This incredible Tufted Jay was our bird of the tour! (Pete Morris) WESTERN MEXICO 8/12 – 26 MARCH 2014 LEADERS: PETE MORRIS and JON KING With just the odd tweak here and there, our well-established Western Mexico tour has, over the years, become a very efficient clean-up of the many regional specialities that this part of Mexico has to offer. This year, we once again recorded well over 400 species of birds (exact total taxonomy dependant), and again we found a very high proportion of the special birds (or diamond birds) which is, of course, the main focus of the tour. We also added a new diamond bird to the list, the very smart Hooded Grosbeak! Highlights amongst the 410+ species seen were many and varied, but special mention should go to: the 10 species of owls and five species of nightjars that all showed so well; the delightful Bumblebee Hummingbirds that buzzed around us; the Banded and Elegant Quails; the shy Long-tailed Wood-Partridge that we teased on to the road; the amazing variety of endemic jays including the incredible Tufted Jay; stunning Military Macaws; colourful Rosy Thrush-Tanagers; brilliant Aztec Thrushes; much appreciated Rufous-necked Wood Rails, Spotted Rail and Ruddy 1 BirdQuest Tour Report:Western Mexico 2014 www.birdquest-tours.com Crakes; an amazing variety of North American Wood Warblers, including Olive Warbler; 13 smart species of wrens, and many, many more. We also again found the poorly known Sinaloa Martin. All of this was complemented by some great food (rather too much!), three weeks of virtual wall to wall sunshine, and a happy and jovial group that were all well pleased with the numbers of lifers under their belts! Belding’s Yellowthroat showed quite well...(Pete Morris) The tour began in Baja California, where those of us participating on the pre-tour extension assem- bled from various locations at San José del Cabo airport. After picking up our vehicle, a little re-orga- nization, and a memorable first journey, we launched straight into the action with an afternoon visit to the ever shrinking Estero San José. It’s always a birdy spot, and although a little bright and warm (it always seems that way after a long journey!), it provided an excellent introduction to our Mexican birding. Our prime target, the endangered and endemic Belding’s Yellowthroat, proved easy this time around, with several giving extremely close views almost alongside Common Yellowthroats. Along the beach, large flocks of California Gulls held a Western Gull and some extremely smart Elegant Terns. The estero itself held a good selection of North American waterbirds including Blue-winged Teals, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaups, a confiding Sora, and some amazing breed- ing-plumaged Double-crested Cormorants, and we were delighted to find an impressive group of Western Grebes. A variety of widespread waders and herons were also present, including some tiny Least Sandpipers, almost at our feet. Nearby, landbirds were represented by Gila Woodpeckers, a couple of Cactus Wrens and an unexpected Tropical Kingbird. After a pleasant couple of hours, we made our way to our base for the next few nights, and enjoyed our first Mexican banquet! We once again had plenty of time to find the specialities of Southern Baja California, and of course, found them all again in double quick time! We began our quest pre-dawn in the San Antonio de la Sierra, finding a tiny Elf Owl in the spotlight, though sadly he didn’t sit for as long as we would have liked! As the sky lightened from the east, we made our way up into the mountains and embarked on a hike to higher altitudes. The main purpose of the hike was to find the endemic Baird’s Junco, and 2 BirdQuest Tour Report:Western Mexico 2014 www.birdquest-tours.com Baird’s Junco on Baja - surely a good split? (Pete Morris) this we achieved pretty easily (literally hopping around our feet!). Feeling energetic (?!) we decided to push on and try our luck a little higher, finding our first of a few Baja (or Cape) Pygmy-Owls. During our pleasant walk, under glorious blue skies and with stunning scenery, we found a variety of other goodies. Highlights included the endemic local form of Acorn Woodpecker (Baja Woodpecker), nu- merous stunning endemic Xantus’s Hummingbirds, Grey and Ash-throated Flycatchers, tiny Ameri- can Bushtits, White-breasted Nuthatches, numerous noisy Western Scrub-Jays, a fabulous Canyon Wren, colourful Scott’s and Hooded Orioles, Lazuli Buntings, Western Tanagers, Rufous-crowned The delightful San Lucas Robin on Baja - surely another good split? (Pete Morris) 3 BirdQuest Tour Report:Western Mexico 2014 www.birdquest-tours.com Sparrows, attractive Spotted Towhees, and the somewhat drab California Towhee. We also had our first encounters with the pallid San Lucas Robin and studied the endemic forms of Warbling and Cassin’s Vireos, the latter almost like