Travel & Bird with the Bruders: February 2021

Mexico: Oaxaca - Sykes Private Tour 2020

Mar 14, 2020 to Mar 21, 2020

Dan Lane & Micah Riegner guides, Trip report by Micah Riegner

It’s strange and sobering to sit here thinking back on our Oaxaca tour together and the pre-pandemic world we lived in. To think we clustered in vans winding our way through the mountains of Mexico, and gathered in claustrophobic restaurants! What a different world we now live in! Well, despite closures and cancelations underway in the rest of the world, the tour ran smoothly, and we escaped unscathed, albeit, sooner than we had planned for. The birding was great overall even though it was quite dry (not a single drop of rain since early November!), and we managed to soak up some nifty Mexican avifauna like Lesser Roadrunner, Orange-breasted Bunting, Dwarf Jay, Chestnut-sided Shrike-vireo, Ocellated Thrasher, Red-headed Tanagers, and loads of Red Warblers.

We kicked off the tour with a day trip to Teotitlan del Valle, a dusty cobblestone town famous for its rugs. We birded the fields near the town and had two unexpected species—Botteri’s Sparrow and a brilliant male Red-legged Honeycreeper! How about that!?

From there, we stopped at Presa Piedra Azul and saw numerous waterbirds, including Least Grebes, a smattering of herons and Green Kingfishers. We also had our first encounters with Bridled Sparrows, one of the best-looking sparrows in Mexico. We then crept up to the higher elevations where the first oaks and pines appear. A pair of Chestnut-sided Shrike-vireos shot into view and put on a show—certainly one of my favorite Mexican birds. After a picnic lunch, we birded some more and had our first views of Collared Towhee singing from a riparian drainage.

The next day we took the winding mountain road up Cerro San Felipe—one of the only places in the world to see Dwarf Jay. We stopped first at Pollo Niño, a lower-elevation site at the base of the mountain where we encountered Red-headed Tanager, a handsome Mexican endemic, our first of several Slaty Vireos and Oaxaca Sparrow, a bird that resembles Rufous-crowned Sparrow but with more contrast on the face. When we reached the trail for the Dwarf Jays, the forest was alive with the chips and peeps of foraging warblers. In one feeding flock we saw Red, Townsend’s, Hermit, and Crescent-chested Warblers, all feeding simultaneously in the moss-laden branches. As we continued down the trail, it wasn’t long before we heard wiry contact calls of Dwarf Jays. As usual, they were accompanying a flock of Gray-barred Wrens and Steller’s Jays, moving noisily through the canopy. An added bonus was a Rose-throated Becard, a bird that reaches to some of the lowland riparian areas in Arizona. Here in Mexico, this species is found high in mixed conifer forests. After “Field Guides Tuna Salad,” we birded the main road and had exquisite views of a Gray-breasted Wood-wren singing its heart out in a steep drainage. This single species will probably be split into multiple species down the line.

The day we visit the cactus forest along KM 77 tends to shine as the best day of the tour. It’s just such a contrast to all the other sites we visit in Oaxaca. As soon as we unloaded from the vans, we encountered a handsome pair of Russet-crowned Motmots glowing in front of a backdrop of rocks and cacti. Other highlights of the morning included Elegant Trogons, a flock of White-throated Magpie-Jays, a Ferruginous Pygmy-owl and a pair of Lesser Roadrunners scuttling across the desert rocks! These closely resemble Greater Roadrunners but have exquisite blue orbital skin around the eye and an unstreaked breast. We watched them run across a hillside and ascend a tree. Orange-breasted Bunting is a striking bird that only lives along the Pacific Slope of Mexico and KM 77 is the only place we see it on our Oaxaca tour. We searched for it the entire morning, but the bird didn’t appear even though we’d seen it well with the previous group. However, just as we loaded back into the vans, Dan spotted the bird on the hillside and it stayed there long enough for everyone to get scope views. Fantastic! Certainly, a highlight of the tour. Before lunch, we stopped briefly at the microwave towers and saw a cooperative Dwarf Vireo in the dry scrub. We heard an Ocellated Thrasher, but it just wouldn’t show itself. After lunch we had a tour of the Mezcal production (you wouldn’t believe how much goes into making it!) and then went to the ruins of Mitla and Yagul. Jorge, the driver, gave us a wonderful tour of both spectacular archaeological sites.

