Something I've wanted to do badly in the last 5 years is to go outside of the United States for birding. After I got my passport earlier this year, I made plans with my good friend Caleb Strand and now friend Scott Bradley to go to the town of Alamos in southern Sonora in Mexico. Alamos is full of birding opportunities, and it included over 30 species that were lifers to be for me whenever I would go. The northern fringe of the tropics are found in the Alamos region, along with a handful of awesome species that go along with it, such as a bird I wanted to see most when I reviewed species in Russet-crowned Motmot. Thornscrub/deciduous forest is a huge part of the habitat makeup in the region, and it would be the habitat we'd be in most for our trip. A few months ago, Caleb, Scott, and I made plans for this birding and adventure vacation, and our trip would be from August 1st through August 6th (with the 1st and 6th being travel days) for 4 full days of birding. Out of more than 30 potential lifers awaiting me, other possibilities included Bare-throated Tiger-Heron, Mottled Owl, Lineated Woodpecker, Military Macaw, White-striped Woodcreeper, Black-throated Magpie-Jay, Happy Wren, Blue Mockingbird, Lesser Roadrunner, Squirrel Cuckoo, and maybe even Crane Hawk or Laughing Falcon with more luck.
1 August, 2022: "The Introduction"
After a few days in Tucson, we headed south for Alamos on 1 August, 2022. We reached the border about 6:30 A.M., took about an hour to get stuff ready, and took an ~8 hour drive south of the border to get to Alamos. The drive down was smooth and we didn't have problems. That worked well for me as it was officially my first ride outside of the United States (Caleb drove his Exterra). We payed several tolls en route to Alamos, and it was interesting making Peso payments (I transerred $180 U.S. dollars for Pesos when we made a stop. One U.S. dollar is worth about 20 Pesos). Bird wise, Crested Caracaras were common throughout the trip down. As we got closer and closer to Alamos, we drove though a town called Navojoa. It was here I got my first lifer of the trip, the first of many Sinaloa Crows. This was cool for me, as it marked my first species on my life list that hasn't been found in the United States. Once we got in the Alamos vicinity, the tropical forests were quickly evident, and were in abundance. Thornscrub/deciduous forest made up most of the habitat, and Caleb showed Scott and I certain spots where he had detected notable birds.
Right around 5 P.M., after almost a day's worth of driving, we arrived in Alamos and at our staying place for 5 nights, the El Pedregal Nature Lodge and Retreat Center, and this place was freaking awesome. After checking into our room, we went birding for about 2 hours. As soon as I started, there were birds everywhere. Those Sinaloa Crows were one of them, and they vocalized loudly. Almost immediately, a Yellow Grosbeak started singing and Caleb pointed it out. After a short search, it became my second lifer of the trip and it was striking to see it in the field and note it's plumage as well as it's huge bill. Yellow Grosbeak would end up being common in this Alamos region, and it's a bird that will show up in Arizona as a vagrant from time-to-time. When one was found in Arizona a few months ago, I chose not to chase it because I knew I was coming to Alamos!
As we birded, the walk around El Pedregal ended up being a great introduction to Alamos. As Caleb and I took a quick walk down to a pool, lawn, and hummingbird feeding station on the property, we spied 2 Rufous-bellied Chachalaca, another lifer for me. The Chachalacas walked around in the open for a minute, and gave me some time to study them. This species has a fairly small range, and is endemic to West Mexico. When we put stuff in our room, yet another lifer in an Elegant Quail ran by for a quick view. Aside from this first visual of the quail, we could hear another one vocalizing loudly nearby. This neat-looking quail is another west Mexican endemic, and it has a fairly small range. It would end up being a regular species for us to see on our trip.
From the immediate area of the cabin, we walked around the property, which had birds everywhere. We walked a short distance just to the north to a popular, touristy hiking area called Parque La Colorada. There are many hiking trails on Parque La Colorada, and I would end up birding this area a lot on the trip. The hiking trails really go into the Lower TDF habitat (Thornscrub/Deciduous Forest) and range from short length to long. It was awesome to get into this habitat and hike a small portion of a trail. It was here that I was introduced to another epic lifer, the striking Black-throated Magpie-Jay This is truly a spectacular, large, and long-tailed jay with a crest extending up from it's head. Ranging in West Mexico, it has a fairly small range too. The voices of this jay are loud, and really carried on the trail. Seeing one in the wild for the first time was crazy. We would find out that many locals use the idea of Magpie-Jays for logos for their business or property (and that did included El Pedregal). Walking the trail had more highlights including 3 different Ferruginous Pygmy-Owls vocalizing. I managed to track one down visually and get Scott on it for his first look at once for his birding.
After a short walk on La Colorada's trails, we encountered a few Mexican Parrotlets on El Pedregal property. This was a fun one to see and hear, and after hearing them, we managed to see a pair of them. These parrots are lime-green in coloration and are tiny and said to be hard to see. Thankfully, they are loud and these ones moved around for us to see exactly where they landed in the trees. Like quite a few of the other lifers I was getting on this introduction to Alamos on the first night, this bird is a West Mexico endemic and has a small range. I loved being in a place like this for the first time in my birding career.
Aside from birds that were mentioned, the area we birded held other great highlights. Birds that are lower density or scarce in Arizona are common here in Alamos, and it brings out excellent learning opportunities for such species, as well as some south Texas species. Other birds present included Red-billed Pigeon, Common and Ruddy Ground-Doves, 4 Groove-billed Ani, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Broad-billed and Violet-crowned Hummingbirds, an Elegant Trogon, 3 Rose-throated Becard, Dusky-capped and Brown-crested Flycatcher, 4 Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher, 16 Tropical and 12 Thick-billed Kingbirds, Yellow-green Vireo, 3 Black-capped Gnatcatcher, 4 Rufous-backed Robin, 16 Streak-backed Oriole and 7 Painted Bunting. After the 2 hours of birding we were starving, and went to a restaurant for a good meal (an awesome Mexican meal).
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| Groove-billed Ani |
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| Thick-billed Kingbird |
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| Hooded Oriole |
And a page from the birding journal:
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