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Red Warbler is an endemic of the Oaxaca region that we saw very well in the forests of Cerro San Felipe. Photo by participant Francois Grenon.

Oaxaca is a magical place: it has an impressive mixture of a rich cultural history, fine cuisine, impressive topography, and some really special flora and fauna. In fact, I’d argue that these three things go hand in hand. The valley is the cradle for some of the most important events in the history of humans in the western hemisphere—most importantly, the invention of maize. The Oaxaca valley’s elevation, east-west orientation, tropical day-lengths, and comfortable climate made it a perfect agricultural cornucopia (pun intended!). This, in turn, led to the cuisine we get to enjoy on the tour. The valley is ringed by some impressive mountains that allow for a local climate that leans somewhat to the drier side of “mesic” but it doesn’t take much work to get upslope to where increased rainfall results in an impressive and humbling pine-oak forest which, at its highest point, includes some absolutely huge and old weeping pines that belie the foresight of the locals to protect this patriarchal habitat from over-exploitation, as has happened in too many other corners of the world. The view from the ancient capital city at the heart of the valley, also sitting in the middle of the modern city—namely the ruins of Monte Alban—are awe-inspiring, and our local guide, Jorge, provided an excellent explanation for why this site was chosen for its strategic strengths in ruling the people of the valley and protecting it from invasion.

Then, there is the flora and fauna. The Oaxaca valley is, as I stated above, quite diverse, with arid cactus-laden deciduous brush on its floor, giving way to oak scrub, then dry pine-oak woodland, and finally the majestic pine-oak-Douglas-fir forest I mentioned earlier. The isolation of the drier vegetation allowed this valley to be one of the main centers of endemism in western Mexico, sporting nearly thirty country endemics within the valley and surrounding mountains, with several being more tightly constrained to the immediate Oaxaca region. These range from the rather bland-looking White-throated Towhee, perhaps one of the first and easiest of the endemics we are likely to see upon arriving here, to the striking Red Warbler or Dwarf Jay of the high montane forests of Cerro San Felipe, or the three vireos (Dwarf, Golden, and Slaty) that we seek in the scrub on the walls of the valley. The columnar cacti of sites such as Yagul and the dense banks of Salvia flowers higher in the mountains are attractive sources of nectar for the high-strung and entertaining hummingbirds such as Beautiful and Dusky (in the former) or Bumblebee and White-eared (not an endemic in this case, but you get the idea) in the latter. The intertwining of natural and human-altered landscapes here is inescapable, with the ruins showing us how past civilization used the valley, and more modern enterprises, such as the Rancho Zapata mescal plant and the Mendoza family’s Teotitlan restaurant and weaving workshop, providing a window into the current culture and how it has adapted to globalization while retaining the roots from the ancestors.

Our tour allowed us to enjoy both the cultural and the natural aspects of the Oaxaca valley, and we all took away some fine memories. These include the top-voted birds of the trip, such as the fine views we had of the Fulvous Owl on Cerro San Felipe, the colorful and not-too-shy Russet-crowned Motmot at KM 77, the Ocellated Thrasher that finally showed well for us at Monte Alban, the fancy Chestnut-sided Shrike-Vireo we enjoyed at Rio Verde. The very un-towhee-like Collared Towhee caught the eyes of some, as did the attractive Gray-breasted Woodpecker, and the mysterious Mexican Whip-poor-will crouching on the wall of a quarry pit in the forest. The sad look on the face of that Cedar Waxwing at Monte Alban was almost heartbreaking. On the other hand, the brilliant plumage of the Orange-breasted Bunting and that fine male Red-headed Tanager was thrilling! The majestic forests on the higher mountain slopes rang with the tinkling song of Brown-backed Solitaires and we enjoyed the crowds of Gray Silky-Flycatchers as they swarmed the oaks and pines, the orange-headed Olive Warblers as they mobbed our owl tape, and the occasional Rose-throated Becard that joined the mixed jay and wren flocks that moved through the canopy there, the cluster of Black-headed Siskins we enjoyed our last morning as they took in the sun on top of an oak, or the chases of the Blue-throated Hummingbirds through the Salvias at Rio Verde. Lower down, the cute Tufted Flycatchers sallied from branches for insects, showing off their rufous plumage, the various orioles we enjoyed, especially along the switchbacks above Teotitlan, including the particularly attractive Black-vented Orioles that probed the white flowering trees, and the groups of Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jays that bounced around the oaks and scrub on the slopes. Near the floor of the valley, we enjoyed the attractive Bridled Sparrows, the Rufous-backed Robins that were gorging on pepper tree fruits, the White-tailed Hawks that circled over the Yagul ruins, and that distant, but visible, Pileated Flycatcher we spied across the valley at Monte Alban!

In all, it was a fine tour, and I hope we’ll have another opportunity to bird together again sometime soon. Meanwhile, I say on behalf of Tom and myself, “mantenga un ojo al cielo y los binoculares a mano” (keep an eye on the sky and your binoculars close by)!

Dan

KEYS FOR THIS LIST
One of the following keys may be shown in brackets for individual species as appropriate: * = heard only, I = introduced, E = endemic, N = nesting, a = austral migrant, b = boreal migrant

We enjoyed some interesting local history and culture as well. Here, the group takes in a panoramic view of the ruins at Yagul. Photo by guide Dan Lane.

One of the Ferruginous Pygmy-Owls that we saw was captured nicely in a photograph by participant Robert Sprague.

The Brown-backed Solitaire is not the most colorful bird that we saw, but it has one of the most amazing songs. We heard them on several days, and got a great look at this one on Cerro San Filipe. Photo by participant Francois Grenon.

This Chestnut-sided Shrike-Vireo didn't stay for prolonged views, but we still had a good look at it. Photo by guide Dan Lane.

Gray Silky-Flycatchers were common in the pine-oaks woodlands we visited. Photo by participant Robert Sprague.

This gorgeous Fulvous Owl was the Bird of the Trip, and no wonder! We had a great view of this cooperative individual. Photo by participant Francois Grenon.

While most of us are familiar with the House Finch, the subspecies we saw in Oaxaca is more striking than many in the US. Photo by participant Francois Grenon.

Oaxaca is a great place to see a number of large wren species, including the attractive Rufous-naped Wren. Photo by participant Francois Grenon.

The habitat at KM 77 is a dry woodland that supports some interesting birds, such as the Russet-crowned Motmot that we saw. Photo by guide Dan Lane.

And here is our Russet-crowned Motmot! What a beauty! Photo by guide Dan Lane.

It took some looking, but we finally found the Oaxaca Sparrow on our way up to La Cumbre. Photo by participant Robert Sprague.

We caught up to the little-known Pine Flycatcher above Teotitlan. Photo by participant Francois Grenon.

Slaty Vireo is one of the specialties of this tour, and we were able to get a brief, but fairly good look at this one that popped up on the road above Teotitlan. Photo by participant Francois Grenon.

We visited several archeological sites, including Yagul. Photo by guide Dan Lane.

Participant Robert Sprague captured this shot of a brilliant Vermilion Flycatcher.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Totals for the tour: 194 bird taxa and 2 mammal taxa