Mexico 2010

Elegant Trogon

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Finally I am able to write a little bit about my birding trip (along with my best friend John) to Mexico in 2010. Literally, I could write small book about our week if I wanted to but for the sake of valuable time, I am going to summarize the trip in just a few short paragraphs.

We birded three primary areas during or week in Mexico - El Tuito (south of Puerto Vallarta), Mountains East of Puerto Vallarta, and San Pancho/ Sayulita in the state of Nayarit. Each of the areas were great in their own right. Even for being July, the birding was very good, if you can tolerate heat that is. I am not going to lie - it was HOT!

We birded the El Tuito and Puerto Vallarta area with Alejandro of "Birding Mexico". Alejandro was a great birder and we enjoyed are time with him.

Rancho Primavera... El Tuito, MX. This ranch is a fairly common birding destination these days and rightfully so. The owners Bonnie and Pat are very courteous to birders and will make you feel very welcome. Do you like Mango's? Well, if so, the ranch is full of Mango trees and you are welcome to eat at will!

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The grounds of Rancho Primavera provide some very good birding. Some of our highlights from the property include: Blue Mockingbird, Green Kingfisher, and Vermillion Flycatcher. The accommodations are very nice and well kept. You will encounter some vicious looking insects but most are harmless. I am still dreaming about the Short-tailed Whip Scorpion in the closet!

The town of El Tuito is nice but very small so don't expect too much excitement. Since we weren't looking for any so it worked out well for us. As far as the birding around the town and in the mountains... there is much to be excited about. Highlights include Berylline Hummingbird, Grace's Warbler, Golden Vireo, Acorn Woodpecker, Golden-cheeked Woodpecker, and Hepatic Tanager.

West Mexican Chachalaca

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We briefly birded the Puerto Vallarta Botanical Gardens. It rained most of the time but we had some great birds on a very beautiful property. Some of these birds were Mexican Hermit, San Blas Jay, Stripe-headed Sparrow, and Black Pheobe.

Other parts of Puerto Vallarta included birds such as the absolutely gorgeous Military Macaw, Yellow-winged Cacique, Gray Hawk, Golden-crowned Emerald, Citreoline Trogon, and Rosy-thrush Tanager.

Military Macaws

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Our last area of birding were Sayulita and San Pancho. We met up with a great birder by the name of Luis with "Birding San Pancho". We had a good time birding the area with Luis! We first birded the San Pancho area and then headed north to Sayulita. Although the day was hot and the heat felt as if it were cooking me to my certain death, we had some great birds including Black-throated Magpie Jay, Military Macaw, Rose-throated Becard, Lineated Woodpecker, Crested Caracara, Orange-fronted Parakeet, Zone-tailed Hawk, Magnificant Frigatebird, Pale-billed Woodpecker, Sinaloa Wren, Happy Wren, and Blue Bunting.

Broad-billed Hummingbird

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We stayed at a place called Roberto's Bungalow's in San Pancho. What a great place! Small, clean, and very cozy. We each got our own Bungalow both complete with an outdoor kitchen and sitting area. The enclosed "backyard" was completely hidden from the outside world allowing for compete relaxation after a long day of birding. The owners and son were great hosts and made you feel very much at home. I would highly recommend you staying at Roberto's if you are ever in the area. I would definitely go back.

In all, I saw 95 species of birds on the trip. Not as many as I would have like but a good number nonetheless. I am very excited to report that I got 46 life birds while on the trip bring my total life list to 496! Four more to go this year, just four more to go!

Gotta Love Goose Pond!

Mississippi Kite... patiently waiting to feed her young a Cicada.

I was FINALLY able to get out and bird in my own state. It has been an extremely busy summer that has left little time for birds so I was more than ready. I decided to head down to Goose Pond since there there was a chance for me to see an active Mississippi Kite nest, something I had never seen. To make the occasion even more special, this particular species would be a life bird for me.

So, off I went. My first stop was the nest. I was so anxious to see it that I was unable to read my directions correctly and passed the bird by about a mile while looking for it. I finally had to call for some help and afterward quickly found the nest. I was a little nervous approaching the area because I knew the young were getting pretty big and were probably getting close to leaving home. I lucked out, they were still in the nest! I was even more pleased to see the parent patiently overlooking her nest waiting to feed the young a fresh Cicada that she had in her beak. What a great bird!

