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The yellow "headlights" of this Golden-browed Warbler almost glowed in the understory of the arroyos on Cerro San Felipe. Photo by participant Doug Clarke.

Well, this tour got in and out of Mexico just before all heck broke loose worldwide, and I’m sure everyone was glad it was timed when it was! Happily unaware of what was about to befall us, we enjoyed a week of great birding, good food, some culture, and fine company! Oaxaca is one of those destinations that really could use better marketing in the US, as it is a fantastic place for all sorts of activities, birding not least among them. Our tour was quite a success in this regard, netting nearly 200 species and giving us great views of a number of Mexican endemics and many local and hard-to-see species.

We started on the Teotitlan road, which gave us a nice cross section of the various habitats available to us in the Oaxaca valley, from the dry floor, with its agricultural fields and scrubby patches, to the reservoir Presa Piedra Azul, in effect an oasis where we had a nice glut of waterbirds and others, up to the pine-oak forest on the ridge above. The next day, we visited the enchanting pine-oak forests on Cerro San Felipe, with the cool shade and impressive bromeliad loads on the branches. Our third day was quite a change as we visited the unique tropical thorn scrub at KM 77, on the Pacific Slope to the east of the Oaxaca valley. What a cool place, and we managed some great birds there! Then back to visit the Zapotec and Mixtec ruins at Mitla and Yagul, and to see the process to make mescal the traditional way. On day four we visited the impressive Zapotec ruins of Monte Alban in the morning and then headed up to Cerro San Felipe for an evening of birding, especially owling! Day five found us back on the Teotitlan road followed by a visit to a home-style restaurant and a wool dying and weaving workshop in town. Our final day we spent on the Yuvila side of La Cumbre in more oak-dominated pine-oak forest. Of course, we also enjoyed a bit of the city, including our lovely hotel and an evening on the Zocalo as we had a fine meal and listened to the crowd and music below us.

Highlights of these outings included (in order of their popularity): the glowing Orange-breasted Bunting at KM 77 that just lit up the tree, the similarly incandescent Red Warbler that was such an eye-catcher in the pine-oak forests in the mountains, the snazzy Russet-crowned Motmot, also at KM 77, as it eyed us and swung its tail like a pendulum, the Lesser Roadrunner that Jorge spotted and we managed to call into view by the vans at KM 77, the “cute” Northern Pygmy-Owls we had at several spots that acted as scapegoats, grabbing the attention of local small birds, the elegant Gray Silky-flycatchers that gathered in groups in treetops and chirped, as that huge flock did at Pollo Nino! The yelping Fulvous Owl on Cerro San Felipe was a favorite because… well… owls! The flashy Red-headed Tanagers that we enjoyed at Pollo Nino, and were a lifer for most, including Micah. Oaxaca Sparrows, as usual, played hard to get, but we eventually got everyone a good view, but the ornately patterned Bridled Sparrows were a bit easier to see. The yellow eyebrow of the Golden-browed Warblers stood out in the dim lighting of their preferred shady habitat on Cerro San Felipe. Our owling night finished up with a very nice view of a Whiskered Screech-Owl that came in close to check us out. The ethereal song of Brown-backed Solitaire cascaded around us at several spots, but none as much as at Yuvila, where it was one of the dominant birds! An unusually extroverted Cordilleran Flycatcher at Jilguero gave us an eyeful, as did several flashy Mountain Trogons at Yuvila, among other places. The personable Yellow-eyed Juncos in the openings of the montane forests also got on the list. And certainly not least: Teri found what may well be a new species of Euphorb while on the tour! That’s pretty darned exciting!

Our local crew, both Jorge and Ricardo, did a fine job of transporting us around, and Jorge guided us at the various ruins with his informative exposition of the history and culture of the region. We thank them both for their hard work! Micah and I also thank you all for joining us on this tour, and we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did (and more so now that travel is curtailed for the time being!). We hope that we will see you all again out there with binoculars on, and as you shelter in place, don’t forget that birding is a great way to keep yourself engaged in the world around you and perhaps a little less stressed from the current events!

Que nos pasamos esta epoca de dificultad y volvemos a pajarear pronto! (May we get through this challenging period and return to birding together soon!)

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

White-throated Towhee is usually the first of the many Oaxacan endemics we see on the tour, and this trip was no exception. Here, it is singing in lovely early morning sunlight below Teotitlan. Photo copyright Carl-Axel Bauer, participant on the tour.

Almost one of the first birds upon arriving at our Km 77 site on the Pacific slope was this retina-melting Orange-breasted Bunting well photographed by participant Doug Clarke. It's always a favorite.

Bridled Sparrow, another Mexican endemic confined to the south, is one of the snazzier species of its kin, with a complex head and wing pattern. Photo by guide Micah Riegner.

The flash of rufous in the wings announces a Berylline Hummingbird at the Jacaranda in front of our hotel. Photo by participant Doug Clarke.

Although not as attention-grabbing as Red Warbler, this Crescent-chested Warbler was nonetheless a thoroughly enjoyed sight in the mountane forests above the city, Photo by participant Doug Clarke.

By sheer luck, and the sharp eyes of our driver Jorge, we enjoyed watching a Lesser Roadrunner at our Km 77 spot that even hopped up and sang for us! Photo copyright Carl-Axel Bauer.

A vista across the ruins at Monte Alban, where we enjoyed not only some archaeological history but also some good birding (seeing Slaty Vireo again was great). Photo by guide Micah Riegner.

This Northern Pygmy-Owl was ringed by throngs of small birds keeping an eye on it. Photo by guide Micah Riegner.

The endemic Collared Towhee can be tough, but once coaxed into singing, it will often stay on a perch for minutes, as did this one photographed by participant Doug Clarke.

If a Chestnut-sided Warbler ever featured in the Marvel Universe, it would be Bruce Banner to this hulking Chestnut-sided Shrike-Vireo! Photo by participant Doug Clarke.

The colors of the Mexican Flag are well reflected by this lovely Mountain Trogon that showed well for us. Photo copyright Carl-Axel Bauer.

Guide Micah Riegner could barely keep steady enough to get this fine photo of this male Red-headed Tanager at Pollo Niño--it was a long-awaited lifer for him!

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Mexican Mud Turtle (Kinosternon integrum): in Presa Piedra Azul.

Spiny-tailed Iguana (Ctenosaura sp.): up the slope from the KM 77 canyon.

Scaled Lizard sp. (Sceloparus sp.): we probably saw several species in this genus, as they are numerous and speciose in the Oaxaca area.

Totals for the tour: 197 bird taxa and 3 mammal taxa