Mazatlan, MX - 06 Mar 2006
0700 Hrs. Our third stop on this cruise brought us to shore in Mazatlan. The mountains give this place a slightly more rustic look than the very upscale port of Puerto Vallarte, but it is pretty. Looks very much like a shipping/fishing port and resort town.
We were greeted by the usual Brown Pelicans,
Heerman’s Gulls, Magnificent Frigatebirds,
Rock Pigeons, Great Blue Herons,
and Caspian Terns.
0900 Hrs. Robin and I booked a bird tour through the Mangrove Swamps and an ocean drive through coconut plantations. We boarded a small covered boat and headed toward the interior of the port toward the Mangroves. Our guide, Milton is an expert in the bird life of the swamps.
As we drove out we saw lots of Brown Pelicans, Black Vultures and Turkey Vultures
among the ships and local fishermen.
As we approached the mangroves the river opened up into hundreds of acres of shorebird heaven! Long, deep shallow flats were hosts to thousands of shorebirds. Willets, Whimbrels,
Long-billed Curlews and Marbled Godwits,
made up the majority of shorebirds here, and while Milton is casually pointing out birds to the tour “Here we have a Brown Pelican, a bird famous for the area…” I’m shouting out “Willet! LB Curlew! Whimbrels! American Oystercatchers!
Caspian Terns!
Royal Terns!
Yellow-crowned Night Herons!” and so on, like a 10-year old at the zoo.
The mudflats were rich with other birds, as well: Lesser Yellowlegs, Black Skimmers (dozens roosting), Little Blue Herons, Reddish Egrets, Tri-colored Herons, Great Egrets, Spotted Sandpipers, Great Blue Herons, Snowy Egrets, White Ibis, Long-billed Dowitchers, Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, and Black-necked Stilts. Milton points out a Northern Jacana, but I can’t see it among the throngs of birds. I did find a Wild Turkey.
The only sad thing about the whole experience was the sight of garbage everywhere! Since this region of Mexico has no conservation practices, the port has become a dumping ground. Everywhere you looked there were miles and miles of paper and plastic washed ashore and into the Magnroves. The shorebirds are feeding among all the litter, and a truly spectacular shorebird paradise is tainted with the offal. A person could spend years picking up all the litter. Truly a sad commentary…
As we proceed deeper along the Red Mangrove coasts
we spotted our first Crested Caracaras roosting (and copulating) in some palm trees.
I photographed a Caracara chasing a Red-tailed Hawk overhead.
Yellow Warblers, Great Kiskadees and Tropical Kingbirds were singing along the shoreline. Osprey (or Seahawks) flew overhead.
As we cruised further into the Mangroves we found small mud spits in the middle of the river with American Oystercatchers, Lesser Yellowlegs, and Solitary Sandpipers feeding. A few more Whimbrels and Great Egrets were also seen. Pied-billed Grebes, Heerman’s Gulls and Laughing Gulls, White-winged Doves were seen, as well.
As we set shore for the second leg of the trip, I spotted an Audubon’s Warbler, and a Hooded Oriole.
We boarded a trailer towed behind a tractor, and took a ride through a coconut plantation toward the ocean. Milton pointed out a couple of American Kestrels and said that they tended to chase away the local hawks. Sure enough, we saw a Gray Hawk being chased away by a much smaller American Kestrel.
As we traveled along the ocean shoreline, we saw several more Tropical Kingbirds, Northern Mockingbirds, and a pair of Groove-billed Ani’s. I saw a red-rumped flycatcher that may be a possible Bright-rumped Attila, but it was too brief a view to get a positive ID.
We stopped for lunch at a beachside restaurant,
and I took a walk out back to see Gila Woodpeckers
and Common Ground Doves.
After a short break we again boarded the the tractor to head back to the ship. Along the way we see stopped to observe a lovely Iguana along the roadside.
Mar 6, 2006 8:00 AM
Protocol: Incidental
Checklist Comments: Cruise ship in port and nearby mangrove swamp/mudflats; the mudflats are popular wintering grounds for shorebirds and there are thousands as far as eyes can see. We didn't approach the shorebirds, so I had to scan from a distance. Sadly, garbage everywhere (plastic)...
41 species
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna autumnalis) 12
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) 2
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) (Columba livia (Feral Pigeon)) 2
Common Ground Dove (Columbina passerina) 6
White-winged Dove (Zenaida asiatica) 2
Groove-billed Ani (Crotophaga sulcirostris) 2
Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus) 6
American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) 12
Northern Jacana (Jacana spinosa) 1
Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) 12
Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus) 12
Marbled Godwit (Limosa fedoa) 12
Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus) 12
Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius) 2
Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes) 12
Willet (Tringa semipalmata) 12
Heermann's Gull (Larus heermanni) 2
Black Skimmer (Rynchops niger) 12
Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia) 2
Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens) 1
Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) 2
Yellow-crowned Night Heron (Nyctanassa violacea) 2
Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea) 2
Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor) 2
Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens) 2
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula) 2
Great Egret (Ardea alba) 2
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) 2
White Ibis (Eudocimus albus) 2
Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus) 12
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) 12
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) 1
Gray Hawk (Buteo plagiatus) 1
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) 1
Gila Woodpecker (Melanerpes uropygialis) 1
Crested Caracara (Northern) (Caracara plancus cheriway) 2
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) 1
Tropical Kingbird (Tyrannus melancholicus) 1
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) 2
Hooded Oriole (Icterus cucullatus) 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) (Setophaga coronata auduboni) 1
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S4
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
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