Mississippi Kites... the youngens'.

I left the site of the Kites and headed to Main Pond West. As with most visits to Goose Pond, I am instantly smiling as there are usually birds everywhere. I was instantly greeted by Song Sparrows, Indigo Buntings, Red-winged Blackbirds, and Common Yellowthroats. In fact, these four species were everywhere the entire visit. What a great problem to have!

Great Egrets were everywhere! In my short time I counted about 48 Egrets. It didn't matter where you looked, there were Great Egrets. Some of the other fantastic birds that made their way into my view were Black-necked Stilt, Northern Harrier, Great Blue Heron, Wood Duck, Mallard, Eastern Kingbird, Barn Swallow, Tree Swallow, and Canada Goose.

It was only about an hour and a half before I sweat out my last drop of energy so I ended my trip a little short of plan but I was extremely pleased with what I had saw on just a short stretch of land which covered about a 1/2 mile in total.

There are allot of good places to bird in Indiana and Goose Pond is one of them. This project has to be one of the best things to have ever happened in our state. If you have not been, I would strongly encourage you to go. If you want more information just click here.

Indigo Bunting and Common Yellowthroat... two of my favorites. Not sure how anyone could get tired of these two birds.

Great Egrets! Holy smokes, I count 14 in this picture... there are many more surrounding me. This place is wonderful.

Black Swallowtail

Barn Swallows and Tree Swallows... there were actually 13 additional Tree Swallows sitting in the grass but I could not get them all in the picture. They were flying everywhere. A family reunion I think.

Little (Big) Day!

Team Walmart... my wonderful Walmart Team that braved the heat to help raise money for bird conservation. We had a such great time!

On June 5, myself along with a great group of Walmart associates got together to participate in the Amos W. Butler Audubon Society's annual Birdathon. This was our third year doing the event. Despite many setbacks on a date, we were finally able to get together.

Our primary destination was Brown County State Park. An absolutely gorgeous park in Southern, IN. Although migrant season was mostly over, we were still treated to some great birds - mostly in one tree! Don't we love Mulberries? Some of the birds we saw were Scarlet Tanager, Summer Tanager, Eastern Towhee, Baltimore Oriole, and Eastern Wood Pewee.

Scarlet Tanager... does it get more beautiful? One of many colorful birds taking advantage of the ripening Mulberries.

After we had lunch, we spent a few more hours in the park. A couple of us then headed back toward Indianapolis. We decided to stop at Southwestway Park and I was sure glad we did! We found the park to be bouncing with Indigo Buntings, Red-eyed Vireo's, Yellow-breasted Chats, Song Sparrows, and Common Yellow-throats! What a great combination of birds in just the short distance we covered.

Indigo Bunting... this gorgeous female posed for several minutes at Southwestway park. Now, if I can just get a male to do the same!

Cedar Waxwing... one bird I can never get enough of. Find fruit, find Waxwings. Gotta love em'.

In all we saw more than 40 species of birds. A small number for a big day but we had a great time finding the ones we did and this is what the day was all about! We had fun and spotted some fantastic birds!

Salamonie Reservoir

Memorial Day weekend did not bring much as far as rare or uncommon birds into the view of my binoculars but, as expected, the weekend did bring a good time looking at some very overly dramatic birds... well at least two of them...

House Wren... I love Wren's, I mean, who couldn't? They are always nearby announcing their presence by scolding you for yours. The are cute, eat lots of bugs an are full of attitude. A cool bird!

Killdeer... another bird I think we often take for granite. They are not at all uncommon but go out of their way to make themselves known and when you take the time to look at them they are absolutely gorgeous!

Spotted Sandpiper... the most uncommon bird of the weekend. I had to chase this critter back and forth several times before getting a good enough look to identify. A nice spot!

Memories from Magee!

Trumpeter Swan with Kiddos!

Have you been to Magee Marsh? If not, I do hope you consider making it a priority place to go, Wow! This was the third time I have been to the area and this time was by far the best! Last fall I had the opportunity to walk the boardwalk in Magee Marsh to witness a ton of migrating birds within arm's length of the path. They were everywhere BUT they were in fall plumage. So a few days ago I had the same excitement (x10) as last fall and now added in a ton of spring plumage and BAM I was in heaven! My son and I were only able to spend 1 1/2 days in the area but the drive was well worth the reward! I was even able to pick up a couple of life birds - Black-billed Cuckoo and Ruddy Turnstone. My son (just starting his list) picked up more than 40 life birds! Below are some photo highlights of the trip for my son and I.

