This blog is devoted to showing pictures and paintings of birds, and it is our hope that these images create interest in the enjoyment and the conservation of this diverse group of animals.
A perky small warbler that resembles a wren in the way it keeps its tail erect. These were common in Jalisco state in and around brushy areas.
We found this little beauty on the side of the road near San Sebastián del Oeste. We later saw others on our drive up to Cerro la Bufa.
The Yellow Grosbeak is related to the Northern Cardinal. This species occurs mostly in Western Mexico, but its range does extend south into Northern Guatemala. This photograph was taken near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
This Military Macaw was a rescue bird used to people. He visited our porch in Rancho Primavera, Jalisco, Mexico and chewed up the furniture.
We had a quick look at these Orange-fronted Parakeets - I liked that they were feeding among purple flowers.
My nemesis bird. It is so common in parts of the world, but I spent 2 years looking for it in the U.S. where it is fairly common in the Southern States.
Photo taken at the Vallarta Gardens near Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico
This small flycatcher was commonly seen during our eleven day visit in San Sebastián del Oeste and in the El Tuito area. This one was fairly cooperative and did not seem to mind me getting close for photos.
This bird was pretty comfortable with us getting close. It was an active bug eater, fanning its tail to get bugs to jump or doing a "flycatcher" flight from a perch to snatch a bug and then fly back. It was constantly on the move in a green brushy area probably at around 6000' elevation on the road to La Bufa near San Sebastian del Oeste.
This species ranges from the Southwest US (rarely) down into Northern South America.
Hooded Oriole Sketch
Our Hooded Orioles winter in Western Mexico. We saw these in a field with Vermillion Flycatchers and I loved all the red-oranges.
Black-throated Magpie-Jay sketch
Groups of Black-throated Magpie-Jays were spectacular. We saw several groups on the Rancho Primavera near El Tuito, Mexico.
Of the larger birds we encountered on our trip to Jalisco, Mexico, the Squirrel Cuckoo had to be on of the hardest to photograph and I never did get a good ventral photo of this species. They don’t like sitting in one place especially when someone is starring at them and pointing a camera lens their way. This individual was unusual because it stayed still for more than a couple of seconds.
While Dave was photographing I made a quick sketch. I liked the orioles half hidden by the purple flowers.
Another view of this species showing some detail of back feather detail.
Floy and I have recently returned from an eleven day trip to Western Mexico. We started in the quaint old mining down of San Sebastián del Oeste which is about an hour and a half drive from Puerto Vallara. The town was founded in 1605 and it has the appearance of a Spanish colonial village. The second half of our trip was in the El Tuito area which is about an hour and a half south of Puerto Vallarta. We stayed at a nature preserve called Rancho Primavera, a beautiful semi-isolated place about a ten minute drive west of El Tuito.
The next several blog entries will be from both of us more or less documenting this trip. We will take care to add the category “Mexico 2020” so that you can search for them and view them as a group.
I thought I would start the series by posting a photo of the Streak-backed Oriole, a beautiful bird that was very common around the El Tuito area.
Enjoy!
Green Jay
Want to talk Gaudy? Talk about the Green Jay. This bird has a bizarre mix of colors: green, black, blue and yellow. I have encountered this species twice, once in Mexico and once in Southern Texas. I was unable to get what I consider great photos because the bird was either glued to a suet feeder or in the case of this photo, it stayed in the protective shade of vegetation. They have a well-developed family structure that cooperate to improved reproductive success. More information on this species can be found at: https://birdsna.org/Species-Account/bna/species/grnjay/introduction
Plain-capped Starthroat Hummingbird
Hummers are always interesting to watch. Some of them can be extremely aggressive and will viciously defend a feeding station from other hummingbirds.
This is the Plain-capped Starthroat Hummingbird who seemed to give way to the more aggressive Cinnamon Hummingbirds who were also in the area.
Streak-backed Oriole. Photo taken near Sayulita, Nayarit, Mexico
One of the more strikingly colored orioles I have encountered. Every time we saw this species it looked like a flame in a tree. They are especially bright and beautiful when the sun is low. Mostly they were shy, but this fellow was grooming and did not seem to mind me getting close.
There is nothing like coming up on this little bird. We were walking down a road with dry grass and barbed wire fence. Out of nowhere, a blue gem catches the eye - even with its flashy colors, it just barely catches the eye.
We have just returned fro four days birding in Western Mexico. Our first day was spent in De lo Marcos and the river mouth there was teaming with birds.