Southern Mexico: Highlands and Lowlands of Chiapas May 08—16, 2010
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 a bounty of natural wonders, including bird species rarely seen outside of Chiapas. This 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, taking in the pre-Hispanic 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 2010 tour was no exception. 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, including Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Common Black-Hawk, and Blue-black Grassquit.
The following day started with breakfast and an hour's drive to Finca Argovia looking for Blue-tailed Hummingbird (one lucky participant and I glimpsed it) and Prevost's Ground-Sparrow (a highlight of the drive was bumping into a flock of Pacific Parakeets, one of which resembled Central America's Red-throated Parakeet). Most of the afternoon was spent driving to our next destination, Arriaga, with a couple of productive birding stops, including one for a Yellow-winged Cacique that flew across the highway in front of us. Arriaga is the base for searching after the very local Rose-bellied Bunting, and this was the main pre-breakfast bird, although by no means the only one; here we saw our only Green-fronted Hummingbird, Golden-crowned Emerald, Alder and Willow flycatchers, and Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet too. From Ocozocuautla we headed to the impressive limestone sinkhole where dozens of Green Parakeets roost, before backtracking to Ocozocuautla again, seeing many birds on the drive to the sinkhole and at the sinkhole, not the least interesting being a Lesser Roadrunner that ran across the road. Then we headed 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, which we usually have to visit twice to see its specialty birds, but this year one morning was enough to get all—the Gray-collared Becard, Red-breasted Chat, Fan-tailed Warbler, Belted Flycatcher, and the very rare Pheasant Cuckoo included! Our trip to the Tuxtla Gutiérrez zoo was interesting with caged Horned Guan and caged Resplendent Quetzals, as well as free-roaming Great Curassows, Crested Guans, white-tailed deer, black howler monkey, and black agouti. At Laguna Bélgica we had superb views of a White-bellied Emerald and a pair of Red-throated Ant-Tanagers.
The other site visited out of Tuxtla Gutiérrez was the Nava's Wren locality; on our first morning, the star Nava's Wren gave everyone a good show in its rough limestone home, and we also saw a giant helicopter damselfly. On the second morning, a nearby area produced many birds not seen elsewhere on the tour, including rare good views of Blue-throated Goldentail and Black-headed Nightingale-Thrush.
The morning out of San Cristóbal de las Casas produced Pink-headed Warblers, Yellow-backed Oriole, Mountain Trogon, and a Golden-browed Warbler, as well as the short-crested and blue-backed Chiapas form of Steller's Jay. The afternoon spent at Chinkultic archaeological site was interesting for the ruins and great views of Azure-crowned Hummingbird. A short side-trip to Lagos de Montebello gave us views of one of the beautiful lakes and a few Swallow-tailed Kites.
Our next morning of birding was in Lagunas de Montebello National Park, where we were lucky with sightings of Ruddy Foliage-gleaner, Blue-throated Motmot, and both Black-throated and Unicolored jays, all in a small patch of cloud forest. Then we headed to our pleasant lunch spot, Parador Santa María, where we saw a female Slender Sheartail.
Our afternoon was spent driving to Tapachula, but several stops on the way permitted us to pick up a few extra birds of the cloud forest such as Black Robin, Brown-backed Solitaire, and Black-capped Swallow. And our final morning drive up the slopes of Volcán Tacaná, which straddles the border between Mexico and Guatemala, produced a lovely cloud forest and second views of Blue-throated Motmot and Brown-backed Solitaire, and for one participant, a Rufous-browed Wren.
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.