly-signed booth where foreigners need to "check out" to get their car permit removed and deposit refunded; and there was one more "drive on the wrong side of the highway to get around the trucks" deal at the border crossing itself- but we made the drive in about six and half hours and got home in the early evening.

Trip list, 176 species:

American Wigeon
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Bufflehead
Greater Scaup
Red-breasted Merganser
Eared Grebe
Common Loon
Pacific Loon
Double-crested Cormorant
Brown Pelican
American White Pelican
Blue-footed Booby
Brown Booby
Magnificent Frigatebird
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Cattle Egret
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Reddish Egret
Bare-throated Tiger Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
White Ibis
Roseate Spoonbill
Turkey Vulture
Black Vulture
Osprey
Cooper's Hawk
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Gray Hawk
Harris' Hawk
Common Black Hawk
Great Black Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Crested Caracara
Rufous-bellied Chachalaca
Wild Turkey
Elegant Quail
Montezuma Quail
American Oystercatcher
American Avocet
Wilson's Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Spotted Sandpiper
Long-billed Curlew
Whimbrel
Willet
Least Sandpiper
Laughing Gull
Bonaparte's Gull
Heerman's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Yellow-footed Gull
Caspian Tern
Feral Pigeon
Red-billed Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Mourning Dove
White-winged Dove
White-tipped Dove
Inca Dove
Common Ground-Dove
White-crowned Parrot
Mexican Parrotlet
Squirrel Cuckoo
Groove-billed Ani
Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl
Colima Pygmy-Owl
Western Screech-Owl
Whiskered Screech-Owl
Great Horned Owl
Costa's Hummingbird
Broad-billed Hummingbird
Violet-crowned Hummingbird
Berylline Hummingbird
Elegant Trogon
Belted Kingfisher
Gila Woodpecker
Acorn Woodpecker
Arizona Woodpecker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Red-naped Sapsucker
Gilded Flicker
White-striped Woodcreeper
Ivory-billed Woodcreeper
Pacific-slope Flycatcher
Cordilleran Flycatcher
Hammond's Flycatcher
Gray Flycatcher
Tufted Flycatcher
Greater Pewee
Say's Phoebe
Black Phoebe
Vermilion Flycatcher
Nutting's Flycatcher
Ash-throated Flycatcher
Dusky-capped Flycatcher
Social Flycatcher
Great Kiskadee
Cassin's Kingbird
Thick-billed Kingbird
Masked Tityra
Loggerhead Shrike
Plumbeous Vireo
Cassin's Vireo
Black-capped Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Mangrove Swallow
Black-throated Magpie-Jay
Purplish-backed Jay
Sinaloa Crow
Common Raven
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Black-tailed Gnatcatcher
Black-capped Gnatcatcher
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Verdin
Cactus Wren
Rock Wren
Canyon Wren
Bewick's Wren
House Wren
Sinaloa Wren
Happy Wren
Brown-backed Solitaire
Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush
Hermit Thrush
Rufous-backed Thrush
White-throated Thrush
Phainopepla
Northern Mockingbird
Blue Mockingbird
Curve-billed Thrasher
Lucy's Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Gray Warbler
Townsend's Warbler
Grace's Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
MacGillivray's Warbler
Painted Redstart
Slate-throated Redstart
Rufous-capped Warbler
Louisiana Waterthrush
Hepatic Tanager
Summer Tanager
Western Tanager
Lazuli Bunting
Varied Bunting
Blue Grosbeak
Northern Cardinal
Pyrrhuloxia
Black-headed Grosbeak
Canyon Towhee
Green-tailed Towhee
Rusty Sparrow
Five-striped Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Black-vented Oriole
Streak-backed Oriole
Hooded Oriole
Brewer's Blackbird
Red-winged Blackbird
Great-tailed Grackle
Scrub Euphonia
Lesser Goldfinch
House Finch
House Sparrow

What a fun trip that must have been!

Sounds a fun CBC, Abby. In 2007 my wife and I spent three weeks birding Sonora, Chihuahua, Durango and Sinaloa, and greatly enjoyed a few days in Alamos with the McKays. El Pedregal was then very much under development, and so we stayed at their Solipaso guest house in the town centre - a beautiful residence with rustic furniture and courtyard pool.

I'm especially envious of your sighting of Great Black Hawk, which seems to have been rarely seen in Sonora in recent years.

Richard Klim said:

Sounds a fun CBC, Abby. In 2007 my wife and I spent three weeks birding Sonora, Chihuahua, Durango and Sinaloa, and greatly enjoyed a few days in Alamos with the McKays. El Pedregal was then very much under development, and so we stayed at their Solipaso guest house in the town centre - a beautiful residence with rustic furniture and courtyard pool.

I'm especially envious of your sighting of Great Black Hawk, which seems to have been rarely seen in Sonora in recent years.

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Interesting about the black hawk. They have definitely declined in Costa Rica as well. I wonder if declines have been noted in other parts of their Middle American range?