San Carlos, Sonora, MX Day 1

Last month during spring break we ventured 320 miles south of Tucson to San Carlos, Sonora.  I had only been there once as a kid so I was looking forward to the beach and birds.  When Gaby told me we'd probably stay at a condo right next to an estuary, I couldn't contain my excitement.  I immediately went online to find any birding info I could about the place.  I found one birding blog about several birding spots around San Carlos and a few eBird checklists.  After checking the range maps in my guides I had a pretty good idea of what I might find.  I was stoked about the unknown, especially with spring migration underway.

As we neared our destination I could see four Magnificent Frigatebirds cruising over the condos near the beach.    

Fragata Magnifica

As we were walking in the parking lot I heard an unfamiliar bird call.  I thought, could it be?  I think it is, my first Great Kiskadee!

Luis Grande

It turns out they like the trees near the pool right outside our condo, well at least this one did, I never saw more than one at a time.  In fact I didn't see any away from the condos, so this might have been the only one.

White-winged Doves were the most abundant bird on the condo grounds.

Paloma de Ala Blanca

This is a shot of the condo we rented, not a bad view!  

Pilar Condominiums

After we got settled, I sat on that wall and found lots of Brown Pelicans, cormorants, Elegant, Royal, and Caspian Terns, Heermann's and Yellow-footed Gulls, Reddish Egret, and a couple distant Blue-footed Boobies.

Gaviota de Patas Amarillas -- Yellow-footed Gull 

Charran Caspia -- Caspian Tern

As the sun was setting I noticed a group of white birds leaving the mouth of the estuary half a mile away.  No way, my first White Ibis!  It wasn't the killer look I had hoped for, but it was my only ibis sighting of the trip.

18 very distant and blurry White Ibis

I had seen two lifers in only a few hours, I could get used to this!