We took our first visit to Ixtapa back in 2002 and soon discovered that it was our favorite location for family vacations in Mexico. The proximity of good thorn forest close to the hotels made it very easy for me to pop out for some productive birding early in the morning while the rest of family slept in.
After visiting the area a few times, I became aware of local
Christmas Bird Count centered around Laguna de Potosi, south of the airport. I
had told the organizer, Laurel Patrick, that I would like to attend the count
one year, but it had proved difficult to line up. Finally, this year I booked a
trip that enabled me to attend. Remy decided to pass on an Ixtapa trip this
winter, so I was able to bird at full-throttle, something of a mixed blessing
in the hot and humid tropics!
One of the best areas near Ixtapa is Playa Linda. Here a
bike track runs between a thorn forest-covered hill and mangrove and freshwater
marshes on the other side. There are also mountain bike trails that allow
access up the slope into the thorn forest. Although I had birded this area a few
times, I had never had time to really do it justice given the number of birds
and quality of habitat. This trip I allowed for four full mornings. The first
two of these I was accompanied by Will Mertz, a local nature photographer who
lives in Trocones, a surfing resort and excellent birding area a little north
of Ixtapa. Will has kindly allowed reuse of some of this photos in this post.
On a previous winter trip, I had had great luck with
attracting warblers and other small birds by playing scolding calls and
pygmy-owl toots, resulting in finding several eastern vagrants. This was
something that we focused on during the first two days with pretty spectacular
results. Generally, every time we played a mobbing tape, a cloud of Blue-gray
Gnatcatchers would appear, along with Yellow and Nashville Warblers, American
Redstarts, Tropical Parulas, Bell’s Vireos and both Doubleday’s (Turquoise-crowned)
and Cinnamon Hummingbirds. It was then a case of sorting through all of these
for additional birds.
We had a great start at the first stop where both a
Yellow-throated Vireo and a Prothonotary Warbler showed up. I had seen both
these previously here, but Will was able to get photos. This was especially
valuable for the vireo, for which photographic verification was lacking for all
the previous half-a-dozen state records. We also found two or three each of
Magnolia Warbler and Ovenbird, both of which are regular but uncommon
winterers. Other migrants that joined the mobbing crowds included Plumbeous and
(presumed) Western Warbling Vireos, Wilson’s and Macgillvray’s Warblers, Common
Yellowthroat, Western Flycatcher, Swainson’s Thrush, Summer Tanager and
Yellow-breasted Chat. After parting ways with Will, I was able to add Tennessee
and Chestnut-sided Warblers and Northern Parula to the vagrant list.
In addition to the migrants, many other resident species
would come in as well. Dusky-capped and Brown-crested Flycatchers and all three
of the local wrens, Russet-naped, Happy and White-bellied made regular
showings, along with the occasional Greenish Eleania, Blue and Orange-breasted
Buntings, Golden-cheeked Woodpecker, Rufous-backed Thrush, and Yellow-winged
Cacique. Even Citolene Trogons sometimes popped in, although we saw most of
these at fruiting trees. The owls themselves tend to be somewhat shy at this
time of year and we just heard singles of Ferruginous and Colima Pygmy-Owls. In
spring, the owls are much more aggressive and easily seen.
On day three, I focused more on finding some of the more
difficult thorn-forest residents and was rewarded with excellent looks at two
different male Red-breasted Chats and a Flammulated Flycatcher.
The mega highlight of the visits occurred on the first day.
Will took me along some small footpaths off the bike track to where we could
view a larger portion of the freshwater marsh. I was hoping to see a Limpkin,
which has eluded me on previous visits. Limpkins and Snail Kite have colonized
the Pacific coast of Mexico in the last couple of decades, presumably as a
result of Apple Snails becoming established there. Initially we saw just a
couple of the kites and some rather distant herons and ibis, along with the
mandatory Black-bellied Whistling Ducks. We then found a couple of fairly showy
Soras, which gave Will an opportunity to get much better photos than he had previously.
While Will was concentrating on the rails, I saw a large chestnut-brown raptor
fly across in front of us – a Black-collared Hawk! There been very few records
in recent decades of this species for the Pacific Coast of Mexico north of
Chiapas, so this was really significant. Unfortunately, Will’s camera could not
get a focus lock on the flying bird before it disappeared. Figuring that it had
not gone too far, we worked a couple of hundred yards to our right via some
other tracks and relocated it perched up in a tree. This time Will was able to
get some very solid record shots. I also finally got a good look at a fly-by
Limpkin. As some ‘icing on the cake’, we heard a Lesser Ground Cuckoo calling
as we made our way back to the bicycle track. A little bit of playback brought
this stunning bird for some stupendous views. This is a bird I have only seen a
handful of times.
On the third day, I returned to this location to find the hawk still present. Most of the other species were still present along with at least three Purple Gallinules. While looking at these, I heard the rail-like ‘kek-kek-kek’ call of a Least Bittern, a species I had heard but never actually seen in Mexico. An on-and-off spell of playback resulted in occasional calls that clearly showed a bird was moving much closer. However, I could see no visual signs of the birds. Fortunately, it transpired that two birds had come to investigate the playback, and when they met, one chased the other bird off, which proceeded to land in full view for 20 seconds or so.
On the fourth morning, I eschewed the bike path and walked
north along the road parallel to the Playa Linda beach. My specific focus was
to check the palm groves here for Yellow-throated Warbler and Hooded Oriole,
both of which often have a preference of palms. I had claimed records of Hooded
Oriole during my first visits to Ixtapa, but as it had become apparent that they
were decidedly uncommon, I retrospectively deleted them. I had subsequently
seen them on the interior slope of the mountains in the state but was curious
how frequent they might be on the coast. I failed to find any on this attempt.
After over two hours of effort, I finally coaxed a
Yellow-throated Warbler into the trees above me. So they are certainly present
but rather uncommon, even in extensive palm groves. While looking for the
warbler, I ran into various other birds including great looks at
Yellow-breasted Chats, multiple Streak-backed and Orchard Orioles, Russet-naped
Wrens and a side-by-side comparison of female Orange-breasted and Painted
Buntings.
Around 11 AM, I decided to grab an early lunch at one of the
beachside restaurants. While waiting for my food to arrive, I idly scanned the
sea to add some boobies to the trip list. I was shocked to see a Common Loon
(or Great Northern Diver for UK readers) floating offshore. As luck would have
it, I remembered I had brought my camera and was able to fire off a few poor-quality
record shots. A great ending to the Ixtapa birding section of the trip.
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