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One of the biggest avian attractions of Oaxaca is the glowing red, silver-cheeked Red Warbler. Photo by guide Doug Gochfeld.

Oaxaca, land of the Zapotecas, is a place all birders should go—its magic is not just in the birds, (and don’t get me wrong, the birding’s great) but in the vibrant culture, deep history, colorful rugs and distinct flavors that make Oaxaca, well, Oaxaca. Our Christmas tour landed numerous avian highlights from the flocks of Dwarf Jays that dazzled us in the moss-laden hardwoods of Cerro San Felipe to the Russet-crowned Motmots backdropped by columnar cacti along KM 77, the flock of Elegant Euphonias frantically flitting through mistletoe, and the crepuscular chorus of Fulvous Owls that chilly night in the mountains. For cultural activities we visited several important historical sites, like Mitla and Monte Alban, had dinner overlooking the bustling Zocalo, and watched the rug making demonstration by the Mendoza sisters, a Field Guides tradition that goes back many years.

Day one, we worked the slope above Teotitlan del Valle, starting in the arid shrublands where we saw numerous sparrows, the endemic Boucard’s Wren, and our first Gray-fronted Woodpeckers. The reservoir above town had numerous Least Grebes, a Green Kingfisher and some Blue-winged Teal. After some nice views of Black-vented Orioles and Greenish Elaenia, we ascended into the Oak zone, to see Mexican Violetears, Mountain Trogon, a smattering of western warblers and Gray-collared Becard. Dinner that evening was at a restaurant overlooking the Zocalo, mariachis playing at our table. What a festive night!

The following day we focused on seeing Dwarf Jays, among other things of course. These canopy corvids occupy a narrow sliver of forest in the mountains of Oaxaca and nearby Chiapas. They often forage in flocks with Gray-barred Wrens and Steller’s Jays, probing through moss and other epiphytes. Before ascending Cerro San Felipe, we stopped first at "Pollo Niño" at the base of the mountain and saw Oaxaca Sparrow, a flock of Elegant Euphonias and some cooperative Gray Silky-Flycatchers. When we reached the trail, we were greeted by a handsome Red Warbler foraging low to the ground. What a stunner! It didn’t take long before we found our first flock with Steller’s Jay’s and Gray-barred Wrens—and there they were, the Dwarf Jays! They descended to eye level, which is something one doesn’t get to see very often. What an incredible experience.

The cactus slopes of KM 77 are a well-known site for seeing Oaxaca’s desert birds. It gets hot here, so we had an earlier-than-usual departure to get there. When we arrived, we were greeted by a pair of Russet-crowned Motmots, backed by the steep canyon walls. One of them decided to sally up and land on the canyon wall. Other birds we saw that morning included the Sclater’s form of Rufous-naped Wren, Green-fronted Hummingbird, which is basically the Oaxaca version of Violet-crowned Hummingbird, heaps of White-lored Gnatcatchers, Nutting’s Flycatchers, Bridled Sparrow, Golden Vireo, a female Elegant Trogon and a couple Plain-capped Starthroats. We had a special lunch that day at a place where they process Mezcal, then had a tour of the Mezcaleria. It’s truly amazing the amount of work that goes into making it!

Monte Alban is certainly the most famous archeological site in Oaxaca. We spent a morning there, first birding some of the deciduous forest that cloaks the flank of the mountain. The coolest bird of the morning was Pileated Flycatcher, a west Mexico endemic that’s like a cross between a pewee and an empid. Jorge, our driver (not to be confused with Jorge the guide!), gave us a great tour of the ruins with fascinating tidbits on the Zapotecas, who built the incredible city. After a mid-afternoon break, we ascended Cerro San Felipe again, this time in search of owls. As we set things up for tortellini dinner, the Fulvous Owls erupted into a full-blown cacophony. At least two pairs took part—it was quite remarkable. After dinner we drove to another site for Saw-whet Owl. When we exited the van we could hear it tooting down in a gully. After a few minutes it came in right above us. Fantastico!

