Bunchgrass Birding South of Mexico City

The Sierra Madre Sparrow is an endangered, range-restricted species that prefers bunchgrass habitats in sparsely treed pine woods. It is only known from a few locations in the Sierra Madre Occidental, a major mountain range in west-central Mexico. Presumably, this species was once much more common, but the massive reduction in its preferred habitat has incurred an equal decline in the number of Sierra Madre Sparrows.  Given the continued removal of bunchgrass habitats to create pasture, it is likely that this species will be listed as Critically Endangered in the near future. A sad prospect but not a unique one around the world given the pressures created by our burgeoning human population.

One location where the Sierra Madre Sparrow is still reasonably common is Parque Las Maravillas in Tlalpan. This is only an hour or so south of where we were staying in Roma Norte, Mexico City. Many other enticing birds can be found in this area including Strickland's Woodpecker, Green-striped Brushfinch, Red Warbler and more. Logically, this was our destination for our second full day in Mexico.

Parque Las Maravillas, Tlalpan, Ciudad de México, Mexico

We took an InDriver to our destination (cost was 225 MXN, or 13 CAD), arriving around 8:30 AM. There was still frost on the ground as we began to search the bunchgrass habitat. A local dog joined us in the quest. 

Parque Las Maravillas, Tlalpan, Ciudad de México, Mexico

Birds were active at this hour as the sun slowly warmed the landscape. Several Loggerhead Shrikes peppered the tops of the trees, Eastern Meadowlarks and Striped Sparrows sang from the small bushes, and various finches and swallows flew over. 

Eastern Meadowlark - Parque Las Maravillas, Tlalpan, Ciudad de México, Mexico

It took a little bit of searching to find our main target. But finally, a suspicious streaky sparrow perched up in a small shrub. It was a Sierra Madre Sparrow! I grabbed a few record shots and then repositioned for a better angle. 

Sierra Madre Sparrow - Parque Las Maravillas, Tlalpan, Ciudad de México, Mexico

Sierra Madre Sparrows are known to be a little skulky and this one was no different. It popped back down into the bush, never to be seen again!

I kept searching and thought I was onto a second Sierra Madre Sparrow, but it was a Song Sparrow- a false alarm. Sierra Madre Sparrows looks very similar, though they are a little smaller, less streaky on the chest, and with a more scalloped, rufous back. 

Song Sparrow - Parque Las Maravillas, Tlalpan, Ciudad de México, Mexico

Not wanting to spend too much time flushing the endangered Sierra Madre Sparrow, and with the sun rising higher in the sky, we cut our losses and headed towards the pine-oak woodland. At least I had seen one Sierra Madre Sparrow. 

Parque Las Maravillas, Tlalpan, Ciudad de México, Mexico

For around four hours we explored the woods, wandering up and down the dirt track that cut through them. Birds were surprisingly scarce for much of the walk. Perhaps this is due to the time of year and they would be more vocal in the spring/summer months? 

Some high-pitched chip notes caught my ear in a scrubby section. I played a snippet of tape and the culprits emerged - Green-striped Brushfinches! I am a sucker for brushfinches and this particularly species is somewhat range-restricted and quite attractive (in my opinion). We caught up with some others in the afternoon that were a little more photogenic. 

Green-striped Brushfinch - Parque Las Maravillas, Tlalpan, Ciudad de México, Mexico

Green-striped Brushfinch - Parque Las Maravillas, Tlalpan, Ciudad de México, Mexico

For a while we thought that we would be hard pressed to rack up a decent list for the day given how quiet it was. But then we ran into a big mixed flock. Bushtits and Ruby-crowned Kinglets led the charge, with other species in tow. Pygmy Nuthatch. Mexican Chickadee. Slate-throated Redstart. Steller's Jay. Wait, what was that? Our first Red Warbler!

Red Warbler - Parque Las Maravillas, Tlalpan, Ciudad de México, Mexico

Red Warblers are supposedly reasonably common in the mountains of central and southern Mexico, but you never forget your first. The colours were just unreal. What a bird!

A Broad-tailed Hummingbird flew past, landing in a thicket to rest. This was another new species for both of us, though it is a fairly widespread one that ranges north to Montana. It was a wonder that we found any hummingbirds at all in this dry landscape with hardly any flowers in bloom. 

Broad-tailed Hummingbird - Parque Las Maravillas, Tlalpan, Ciudad de México, Mexico

My other main bird target in this location was the Strickland's Woodpecker. Looking similar to the Arizona Woodpecker (and to a lesser extent, Hairy Woodpecker), the Strickland's is limited to high elevation pine woods in central Mexico. Fortunately, they were not uncommon at Parque Las Maravillas and we tallied a half dozen. The first few were backlit and in shadow (a common theme for the day), but we eventually managed some proper views. 

Strickland's Woodpecker (female) - Parque Las Maravillas, Tlalpan, Ciudad de México, Mexico

Strickland's Woodpecker (male) - Parque Las Maravillas, Tlalpan, Ciudad de México, Mexico

The lifers kept coming. First, a Cordilleran Flycatcher, then a pair of Ocoteros, and near the end of our walk, some Rufous-capped Brushfinches. It wasn't a good photography day, however, and most of my photographs were nothing more than record shots. Everything seemed to be backlit, though it meant that the birds had awesome views of us!

The Ocotero is the only member of its family, Peucedramidae. It still officially retains the name Olive Warbler but it is neither olive-coloured, nor is it a warbler. A recent proposal to the American Ornithological Society to rename this bird to Ocotero was rejected. Ocotero is the local name used in much of its range, referring to its preference for ocote, the Spanish name for various pines in which this bird is dependant on. A much better name in my opinion, but I digress. My photo below does not do it justice. Luckily, we will have many more chances in the upcoming days and weeks.

Ocotero (Olive Warbler) - Parque Las Maravillas, Tlalpan, Ciudad de México, Mexico

Reptiles are surprisingly diverse in this high-elevation (~3000 masl), alpine environment. We did not encounter any Dusky Rattlesnakes, and the only snake we saw was a road-killed garter snake of some kind. Fence lizards were frequently seen in the sunny patches.

Sceloporus sp. - Parque Las Maravillas, Tlalpan, Ciudad de México, Mexico

Sceloporus torquatus - Parque Las Maravillas, Tlalpan, Ciudad de México, Mexico

We watched several butterflies flutter by. The only one I photographed was this Mexican Pine-Satyr. 

Mexican Pine Satyr (Paramacera xicaque) - Parque Las Maravillas, Tlalpan, Ciudad de México, Mexico

Following a productive few hours in the pine-oak woodland, we headed back down the hill and towards the entrance. It had been an excellent day. The only target bird that we could not dredge up was Long-tailed Wood-Partridge, but we may have more chances of them later on. 

We caught a bus back to the south end of Mexico City (7 MXN per person), the grabbed an InDriver to our hotel (125 MXN). We were pretty happy with how this day ended up!

Parque Las Maravillas, Tlalpan, Ciudad de México, Mexico

A note of caution: I have read in several places online that birders have experienced break-ins with their rental vehicles at Parque Las Maravillas. Our taxi driver warned us to be careful in this area as well. We decided to visit here via taxi/bus, as opposed to when we have a rental car, to avoid this scenario. That being said, everyone we encountered today was friendly and not at all sketchy and we had an excellent visit. If you do travel here (or anywhere, really) with a rental car, make sure that you leave all your valuables at the hotel to avoid temptation from anyone. Mexico is a beautiful, vibrant country with lots of wonderful people, but like anywhere, using some common sense and exercising caution will go a long way to avoid problems.