The 700 Club

Green Jay-in Chiapas, the Green Jays have yellow eyes.  In Texas, Green Jays have dark eyes.

If there's one thing about a growing life bird list, it's learning that you have to be patient.  The first and middle part of 600 was not easy at all.  And I have to admit, I was doubting I'd hit my year goal of 700 by the end of December. 

Rose-bellied Bunting or as it was once called, Rosita's Bunting

Many of the birds on my 600 list are neotropical birds.  They are some of the hardest birds to spot.  And while I'd like to say I'm getting better at finding them, I'm not:) 

White-winged Tanager

So I learned some valuable things on my personal journey to the 700 Club.  No more large groups.  I know I will have to do this down the road again, but I do not prefer large numbers of people.  While I enjoyed their company, knowledge and friendship, I much prefer the quiet and slow methods I use in the field alone or with friends.  And there's something special about ID'ing a new life bird on your own....

Stripe-throated Hermit

Every day there was something new flying past me and I couldn't keep up!  It was exhausting and fun.  The one thing I loved about our organized tour in Mexico?  The transportation.  It was nice to be told to meet the leaders at their buses each day at a certain time. When I do these treks alone, I always have to think about how I will attack the bird challenge.  Many times I stay in one spot for a week and really bird the heck out of it both day and night.  On our trek into Chiapas, it was FIVE new locales in FIVE days! 

Crimson-collared Tanager

It was amazing and the leaders were wonderful.  The reason for this important trek into Chiapas was for the endemic and difficult to find birds like the Nava's Wren, Pink-headed Warblers, Blue Seedeater and Long-tailed Sabrewing.  These were the birds I needed help finding because some of the birds were on private lands or in hard to access areas.  So in the shadows of the forests, we searched and searched for these brilliant birds. 

Barred Antshrike

Along the way, I found lots of other cool birds like this Olive Sparrow below.  The sparrow species make me smile and they are one of my favorites.  

Olive Sparrow

We saw trogons, motmots, chachalacas, guans and curassows, and lots of other brightly colored birds. 

Russet-crowned Motmot

So what am I feeling right now at the 700 level?  It's hard to explain, but I feel like I'm sinking into a birder stereotype that I fear most.  It's the one where I become a much more serious person.  It's the one where I lose human emotion and isolate myself in a space only filled with birds.  I'll try and fight that inner lifeless scientist away because birds are more than just data. I still will be a scientist in my own right....just one who laughs and enjoys the adventures along the way. I've met a lot of birders who can be too serious for their own good! The experience to 700 is completely different than the one I took to 100, 200 or even 300.  I'm a sharper knife now.  And with every moment free, I find myself engrossed in a bird book or TV program or studying new areas around the US and world. 

Great Curassow

As I sit in my car, fly in a plane or read reports, I separate the good and bad observations happening out in the field.  I add some of my own rare birds.  Others report their rare birds.  And so on and so forth....

Northern Bobwhite

But 700 was difficult.  I'm not going to lie.  It was the hardest challenge yet. 

Ruddy-breasted Seedeater

Sometimes it was the culture.  Utah challenged me with its 1950's culture of "Keeping Up With The Joneses".  Yuck! And California made me yearn for the open lands back in Arizona. There are too many people in that state!  However, when I spotted a new California endemic bird, I forgot about all of it and just smiled. 

Streak-backed Oriole

Mexico made me smile because I truly love this country and our time in Chiapas flew by so quickly there. It's been years since I visited this country's interior due to the drug trafficking and kidnapping. I can say that Mexico has become safer again for travel!  But still, I'm not taking any chances.  I'll always travel with a group of people now to this country. In February, Las Aventuras will return to Sonora, Mexico for another bird trek!

White-fronted Parrot

Then there were the birds!  Mexican birds hid.  Sea birds zipped past our vessels.  Other birds were perfectly camouflaged! 

Nava's Wren

And some birds challenged my patience!  This bird above is the number one success story of the year. The Nava's Wren hides in the dark shadows of Mexico's dry rain forest. It's habitat is very tight.  There are only 9 locations where this bird can be found and it's in some rather remote areas. We waited and waited and waited for this bird.  Some birders were super sick due to food poisoning, but by the bird gods, everyone made sure they saw the Nava's Wren.  One man collapsed onto the ground waiting to see this bird.  Now that's dedication!

