Birding Oaxaca 2004 - Pacific Slope - 09 Feb


Contents
Introduction
Map
Valles Centrale
Carribean Slope
Pacific Slope
  07 Feb
  08 Feb
  09 Feb
Bird List
Wrapup
Resources

09 Feb 04 Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, Mexico
Up at 6:45 AM and actually had breakfast for the first time this trip. With Ram and Kerry, we rode an Urbano west to the Zapotalita junction, and then taxied a bit down the road. We birded the last two miles, to the village of Zapotalita in Parque Nacional de Chachua. The village is on a lagoon, and is trying hard for the ecotourism market. After a cold soda, and some struggles with subadult gulls, we climbed an observation tower, as much for the breeze up higher as for the view.

The village is on Laguna La Pastoria, and clearly fishing is as important as the Park to the locals. But the birding was good, despite the development, and we were able to call a taxi and negotiate a decent price fo the ride back to the hotel.

In the afternoon, we went on Michael Malone's afternoon/evening cruise around Manialtepec Lagoon, except that Malone was over in Oaxaca. Our boatsman, and the boat owner (and probably the franchisee) was Lalo. He was very competent, knows the lagoon quite well, and knows the larger birds well. Our stand-in guide was "Guencho," who is a good van driver and helped hold the bow of the boat down at higher speeds.

We boated through the mangrove swamp and river system for two hours, with excellent views of Boat-billed Herons and a variety of less exotic herons and other birds. The afternoon cruise isn't primarily a birding trip, but we did all right. We watched the sunset from a beach where the Rio Verde meets the Pacific. The river doesn't actually flow out this time of the year, but ends at the lagoon. There's only an open channel in the rainy season. Instead of a glass of wine, as promised, I got a warm Corona for 10 pesos.

But it was a good trip, and we had a good time. Near the landing, in the late light, there was a roosting tree, with Anhingas, Neotropic Cormorants, Brown and White Pelicans, Cattle, Great and Snowy Egrets, White Ibis and probably more. A nice ending.


Mangrove Swamp
Manialtepec Lagoon, Oaxaca
The Pacific coast supports some fairly extensive mangrove swamps. The highlights of the swamps were mostly herons, although we found a few warblers and flycatchers as well. The mosquitoes weren't bad until after sunset.


Rio Verde channel, with extensive floating grass mats
Manialtepec Lagoon, Oaxaca
The floating grass mats in the river channels supported a much wider range of species. We didn't get a chance to bird the grass mats extensively, but there were Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, Purple Gallinule, Common Moorhen, Black-necked Stilts, White-fronted Parrots, Brown and White Pelicans and White-collared Seedeaters, among many others.

Rio Verde channel, with extensive floating grass mats
Manialtepec Lagoon, Oaxaca
The Pacific shore of Manialtepec Lagoon, with the Sierra Madre del Sur in the background. The warm Corona was an inadequate substitute for the promised wine at sunset.

Neotropic Cormorants, with a Caspian Tern overhead
Manialtepec Lagoon, Oaxaca
The Pacific shore, at least while we were there, was comparatively quiet. Flocks of Neotropic Cormorants returning to roost, a few late Caspian Terns, an occasional Brown Pelican and a Spotted Sandpiper.

Bird List

GREBES
Pied-billed Grebe

FRIGATEBIRDS
Magnificent Frigatebird

CORMORANTS
Neotropic Cormorant

ANHINGAS
Anhinga

PELICANS
American White Pelican
Brown Pelican

DUCKS, SWANS, GEESE
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Blue-winged Teal

HERONS, EGRETS AND BITTERNS
Tricolored Heron
Little Blue Heron
Snowy Egret
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Cattle Egret
Green Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Boat-billed Heron

IBIS AND SPOONBILLS
White Ibis

STORKS
Wood Stork

NEW WORLD VULTURES
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture

OSPREY
Osprey

HAWKS, EAGLES AND KITES
Common Black-Hawk
Roadside Hawk
Short-tailed Hawk

FALCONS AND CARACARAS
American Kestrel
Peregrine Falcon

RAILS AND COOTS
Purple Gallinule
Common Moorhen

JACANAS
Northern Jacana

SANDPIPERS
Spotted Sandpiper

AVOCETS AND STILTS
Black-necked Stilt

PLOVERS AND LAPWINGS
Semipalmated Plover

GULLS AND TERNS
Laughing Gull
Caspian Tern

PIGEONS AND DOVES
White-winged Dove
Inca Dove
Ruddy Ground-Dove

PARROTS
White-fronted Parrot

NIGHTJARS
Lesser Nighthawk

HUMMINGBIRDS
Broad-billed Hummingbird
Ruby-throated Hummingbird

KINGFISHERS
Belted Kingfisher
Ringed Kingfisher
Green Kingfisher

WOODPECKERS
Golden-cheeked Woodpecker

TYRANT FLYCATCHERS
White-throated Flycatcher
Brown-crested Flycatcher
Tropical Kingbird
Thick-billed Kingbird
Social Flycatcher
Great Kiskadee

CROWS AND JAYS
White-throated Magpie-Jay

VIREOS AND ALLIES
Bell's Vireo

WRENS
Rufous-naped Wren

SWALLOWS
Violet-green Swallow

Gray-breasted Martin
Northern Rough-winged Swallow

OLD WORLD SPARROWS
House Sparrow

NEW WORLD WARBLERS
Yellow Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart

BUNTINGS, SPARROWS, TANAGERS, ALLIES
Stripe-headed Sparrow
Blue-black Grassquit
White-collared Seedeater

BLACKBIRDS, GRACKLES, ORIOLES
Yellow-winged Cacique
Hooded Oriole
Orchard Oriole
Great-tailed Grackle

Copyright 2004
Jim & Nancy DeWitt
Wrapup