LA SOLEDAD to OAXACA & LIST

MEXICO

OAXACA (Compass)

00o00´S/00o00´W ha topography 1270-1510m 
Protected/registered status


Birding Site Guide

Regis Nossent and Filip Beeldens (09th & 10th January 2007)

January 9: Puerto Angel, via La Soledad to Oaxaca: We were really pressed for time now, so we only spent the morning birding around the Playa Zipolite/Puerto Angel coast, finding lots of Brown Boobies near the stack (but no tropicbirds), another Citreoline Trogon and Golden-cheecked Woodpecker, and Regis found a single Doubleday’s Hummer.

 We then headed back along the route 175, stopping along the road where it looked good for birds and at the El Mirador restaurant and the La Soledad site described in Howell. (Note: the La Soledad track described in Howell is now seriously overgrown. It’s still there but is easily missed). While having a drink at the restaurant and scanning the trees for hummers we found a single Cinnamon-sided Hummingbird and a Fan-tailed Warbler. 

The short walk along the La Soledad trail delivered us a pair of very obliging Blue-capped Hummingbirds (with the male conveniently perching on an exposed branch, sitting in the sunlight for several minutes). Another find were 4 Red-headed Tanagers. The area looked really good, but lack of time and a pair of aggressive dogs forced us to head on for Oaxaca. The forests along the route 175 are still quite extensive and one could easily bird the area for several days and find some very good stuff here. Last new bird seen along the road, while descending the mountains towards the Oaxaca valley, was a Flame-coloured Tanager. 

We spent the January 9 and 10 nights in Oaxaca, again staying at the Hostel Casa Paulina. 

January 10: Oaxaca surroundings and Yagul: our last day of birding. We headed back for a bit of late morning birding to the beginning of highway 175 and found activity still high. Our last trip birds were found here: 2 male and 2 female Blue-hooded Euphonias, a small group of Shore Larks and several Rufous-crowned Sparrows. The afternoon was spent making a short visit to the ruins of Yagul and some souvenir shopping. 

January 11: Back to Mexico City: The next day we took the long drive back to Mexico City. After handing over the car and checking into our hotel, we splashed out on our last dinner and tucked in early to get our early morning flight back to Belgium. And that was the end of it. A month on the road, 5800 km travelled lots of great people met and between the 2 of us 467 species seen.

 

Species seen

  • Berylline Hummingbird Amazilia beryllina
  • Cinnamon-sided Hummingbird Amazilia viridifrons wagneri
  • Ruby-throated Hummingbird Archilochus colubris
  • Greenish Elaenia Myiopagis viridicata
  • Golden Vireo Vireo hypochryseus
  • Fan-tailed Warbler Euthlypis lachrymosa
  • Blue Bunting Cyanocompsa parellina
  • Hepatic Tanager Piranga flava hepatica
  • Western Tanager Piranga ludoviciana
  • Blue-capped Hummingbird Eupherusa cyanophrys
  • Brown-backed Solitaire Myadestes occidentalis
  • Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush Catharus aurantiirostris
  • Steller's Jay Cyanocitta stelleri
  • Golden-browed Warbler Basileuterus belli
  • Flame-coloured Tanager Piranga bidentata
  • Red-headed Tanager Piranga erythrocephala
  • Summer Tanager Piranga rubra

 

For a full Excel species trip list please contact the authors:

Regis Nossent: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and

Filip Beeldens: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 


Charles Hesse (09 & 11th November, 2004)

This site was reached by taking the same bus as for La Pesca, but getting off at km 183 in the town of La Soledad. This took about 2hrs. On 9th, I visited the site only in the afternoon on the way back from the previous site. On 9th I checked a path heading right off the main road 250m n of La Soledad. The path went down to a stream which I crossed to access some forest on the other side. The habitat was humid forest and the altitude was between 1268-1509m. I got great views of my target species, the Blue-capped Hummingbird. I saw 51 species including 7 lifers. 


Species seen

  • Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura
  • White-tipped Dove Leptotila verreauxi
  • Golden-crowned Emerald Chlorostilbon auriceps Endemic
  • Blue-capped Hummingbird Eupherusa cyanophrys Endemic Endangered
  • Green-fronted Hummingbird Agyrtria viridifrons
  • Berylline Hummingbird Saucerottia beryllina
  • Ruby-throated Hummingbird Archilochus colubris
  • Wagler’s Toucanet Aulacorhynchus wagleri Endemic
  • Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Sphyrapicus varius
  • Gray-crowned Woodpecker Piculus auricularis Endemic
  • Spot-crowned Woodcreeper Lepidocolaptes affinis
  • Greenish Elaenia Myiopagis viridicata
  • Tufted Flycatcher Mitrephanes phaeocercus
  • Greater Pewee Contopus pertinax
  • Dusky-capped Flycatcher Myiarchus tuberculifer
  • Brown-crested Flycatcher ? Myiarchus tyrannulus
  • Boat-billed Flycatcher ? Megarynchus pitangua
  • Rose-throated Becard Pachyramphus aglaiae
  • Happy Wren h Thryothorus felix Endemic
  • Gray-breasted Wood-Wren Henicorhina leucophrys
  • Blue Mockingbird Melanotis caerulescens Endemic
  • Brown-backed Solitaire h Myadestes occidentalis
  • Hermit Thrush Catharus guttatus
  • White-throated Thrush Turdus assimilis
  • Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Polioptila caerulea
  • White-throated Magpie-Jay Calocitta formosa
  • Green Jay Cyanocorax yncas
  • Cassin's Vireo Vireo cassinii
  • Warbling Vireo Vireo gilvus
  • Golden Vireo Vireo hypochryseus Endemic
  • Tennessee Warbler Vermivora peregrina
  • Nashville Warbler Vermivora ruficapilla
  • Black-throated Green Warbler Dendroica virens
  • Townsend's Warbler Dendroica townsendi
  • Black-and-white Warbler Mniotilta varia
  • MacGillivray's Warbler Oporornis tolmiei
  • Wilson's Warbler Wilsonia pusilla
  • Slate-throated Redstart Myioborus miniatus
  • Golden-crowned Warbler Basileuterus culicivorus
  • Common Bush-Tanager Chlorospingus ophthalmicus
  • Red-crowned Ant-Tanager Habia rubica
  • Hepatic Tanager Piranga flava
  • Flame-colored Tanager Piranga bidentata
  • Rusty Sparrow Aimophila rufescens
  • Grayish Saltator Saltator coerulescens
  • Black-headed Saltator Saltator atriceps
  • Rose-breasted Grosbeak Pheucticus ludovicianus
  • Black-headed Grosbeak Pheucticus melanocephalus
  • Indigo Bunting Passerina cyanea
  • Hooded Oriole Icterus cucullatus
  • Audubon's Oriole Icterus graduacauda

 

Authors: Charles Hesse. Regis Nossent and Filip Beeldens

 

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