Monte Alban is Oaxaca’s premier archeological site and also happens to be great for birding. Before ascending to the ruins, we spent some time trying to draw out an Ocellated Thrasher that was singing incessantly from the dense Oaxacan mesic scrub-forest (that’s a term I just invented!). After several minutes searching, we finally found a window where we could get it in the scope and the bird miraculously sat there long enough for everyone to get a look. Woohoo!

After a much-needed siesta at the hotel, we layered up with sweaters and wound our way back to Cerro San Felipe for some owling. Dan and I prepared pasta salad for dinner and, as we ate, we soaked in the tinkling chorus of Brown-backed Solitaires to bring the day to a close. A distant Long-tailed Wood-Partridge chimed in a couple times before night fully settled in. Our first nightbirds were Mexican Whip-poor-wills seen along the road. Soon after that we saw an extremely vocal Northern Saw-Whet Owl—quite a rare bird in this part of Mexico. It was in fact Dan’s first time seeing one on the Oaxaca Tour!

Our final day of birding we worked the Yuvila Road. It’s one of my favorite roads we bird on the tour as it follows the east-facing ridge, getting extra moisture off the Gulf Slope. The forest there often rings with the sound of Brown-backed Solitaires and Mountain Trogons and our visit was no exception. While trying to elicit a mob response from some migrant warblers, we inadvertently stirred up a Northern Pygmy-owl, which shot in and landed in great light.

With news of the eminent border closure, alas, we were forced to leave Mexico before our Coastal Extension. But thank goodness we were able to get back home safely. Kudos to

Tina who wrangled with the airlines to change all our flights! Dan and I had a great time birding with all of you—we certainly look forward to birding with you again once we’re through with the pandemic. Perhaps we’ll all be wearing masks, so we may in fact not recognize one another! I hope you’re all staying healthy and appreciating spring migration.

Cheers, Micah

I think that Micah covered the essence of our trip to Oaxaca in better detail than I could so I will leave it at that. This trip was packed full of tourist stops including ancient ruins, Mezcal factories and local artisanal weaving shops. I personally would have liked a bit less touristy stuff and more birding. To be honest, I went on this trip to fill a slot so everyone else could go and wasn't really interested in going to Mexico, so I didn't read the itinerary real closely. That is on me so I got what I got when I got there. So not really wanting to go, and having our luggage take a four-day trip to Florida, along with the outbreak of Covid-19 around the world, made it a very interesting trip. Unfortunately, due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus and the upcoming border closures, our four-day extension was cancelled and we lost out on some great birds and locations. But we all survived, had fun with friends, saw some good birds, and came back safe and sound to a crazy pandemic world. Here are some pictures of the sites, birds, and food from the greater Oaxaca area. Below is the official itinerary from Field Guides.

MEXICO: OAXACA (A Private Tour) March 14-21, 2020

This tour offers winter birding in an area of Mexico with a concentration of endemic species. The combination of a city with a rich archaeological and cultural heritage, day drives to numerous birding areas, and the possibility of seeing nearly twenty Mexican endemics (as well as many other interesting species), makes this tour a winner.

The beautiful colonial city of Oaxaca is located at the crossroads of several major biogeographic regions of Mexico, and its bird life is influenced by all of these. The resultant mixture includes nearly two-dozen species endemic to Mexico. Some of these include West Mexican Chachalaca, Boucard’s and Gray-barred wrens, White-throated and Collared towhees, Dusky and Beautiful hummingbirds, Bridled and Oaxaca sparrows, Gray-breasted Woodpecker, Dwarf Jay, Rufous-capped Brushfinch, Russet Nightingale-Thrush, Ocellated Thrasher, Blue Mockingbird, Red Warbler, and Slaty and Dwarf vireos.

