VERACRUZ 2014: Day 9 – South to Catemaco

Day 9 / Oct 10: Las Barrancas; Tlacotalpan; Nanciyaga

Double-striped Thick-knee

Today we said our final farewells to Cardel and the famous hawk-watching sites, to trek southward into an entirely different region. Our goal was to explore the savannah and dry forest at Las Barrancas, looking for several specialty birds. Driving down a flat, open road, we found several of our target Double-striped Thick-knees moving through the grasslands. Fork-tailed and Scissor-tailed Flycatchers were abundant and spectacular. We also saw a Northern Mockingbird where we usually find Tropical Mockingbirds; the division of the two species is right in this area, and probably overlaps. We scanned a group of swallows perched on roadside wires and picked out the local Mangrove Swallow. Several Lesser Yellow-headed Vultures circled the skies above.

Plain-breasted Ground-Dove

We took a side track in search of another specialty, the Plain-breasted Ground-Dove. After watching a show of a stunning male Barred Antshrike, we heard a dove calling. We located the perched bird with its visible plain breast, then saw its mate; the pair of Plain-breasted Ground-Doves put on a show not often seen here this time of year.

Limpkin

We then moved on further south to the expansive wetlands of the Alvarado Lagoon system, where the group commented that they had probably never seen so many “white” egrets before in their lives – Great, Snowy, Cattle, and some young Little Blue Herons. We admired a handsome Limpkin among all the waders.

Tlacotalpan

We enjoyed a lovely seafood lunch in the riverside town of Tlacotalpan, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its preservation of 17th century Spanish colonial architecture and town layout. The town thrives today on fishing and tourism, with a growing number of restaurants, shops, hard goods stores and attractively-styled homes.

We moved on to the Los Tuxtlas Mountains and our destination, Catemaco, a picturesque town situated on a lake of the same name. Our lakeside hotel featured gorgeous views of rippling waters and amply-vegetated landscaping that attracted local bird species for us to admire while walking between rooms and dining area.  After a quick check-in, we headed to Nanciyaga on the other side of town, for afternoon birding. This private nature reserve offers food, lodging, gift shop and guided walks through a beautiful rainforest on the edge of a lagoon. The habitat has reverted from pastures back to a native ecosystem supporting an array of birds, mammals, crocodiles and rare local flora and fauna species.  Walking the dirt road we spotted Kentucky Warbler, tricky Spot-breasted Wren and White-bellied Wood-Wren. Along the edge of the lake we searched for our target bird, the Ruddy Crake. Several were calling at the same time and eventually one came close enough for Vera, Tom and Cathie to get satisfying views through the reeds of this tiny, sneaky rail. We rounded out our very productive travel day over a lakeside dinner at our hotel, a great location to relax and discuss the day’s highlights.

– Robert Straub