Yellow Warbler... one of the more cooperative Warblers to photograph. They like to hop out in the open in the tangles above the water.

Watersnake... just friendly neighborhood snake. These reptiles were everywhere. Pretty cool to see. I don't think many others on the boardwalk were as impressed with the snakes willingness to stay close to the action.

Canada Warbler... another common site this past weekend.

Magnolia Warbler... as common as House Sparrows in the city. Gorgeous!


My boy... taking a break near the lake to be a 9 year old. He skips rocks at every moment he gets!

Bay-breasted Warbler... hiding his face but the best part is out for all to see. Amazing colors!

Ruddy Turnstone! Lifer... here on the edge of Lake Erie in the presence of a Dunlin and Semi-palmated Sandpiper.

Yellow Warbler on nest... waiting patiently for the big day!

Green Heron... who could ever get tired of watching these slick birds pick off critters near the water's edge?
Common Nighthawk... this was a cool suprise to see. I have never scene one not flying.

Baltimore Oriole... a flash of orange to end the afternoon. Doesn't get any better.

If you want more information on this amazing area click on this link:

http://www.bsbobird.org/

Panic Attack?

Had a chance to go birding at a local park today in Mooresville in an effort to figure out some options on my new camera (as you can see it is not coming along very fast) when I came upon a beautiful Eastern Bluebird. Although not in the most natural position, I thought this would be a good bird to photograph. As I was walking toward the bird though, the strangest thing (or behavior) occurred. The Bluebird literally seemed to freak out at our presence!

Eastern Bluebird (crappy picture, I know)... preparing to hop into the grass as Bluebirds commonly do to find food.

Into the grass... as I approached the bird, I thought it was "listening" for food like a Robin would do and then...

Flat on his face! I could not believe it, I thought I literally scared the shit out of this Bluebird and gave it a Heart Attack! It remained in the position for at least 30 seconds.

I continued to approach slowly wondering what the heck happened when it finally lifted its head up, in an obvious daze!

Continuing to snap out of it?

Then it flew back up to its original position on the fence! One of the oddest things I have yet to witness in the bird world! From this point, all seemed to be good. Is this normal Bluebird behavior? Do they act dead? If so, this Bluebird deserves and Oscar for an outstanding performance!

Where Does the Time Go?

Pileated Woodpecker... Pokagon State Park. What a privilege to see a Pileated nesting! Here is the male and female exchanging affection!

Is it May already? I can't believe the last time I posted was April 6! My how time flies these days. Between work, school, baseball games, etc., I have been busier than ever trying to keep up with the everyday things that life presents us with. I haven't been able to spend near as much time outside as I would like but I have been able to squeeze in a few days here and there. Recently, I was able to spend the entire weekend at the Mary Gray Bird Sanctuary in Connersville, IN. The Indiana Audubon Society had their annual spring festival and despite some rain, we had a great time! Lots of great people to spend some time with and to talk about what we love the most - BIRDS!

A few weeks ago, my family and I were able to get up to Pokagon State Park to celebrate my Godson and his sister's 2nd birthday. What a great place to celebrate a birthday party. Again, we had some rain but it did not stop us from having fun! Below are just a few pictures from our two most recent outings.

Wood Frog... Pokagon. This is the first time I have ever seen this species. How cool!

Tufted Titmouse... Pokagon State Park.

Red-bellied Woodpecker... Pokagon State Park.

Red-backed Salamander... Pokagon State Park. My son was on a mission to find a Salamander and his wish was granted. He actually found several. Awesome amphibians!

Bufflehead... Pokagon State Park. Distant shots but a beautiful duck nonetheless. This is probably my favorite duck.

Tiger Swallowtail... Mary Gray Bird Sanctuary

Bat... Mary Gray Bird Sanctuary. I wish I knew the species. I don't know much about bats. Anyone know?

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher... Mary Gray Bird Sanctuary. I here people all the time say, "oh another Gnatcatcher" - I could smack them! What do you mean another Gnatcatcher idiot?!

Eastern Towhee... Mary Gray Bird Sanctuary