The last stop on my week of birding in northern Baja California was the Estero Beach Hotel, south of Ensenada.
It is one of my favorite spots anywhere. It's a lovely hotel with a relaxed, non-pretentious atmosphere, and to top it off, it has a huge estuary (thus its name) full of birds.
A week of birding did not tire me out, but a week of driving did! Arriving at the hotel at sunset, I skipped birding and headed for dinner!
A margarita is always a good idea!
Though I have stayed at Las Palmas Hotel in San Felipe many times, I never realized that its restaurant, Alfredo's, was founded by Alfredo Bellinghieri Conti, the inventor of Fettucine Alfredo!
The story goes that he invented the dish while a chef at his busy restaurant in Mexico City.
Eventually he wanted a quieter existence so moved to San Felipe and opened a restaurant there.
The restaurant has recently been gorgeously remodeled.
Of course I ordered the fettucine!
The next stop on my tour of Colima and Jalisco was the town of Mazamitla, Jalisco.
Mazamitla, while perhaps unknown to Americans (as it was to me), is a popular weekend mountain resort for visitors from Guadalajara and elsewhere in central Mexico.
It is full of cobblestone streets, rental cabins, hiking trails and excellent restaurants.
My nice cabin:
While there, I searched for a restaurant that served Bote, a local specialty soup made with pulque.
I found one, Casa Magna, a block away from the town square.
Of the countless meals I have had in Mexico, this was one of the very best. It was a treat from start to finish. I would gladly return to Mazamitla just to eat in this restaurant!
Bote, the traditional soup of Mazamitla. Though I couldn't taste the pulque, it was delicious!
The birding highlight of my trip to Sinaloa and Nayarit was an overnight visit to the Tufted Jay Preserve in El Palmito, Sinaloa.
The Tufted Jay was unknown to ornithology until 1934, when the highway connecting Mazatlán to Durango was constructed.
The bird has a very limited range in the mountains of Sinaloa, Durango and Nayarit. The only feasible place for an outsider to see the birds is in the town of El Palmito.
In 2004 a preserve was established there to help maintain at least a small area of suitable habitat from encroachment of logging and other activities.
The caretaker of the preserve is Don Santos Vasquez, who served as my guide.
Don Santos has lived in El Palmito his entire life, and has learned the birds through a lifetime of observation.
Approaching the preserve:
There are rustic cabins for rent, which have gas stoves, hot water, and enough solar electricity to power a few LED lights:
Staying in these cabins is a treat. There are few places now that have no outside noise or light. This is one of them. The silence and darkness of the night was a unique experience, and I slept like a log!
Don Santos knows every inch of every trail on the preserve:
Besides the birds, the highlight of the trip was two lunches prepared by the family of Don Santos. In all of my hundreds of days traveling in Mexico, I have never tasted food so good!
Tortillas made from a local variety of blue corn, cooked on a wood-fire stove:
Chicken Mole, sabroso!
The birding highlight, was, of course, the Tufted Jays.
At the preserve we saw only a few, from a distance.
Driving back to preserve after lunch, however, I noticed a flock of birds alongside the highway. Some of the birds were Tufted Jays!
Tufted Jays are communal birds, traveling in flocks of around 12-15 birds.
An adult Tufted Jay:
A fledgling waiting to be fed:
A visit to the preserve can best be arranged through Onca Explorations, with the assistance of Oscar Guzón Zatarain, a naturalist in Mazatlán.
Over the next few days I'll be posting photos of some of the other birds seen at the preserve, most of them life-birds!
Like Santa Rita Lodge (see previous post), Ramsey Canyon Inn is a must-visit, idyllic spot for birding in Southeast Arizona, located near the town of Sierra Vista. Birds are attracted to the numerous feeders in the front and back yard, and you're likely to meet birders visiting from around the world.
To bird there, it is necessary to stay there, but you won't be disappointed with the lodgings (or the wonderful breakfasts, or the scrumptious desserts!)
Start the day with huevos rancheros ala Ramsey Canyon Inn:
A few highlights from two days of birding in August of this year:
Rivoli's Hummingbirds (formerly known as Magnificent Hummingbirds) were numerous:
White-breasted Nuthatch:
A female Rufous Hummingbird with its tail nicely backlit:
A Painted Redstart, showing all of its field marks in one photo:
When Painted Redstarts search for food, they flash their white outer tail-feathers. This picture nicely shows how the outer tail-feathers fold underneath the inner tail-feathers, like a fan. (It's that way in all birds)
The Blue-throated Hummingbird is also known as the Blue-throated Mountain-Gem (what a nice-sounding name!) It is the largest of all hummingbirds found in the United States, found primarily in Southeast Arizona. It looks big in the picture, it looks big in real life!
Black-headed Grosbeak, female:
Violet-crowned Hummingbird:
Honeybees are also attracted to hummingbird feeders:
The female Lazuli Bunting looks nothing like its male counterpart. There is a bit of lazuli on the tail-feathers, that's all! I think it's a lovely bird. Unfortunately, when this bird posed for me, a fencepost hid the tip of its tail.
Lesser Goldfinches, male and female, bathe in the backyard water fountain:
The handsome Hepatic Tanager:
During my visit to southeast Arizona, I saw a number of Arizona Woodpeckers, but from a distance. Leaving Ramsey Canyon Inn, heading to my car, I noticed this one, a fitting end to an idyllic visit to Ramsey Canyon.
Dalia and Leslie, in the kitchen of their restaurant, La Prieta, just south of Cataviña, Baja California. We had just finished delicious bowls of birria made of deer, and mother Dalia clowns around posing for my camera, as her daughter Leslie runs away in shyness.
Here my friend Peter shows them his pictures, to their delight.
La Guerrerense is a food stand in downtown Ensenada, specializing in seafood tostadas and ceviche. Thanks to its fabulous food, and endorsement by Anthony Bourdain, the owner, Sabina Bandera has achieved near celebrity status. When not collecting payment (on the honor system) from diners of her stand, she poses for portraits and selfies with her fans, which now, of course, include me!
La Guerrerense translates to "the one from Guerrero (the Mexican state)," which, of course, refers to Sabina. Do yourself a favor and try out her delicious creations!
A vendor sells piña coladas during Lucha Libre inside Tijuana's municipal auditorium. Considering the sweltering conditions, a piña colada would have been pretty refreshing!
If the sopes in yesterday's post looked too bland, here are some condiments!
Sometimes simply prepared and served food can be the most satisfying.
Here is a plate of sopes served at a small, family-run restaurant in Sonoita, Sonora, Mexico. Sabroso!