Oaxaca might itself be considered old were it not for the fact that the scenic semi-arid valley in which it stands is studded with the truly ancient cities of the pre-Columbian Zapotec culture. The imposing ruins of Monte Alban, overlooking the present-day city of Oaxaca, and Yagul, in the giant cactus forest to the south of the city, are reminders that a complex and advanced civilization flourished here millennia before the arrival of European conquistadores. The present day Zapotecs, many still clothed in colorful traditional dress, are living testimony to the concurrent existence of several different and distinctive cultures in modern Oaxaca.

The Valley of Oaxaca: The large interior valley in which Oaxaca City is located is on relatively level ground, sloping up to the ringing wall of high mountains that surround it. Arid subtropical scrub, including areas of giant yucca and giant cactus forest, clothe parts of the valley floor and lower slopes. On the higher slopes, dense areas of scrub and scrub oak support Oaxaca Sparrow, Ocellated Thrasher, Slaty Vireo, Whitethroated Towhee, and a number of species widespread in the Mexican highlands. More open, semi-desert habitats, including areas of giant columnar cactus, host the beautiful Bridled Sparrow, Gray-breasted Woodpecker, Boucard’s Wren, and Beautiful and Dusky hummingbirds. The valley floor is at approximately 5000 feet, and the weather is typically warm and dry at this season.

Cerro San Felipe: The higher mountains surrounding the Valley of Oaxaca are most accessible on the slopes of Cerro San Felipe in the Sierra Aloapaneca, north of the city. Although lumbering has occurred here, there are still magnificent forests of humid pine-oak and fir, as well as broadleaf “cloudforest.” The distinctive highland avifauna of Mexico is restricted from further expansion by the low-lying Isthmus of Tehuantepec, just east of the mountains surrounding Oaxaca City. Many montane species, including several endemic to Mexico, reach their southern limits here. The most famous, partly because Cerro San Felipe is the only accessible place in the world where they can be found, are the endemic Dwarf Jays. These small, often quiet, jays frequently travel in mixed flocks through the canopy of humid montane forests with other highland specialties, including Gray-barred Wren, Spot-crowned Woodcreeper, and Chestnut-sided Shrike-Vireo. Black Thrush, the enigmatic Aztec Thrush (rare and erratic here as elsewhere in its range), Mountain Trogon, Rufous-capped Brushfinch, the elusive Long-tailed Wood-Partridge, Red Warbler, Collared Towhee, and Russet Nightingale-Thrush are among some of the other interesting species that inhabit these beautiful forests. Our birding will take place along dirt logging roads, where we will try to do our walking downhill as much as possible. Most grades are gentle to moderate but a few may be steep. The elevation of our birding activity ranges from approximately 7000 to 9600 feet. Temperatures at these elevations will be chilly in the early mornings, but should warm to comfortable levels if skies are clear.

Day 1, Sat. Arrival in Oaxaca. Upon arrival into Oaxaca City, you’ll be met at the airport by our local driver (who should be carrying a sign with your name and “Field Guides” on it) and transferred directly to our hotel. The ride from the airport to our hotel takes about 45 minutes. We’ll get together in the hotel lobby at 7:00 p.m. for a short get-acquainted session; then, we’ll head to dinner, where we’ll discuss our plans for the tour. Night in Oaxaca City.

Days 2-7, Sun-Fri. The Oaxaca area. We will have six full days to thoroughly bird the Oaxaca area. This will allow us considerable flexibility in our daily schedule, so that repeat visits to key areas will be possible if deemed necessary to our goal of finding the endemic and specialty birds of the region. Our daily destinations will be announced by the guides, usually at dinnertime the night before, and will include all major habitats and proven birding sites in the vicinity. We will certainly visit the lush forests of Cerro San Felipe on at least two days, and we’ll pay a visit to the ruins of Monte Alban, Yagul, and Mitla. While the focus of the tour will be on birding, there will be ample opportunity to sample the rich Zapotec culture, both in the markets and shops of the city (where you may wish to spend an afternoon) and in the outlying villages. Nights in Oaxaca City.

