Author Archives: makielb

Sunrise as we head out in search of pelagic (ocean-going) birds. A Brown Booby bouncing up and down on a log. Sooty Shearwater. Olive Ridley’s Sea Turtles making the next generation of sea turtles. Red-billed Tropicbird. Nazca Booby. Boobies and shearwaters. More Nazca Boobies that I was really taken with. Wedge-tailed Storm-Petrel. Magnificent Frigatebird. BackContinue reading “Oaxaca, day-7 on the Pacific Ocean”

After leaving Las Ninfas we headed west to Huatulco where we were going to take a pelagic. But the spent the last part of the day looking for birds. This is a Golden-fronted Woodpecker at a nest in a palm. Being in the hotter part of the day at sea level we had a lotContinue reading “Oaxaca, day-6, Huatulco”

As we approached the Isthmus of Tehuantepec we drove through an immense wind farm. In this photo, which I took from our moving van, there are around 100 wind mills, the other side of the road had an equal number. So, 200 wind mills, not too bad. Well, we drove through this wind farm forContinue reading “Oaxaca, Wind farms and an interesting Hotel”

We spent the morning at Las Ninfas reserve. What a wonderful site to visit. The wide trail made viewing birds (and other critters) very easy. Cinnamon Hummingbird (left) and adult Gray Hawk (right) Grasshoppers were abundant here. Machaerocera mexicana (left), Orphulella punctata (center), Aztec spur-throat grasshopper (right). Albinanstic Abracis flavolineata (left), typical Abracis flavolineata (center),Continue reading “Oaxaca, day-6 Las Ninfas Reserve”

Once again we headed into the hills in search of birds and other interesting things, like more Cinnaomn-tailed Sparrows. One of the few birds that I photographed today, a Tropical Kingbird. We saw a lot of grasshoppers, but not many katydids. Yes, another interesting wasp that I have not been able to identify. And moreContinue reading “Oaxaca, day-5, Tolistoque foothills”

After leaving Monte Alban he headed east to Tehuantepec. We found a lot of birds on the way. This is a Great Kiskadee We made a few stops along the way to see special birds. These are Cinnamon-tailed (Sumichrast’s) Sparrow. One of the highlights was finding Ferruginous Pygmy Owls. We also had quite a fewContinue reading “Oaxaca, day-4 the drive to Tehuantepec”

Our day started heading from the city of Oaxaca to the Zapotec ruins of Monte Alban. We spent over an hour searching for birds along the road leading to the ruins before the ruins were open. Here are a few that we found. Black-vented Oriole (left), Rufous-capped Warbler (center) and Blue Mockingbird (right). These ruinsContinue reading “Oaxaca, day-4, Monte Alban”

I was amazed at the number of epiphytic cacti that occurred here. This is Apocactus martianus. Among the many epiphytic plants there were non-flowering orchids (left, Epiphyllem phyllanthus) and flowering bromeliads (right, Tillandsia prodigiosa). I found the flowering bromeliads both highly attractive, but also highly varied. This is Tillandsia vioilacea. Flowering plants were also surprisinglyContinue reading “Oaxaca, day-3, Benito Juarez forest”

We had lunch in the town of Santa Maria de Tule. I really liked the mural of Frida Kahlo. Here’s the kitchen when the food was prepared over wood stoves. Then we headed off to see the biggest tree in Mexico. Here is the Montezuma cyprus that has the largest diameter (11.2 m; 37.5 ft)Continue reading “Oaxaca, day-3, lunch and a big tree”

Once again our day started early as we headed up into the mountains. Heading out for the days sightings. One of the great joys of birding in Mexico is being able to see a lot of cacti. This is a velvet bur cactus. A western rhinoceros beetle. One of the larger beetles that we foundContinue reading “Oaxaca, Day-3, Rancho Aranjuz”