VENTURE
TO VENTURE
TO It was hot in Veracruz, but apparently we were having unusually warm weather- anyway, we sweated a lot, but this was more than made up with copious amounts of water and beer. So we were there to experience the “River of Raptors”, the largest and most concentrated movement of birds of prey in the world. There are some traditional watchpoints, such as the hotel in Cardel or the Soccer pitch in Chichicaxtle, but with local knowledge we decided to sit along the roadside in Paso de Ovejas armed with the obligatory cooler of cold beer. What a show we had with thousands and thousands of Broad-winged and Swainson’s Hawks, Turkey Vultures, Mississippi Kites with a good sprinkling of Peregrines, American Kestrels, Hook-billed Kites, amongst many others. As well as the hawks flowing over our heads like a giant “river”, the butterflies were also moving and the clouds of sulphurs, Daggerwings and Heliconians floated across all day long. It was very easy to get distracted and actually a lot of fun to do so. I think we may have identified about 75 species but the jury is still out on several of those hard to identify skippers and scintillants. Local birding sites and patches of dry and riparian forest produced both local and migrant birds, so we saw migrant Yellow-breasted Chats and Baltimore Orioles with local Squirrel Cuckoos and Masked Tityras. Our excursion to the state capital of Xalapa was very pleasant with a visit to the very comprehensive Anthropological Museum. Xalapa has a very mild climate and is called the “City of Flowers”. Maybe a more thorough exploration of the city is needed next time. Our journey south to Tlacotalpan was very pleasant, but yes, it was still very hot! Tlacotalpan means “place between the rivers” in Nahuatl and is a little river town that has almost been forgotten. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to the blend of Spanish and Caribbean architecture from the 1700’s onwards. Its bright colors are vibrant in the Mexican sunshine and the few days we spent there were a blend of heat, color and music. Memories- Rafa’s paintings, paella, personal attention, live music……I could go on and on. As well as enjoying boat trips in the freshwater marshes and the mangroves we explored the marshes and wetlands enjoying a nice selection of “aquatics”, such as Snail Kite, Black-collared Hawk and Bare-throated Tiger-Heron. A stroll around town was a very pleasant experience as we enjoyed windows into another world of rocking chairs, net curtains and flowers. Several Double-striped Thick-knees and Aplomado Falcons enlivened our return to Paso de Ovejas where we enjoyed a few more days of hawkwatching and the continued spectacle of thousands of birds of prey pouring south. Kettles boiled overhead and streamed towards the horizon. A terrific spectacle that has be one of the world’s most impressive natural history sights.
| Black-bellied Whistling-Duck | Long-billed Dowitcher | Northern Rough-winged Swallow |
| Fulvous Whistling-Duck | Wilson's Snipe | Bank Swallow |
| Blue-winged Teal | Wilson’s Phalarope | Cliff Swallow |
| Northern Shoveler | Laughing Gull | Barn Swallow |
| Plain Chachalaca | Gull-billed Tern | Band-backed Wren |
| Pied-billed Grebe | Royal Tern | Rufous-naped Wren |
| American White Pelican | Rock Pigeon | Canyon Wren |
| Brown Pelican | Red-billed Pigeon | Spot-breasted Wren (Heard) |
| Neotropic Cormorant | White-winged Dove | Blue-gray Gnatcatcher |
| Anhinga | Mourning Dove | Clay-colored Robin |
| Magnificent Frigatebird | Inca Dove | Blue-winged Warbler |
