Birding in Puerto Peñasco

Black Bellied Plover

As mentioned in the previous post, it was a thrill for me to have some new birds to photograph......although they weren't the only things I snapped shots of:)  Returning back to Rocky Point this time was quite special because I came with a birder's eye.  By seeing things through a different "lens", the vacation turned from a "reading books" type trip to a real wildlife excursion.  And while searching, I discovered several more favorite birds to add to my list.....like the Black Bellied Plover.  What an interesting bird!  It kept watching me with intelligent eyes.

Long-billed Curlew

Rocky Point is tricky.  There isn't really an "official" birding list, but thanks to our Arizona-New Mexico Birding List, I was able to get lists from several birders like Steve Ganley and Pete Moulton(for the CBC) and their lists were wonderfully detailed.  So thank you both for your helpful tips.  My point here is that there is a little bit more research that has to go into the trip before taking off for this lovely destination. It's a little bit of detective work:)

Brown Pelican

And of course, I'll be taking you all to Bird Island which was a bit tricky and almost didn't happen.  But if you just walk the shoreline, you are going to see so many birds.  On this trip, there were plenty of terns, pelicans, and gulls.  In fact, I thought the Brown Pelicans would steal my attention, but it turned out that there would be many mysterious birds that would fly by me like in this pic below.  What were they?  Their sillouettes give me clues but I can't see their faces or colors.

There were plenty of things to discover, but my eyes had to adjust to the intense blues and washed out and sun drenched landscape.  It wasn't easy sometimes as these birds really did blend in with their surroundings.

Willet

I would do my walks early in the morning or late afternoon and around the time that the tides changed.  A pair of American Oystercatchers were hanging out by some tide pools and that was fun to watch.  They were quite the pair:)

American Oystercatcher

The terns captured many people's attention with their acrobatic flight skills.... and their voices were great to hear all around our beach home.   When massive schools of fish would swim by, these birds would dive bomb into the waters in numbers.

Common Tern

And of course, a bird would fly into sight if I got too close.....

Black-bellied Plover

.......but the water wasn't only inviting to me but to many of the birds in the area.

I think my favorite shot of this series are the American Avocets that came from out of nowhere.   I was heading back after my long hike.  Two large groups flew past me and they didn't give me much time to prep the camera.

American Avocets

Overall it was a nice time getting to see nature in action.  There was an owl during the night.  How do I know?  I slept outside on the patio listening to the waves.  And then a "hoo hooooo" would startle me from sleep at around 3 AM.

Willet

The interesting thing about all of these ocean birds are their beaks.  Some are turned upwards.  Some downwards.  Some are wide.  While others are longer.  All of it fascinating.

American Avocet

Thankfully I brought a lot of sunblock and a great hat to keep the sun off my skin.  These birds flew often up and down the beaches.

I brought my telephoto lense for far off shots of the brown pelicans and terns. And of course, with the telephoto lense comes the tripod:)  It was quite the production that served me well on bird island. 

Originally I had come for a series on brown pelicans, but like always, it turned out to be something quite different. 

Neotropic Cormorant

I got my first glimpse at the massive Osprey nests around the area.  They aren't great shots, but now I know what to look for during an Osprey search.  Cool birds to see in person.  Tomorrow, we go more into the adventures of Bird Island and the rough waters that surround them.  This was one of those birding events that made me smile.  It was difficult but worth every moment.  Stay tuned for more.....