Veracruz 2009: Final Field Trips

Well, it had to happen: The 2009 ABA River of Raptors Conference comes to an end tomorrow morning–at 3:00 for the early risers with early flights from Veracruz, four precious hours later for those with later flights. I’ll be up to see both groups off on their buses to the airport, then plan a little shuteye and a quick visit to the Parque Natura or the university campus before following everybody later in the afternoon.

But no apocalyptic thoughts got in the way of a great trip today up to La Joya and Las Minas. Up, up climbed our big red bus, and when Manuel, faced with the impossibility of turning around, nonchalantly backed his vehicle a quarter mile along the edge of the barranca, we were grateful for both his manifest skills and his bus’s power steering.

Once safely on the ground, there was no stopping the birds and the birding.

I knew that we would tally a long list–the other conference group had already birded both sites the day before, with great success–but I was happily surprised by just how many of the birds we actually saw. Our first stop turned up an uncharacteristically obliging Red Warbler, which fed in view of us all for many minutes, making it hard to pay adequate attention to the Olive Warblers, Slate-throated Redstarts, Yellow-eyed Juncos, and Brown-throated Wrens bouncing around in the area.

A very pleasant shock was the unwonted visibility of Russet Nightingale-Thrushes; their Rusty Blackbird-like squeaks are a familiar sound in the high elevations, but rarely if ever have I seen as many as the four (!) obliging individuals today.

Any other species and I’d have thrown the photo away, but never did I think I’d be able to point and shoot at any nightingale-thrush and have the bird be recognizable. The scrappy little Gray-breasted Wood-Wren that popped out of its thicket a moment later was moving too fast for a photo, but still gave views every bit as good as those we’d enjoyed last year.

The group had moved on without me, and when I saw binoculars raised in one direction,  I hastened to catch up with them. A young male Bumblebee Hummingbird was perched in a nearby tree, its rufous tail and bright back flashing as it preened and stretched. The second or third smallest bird in the world–depending on the mass of Wine-throated Hummingbird–this little creature made the Golden-browed and Crescent-chested Warblers in the background look like great hulking bruisers, and the Brown-backed Solitaire perched above it–itself normally a delicate and elegant beast–seemed almost like the ludicrous blow-up of a bird.

Hard indeed to tear ourselves away, but we had to move downhill to La Joya, where the morning’s bright skies quickly gave way to clouds and even a brief sprinkle–the only rain of the entire trip.

Two big flocks of Black-eared Bushtits (have I already used the word “cute” today?) attracted good numbers of migrant parulids (including Hermit Warblers), and mixed finch flocks in the pines included Lesser Goldfinches of the blackest-backed type, a few Pine Siskins, and several natty little Black-headed Siskins. Mexican Chickadees played in the trees, and the last avian sounds we heard as we climbed onto the bus were the high lisps of Brown Creepers, the weird buzzes of Crescent-chested Warblers, and the cheerful farewell of a Slate-throated Redstart.

Until next time!