Photo ABCs

Great Egret

A Great Egret shakes off water after fishing at the San Elijo Lagoon.

Off to find a better spot!

Photographed in August of this year.

Allen's Hummingbird

An Allen's Hummingbird, photographed in Del Mar, California, in August of this year:

Dairy Mart Pond

I visited Dairy Mart Pond, a popular birding spot in the Tijuana River Valley, in late August of this year.

It was not particularly birdy, but in the brief time there I photographed these birds:

Double-crested Cormorant:

Caspian Tern:

I have returned many times to a pond south of Chula Vista where hundreds of Red-necked Phalaropes turned up last year. This year they have not appeared there. There was one, however, fairly close at Dairy Mart Pond.

Imperial Beach Birds

More birds from a walk at Imperial Beach in September of this year:

Willet:

Brown Pelican:

Long-billed Curlew:

Snowy Plover

Aren't my leg bracelets cute?

A Snowy Plover, in the dim light after sunset.

Photographed in Imperial Beach in September of this year.

Birding Near Mexico City II

More photos from the morning of November 2, in the hills southwest of Mexico City near the town of Milpa Alta.

The Hooded Yellowthroat looks nearly identical to the Common Yellowthroat, but my guide Anuar assured me that this bird's calls matched those of the Hooded Yellowthroat. The Hooded Yellowthroat, as well, is found in the dry highlands of central Mexico, and this bird was not near water, where the Common Yellowthroat is typically found. The Hooded Yellowthroat was one of the birds I most wanted to see!

Did you know that there are six separate yellowthroat species in Mexico?

Perhaps someday I will see all of them!

A Painted Lady butterfly:

Greater Pewee:

Least Flycatcher:

The Crescent-chested Warbler is found only in Mexico and three Central American countries.

I was thrilled to see another life-bird!

A Canyon Towhee rests upon a Nopal cactus:

Thanks again to Anuar López for two memorable mornings of birding!

Birding Near Mexico City

On the morning of November 2 my birding guide Anuar López took me to a protected natural area near the town Milpa Alta, in the hills southwest of Mexico City.

I was particularly hoping to see a few species I had never seen before, that I had noticed on a poster of Mexico City area birds.

Arriving to the nature preserve, the first birds we saw were my favorites, Bushtits!

Bushtits in Mexico are colored a bit differently than Bushtits in California, and these Bushtits were rather skittish compared to ours, as well. I was thrilled to see them.

The Grass Wren and the Sedge Wren were once considered the same species, but were split in 2021.

The Grass Wren is found in Central Mexico south to the southern tip of South America, whereas the Sedge Wren is found mostly in the eastern United States. This was one of the birds I had been hoping to see.

A Pine Siskin:

I believe this flower is the Verbena Amarilla, or Bidens ferulifolia:

More to follow!

A Morning in Xochimilco III

More photos from Xochimilco Ecological Park, taken on November 1 of this year.

A Great Egret patrols the shoreline:

A Broad-winged Hawk soars overhead. The Broad-winged Hawk breeds in the eastern United States, migrates through Mexico and winters in parts of Mexico, Central and South America:

A Canyon Towhee searches the lawn for seeds or insects:

A Curve-billed Thrasher:

The Mexican Gray Squirrel has quite the tail!

Here it shows why it's also called the Red-bellied Squirrel:

Most birds found in the Mexico City basin are not unique to Mexico.

I decided to have Anuar take me the following morning to nearby hills, hoping to see a life-bird or two. Stay tuned tomorrow!

A Morning in Xochimilco II

More photos from a morning in Xochimilco Ecological Park (see yesterday's post).

A  number of Tropical Kingbirds were raising a ruckus:

Throughout Mexico, the Vermilion Flycatcher livens up any day:

A Chipping Sparrow:

Northern Shoveler:

The male and female Mexican Duck look pretty much like a female Mallard. The best field mark I can tell is that the Mexican Duck's feathers contain more brown and less orange:

More photos tomorrow!

A Morning in Xochimilco

I recently spent a week in Mexico City, visiting museums and photographing Day of the Dead festivities.

I rarely take a trip, though, without spending at least some time birding.

I hired a professional guide, Anuar López, to take me to two birding spots in the greater Mexico City area.

Mexico City is built on the site of former Lake Texcoco, where the Aztecs constructed their great city.

What remains of Lake Texcoco exists at Xochimilco, on the southern edge of Mexico City.

Xochimilco is best known for its trajineras, colorful boats which are used for excursions through the many canals that crisscross the area.

It is also the site of the Xochimilco Ecological Park, where we spent our first morning.

Anuar saw or heard over 80 species of birds at the park. I may have seen half of them! Here are a few:

A Black-crowned Night-Heron fishes from one of the colorful trajineras:

A Snowy Egret, ready to take an excursion:

Anuar spotted this Sharp-shinned Hawk high in a distant treetop. Note the unusual white blotches on the bird’s back. I have no idea how it got them.

The hawk takes flight:

A Slate-throated Redstart greets the morning with song:

A Marsh Wren:

More photos from Xochimilco to follow tomorrow.