10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 18, 2019

Between our many residents and migratory species, birding in central Mexico is a joy. But throughout central Mexico, Bluebirds may be either Eastern or Western , year-round. In some parts of Mexico, the same applies for Meadowlarks , although in the end I decided that those in my specific area all seem to be Eastern.

Mexico

10,000 Birds

JULY 3, 2015

Back in early March, Andrew Spencer asked me if I would like to go birding in western Mexico with him and another friend in May. Before I knew it, it was late May, and I was on the road in Colima, Mexico with Andrew Spencer and Nathan Pieplow on a birding adventure! I could not refuse. Time flew by. Photo by Nathan Pieplow.

Mexico

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 25, 2015

These arid hills, cloaked in a mosaic of deciduous scrub and desert vegetation, form a northern outpost for several Neotropical species while also harboring several key endemics and southwestern Nearctic species. Mexico is great for those who love biogeography! Think Arizona meets Costa Rica with a Mexican twist.

Mexico

10,000 Birds

MARCH 21, 2015

These and several other species might end up being armchair ticks if and when we take a closer look at their evolutionary history. Taxa that could end up being split into one species occurring north of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, and one south of the isthmus. (2). Two subspecies of the same species that differ within Costa Rica. (4).

Costa Rica

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 28, 2024

I have been slowly working up to my latest life list benchmark (2,000 bird species) and scoured eBird for a location within an 8-hour flight to get some lifers. Our local friend was already busy and everyone that had been suggested had to be flown in from either nearby Huatulco or Mexico City, which significantly added to the guiding fee.

Mexico

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2019

For most avian migrants heading south towards Mexico, Central and South America, crossing thru the Arizona desert areas can provide very few water, food and resting areas. If they are passing thru Pima County, and the Tucson area, Arivaca Lake is the last stop for water before crossing the US/Mexico border.

Mexico

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2017

Raptors of Mexico and Central America by William S. This is the first identification guide that I know of that covers Mexico (technically North America but rarely included in North American raptor guides) and Central America. Wheeler and William S. Clark and N. That’s a lot of visual information!

Mexico

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2020

Whether you happen to be more interested in music or birds, you may love “A Guide to the Birdsong of Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean” Since this is a music project rather than an actual guide of bird vocalizations, there won’t be a catalog of antbird trills and toucan yelps.

Costa Rica

10,000 Birds

JULY 8, 2020

One of the ways I could describe the unique mix of birds I can see here in southwestern Mexico, would be to divide our species into five categories. The invasive species are few, but, unfortunately, very numerous. But there is a final group of species here, about which I have not written very much.

Mexico

10,000 Birds

JUNE 1, 2023

Tabasco is probably the wettest state in Mexico. During Mexico’s dry season (which is just now ending), most of the country turns brown, as our plants survive the annual drought by dropping their leaves. By week’s end I had 30 new species on my life list. As such, it offers some unique birding experiences.

Mexico

10,000 Birds

JUNE 16, 2022

Last week, I wrote about my recent trip from my current home of Morelia, Mexico to my childhood home of the San Francisco Bay Area in the United States, and how several species can be found in both places, in spite of how far apart they are, and yet look quite different in each place. west coast and in central Mexico.

San Francisco

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2022

In March 2022, the Collaborative submitted 184 checklists from 4 countries ( Costa Rica , United States , Mexico , and the United Kingdom ) and they included 637 species. Mexico ranks sixth on the Collaborative’s country list with 425 species observed. The top eBirder has seen a remarkable 1,027 species!

Costa Rica

10,000 Birds

JULY 1, 2020

One of the reasons Mexico is such a great birding area is that, while it shares all sorts of bird groups with the United States and Canada, it also is home to some of the northernmost representatives of neotropical and genera that do not (or just barely) reach that far north, such as Woodcreepers, Tityras, and Trogons.

South America

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2022

In April 2022, the Collaborative submitted 216 checklists from 4 countries ( Costa Rica , United States , Mexico , and the United Kingdom ) and observed 735 species. The 2022 year list stands at 1,023, and the life rises by a single species ( Great Swallow-tailed Swift seen in Mexico) to 4,114.

United Kingdom

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 8, 2024

For years, I had hoped to see a Lesser Ground-Cuckoo, one of Mexico’s more exotic and difficult species. And I even had this species on… Source (When they actually afford you a whole new blog subject to write about, that is certainly an extra bonus.)

Mexico

10,000 Birds

JUNE 24, 2020

This sort of biozone mixing can create a tremendous richness of species. Each of these habitats attracts its own group of species. I mentioned last week the Jamaican Nettletree, whose tiny fruit was attracting all kinds of species — even some I thought did not eat fruit or seeds. This one was a true lifer for me.

Mexico

10,000 Birds

JUNE 11, 2023

I even made one trip with the specific purpose of birding on Mexico’s much wetter eastern coast, visiting different sites along the very stretched-out state of Veracruz. That is because, like the skin of the gringos who visit Mexico’s beaches, the Palo de Gringo’s bark is red, and peels.

Mexico

10,000 Birds

APRIL 28, 2021

As I mention each year at this time, the beginning of the birding year, up north, is the end of Mexico’s peak birding season. Only a month ago, a good morning spent gazing at my garden could yield 20 species; but now, suddenly, my goal is 10. So how did the winter of 2020-2021 shape up down here?

Mexico

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 5, 2022

Cedar Waxwing: For most birders in Mexico, 2021 will be remembered as the year of the Waxwings. I had only seen this species once here, in 2018. Virginia Warbler: The Virginia Warbler is a common species in the thorn forest of the Balsas River Basin, so I had seen it often. How did I miss that? I don’t care. In my garden!

