Southern Mexico: Highlands & Lowlands of Chiapas May 09—17, 2009
Posted by Héctor Gómez de Silva
Héctor Gómez de Silva
Héctor Gómez de Silva began birding at age eight in New York City. He published his first article about birds at age 15 while in Kenya, where he lived for six...Related Trips
The southernmost Mexican state, Chiapas, is among the most appealing of all the states of this super-diverse country, with its varied landscapes, archaeological sites, and bounty of natural wonders, including bird species rarely seen outside of Chiapas. That is why this tour attracts both casual birders and those searching for hard-to-find restricted-range species. We trace a circular route starting and ending in the city of Tapachula in the Pacific lowlands, and taking in the prehispanic pyramid of Chinkultic and breathtaking scenery at Sima de las Cotorras (a large limestone sinkhole), Sumidero Canyon, and Lagos de Montebello. All of these ingredients make this, as a rule, an outstanding tour.
Our 2009 tour was no exception, with a small group of amiable birders with different levels of interest and experience participating. In the very first afternoon of the tour we birded the coast south of Tapachula and several spots on the way, seeing several species we were not to see again elsewhere on the tour, not the least being Turquoise-browed Motmot, Ruddy-breasted Seedeater, and Rufous-naped Wren.
The following day started with breakfast and an hour of after-breakfast birding in the grounds of our Tapachula hotel, where White-bellied Chachalacas, Ferruginous Pygmy-Owls, Orange-chinned Parakeets, and Spot-breasted Oriole were some of the highlights. Then we drove to Finca Argovia looking for Blue-tailed Hummingbird (one lucky participant and I glimpsed it) and Violet Sabrewing. Most of the afternoon was spent driving to our next destination, Arriaga. Arriaga is the base for searching after the very local Rose-bellied Bunting, and this was our main pre-breakfast bird, although by no means the only one (here we saw our only Green-fronted Hummingbird, Citreoline Trogon, Orange-breasted Bunting, and West Mexican Chachalaca too). The scenic route from Arriaga to Ocozocuautla produced a surprise in the form of two unexpected Solitary Eagles, as well as White-tailed Hawk, Azure-crowned Hummingbird, Rusty Sparrow, Rufous-browed Peppershrike, Lesser Roadrunner, and more. From Ocozocuautla we headed to the impressive limestone sinkhole where dozens of Green Parakeets roost, before back-tracking to Ocozocuautla again and then heading to Tuxtla Gutiérrez, the capital of Chiapas and our base for the next few days.
Based out of Tuxtla we first visited the magnificent Sumidero Canyon. We usually have to visit twice to see its specialty birds, but this year one morning was enough to get them all, with Blue-and-white Mockingbirds prancing across the road and the very rare Pheasant Cuckoo included! We continued toward San Cristóbal de las Casas, making a birding stop where the trail was extremely muddy from recent rain, but we were fortunate to find Rufous-collared Robin, Blue-throated Motmot, and others. At Laguna Bélgica we tried hard to get a Black-faced (Mexican) Antthrush to show itself, and finally half the group did get to see it. An army ant swarm attracting many birds, including Squirrel Cuckoo and Ivory-billed Woodcreeper, was another memorable moment at Laguna Bélgica.
The other site visited out of Tuxtla Gutiérrez was the Nava's Wren locality; on our first morning, many birds gave only frustrating glimpses, unfortunately, but the star Nava's Wren gave everyone a good show in its rough limestone home. On the second morning, a nearby area produced many birds not seen elsewhere on the tour, including rare good views of Buff-throated Foliage-gleaner and a cryptic Green-backed Sparrow.
The morning out of San Cristóbal de las Casas produced Pink-headed Warblers, Pine Flycatchers, and a beautiful male Amethyst-throated Hummingbird in the pine forest, after a pair of Cinnamon-bellied Flowerpiercers and both White-eared and Magnificent hummingbirds at our hotel. At the Chinkultic archaeological site a male Slender Sheartail appeared, its wings buzzing with the same sounds as a bumblebee's.
Our final morning of birding was in Lagunas de Montebello National Park, where we were lucky with sightings of Ruddy Foliage-gleaner, Highland Guan, both Strong-billed and Spot-crowned woodcreepers, and three species of jays (Azure-hooded, Black-throated, and Unicolored), all in the same 800-meter stretch of road through a patch of cloud forest. After the birding we walked up the steps to the lookout over the most spectacular of Montebello's lakes, before heading to our pleasant lunch spot, Parador Santa María.
Several stops on our drive to Tapachula permitted us to pick up a few extra birds of the cloud forest such as Black Robin and Black-capped Swallow.
This was a very successful tour at the best time of year to find Chiapas's most interesting breeding species without getting rained on every day. So, do come to Chiapas to see rare and beautiful birds and awesome scenery.