Short West Mexico 3
Posted by Brian Gibbons
Brian Gibbons
Brian Gibbons was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. He took an interest in all things wild at a young age, but has specialized in birds since age 10. Brian graduated from S...Rancho Primavera lived up to its billing once again as a comfortable birding lodge with excellent food, beautiful surroundings, and great birding that starts right outside the lodge. The diversity of habitats resulted in a high number of species seen during our week-long stay. Pine oak forest at an elevational range of 650-1,200 meters hosted several unique birds, as did each habitat we visited. Tropical deciduous forest along the Bioto Road was in middle elevations, and below that we birded the Thorn forest which hosted many West Mexican endemics, the star of which was Red-breasted Chat. Acacia scrub, freshwater ponds, estuaries, mangroves, and coastal beaches were some of the other habitats we birded. We saw more than 100 species during our birding efforts on the ranch, proving the diversity of Rancho Primavera and its environs. For the week, we saw 245 species, an excellent total considering we never traveled more than 50 kilometers away from the ranch.
Highlights were numerous. I apparently forgot to ask everyone to declare a “bird of the trip.” I will take it upon myself to help with that. The Russet-crowned Motmot is a perennial favorite on this tour, and one of my all-time favorite birds. Other top vote- getters always include Red-breasted Chat, Rosy Thrush-Tanager, Military Macaw, and the gaudy Orange-breasted Bunting.
The single most amazing event of our tour had to be the small army ant swarm that held our attention for nearly an hour. The Groove-billed Ani numbers were growing as we were leaving, with three birds present. Also partaking in the flushed arthropod buffet were Ivory-billed Woodcreeper, Nutting’s Flycatcher, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush, Wilson’s Warbler, MacGillivray’s Warbler, and the stars of the show?two Fan-tailed Warblers. These normally secretive warblers were conspicuous in their pursuit of bugs that were fleeing for their lives. Little did these hapless bugs know that there were more than ten birds awaiting their departures from the underleaf. This was a very special spectacle.
Highlights weren’t limited to birds. I enjoyed the tropical rattlesnake that crossed the highway right in front of us. This was the only snake I saw during my three weeks in Mexico; the cool, dry weather isn’t conducive to cold-blooded critters moving around. Laguna de Quelele added two very secretive birds to our list: Boat-billed Heron and Rufous-necked Wood-Rail. We did very well with raptors. The female Hook-billed Kite soaring right over us was a treat. Collared Forest-Falcon and Laughing Falcon were very cooperative, coming in for close but brief looks. The Mexican Hermit made a predictable appearance at the crimson flowers, illuminated by the sun. The fruiting trees along the road to Tehua assisted us with our Citreoline Trogon numbers which approached 25 for the day.
Twenty-three species of warblers added color to our list everyday. Red-breasted Chat and Fan-tailed Warbler were tops from the warblers. Naomi’s spotting of the Red-headed Tanager was great, and was a first for the tour. A sneaky Rusty-crowned Ground-Sparrow provided another tour first at Rancho Primavera during our hour-long stalk of the Rosy Thrush-Tanager.
With a diversity of habitats, birds, and scenery, western Mexico is a gem of a destination. Thank you for choosing VENT. I look forward to traveling with you all again.