Day 8, Sat. Departure for home. You may schedule your departure for any time today; we will provide transportation to the airport based on departure times.

¡Que les vaya bien!

View our trip

All of these photos will eventually be put in order.

Another March storm in Colorado Springs

The happy travelers spending a day at the airport and NOT travelling to Oaxaca

Arrival in Oaxaca a day late and greeted by the health department in masks

Botteri's Sparrow

Boucard's Wren

Bridled Sparrow

Bronzed Cowbird

Flowering Cacti

Collared Towhee

Golden-browed Warbler, Rise"'s 3000th bird

Golden-browed Warbler

Gray Silky-Flycatcher

Gray Silky-Flycatchers

Boucard's Wren

Gray-backed Woodpeckers

Great-tailed Grackle

Our guides loaded for collecting bird songs and sketches

Hermit Warbler (male)

Olive Warbler (female)

Hooded Oriole (immature male)

UNK Vireo

Rufous-capped Warbler

Red Warbler

Mezcal, with worm.

Lesser Roadrunner

Tuk tuk (taxi)

Monte Albán

Monte Albán is the ancient Zapotec capital located in the present-day state of Oaxaca, in southwestern Mexico. The archaeological site covers 2.51 square miles of rugged hilltops that rise over 1,300 feet. Shortly after its foundation (500 bce), Monte Albán reached urban proportions, becoming one of the first cities in the Americas. When the Spaniards reached the central valleys of Oaxaca in the 1520s, the ancient site was abandoned. The site's Zapotec name is unknown, as are the origins of the present-day name Monte Albán.

Monte Albán is among the most intensively studied pre-Hispanic sites, notably in Alfonso Caso's excavations begun in the 1930s and Richard Blanton's surface survey in the 1970s. The ancient city was organized into residential wards, with most people living on terraces cut from the hillside. Water was procured by channeling rainfall into communal cisterns. Monumental stone masonry buildings made with earthen fill and large public spaces covered the hilltop, forming the city's ceremonial, elite residential, and administrative core. Pyramids were decorated with stucco reliefs and carved stones inscribed with hieroglyphs. Houses varied in size and construction materials with the more elaborate surrounding enclosed patios. The city's inhabitants buried their dead underneath their dwellings. Heads of noble families were placed inside subfloor tombs with painted murals and Zapotec funerary urns. Zapotec script—the earliest form of writing in the New World (dating from 600 bce)—remains largely undeciphered, but notations at Monte Albán give the names of rulers and calendar dates. Other inscriptions refer to conquered territories beyond the confines of the central valleys of Oaxaca. Explanations of the site's origins and early political growth cite expansionist warfare as a leading factor.

Ball-game court, Mount Alban

Old Home remains, Mount Alban

Ruins, Mount Alban

Temple base, Mount Alban

Mount Alban

Main Temple, Mount Alban

Mexican Chickadee

Small Mezcal factory

Mount Alban sand table model

Mount Alban diagram

Mountain Trogon

Nashville Warbler

Large Mezcal factory

Dry countryside

Northern Pygmy-Owl

Nutting's Flycatcher

Local Oaxaca bar

Olive Warbler (male)