| Bare-throated Tiger-Heron | Common Ground-Dove | Northern Parula |
| Great Blue Heron | Ruddy Ground-Dove | Yellow Warbler |
| Great Egret | White-tipped Dove | Magnolia Warbler |
| Snowy Egret | "Aztec" Olive-throated Parakeet | Yellow-rumped Warbler |
| Little Blue Heron | White-crowned Parrot | Yellow-throated Warbler |
| Tricolored Heron | Red-lored Parrot | Black-and-white Warbler |
| Cattle Egret | Squirrel Cuckoo | American Redstart |
| Green Heron | Groove-billed Ani | Worm-eating Warbler |
| Black-crowned Night-Heron | Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl | Northern Waterthrush |
| Yellow-crowned Night-Heron | Lesser Nighthawk | Louisiana Waterthrush |
| Boat-billed Heron | White-collared Swift | Mourning Warbler |
| White Ibis | Chimney Swift | Common Yellowthroat |
| White-faced Ibis | Green-breasted Mango | Gray-crowned Yellowthroat |
| Wood Stork | Canivet's Emerald | Hooded Warbler |
| Black Vulture | Buff-bellied Hummingbird | Wilson's Warbler |
| Turkey Vulture | Mexican Sheartail | Yellow-breasted Chat |
| Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture | Ruby-throated Hummingbird | Summer Tanager |
| Osprey | Blue-crowned Motmot | Scarlet Tanager |
| Hook-billed Kite | Ringed Kingfisher | Western Tanager |
| White-tailed Kite | Belted Kingfisher | Blue-gray Tanager |
| Snail Kite | Amazon Kingfisher | Yellow-winged Tanager |
| Mississippi Kite | Green Kingfisher | Blue-black Grassquit |
| Black collared Hawk | American Pygmy Kingfisher | White-collared Seedeater |
| Northern Harrier | Golden-fronted Woodpecker | Grayish Saltator |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | Ladder-backed Woodpecker | Black-headed Saltator |
| Cooper's Hawk | Lineated Woodpecker | Northern Cardinal |
| Common Black-Hawk | Rufous-breasted Spinetail | Rose-breasted Grosbeak |
| Great Black-Hawk | Barred Antshrike | Blue Grosbeak |
| Roadside Hawk | Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet | Indigo Bunting |
| Broad-winged Hawk | Yellow-bellied Elaenia | Painted Bunting |
| Gray Hawk | Common Tody-Flycatcher | Red-winged Blackbird |
| Short-tailed Hawk | Olive-sided Flycatcher | Eastern Meadowlark |
| Swainson's Hawk | Western Wood-Pewee | Melodious Blackbird |
| Zone-tailed Hawk | Eastern Wood-Pewee | Great-tailed Grackle |
| Crested Caracara | Alder/Willow Flycatcher | Bronzed Cowbird |
| Laughing Falcon | Least Flycatcher | Black-cowled Oriole |
| American Kestrel | Black Phoebe | Orchard Oriole |
| Merlin | Vermilion Flycatcher | Hooded Oriole |
| Aplomado Falcon | Dusky-capped Flycatcher | Altamira Oriole |
| Bat Falcon | Ash-throated Flycatcher (Heard) | Baltimore Oriole |
| Peregrine Falcon | Great Crested Flycatcher | Yellow-billed Cacique |
| Yellow-breasted Crake (Heard) | Great Kiskadee | Montezuma Oropendola |
| American Coot | Boat-billed Flycatcher | Scrub Euphonia |
| Limpkin | Social Flycatcher | Lesser Goldfinch |
| Double-striped Thick-knee | Tropical Kingbird | House Sparrow |
| Black-bellied Plover | Couch's Kingbird | Other Critters |
| Black-necked Stilt | Eastern Kingbird | Fence Lizard sp |
| Northern Jacana | Scissor-tailed Flycatcher | House Gecko |
| Spotted Sandpiper | Fork-tailed Flycatcher | Tegu Lizard |
| Solitary Sandpiper | Rose-throated Becard | Green Iguana |
| Greater Yellowlegs | Black-crowned Tityra | Basilisk sp |
| Lesser Yellowlegs | Masked Tityra | Tarantula Wasp |
| Willet | White-eyed Vireo | Spider sp- Argiope |
| Sanderling | Yellow-throated Vireo | Variegated Squirrel |
| Least Sandpiper | Brown Jay | |
| Stilt Sandpiper | Mangrove Swallow |