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It’s strange and sobering to sit here thinking back on our Oaxaca tour together and the pre-pandemic world we lived in. To think we clustered in vans winding our way through the mountains of Mexico, and gathered in claustrophobic restaurants! What a different world we now live in! Well, despite closures and cancelations underway in the rest of the world, the tour ran smoothly, and we escaped unscathed, albeit, sooner than we had planned for. The birding was great overall even though it was quite dry (not a single drop of rain since early November!), and we managed to soak up some nifty Mexican avifauna like Lesser Roadrunner, Orange-breasted Bunting, Dwarf Jay, Chestnut-sided Shrike-vireo, Ocellated Thrasher, Red-headed Tanagers, and loads of Red Warblers.

We kicked off the tour with a day trip to Teotitlan del Valle, a dusty cobblestone town famous for its rugs. We birded the fields near the town and had two unexpected species—Botteri’s Sparrow and a brilliant male Red-legged Honeycreeper! How about that!?

From there, we stopped at Presa Piedra Azul and saw numerous waterbirds, including Least Grebes, a smattering of herons and Green Kingfishers. We also had our first encounters with Bridled Sparrows, one of the best-looking sparrows in Mexico. We then crept up to the higher elevations where the first oaks and pines appear. A pair of Chestnut-sided Shrike-vireos shot into view and put on a show—certainly one of my favorite Mexican birds. After a picnic lunch, we birded some more and had our first views of Collared Towhee singing from a riparian drainage.

The next day we took the winding mountain road up Cerro San Felipe—one of the only places in the world to see Dwarf Jay. We stopped first at Pollo Niño, a lower-elevation site at the base of the mountain where we encountered Red-headed Tanager, a handsome Mexican endemic, our first of several Slaty Vireos and Oaxaca Sparrow, a bird that resembles Rufous-crowned Sparrow but with more contrast on the face. When we reached the trail for the Dwarf Jays, the forest was alive with the chips and seets of foraging warblers. In one feeding flock we saw Red, Townsend’s, Hermit, and Crescent-chested Warblers, all feeding simultaneously in the moss-laden branches. As we continued down the trail, it wasn’t long before we heard wiry contact calls of Dwarf Jays. As usual, they were accompanying a flock of Gray-barred Wrens and Steller’s Jays, moving noisily through the canopy. An added bonus was a Rose-throated Becard, a bird that reaches to some of the lowland riparian areas in Arizona. Here in Mexico, this species is found high in mixed conifer forests. After “Field Guides Tuna Salad,” we birded the main road and had exquisite views of a Gray-breasted Wood-wren singing its heart out in a steep drainage. This single species will probably be split into multiple species down the line.

The day we visit the cactus forest along KM 77 tends to shine as the best day of the tour. It’s just such a contrast to all the other sites we visit in Oaxaca. As soon as we unloaded from the vans, we encountered a handsome pair of Russet-crowned Motmots glowing in front of a backdrop of rocks and cacti. Other highlights of the morning included Elegant Trogons, a flock of White-throated Magpie-Jays, a Ferruginous Pygmy-owl and a pair of Lesser Roadrunners scuttling across the desert rocks! These closely resemble Greater Roadrunners but have exquisite blue orbital skin around the eye and an unstreaked breast. We watched them run across a hillside and ascend a tree. Orange-breasted Bunting is a striking bird that only lives along the Pacific Slope of Mexico and KM 77 is the only place we see it on our Oaxaca tour. We searched for it the entire morning, but the bird didn’t appear even though we’d seen it well with the previous group. However, just as we loaded back into the vans, Dan spotted the bird on the hillside and it stayed there long enough for everyone to get scope views. Fantastic! Certainly, a highlight of the tour. Before lunch, we stopped briefly at the microwave towers and saw a cooperative Dwarf Vireo in the dry scrub. We heard an Ocellated Thrasher, but it just wouldn’t show itself. After lunch we had a tour of the Mezcal production (you wouldn’t believe how much goes into making it!) and then went to the ruins of Mitla and Yagul. Jorge, the driver, gave us a wonderful tour of both spectacular archaeological sites.

Monte Alban is Oaxaca’s premier archeological site and also happens to be great for birding. Before ascending to the ruins, we spent some time trying to draw out an Ocellated Thrasher that was singing incessantly from the dense Oaxacan mesic scrub-forest (that’s a term I just invented!). After several minutes searching, we finally found a window where we could get it in the scope and the bird miraculously sat there long enough for everyone to get a look. Woohoo!

After a much-needed siesta at the hotel, we layered up with sweaters and wound our way back to Cerro San Felipe for some owling. Dan and I prepared pasta salad for dinner and, as we ate, we soaked in the tinkling chorus of Brown-backed Solitaires to bring the day to a close. A distant Long-tailed Wood-Partridge chimed in a couple times before night fully settled in. Our first nightbirds were Mexican Whip-poor-wills seen along the road. Soon after that we saw an extremely vocal Northern Saw-Whet Owl—quite a rare bird in this part of Mexico. It was in fact Dan’s first time seeing one on the Oaxaca Tour!

Our final day of birding we worked the Yuvila Road. It’s one of my favorite roads we bird on the tour as it follows the east-facing ridge, getting extra moisture off the Gulf Slope. The forest there often rings with the sound of Brown-backed Solitaires and Mountain Trogons and our visit was no exception. While trying to elicit a mob response from some migrant warblers, we inadvertently stirred up a Northern Pygmy-owl, which shot in and landed in great light.

With news of the eminent border closure, alas, we were forced to leave Mexico before our Coastal Extension. But thank goodness we were able to get back home safely. Kudos to Tina who wrangled with the airlines to change all our flights! Dan and I had a great time birding with all of you—we certainly look forward to birding with you again once we’re through with the pandemic. Perhaps we’ll all be wearing masks, so we may in fact not recognize one another! I hope you’re all staying healthy and appreciating spring migration.

Cheers from the Arizona desert,

Micah

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

Micah's watercolor study of Gray Silky-flycatcher. We had great views of this iconic species throughout the tour.

Steve Reischel photographed this stunning Red Warbler as it came down to check us out.

Dan Lane photographed this Russet-crowned Motmot in the dry forest along KM 77.

Micah's watercolor study of Northern Pygmy-Owl. We saw quite a few of these fierce predators on the tour.

Group photo at Monte Alban. Photo by that guy to whom I gave my camera. Note: this was before social distancing was a thing.

Orange-breasted Bunting certainly stands out in its dry forest environment. Photo by Micah Riegner.

This Collared Towhee sang in front of us for quite a while. Photo by Micah Riegner.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Totals for the tour: 191 bird taxa and 2 mammal taxa