Mexico!

Our visit to Panama was all we could have asked for, but it was time to move on to our next destination. I have still quite a few blog posts to write from Panama but they will be posted in due time. In the meantime....

When we were in Panama, brainstorming as to where we would spend the rest of the year, we analyzed prospective countries to find a match. We preferred to stay in the Americas, for simplicity (and financial) sake. After all, we would be flying home to Toronto from Panama City in mid December so we did not want to travel too far afield.  Some countries were struck off the list due to re-entry limitations upon our return to Panama. And others were crossed off due to their local COVID-19 situations. Still others were put on the back burner since we wished to explore them later on when we had more time to devote to them. In the end, we settled on Mexico.

White-faced Ibis - Ciénega del Lerma, México, Mexico

This is a country that neither Laura nor I had visited before, but we are eager to discover the biodiversity (and culinary diversity) of this beautiful country. We landed in Mexico City yesterday afternoon and have already experimented with many delicious street foods. Panama has a lot going for it, but it's culinary scene is a far cry from Mexico, that is for sure!

Laura and I will pick up a rental car on Thursday but in the meantime we have a few days to explore via other means. I have a whole bunch of bird targets in Mexico (big surprise!), including a few localized species within driving distance from Mexico City. Today was our first full day in the city and we were itching to get some birding in at a high-elevation wetland about an hour west of where we were staying - a place called Ciénega del Lerma. 

 Ciénega del Lerma, México, Mexico

The main attraction here is the presence of an extremely localized species of yellowthroat. Many readers are familiar with the Common Yellowthroat, widespread in North America, but there are a handful of other yellowthroats throughout Central and South America. Some are more widespread than others, but the Black-polled Yellowthroat has one of the more restricted global ranges. It only resides in several highland wetlands in central Mexico. 

We used InDriver (an app similar to Uber, but cheaper) to catch a ride to the lake, arriving just after 9 AM. One benefit of highland birding is that one does not need to be at their preferred destination at dawn. Even at 9 AM the air was cool and birdsong was evident. 

 Ciénega del Lerma, México, Mexico

Birding in a new country is always exciting. I almost don't know where to look at first. At least here in the dry highlands, where overall diversity is relatively low, the learning curve is a little flatter. Most of the birds we were seeing were familiar from back home. House Finches perched on the treetops, the bushes were populated by Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Orange-crowned Warblers and Yellow-rumped Warblers (the Audubon's subspecies, however), while Red-tailed Hawks, Northern Harriers, American Kestrels and Turkey Vultures were the default raptor-types.  Of course, some others were a little more novel such as the Cassin's Kingbirds in the scrubby fields, the ridiculously red Vermilion Flycatchers, and the adorable flock of Bushtits in the shrubbery. 

Cassin's Kingbird - Ciénega del Lerma, México, Mexico

Bushtit - Ciénega del Lerma, México, Mexico

My first target fell quickly: a Striped Sparrow. This Mexican endemic species lives in the dry highlands, mainly in central Mexico but also in the mountains further to the northwest. We ended up seeing around 8 of them.

Striped Sparrow - Ciénega del Lerma, México, Mexico

Striped Sparrow - Ciénega del Lerma, México, Mexico

Sparrows were very much in evidence, feeding in the dry corn husks and along the pathway. We noted Lark, Savannah, Clay-colored, and Lincoln's along with the ubiquitous Song Sparrows. 

Clay-colored Sparrow - Ciénega del Lerma, México, Mexico

I scored another lifer in Buff-breasted Flycatcher. This is one of the few Empidonax flycatchers in Mexico that actually looks somewhat distinctive!

Buff-breasted Flycatcher - Ciénega del Lerma, México, Mexico

Eventually, the path left the scrubby areas behind and entered cattail marsh. We noted a solid variety of ducks.and herons along with Eared Grebe, Belted Kingfisher and our first of many Marsh Wrens. Here they are of the subspecies tolucensis, endemic to these highland wetlands. 

Marsh Wren (subspecies tolucensis) - Ciénega del Lerma, México, Mexico

We quickly found our first Black-polled Yellowthroats. In fact, they were downright common all throughout the cattail rich areas that we passed through! 

Black-polled Yellowthroat - Ciénega del Lerma, México, Mexico

The males are really distinctive with extensive black on the head and no pale border to the black, but the females look quite like a Common Yellowthroat (of which we noted several wintering individuals). One key field mark is the slaty gray legs on the Black-polled Yellowthroat, versus pale pink on Common Yellowthroat. 

Black-polled Yellowthroat - Ciénega del Lerma, México, Mexico

Rails were quite common by voice. Soras were popping off everywhere, a few Virginia Rails were grunting and a single Aztec Rail called. The Aztec was a milestone bird for myself, World Bird #3000. I would have loved to have seen it but it did not respond to playback and the vegetation was quite thick, after all. 

Ciénega del Lerma, México, Mexico

We slowly retraced our steps back out to the main road, pausing a few times to take in some final views of the Black-polled Yellowthroats (they did not really cooperate for photos, though). Observing a range-restricted species like this is always a highlight, and it was a great way to kick off our Mexican leg of the trip!

Ciénega del Lerma, México, Mexico