Our final day of birding we went back up Cerro San Felipe to bird the Yuvilla Road. After realizing there was no breakfast at our hotel, we left in hopes of finding an open restaurant along the road. Anxiety grew as we passed closed restaurant after closed restaurant until we reached a cozy log cabin restaurant with people, who graciously let us in. And the food was just great! The birding that followed was also great. Doug found the nest of White-eared Hummingbird, which seemed out of season, and we had great looks at Collared Towhee, Rufous-capped Brushfinch, a brief buzz-by of a Bumblebee Hummingbird, and numerous Gray Silky Flycatchers clustering together at the top of a tree.

Doug, Jorge and I would like to thank all of you for joining us for the fun and festivities this year. We hope to see you again on another birding trail!

Hasta luego,

Micah, Doug and Jorge

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

Oaxaca has a nice variety of climates, and during our warmest morning in the desert we were able to find some coolness under the shadow of one of the large cacti that are so characteristic of the regional landscape, and an important species for a wide array of birds, from Plain-capped Starthroats and Rufous-naped Wren to Gray-breasted and Golden-fronted Woodpeckers. We even saw a White-lored Gnatcatcher poking around the canopy of one of these great shade-givers. Photo by guide Doug Gochfeld.

We had a tremendously fun experience with the eye-popping Elegant Euphonia on our second morning, as we lucked upon a tree that had been taken over by some healthily fruiting mistletoe. Photo by participant Maureen Phair.

Oaxaca has some incredible flora, from the landscape dominating cacti in the deserts to the oversized high elevation thistles, which were just starting to flower during our visit this year. The giant agaves, however, are often the most eye-catching and perhaps the most far-from-the-norm plants we encounter. Photo by guide Doug Gochfeld.

A morning view from the ridge at La Cumbre looking down the valley towards Oaxaca City. Photo by guide Doug Gochfeld.

Dwarf Jay is another of the Mexican endemics that exists in a very limited range, and this year's tour had a fantastic experience with multiple groups of these inquisitive but wary corvids. They can be tough to track down, but we ran across three separate groups of these charismatic birds, always in conjunction with their close compatriots, Gray-barred Wrens and Steller's Jay. Photo by participant Maureen Phair.

Oaxaca is justly renowned for a good many things, of which the birds are but one. The distinctive cuisine is always a highlight, and included under that umbrella is the hot chocolate. The cocoa itself is not grown in the state, but the chocolate mix and the way they make it is a signature of Mexico, and it is not to be missed in Oaxaca. This image comes from our final lunch, up in the mountains accompanied by Blue-throated Mountain-Gem and Rivoli's Hummingbirds, great food, and a wonderfully scenic view of the northern slope of La Cumbre. Photo by guide Doug Gochfeld.

We had this delightful bushel of Gray-silky Flycatchers in a tree amongst a larger group of upwards of 100 individuals on our final morning near Yuvila. Photo by guide Micah Riegner.

Monte Alban is one of the most striking of the Zapotec ruins, lying on a bare hill within Oaxaca City, and despite being centuries removed from being a functional city, it is steeped in fascinating culture, and characterized by some incredible architecture and construction. Photo by participant Maureen Phair.

Pileated Flycatcher was another Mexican endemic which has a fairly limited bit of habitat in the Oaxaca area, but we ended up having really nice views of a frequently calling individual on the day we visited Monte Alban. Photo by guide Doug Gochfeld.

Russet-crowned Motmot put on a great show for us on the day of our dry forest birding to the southeast of Oaxaca City. Photo by participant Merrill Lester.

Wow! They can be skulky in their mid-to-high elevation forest habitat, but when they do pop out into view, Golden-browed Warblers are a true show stopper. Photo by guide Doug Gochfeld.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Totals for the tour: 172 bird taxa and 1 mammal taxa