Mexico: A birdy little corner…

The rains have been tough on Mexico during this El Niño year. The historic town of Angangueo was hit by mud slides, killing 18 people, just a week before we flew to Mexico. We stayed in Tlalpuhua instead.

Below the town of Jungapeo the river swelled to five times its normal size, sweeping away farm fields and roads. Of course, if the farmers had left a swatch of trees along the river’s edge, they may not have lost all there crops due to erosion. But this is a learned process…

However, on our way back up the hillside into Jungapeo Luis Miguel pointed to a tree and asked “what’s that bird?” I peered into the lower branch of a small citrus tree and saw the unmistakeable silhouette of a motmot. In this case, a life bird for me… a Russet-crowned Motmot!

We piled out of the van and enjoyed the view of this beautiful bird and realized that this little piece of land surrounded by homes and agriculture hosted a plethora of bird life! Four species of orioles, several flycatchers and a bunch of warblers all fed greedily amongst the trees and bushes. The Slate-throated Redstart picture above posed briefly on branched and rocks, challenging us to get a photo as it sallied for bugs.

We spent nearly an hour at this tiny plot… merely a curve in the road on the edge of town.