Lesser Roadrunner

Four years ago I began this journey.  There are over 10,000 birds on this planet which leaves me approximately 9,300 more birds to find:) Oh may the BIRD GODS be good to me!  I'll certainly die trying to find them all!

Plain Chachalaca

A lot of strategic planning goes into everything I do. I like the planning part a lot.  It's the budgeting I hate!

Green Violetear

For next year, I'm planning on setting my life bird goal at 800....maybe 850.  I'm tossing around ideas like Canada, Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, Cuba, Florida...or just a simple summer, vacationing in my beautiful home state of Wisconsin.  And of course, I will do my mandatory pelagic like I do each and every year. But who knows where that will take place. 

Blue Seedeater-a difficult bird to find!

There are many California birds I still need to find.  There are still many Wisconsin birds I need to find.  But overall, North America is starting to shrink:) Yet still....there are hundreds of new birds that need to be found.  Some birds require their own trek!

Long-tailed Jaeger

Casual ocean treks will now be very focused and calculated. 

Sooty Shearwater

A Bay Area trip, with a Monterrey or Half Moon Bay stop, will be needed. But that is something I want to do with Micheal. 

Pomarine Jaeger

North America is a great big continent to explore.  One could easily spend a lifetime here discovering everything there is to know about our wildlife. I can't believe how much I've learned in such a short amount of time.  But my mind is like a sponge.  I'm a detective on a case. 

California Quail

I imagine I am the bird sometimes.  This helps me figure out where they may be hiding.  And quite a few of these birds like to hide!

Chukar

As this chapter of "Americano" comes to an end; another will begin.  Where will it take us?  Your guess is as good as mine.  But it's sure going to be a fun ride!  Over the next several weeks, at least until the end of the year, Las Aventuras will be leaving the desert once more to find a few more new bird species. In January, I will feature the highlights of 2015. Until next time.... 

The Pacific Wren

Number 700 was the Pacific Wren.  It was seen in the snow with most excellent company.  Birds take us to fantastic and magical places.  You never know where you'll wind up.  Until next time!

Hot On The Trails

I love this photo.  Serious birders with some serious concentration. L to R  Rich, Martin and Gordon. It reminds me of Charlie's Angels but with birders. 

I couldn't sleep the night before this trek.  After days of cloud forest work, I was beginning to have my doubts about capturing images of the birds out in the field. Could we find some difficult birds on this next trek?  Thankfully we had Tucson's very own Rich Hoyer with us as our guide.  Also joining the crew was an experienced birder by the name of Martin. Things were already looking up, but I knew that this birding trek would be a BIG challenge for me personally. Two extremely important target birds were on the list which included the challenging Blue Seedeater and Belted Flycatcher.  Both are considered top birds in the birding world. 

Overlooking the majestic Sumidero Canyon

This dark trail took us to the edge of a cliff overlooking the incredibly beautiful Sumidero Canyon. How does one focus within such beauty while trying to find some of the most difficult birds on this planet? Martin told me that he had spent decades trying to find this Blue Seedeater.  With Rich as our guide, I knew our chances would be very good for this rare encounter. 

Erodyle Checkerspot/Guatemalan Patch

We walked the trails looking at butterflies and trogons. Rich was, like always, very focused.  Having worked with him before in Tucson, I was familiar with his style of birding.  The man is a genius! And he exhausts my brain from all the information he gives while on the trails. If a bird peeps, he can pinpoint the location and tell you what it is. Me?  I had drool coming out of my mouth. So when I saw a Black Vulture flying above the canyon, I was relieved to find and observe a bird I already knew well:)  The list of birds on this trek was wild and confusing.  Flycatchers were abundant. 

Black Vulture

The weather was cooperative on this afternoon hike but the shadows of the forest loomed over us.  We all bumped the ISO up on our cameras anxious to find the Blue Seedeater. 

A Katydid

The Blue Seedeater called and the group quickly focused on their target bird.  It was flitting around the trees near the seeding bamboo where it feeds.  The bird is not by any means rare, but it has a very tight habitat requirement.  If the bamboo is seeding in the right location, a person has a good chance for spotting this tricky bird. However, the bird is erratic and a tricky one for birders to find.

