Veracruz 2010: Afternoon around Chichi

Misha and Peter flew in from Australia and arrived in Veracruz a full day before the start of the tour. They enjoyed a restful evening and morning, before I picked them up on Sept 26th at their beachside hotel at 1:30 pm. We drove north along the scenic coastline, picking up a few birds on the beach along the way such as Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, and Laughing Gull, adding to several species they had seen in the morning by their hotel.

We arrived in Cardel at the Hotel Bienvenido for a quick check-in. The morning rains had subsided, the temperature was rising and thermals were forming; since it was a little late for hawks at the hotel, we moved inland towards Chichicaxtle and Pronatura’s second hawk watch site. En route, we found our first group of raptors – about 20-30 Mississippi Kites, and several Broad-winged Hawks, all moving south.

We then moved on to Chichi and the observation tower (above) where we had more of both species in several nice groups. We found some good local birds, most new for Misha and Peter, who were birding for the first time in Mexico, as well as both Green and Black Iguanas. A Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl was working the brush hunting for unsuspecting prey. Yellow Warblers were common and a colorful Ruddy Ground-Dove pair flew through. A male Buff-bellied Hummingbird perched by the tower for several minutes, a lovely treat for the visitors. After the hawk show slowed, we moved on to Rio Escondido, a site of grassland and mixed forest. Soon we had flocks of birds out sunning themselves, including perhaps more Blue-black Grassquits then I had ever seen before in one spot. A few Gray-crowned Yellowthroats popped up, giving us good looks for this usually shy species. “Veracruz” Rufous-naped Wrens were common, as well as Varied Buntings, both with very local breeding populations. A Laughing Falcon was calling close by, but not to be seen. A Roadside Hawk perched, called several times, and then flew off. Other attractive birds included great looks at male and female Common Ground-Doves, a pretty male White-collared Seedeater, a sharp Yellow-throated Warbler, and large groups of Blue-gray Gnatcatcher and Orchard Orioles.

We enjoyed a very productive afternoon, with 62 species in about 4 hours of birding!