San Carlos, Sonora, MX Day 4

On my last morning in San Carlos I decided to check a pond behind Blackie's Restaurant that I had read about on another blog.  The pond isn't visible from the main road through town because of vegetation so I never would have seen it.  I parked in a dirt lot west of the restaurant.  I noticed some people had set up their home in between the pond and the lot, so I decided to walk the long way around.  They stared at me and I'm sure wondered what the heck I was doing.  I didn't take a lot of photos since I was by myself and kept my camera hidden in a bag most of the time.  This was the only time I felt a little nervous while in Mexico.  I did manage a shot of one of the 21 Bonaparte's Gulls I found there.

Gaviota de Bonaparte - Bonaparte's Gull

I also saw three Lesser Scaup, a Laughing Gull, Inca Doves, and lots of Northern Rough-winged Swallows.  If you ever go here, I suggest parking along Camino de los Seris north of the pond along the golf course.

Back at the condo I had my best views of Blue-footed Booby.

Bobo de Patas Azules - Blue-footed  Booby

I also witnessed a couple frigatebirds and a gull harassing a tern with a fish.  It was quite a show!

But the real show came about an hour later when I witnessed a massive feeding frenzy, something I've never seen from shore.  There were cormorants, Brown Pelicans, Yellow-footed Gulls, Heermann's Gulls, Ring-billed Gulls, Magnificent Frigatebirds, Blue-footed Boobies, Elegant and Royal Terns.

I watched the video on a big screen hoping to find a storm-petrel or shearwater, but I didn't have any luck.  Overall it was a wonderful trip with four lifers seen along with lots of other wonderful birds.  One year I hope to go back in the winter when more species are around and maybe go out on a boat.

San Carlos, Sonora, MX Day 3

I could get used to seeing this every morning!

Mt. Tetakawi

The first bird I heard that morning on day 3 was a Tropical Kingbird.  It was hanging out by the pool.

Tirano Tropical - Tropical Kingbird

But the resident Great Kiskadee was not to be out done.

Luis Grande - Great Kiskadee

A nice male Hooded Oriole put in his two cents.

Bolsero Enmascarado - Hooded Oriole

Add to that more Yellow Warblers and I was seeing yellow!

Chipe Amarillo - Yellow "Mangrove" Warbler

This was the only Royal Tern that I saw in breeding plumage with a complete black head.

Charran Real - Royal Tern

A Snowy Egret stalked the shallows nearby.  It's Spanish name translates to "Golden-toed Egret".

Garza de Dedos Dorados - Snowy Egret

I had seen a few Reddish Egrets fly by the condo, but never got a decent shot of them.  Here is a distant shot of one from the estuary that morning.

Garza Rojiza - Reddish Egret

I still had not refound a White Ibis from the first day or my most wanted bird, a Roseate Spoonbill.  So in the afternoon I decided to check a different section of the estuary to the north.  Right away I found a winter-type Forster's Tern and an oystercatcher.  Then far off in the distance I saw some pink!

Espatula Rosada - Roseate Spoonbill

I had to almost stand in the mud to get the angle needed to see this bird but it was worth it to see this lifer.  I was grateful for my newer 10x binoculars.  Interestingly it's being photo-bombed by a Great Egret and I believe a plover.  While looking at it I also discovered a Clapper Rail, something I didn't expect to see there.

I also had what I thought was another Forster's Tern with more black on the head fly by, so I took one shot of it.  When I looked back towards the spoonbill, it was gone, so the tern was quickly forgotten in my attempt to relocate the spoonbill.  I wish I would have paid more attention to it because after checking the photos later I noticed black legs and a black bill, so I'm wondering if this was a Common Tern?  The bill looks too thin to me for Gull-billed Tern and I'm leaning towards Common, but I have limited experience with these smaller terns.

unknown tern

Any thoughts on this bird?

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!  

Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, Mexico

At the end of this past July, my fiance and I gave ourselves a relaxing weekend in Puerto Peñasco before starting another school year of teaching.  It was my first time there and the birding did not disappoint.  We arrived at the malecon (jetty) in the afternoon and had lunch at Señor Amigo.  It's an open air restaurant with a great view of the water.  The first course included Yellow-footed Gulls sitting on the rocks with Heerman's Gulls and Brown Pelicans.  For the second course, a distant fishing boat came in that was dripping with Blue-Footed and Brown Boobies.  I was sorry I had left my camera in the car!  The main course was a very small, dark bird flitting just above the water.  A Least Storm-Petrel!  It stayed in the area for ten minutes giving me good binocular looks at its short, wedge-shaped tail.  For dessert, two Magnificent Frigatebirds showed up high above the water.  Now I know why they're called magnificent.  Wow, what an intimidating-looking bird!  This frigatebird I saw later cruising around the resort more than made up for leaving the camera in the car.

Magnificent Frigatebird 7/23/11

I couldn't believe I had seen four lifers in the first hour!  Also at the malecon were Brandt's and Double-crested Cormorants, Eared Grebe, and Royal Tern.

For most of the weekend we relaxed at the beach or the balcony of the Sonoran Spa Resort where we stayed.  It was very humid!  I had to let my camera acclimate outside with the lens cap on for a few minutes each time I wanted to use it.  Otherwise, the lens would fog up immediately upon going from A/C to the heat and humidity.  I wasn't used to that!  Here in the desert, we only get humidity during the monsoon season.

view from our balcony 7/24/11

view from our balcony 7/24/11

While photographing Elegant Terns on the beach, I was lucky to catch a Black-vented Shearwater cruising over the water.  Ditto for a pelican.

Elegant Tern 7/24/11

Elegant Tern 7/24/11

Black-vented Shearwater 7/24/11

Brown Pelican 7/24/11

Two Osprey gave me a great photo op as they took advantage of the stiff ocean breeze above the resort.

Osprey 7/23/11

I only saw one Yellow-footed Gull land on the beach, but I took advantage of it.

Yellow-footed Gull 7/24/11

Yellow-footed Gull 7/24/11

From our balcony I could see Brown Boobies off in the distance, and wished I had had a scope.  I picked up another lifer when two Common Terns flew along the beach.

Saturday evening, we spent the last hour of light at Cholla Bay at high tide.  Eight Common Loons were on the water.  While looking at a Willet, I managed to find three Wilson's Plover camouflaged against the rocks.  Another lifer!  A couple Elegant Terns were the only terns that came close enough to ID with my 8 x 42's.  Dozens were out above the water.  I saw more shorebirds far ahead in fading light, but had to hike back to the car before it got dark.

Willet 7/23/11

Wilson's Plover 7/23/11

Puerto Peñasco treated me well and I can't wait for another trip there.  But next time I want to check out the great winter birding I've heard about.