One of my favorite walks in San Diego County is the Coast Walk, a short trail on the spectacular cliffs above La Jolla Cove.
Two birds that I see nearly ever time I visit are the Song Sparrow and the Orange-crowned Warbler.
Here they are, photographed in February of this year:
Song Sparrow:
Orange-crowned Warbler:
Sandhill Cranes, photographed near the Salton Sea in February of this year:
Recently I reviewed lots of shorebird photos for a class I'm taking.
Here are two, photographed in La Jolla in November, 2020. Both are in winter plumage, thus there are no spots on the Spotted Sandpiper and the plover's belly is not black!
Spotted Sandpiper:
Black-bellied Plover:
The last stop on my week-long trip from Colima to Jalisco was Guadalajara. I spent my last morning birding the wonderful city park Bosque Los Colomos.
A Blue-gray Gnatcatcher:
Greater Pewee:
Hammond's Flycatcher:
The bird I was most hoping to see in Bosque Los Colomos was the Russet-crowned Motmot, which I had seen on a previous visit.
As I was about to leave the park (to catch my flight!), one landed very close to where I was standing. It stayed in the same spot for at least five minutes. Seeing the bird put a huge smile on my face!
Igloo Kokolo is an ecolodge overlooking the southern shore of Lake Chapala, west of Petatán (see the previous two posts).
In February of this year I had a wonderful night's stay there, along with a bit of birding and a wonderful breakfast.
Some of the earthen igloos:
Inside, cute, quiet, and comfortable!
The view overlooking Lake Chapala. The hills in the distance are on the northern shore of the lake:
A delicious breakfast of fried eggs, chilaquiles and beans:
The property has many of these flowers, which are a hummingbird magnet.
The Broad-billed Hummingbird's range includes southeast Arizona, but is otherwise found exclusively in Mexico:
I believe this is a female Ruby-throated Hummingbird:
More American White Pelicans in Petatán, Michoacán, Mexico, in February of this year:
Since I was photographing the pelicans until past sunset, the two or three tourist restaurants in town were closed by the time I was ready for dinner.
A boy on a bicycle led me to the only place in town left to eat, a small, literal hole-in-the-wall doing a brisk business selling pozole (soup), mostly to neighbors who came to the restaurant with buckets to take home a bucketful of pozole for dinner. I was probably the first gringo to set foot in this restaurant.
This bowl of soup was the least expensive meal I have ever had in Mexico, but one of the best!
My trip through Colima and Jalisco strayed into the northwest corner of the state of Michoacán, so I could visit to town of Petatán.
Petatán is a town of fewer than 500 inhabitants, on an island-like peninsula that juts into Lake Chapala.
In the winter, Petatán's pelican population by far outnumbers its people!
There is a small tilapia processing plant in Petatán, and the remains of the fish are placed in buckets. Children sell the buckets to tourists to feed to the pelicans. As a result of this free smorgasbord, American White Pelicans, similar to American retirees, have found Lake Chapala a wonderful place to spend the winter!
Twilight in Petatán:
Pelican food!
A boy with a bucket which held hundreds of fish skeletons, now in the bellies of American White Pelicans:
American White Pelicans gather for a handout:
Though the pelicans would compete for the fish, not once did I see them fight or squabble. My theory is that since American White Pelicans spend much of the time feeding communally, sharing comes naturally to them.
More birds from a road above Mazamitla, Jalisco, from February of this year:
Acorn Woodpecker:
Female Hepatic Tanager:
Broad-tailed Hummingbird:
My birding guide and friend Anuar Lopez recommended a dirt road above the town of Mazamitla as a good spot for birding.
It did not disappoint.
Typical of mountain birding, the birding was sporadic, that is there would be lulls followed by activity, when a flock might move through the area.
The highlight was the presence of flocks of Transvolcanic Jays.
Transvolcanic Jays are the Mexican equivalent of our Pinyon Jays. They travel in large, raucous flocks sweeping through the area, making a huge racket, calling back and forth to each other. They get their unusual name because their range is found in the volcanic belt between the Volcánes de Colima to the west and Volcán de Orizaba on the east, a distance of around 425 miles.
Whenever I travel in Mexico in winter, I almost always see Wilson's Warblers, with only Yellow-rumped Warblers being more common:
The Arizona Woodpecker is found in Southeast Arizona, as well as in mountainous regions of western Mexico. Here is one in Mazamitla:
–Lincoln's Sparrow:
More from Mazamitla tomorrow.
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!