Mexico

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 26, 2020

I have previously written about the central Mexican highlands’ very own microendemic species, the Black-polled Yellowthroat. The name “Mexico” can refer to the city, a state, or the entire country. (The The name “Mexico” can refer to the city, a state, or the entire country.

Mexico

10,000 Birds

MAY 16, 2024

Last week, I returned to Morelia, Mexico, my home for the past 30 years, from twelve days in the San Francisco Bay Area, where I spent my childhood and teenage years. This considerable distance is why I am always surprised to see so many of the same species in both places. While in California on this trip, I saw 75 species.

San Francisco

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 14, 2023

In 2022, the 10,000 Birds eBird Collaborative submitted 1,837 checklists from 9 countries ( Australia , China , Costa Rica , Mexico , Saint Lucia , Serbia , Trinidad and Tobago , United Kingdom , and the United States ) and observed 1,273 species. The Collaborative life list increased to 4,140.

Saint Lucia

10,000 Birds

MARCH 30, 2022

So here are some numbers: As I write this, on March 24th, my 2022 list includes 239 species, all from within the state of Michoacán. The latest species I picked up is the Spotted Wren , a rather common endemic here that I had somehow managed to not see, until three turned up in my garden this morning.

Mexico

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 11, 2021

Many thrushes live or winter in Mexico, but their taxonomy is mostly quite simple. Eight of our large thrushes (the American Robin , western Mexico’s own Rufous-backed Robin , and eastern Mexico’s ubiquitous Clay-colored Thrush , among others) belong to the genus Turdus. Why are Aztec Thrushes so hard to see?

Mexico

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

When I got back into birding about six years ago, I would not have predicted the personal bonds a birder can form with certain species. While all birds bring us joy, and we certainly want to see as many as we can, some species just seem more… special. I’ll start with two species that are especially hard to find.

Mexico

10,000 Birds

JUNE 30, 2021

After 38 years of life in Mexico, I rarely have the sort of stomach trouble tourists supposedly get here. My first trip into non-touristy Mexico, I was so worried about the Tijuana Two-Step that, let’s just say, I had the opposite problem for a week. It’s always nice when Mexico gets its due.

Mexico

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 5, 2020

Fortunately, at this time of year there are also a good number of high-quality migratory species: Least Flycatcher. Hey, even the common species give good photos in Paso Ancho! That could be because Mexico’s lowland Tierra Caliente (Hot Country) has a Very Bad Reputation. Is it safe to bird in Mexico?

Mexico

10,000 Birds

JULY 12, 2024

As I have mentioned repeatedly over the past months, life this spring has gone topsy-turvy in central Mexico, as we experience what has certainly been one of our driest years in history. I have now seen the species in eight different years. Of course, Paso Ancho is also a hotspot for many other beautiful species and endemics.

Mexico

10,000 Birds

MAY 24, 2020

North America is home to many amazing bird species, including several which require a special effort to see and appreciate. New Mexico Nature & Culture. These colorful songbirds occur in two populations, a western one which winters in Mexico and Central America and an eastern one which winters in South Florida and Cuba.

America

10,000 Birds

APRIL 11, 2023

While our compatriots seem only to want to visit Mexico’s touristy beach cities, we would rather go anywhere else in this country. Indeed, even though I just celebrated 40 years of living in Mexico, we have never been to Cabo San Lucas, and our only experience with Cancún was going though immigration in that city’s airport.

Mexico

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 30, 2014

There’s a new proposal before the American Ornithologists’ Union’s North American Classification Committee to split Painted Bunting into two species (yay! — maybe, more later) and to name the new species “Eastern Painted Bunting” and “Western Painted Bunting” (no!).

Mississippi

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 13, 2021

Some 50 species of salvias grow in Michoacán, according to one estimate. And I have personally observed 16 species of hummingbirds in the state. Like Salvia mexicana , this species is common in open areas close to (and in) Morelia itself; but it loves steep slopes, while S. I don’t know the latter’s species.

Mexico

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 9, 2020

For, in birder lingo, a split occurs when subspecies are determined to be, in fact, entirely separate species. If you happen to have seen both species, your life list can increase without you even leaving the house. Two former species can also be joined into one, the same way. And there was great rejoicing thoughout the land!)

San Diego

10,000 Birds

MARCH 6, 2022

In February 2022, the Collaborative submitted 127 checklists in 7 countries ( Costa Rica , United States , Mexico , Trinidad and Tobago , United Kingdom , and Serbia ). The Collaborative’s all-time country with the most species observed is Costa Rica , with 784 species, out of 911 observed on eBird overall!

Costa Rica

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 17, 2021

Still, the outing did not produce any new species for the year, or enough good photos for a post here. Instead, I have chosen to write about an idea I’ve had percolating for a while: to tell you what the most common species are down here. I’ll take the most common native species in taxonomic order.

Woodpeckers

10,000 Birds

MARCH 21, 2024

Being a westerner — raised in California, and now living in western Mexico — I was perhaps most excited about the migratory birds that breed in eastern North America. And the Baltimore Oriole is an iconic eastern bird, which winters along Mexico’s east coast, but never in the west. Then, around 4:00 p.m.,

Mexico

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 18, 2024

When a birder uses the word, we usually refer to a species that canbe mostly or exclusively found in a single country. Which means that the large country of Mexico boasts (according to one list) 127 endemic bird species, while the famous birders’ destination of Costa Rica has only 6. It doesn’t seem fair at all.

Costa Rica