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As is my self-declared tradition of speaking of groups of birds within the species gamut of Trinidad & Tobago, allow me to introduce you to yet another group of three. While the entire Tyrannidae family of Tyrant Flycatchers is massive, the Myiarchus group of those recorded on these two islands comprises just three species.
Visiting Guyana brought with it the unavoidable expectation of seeing some mind boggling species – some endangered, some emblematic, others downright bizarre. Before we boarded the flight to Guyana we already knew that probabilities of seeing one of the target species was slashed to near zero. Which birds? And waited.
Species formerly referred to as P. One recent study found that this species was sister to P. perdix , and also that race przewalskii (sometimes subsumed within suschkini , but generally paler) was basal to other taxa included within the present species. barbata , but present name has priority. So, I later looked this up.
Some 320 species have been recorded here, and in springtime it is possible to observe more than 150 bird species in a week. Last but not least, there were three species of shrikes, Red-backed , Lesser Grey and at least 2 Masked Shrikes , possibly 2 more, an entire family (not all were showing so well).
Many Neotropical families and genera have some of their northernmost members here, such as the spinetails ( Rufous-breasted Spinetail ), Tangara tanagers ( Azure-rumped Tanager ), and guans ( Horned Guan ). the species suffering most from deforestation). Alas, our time here was over too soon. We were off to a great start.
I felt sorry for an American family that couldn’t understand anything said in our church services, so I started interpreting for them. The first Monday out after the festival, I took six people to Las Mesas, because it is almost within the city of Morelia, but offers a wide collection of habitats and species. So that happened.
I saw 32 species here in my first 24 hours, some of them exciting ones. My second lifer this trip was a migratory Yellow-throated Warbler , a species I could not hope to see my previous trip, which had occurred in early summer. There is also a family of Barn Owls on the premises, and I have briefly seen the largest of them (enormous!)
We share seven resident species with different parts of the United States: the Rock , Canyon , Cactus , (Brown-throated) House , Marsh , Sedge , and Bewick’s Wren can all be seen within a half hour of Morelia. (I The raucous Spotted and Gray-barred Wrens are in the Cactus Wren family. First, they answered “my” song.
Not bad given that the 5 families in the inner circle of the laughingthrush family have a combined number of about 68 species. The Hainan version is sometimes considered a separate species, in which case it is classified as Near Threatened. 36, if my counting is right and there has been no very recent split or lump.
Feeding birds is generally regarded as a harmless past-time, a wholesome way for people to share nature and enjoy wildlife with the family. Alas, the Swan Lady died and though her husband vows to continue, who will take up the torch of a ton of corn a day when he dies? Do neighbors refer to you as bird species + Lady or Guy?
and 180 bird species ( Ferruginous Duck , Black Woodpecker ; Icterine , Eastern Olivaceous and Barred Warblers ) recorded so far. I made this tour myself several days ago (late July), and will report mostly on the species I actually found, as well as some mammals. It is a spacious floodplain between the River Danube and the levee, 2.1
Even the Latin species name soror (“sister”) indicates the similarity to another pitta species (blue-naped). The eBird description of the Small Niltava starts with the surprisingly dull statement that “size distinguishes this species from other niltavas” Who would have thought.
Slaughter Lake does not sound like it would be a nice place to visit but we three Americans, my small family, were blissfully unaware of what Schlachtensee translates to before our expedition there. Alas, my miserable history with the mythical creature continues.
I was back in Florida just last week, in Orlando as part of an annual trip with my wife’s family. In many places in Florida, you can rack up 50 species without too much trouble and Orlando Wetlands Park is no exception. But alas, the weather does me no favors on this day. I have yet to see a Short-tailed Hawk.
But my family moved to northern California when I was four years old, in 1962, effectively quadrupling my hummer list with the addition of the Anna’s , Rufous , and Allen’s Hummingbirds. Here in Morelia, it seems laughable that I once only had access to less species than I could count on one hand. I was born in Minnesota.
Called home to the Oregon Coast to operate the family motel, in her free time she leads Tufted Puffin walks and escapes to guide at birding festivals and explore the world as often as possible. The first we went to was a family home with generations of mezcaleros and the process being completed in their front courtyard.
Alas, I only heard this super cool caprimulgid, but did get buzzed by a swift Malaysian Eared Nightjar. We got good looks at Yellow-breasted , Crimson-breasted , Yellow-vented , and Orange-bellied Flowerpeckers along with more mundane representatives of the sunbird family, Plain Sunbird and Thick-billed Spiderhunter.
When you have birded a single area as much and for as long as I have birded Michoacán, it becomes progressively harder to find first-time species (“lifers”) there. I had seen several species turn up in new and unexpected places there, but none of them were birds that I had never seen before. Alas, mine were sub-standard.
My best bird of the year is based on the sighting rather than the species. Obviously my best bird of the year is going to come during this trip, what with several species of endemic pitta and broadbill possible, not to mention 8 species of hornbill and numerous babblers, storks, kingfishers, trogons and even the endemic Bornean Bristlehead.
Ever since I was a kid I wanted to learn how to draw, but alas I never made it past the stickman. Until recently, it was considered to be the same species as the Eurasian three-toed Woodpecker (P. To accompany this review I have added two of my photos of my favourite bird family, the New world warblers. tridactylus).
Can a family-focused trip—even to one of the world’s most biodiverse countries—deliver enough opportunities for avian observation to satisfy this serious world birder? With enough planning, you can enjoy a family-friendly, bird-rich vacation in the Panama Canal zone. If you have kids, you’re probably as curious as I was.
The trip was to visit a handful of sites across North Sydney, which was great for me as they were places I could stand to know better and were close to where my family live (and I was staying). Another nice find by the assembled birders was a Bar-shouldered Dove , a species I had only seen in Queensland before this point.
The tricky thing for me is that Royal NP is in the south of Sydney, and my family lives in the north of the city. Alas this was not to be, and this species remains one of my nemesis birds. Three visits in, and I’ve only just begun to realise how much I’m missing. But I did see a host of little birds.
The campus has a pond (above), partially covered by hyacinths full of Northern Jacanas , where I tried to spot at least one caiman (alas, without success), a botanical garden and manicured grounds (with quite a few Green Ibises ) together with a souvenir shop. Next goal: 1100 species, to cover about 10% of the total.
Several of these sites have turned out to be keepers, and have added significantly to my understanding of my region’s avian species and populations. I really thought I had hit the jackpot, when a couple of exciting species turned up: my very first Gray-collared Becard , and a small group of White-naped Swifts.
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