a Blue-headed Vireo! As the sun warmed we descended and birded some shadier areas lower down. Here we quickly found more robins, and other goodies in- cluded an inquisitive Zone-tailed Hawk, our first Gilded Flickers, the endemic Grey Thrasher, vivid Northern Cardinals and an unexpected Magnolia Warbler. Flushed with success, we headed back to base for a feast and an optional Margarita or two! The following day we could relax a little, and birded some desert close to our hotel. This proved to be excellent and produced the hoped-for desert species including the localized California Gnatcatcher, A few more highlights from Baja - Greater Roadrunner, Gilded Flicker and a fine Great Horned Owl (Pete Morris) colourful Verdins, noisy Cactus Wrens and several smart and obliging Black-throated Sparrows, whilst more common species included more Gila and Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Gilded Flickers and some obliging Pyrrhuloxias. Venturing slightly further afield, we found a secretive Rock Wren, and, after a stroke of luck, the rare Grey Vireo which showed very well. On the way back, we bumped into the hoped-for Greater Roadrunner (not one but three!), saw several Phainopeplas, admired Humpback Whales and leaping Manta-Rays in the ocean, scoped up some dapper Brandt’s Cormo- rants and saw our first, rather unimpressive, Yellow-footed Gull (it was a young one!). Just before we arrived back, we also saw our first California Quail of the trip. After a well earned break, we headed to another tiny wetland where we again saw the endangered Belding’s Yellowthroat. Nearby we also found numerous Cassin’s Kingbirds and our only Clay-coloured Sparrows of the tour. The following morning we had another look in the lower areas of the San Antonio de la Sierra, this time beginning the day with a pre-dawn owling session which produced... Mourning Dove – and not much else. After dawn, another Baja Pygmy Owl was appreciated as were more San Lucas Robins, 4 BirdQuest Tour Report:Western Mexico 2014 www.birdquest-tours.com Western Meadowlark was a write-in, whilst we saw plenty of cute Baja (or Cape) Pygmy Owls (Pete Morris) and many of the other goodies seen previously. We also saw our first MacGillivray’s Warbler and Bell’s Vireo and a number of other migrants. With not much new appearing, we made our way up to La Paz, ticking off smart adult Yellow-footed Gulls as well as Heermann’s and Ring-billed Gulls, nu- merous waterbirds, including Blue-footed and Brown Boobies, and an obliging Mangrove Warbler as we went. Having checked into our hotel we then birded a few of the local hot spots. We began with a fine roosting Great Horned Owl and then continued to the sewage ponds which were alive with birds! Most surprising were a Wood Sandpiper and a Western Meadowlark. Amongst the thousands of waterbirds present, we picked out good numbers of Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks, Cinnamon Teals, White-faced Ibises, Long-billed Dowitchers, Greater Yellowlegs and Killdeers. Icterids included some surprise Yellow-headed and Brewster’s Blackbirds, American (or Buff-bellied) Pipits fed on the flats, and numerous Audubon’s Warblers were present, no doubt feasting on the mosquitoes that were feasting on me! On our last morning on Baja, we headed back to the sewage ponds, once again finding good num- bers of birds. The Wood Sandpiper and Western Meadowlark were again present and showing well, a small flock of White-crowned Sparrows were our only ones of the tour, and the throngs of birds attracted both Merlin and Peregrine. Out in the nearby bay, we found numerous waders, gulls and terns, including Marbled Godwits, Long-billed Curlews, Western Willets, Wilson’s Plovers, Black Skimmers and Forster’s Terns. By now, the tide was coming up, and the wind was whipping up quite a dust storm, so we decided to make our way to the airport. The next 12 hours were not the best due to a cancelled flight! Suffice to say that we had to make some hasty rearrangements, resulting in a three hour drive, a flight to Mexico City and then one back to Mazatlan where we arrived at our beds after midnight! The following morning we tried an area of thorn forest just outside Mazatlan. Hundreds of Sinaloa Crows flew from their roosts, and before long we found the hoped-for Purplish-backed Jays which were joined by the equally impressive Black-throated Magpie-Jays. A pair of Black-capped Gnat- catchers showed well, a Black-capped Vireo was rather briefer, Golden-cheeked Woodpecker and 5 BirdQuest Tour Report:Western Mexico 2014 www.birdquest-tours.com Nutting’s Flycatchers obliged, Rufous-bellied Chachalacas popped up, our first Happy and Sinaloa Wrens were encountered (only the latter was seen), our first Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl was seen, and we had all-too-brief encounters with both Lesser Roadrunner and Elegant Quail.