Northeast Mexico: The Sierra Madre Oriental Feb 07—14, 2009
Posted by Brian Gibbons
Brian Gibbons
Brian Gibbons grew up in suburban Dallas where he began exploring the wild world in local creeks and parks. Chasing butterflies and any animal that was unfortunate eno...Related Trips
The first parrots seen on our Northeast Mexico tour, White-crowned Parrots, appeared upon our arrival at Cumbres Inn. On our last day of birding we had a wonderful sighting of two dozen Military Macaws. Between these parrot sightings, El Cielo Biosphere Reserve provided an incomparable sample of tropical birds.
During our first morning we stayed close to Gomez Farias to gain an introduction to some of the great tropical birds that can be found near town. A small fruit tree attracted White-throated and Clay-colored robins and a Brown-backed Solitaire. All around us tropical birds were mingling with our temperate over-winterers. Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and Yellow-winged Tanagers perched side by side. Red-lored Parrots squawked nearby. Masked Tityras teed up and, later in the day, we had good scope views of the rare Black-crowned Tityra. Spot-breasted Wren squealed away in the underbrush, popping out briefly for some to see. Four species of orioles commingled in the trees along the road. In the afternoon we had great comparisons of Scrub and Yellow-throated euphonias. Right around Gomez Farias we had the usual Bat Falcon pair that allowed for great scope views. Cumbres Inn hosted our first Bronze-winged Woodpecker and Canivet's Emerald. We had a great first day in the El Cielo region.
Although our trip up to Alta Cima began in the fog, it quickly became a beautiful day, but not before spoiling our first attempt to see the Blue-crowned Motmot. Hooded Grosbeaks were roving all over the mountain and we had some great views of this regional endemic. We also enjoyed our first views of Crimson-collared Grosbeak, a Northeast Mexican endemic. Barred Antshrike, Golden-crowned Warbler, Rufous-browed Peppershrike, and a group of Crested Guans were all seen well during our journey up the mountain. We heard but never saw the Thicket Tinamous and the Singing Quail. Spot-crowned Woodcreeper and Tamaulipas Pygmy-Owl came out to see us in the cloud forest, the former more readily than the latter. On the drive down we had exceptional views of a cooperative pair of Mountain Trogons.
In the Nacimiento area, near Ciudad Mante, we enjoyed the antics of Northern Jacanas. We also saw Least Grebe, Amazon Kingfisher, and Common Moorhen. The wind blew us home early that day. In the afternoon we took a wonderful boat trip down the Rio Frio, slowly cruising for Boat-billed Heron and Sungrebe. We got excellent looks at Boat-billed Heron, but the Sungrebe was a little stealthier. We also got looks at Blue-crowned Motmot and Tufted Flycatcher, and glimpsed a Great Curassow. A great Langostino dinner followed our successful outing along the river.
The following morning we returned to the Rio Frio for more wonderful birding. A Flame-colored Tanager pair greeted our arrival and a pair of Collared Forest-Falcons sat out where we could see them for several minutes, after we heard their hollow courting calls. We added many birds here and had better looks at others. Ringed Kingfisher, Elegant Trogon, Ivory-billed Woodcreeper, Red-throated Ant-Tanager, Rose-throated Becard, and Squirrel Cuckoo were all easily seen. An immature Great Black-Hawk drifted past quickly. Late in the evening, during our parrot watch, we were surprised by three Aplomado Falcons chasing, apparently swapping prey.
On our last full day we tried again for the Altamira Yellowthroat; a couple of folks glimpsed it, but it just wouldn't come out for everybody. Our best sighting of the day was in the foothills where we found a foraging flock of Military Macaws. Nearly two dozen in number, they flew around and ate burcera fruits in front of us. We had wonderful views of their flight feathers—red and blue on the tail and wings from above, yellow below. This sighting easily made the macaw the bird of the trip.
We continued up into the mountains to 4,000 feet where we searched for a few montane birds. Hepatic Tanager and White-eared Hummingbirds were the highlights. Then we entered a completely different realm on the dry side of the mountains. The lush oak forest gave way to dry oaks and junipers, and finally to desert-like Tamaulipan thorn-scrub. We saw a few desert species, like Cactus Wren, as we made our way to Ciudad Victoria.
On our last morning we added a nice Yellow-throated Warbler on the hotel grounds before heading north to the border.