After getting back from lunch and exploring the town of Alamos, we decided to hike up the trails of the popular hiking area, Parque La Colorado. These trails are accessed right by our staying grounds of El Pedregal and area a tourist attraction as they go along a scenic route and up into the mountains. The trails are well-maintained, have gradual inclines when climbing, and are easy to follow. Before we really started hiking upward toward Upper TDF habitat, we spent some time birding on trails immediately near our cabin. Things got interesting when Scott spied a White-eyed Vireo, which is very rare in Sonora. When Caleb checked eBird, he saw that Scott's bird was only the 2nd ever record of White-eyed Vireo for Sonora. An awesome find by Scott!
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| Elegant Quail |
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| Groove-billed Ani |
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| Violet-crowned Hummingbird |
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| White-eyed Vireo |
Right after 3 P.M., we started hiking on the La Colorado trails for the next 3 hours. We took trails through Lower and Upper TDF habitat, and the scenery was incredible. Streams, waterfalls, and panoramic views of the land below us after a climb up for about 2 miles was awesome. What I'll remember best from this hike was getting my first ever Russet-crowned Motmots. As we started to climb, we entered a thick section of TDF and we heard the Motmots start calling. The call is very hollow, and it doesn't stand out much unless one is close to the bird. After standing and listening while trying to bring the bird in closer, we walked toward the sound of the Motmot. It was in view on an exposed perch as it called. The sight of it was mindblowing, and after I snapped a few pictures, it flew shortly into surrounding habitat. Another Motmot called with the first, and we followed this pair around for about 10 minutes and we were able to get more good views. The Motmots were shy most of the time, and weren't easy to approach. I watched them vocalize, and at times they would characteristically twitch their tails back and fourth, which would resemble a swinging pendulum. This family of birds, most closely related to Bee-Eaters and Kingfishers, is freaking epic. I celebrated big time to myself, and the sight of these birds really reminded me of where I was at in the northern reaches of the Tropics. Scott claimed on the spot that Motmot is the coolest bird he's seen. The range of Russet-crowned Motmot covers most of west Mexico and extends into west Central America. After seeing the pair, Caleb pointed another Motmot calling about another mile up the trail when we got into more of the Upper TDF habitat.
Toward the end of the hike (almost a 4 mile round trip), I was stoked to get yet another lifer in a Mangrove Cuckoo. Caleb was ahead on the trail and heard the Cuckoo calling as Scott and I were further behind. When we caught up he managed to get his eyes on the bird. It gave us a few decent views, and then I was able to get excellent looks eventually as it sat above me right in the open. Buffy undperparts up to the breast, a black mask around the eye, and a bi-colored bill (black upper mandible, yellow lower mandible) screamed Mangrove. This was a fun one to get, and it was a bird I've tried for with Caleb previously in south Florida where we didn't have luck. The Mangrove Cuckoo has a scattered range. Western Mexico, eastern Mexico, south Florida, the Caribbean, and some of northeast South America.
Other highlights that we had on the Parque La Colorado hike were Rufous-bellied Chachalaca, Plain-capped Starthroat, 6 calling Ferruginous Pygmy-Owls, Mexican Parrotlet, Black-throated Magpie-Jays (from the epic lookout point when we reached the top of our hike), and an abundance of Streak-backed Orioles and Yellow Grosbeaks.
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| Elegant Quail on the trail |
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| Thick-billed Kingbird |
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| Black-throated Magpie-Jay |
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| Sinaloa Wren |
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| Yellow Grosbeak |
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| Varied Bunting |
After this hike, we talked about our plans for the 3rd of August. At first we were planning on going on an all day hike up Arroyo Uvalama, but after getting back we realized we didn't have as much time to prepare. We decided to go for Arroyo Uvalama on the 4th, and for the 3rd, we were going to try another location on the Rio Cuchuaqui. It was to be another epic day, like this one. After the rather lengthy hike on Parque La Colorado, we needed some dinner. We went to an awesome restaurant called "Alamos Bonito Centro Historico" and pigged out. I got a fettuccine alfredo dish with chicken. The food in Alamos is great.
From the Birding Journal:
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