Blue Seedeater

I spotted the bird with my binos and it flew near the right side of the group for them to take great pictures.  I stood with Martin on the left side.  He, of all people, needed to get photos of this tricky bird.  After all, he had made several attempts to find this bird over his many years of birding treks.  Sometimes a nemesis bird can really play with you.  But the gods were good and the Blue Seedeater flew to our side for excellent views.  I almost wet my pants from excitement:)  It felt good to really observe this incredible bird. 

After everyone had great views of the seedeater, we continued forward on the trail to find a very special flycatcher. 

White-patched Skipper (Chiomara asychis) Thank you to Doug Taron for the ID

Along the way, little birds darted among the leaves forcing us to really stop and look.  A Northern Bentbill(below) made for a lovely sight as it sat in the branches for a few moments before flitting off. 

Northern Bentbill sans tail

I love sparrows, but it seemed that while on our treks within Chiapas, not many people cared to stop and look at them.  My stubborn German side came out and said enough was enough.  When I heard an Olive Sparrow(that I kept calling an Olive Warbler out of habit), I stopped and waited for the bird to make an appearance.  It was VERY close and eventually popped out on the branches for everyone.  Green Jays flew in and distracted everyone. They all wanted to see them instead....but not our poor Olive Warbler Sparrow:)

Olive Sparrow

Our trek was not complete.  We had to find the Belted Kingfisher Flycatcher.  Common bird names for me back home kept screwing up my Mexican bird names.  And Gordon kept correcting my annoying habit of saying the wrong bird names even though I knew what I meant:)  

Grasshopper Species-a nymph of the very diverse genus Melanoplus(thanks Rich and Ricardo Marño-Perez for the ID)

Our first special flycatcher was the Flammulated Flycatcher.  It looked like one of those mariachis birds.  You know....the Ash-throated, Dusky-capped ones!:) It is closely related to the birds of the genus Myiarchus(my-arch-us). Or as I like to mispronounce it.  Mariachis.  Drives people nuts:)

Flammulated Flycatcer

After having nice observations of this special Flycatcher, I noticed what looked like burn marks on the trees.  Turns out that we were actually looking at caterpillars. It was gross and very cool at the same time.  These wormy critters will turn into beautiful butterflies or make a nice snack for someone:)  I watched the Lion King and remember that grubs and caterpillars make for great protein.  So Hakuna Matata all! I think I will pass:)

Blue Morphos Caterpillar-ID thanks to Michael Retter

Let's get serious now.  What about that tricky Belted Flycatcher?  Well, we hit the jackpot and found several!  Again, this is a highly prized gem for the birding world.  It is listed as Near Threatened because the bird is found in fewer than 10 locations in a very small range.  The Belted Flycatcher is suspected to be in decline due to habitat loss within their tight range. Thankfully, Sumidero Canyon is a protected location.  As for the other 9?  I would like to visit them and see what's happening there.

Belted Flycatcher

After our target birds were found, I could relax a bit and just enjoy the hike.  The stress was over.  Rich did an amazing job and I am grateful to him for all the hard work.  It isn't easy guiding a group of 10 on tight trails.

I know it's not safe, but I wanted to jump.  It probably would've killed me, but have you ever wanted to fly for just for a moment?

On this day, one of MY personal targets came out to play.  The Barred Antshrike was an amazing way to end our hike! 

Sexy Barred Antshrike

He looked at me.  And I looked at him. Then he asked, "Who the hell are all of you?" And took off:)

Bye bye birdie!

The birders then changed into butterfliers.  Yeah, the butterflies stole the show at one point and people were goo goo and gah gah over them.  I learned that if you pee, they will come.  I think it also works with "number two" as well since I could smell something nasty and familiar.  Definitely human and definitely a favorite with the smaller butterflies.  I deleted those pictures:)

This would be the last trek with a full crew before the plague hit the group.  It would take many innocent lives which included my buddy Gordon.  Here we smile one last time together.  It was the final time I would see my British friend Helen(on the left).  Ernie, to my right, would be spared.

On our next journey, I will take you all to some of my absolute favorite birding spots while in Chiapas.  El Ocote took my breathe away.  I wanted to stay there longer, but could we?  Thanks in part to the plague, it appeared butterflies would have much to dine on:) Until next time friends....