Orange-breasted Bunting

American Redstart

Sowing the seeds

Red Crosbill

Red Warbler

Red-headed Tanager

Road Hazzard

Rose-throated Becard

Teotitlan artisan rugs

Russet-crowned Motmot

Oaxacan cafe

Bug in the Rug artisan rug makers showroom

Natural dye from Cochineal

Natural dyes and resulting wool yarn

Dinner in the mountains, made by the guides

Short-tailed Hawk

Botterie's Sparrow

Spot-crowned Woodcreeper

Steller's Jay

Spot-crowned Woodcreeper

Mitla

One of Mexico’s best known ruins, Mitla lies at an elevation of 4,855 ft (1,480 m) on the eastern edge of one of several cold, high valleys surrounded by the mountains of the Sierra Madre del Sur, 24 mi (38 km) southeast of Oaxaca city. It is generally believed that Mitla (Nahuatl: Place of the Dead) was established as a sacred burial site long before the Christian Era, probably by the Zapotecs, whose influence was predominant until about AD 900. Between 900 and 1500 the Mixtecs moved down from northern Oaxaca and took possession of Mitla; it is the Mixtec influence that is most pronounced on the existing ruins. The Spaniards arrived at Mitla in 1521, and the first European account of the area was given by Diego García de Palacio in 1576.

The archaeological zone of Mitla includes five main groups of structures—Grupo de las Columnas (Columns Group), Grupo de las Iglesias (Churches Group), Grupo del Arroyo (Arroyo Group), Grupo de los Adobes (Adobe Group), and Grupo del Sur (Southern Group)—of which only the first two had been fully excavated and restored by the early 1980s. Each group has several rectangular patios (some connected by long, winding passages and others separate) bordered by long, narrow rooms. The patios in the Grupo de los Adobes and those in the Grupo del Sur are also bordered by rooms, as well as by stepped pyramids.

The method of above-ground wall construction appears to have been the same for all groups: a core of mud and stone covered with plaster or well-cut trachyte. The door frames are decorated with mosaics of intricately worked small stones perfectly fitted into stepped fret (geometric) patterns. Cruciform lithic tombs have been discovered beneath both the Grupo de las Columnas and the Grupo del Sur.

Mitla Ruins stepped mosaic blocks

Stepped Mosaics of Mitla ruins

Jorge and Mitla ruins

Mitla shirt sales

Mitla ruins

Mezcal factory

Our vans

Carol & Tom Sykes

Townsend's Warbler

Greenish Elaenia

Old building with varied construction, Teotitlan

Varied Bunting

White-lored Gnatcatcher

White-throated Thrush

White-throated Thrushes

Plumbeous Vireo

Lark Sparrow

Lesser Roadrunner

Lesser Roadrunner calling

Carving at Yagul ruins

The valley, always smokey

Yellow-eyed Junco

One of the local languages

Pork flank

Local language sign

Birding the road to the mountains

Five months of drought

Coconut Shrimp and Mango rice

Soups extras

Mole con Colorado and encheladas

Young Agave plants

Baby Agave plants suffering from the drought

Teotitlan de Valle

Agave field

Lunch stop

Making tortillas

Hungry birders

Salsas: Medium, Hot, and Nuclear

Pork and tortilla with Mole sauce

Mezcal

Mezcal "worm" bottle

The old Mezcal factory

Crushing wheel and catching pit

Factory guide

Distiller

A couple travelers

Oaxaca

Mitla street

Mitla

Mitla ruins

John & Rise"

Yagul

Yagul is located on a steep hill in the Tlacolula Valley to the east of Oaxaca City. This site emerged as the guiding center after the decline of Monte Albán, which is why it is identified as part of the Late Classic or Epiclassic city state areas.

Yagul flourished after the fall of Monte Albán; Later, after a short abandonment, the area resurfaced again to become a city-state, in the valley of Oaxaca, which prevailed until shortly before the arrival of the Spanish conquerors.

The main structures of Yagul were distributed in different planes and can be grouped into three areas: the Civic Center, the Fortress and the Housing Zone. The Civic Center is the center space of Yagul and there the most important structures of this impressive Zapotec fortress were built.

The main structures and buildings of Yagul were distributed in different planes following the slope of the hill from north to south. One of the most interesting aspects of Yagul is the presence of mural paintings on floors and walls of its structures, an element that has deserved the attention of scholars, not only of archaeology, but also of art historians.