TANQUE DE EMERGENCIA & HEDIONDA GRANDE 
MEXICO

COAHUILA (Compass)

Lat:00o00´S/00o00´W ha topography msl 
Protected/registered status 
Best Time for visit (3rd & 5th October, 2004)

 

Birding Site Guide

Saltillo is a nice city with all amenities and makes a good base to visit these 2 sites. To get to Tanque de Emergencia, take a bus from the terminal (one left at 06.45) towards Concepcion del Oro and get off 43km south of Saltillo at the turn for the Tanque which is just a gravel road on the left. Birding is good along this road with many desert birds. Traffic is very light and you need to be lucky to get a lift. After 8km there is an old water tank and the endangered endemic Worthen's Sparrow has been seen around here in winter. Further on there was a small lake where I saw Sprague's Pipit. There are huge prairie dog colonies and I saw Golden Eagles and Northern Harrier. If you have your own transport, you turn left at El Cercado after 18.8 km and drive towards Hedionda Grande. Walking, you probably have to go another day. The turn-off for Hedionda Grande is 32km s of Saltillo but from there it is about 28km to the place where you can see Worthen's Sparrows. You can take the same bus from the terminal towards Concepcion del Oro and try to hitch along this road. Traffic is still light but better than the Tanque road. I failed to find Worthen's Sparrow at either site. Other months might be better. 45 species including 19 lifers. 


Species seen

  • Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura
  • Northern Harrier Circus cyaneus
  • Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis
  • Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos
  • American Kestrel Falco sparverius
  • Prairie Falcon Falco mexicanus
  • Scaled Quail Callipepla squamata
  • Killdeer Charadrius vociferus
  • Baird's Sandpiper Calidris bairdii
  • Rock Dove Columba livia Introduced
  • Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura
  • White-winged Dove Zenaida asiatica
  • Inca Dove ? Columbina inca
  • Greater Roadrunner Geococcyx californianus
  • Burrowing Owl Athene cunicularia
  • Golden-fronted Woodpecker Melanerpes aurifrons
  • Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus
  • Eastern Phoebe ? Sayornis phoebe
  • Say's Phoebe Sayornis saya
  • Vermilion Flycatcher Pyrocephalus rubinus
  • Cassin's Kingbird Tyrannus vociferans
  • Horned Lark Eremophila alpestris
  • Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
  • Sprague's Pipit Anthus spragueii Vulnerable
  • Cactus Wren Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus
  • Bewick's Wren Thryomanes bewickii
  • Northern Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos
  • Curve-billed Thrasher ? Toxostoma curvirostre
  • Crissal Thrasher Toxostoma crissale
  • Western Bluebird Sialia mexicana
  • Black-tailed Gnatcatcher Polioptila melanura
  • Bushtit Psaltriparus minimus
  • Loggerhead Shrike Lanius ludovicianus
  • Common Raven Corvus corax
  • Yellow-rumped Warbler Dendroica coronata
  • Canyon Towhee Pipilo fuscus
  • Cassin's Sparrow Aimophila cassinii
  • Chipping Sparrow Spizella passerina
  • Lark Sparrow Chondestes grammacus
  • Black-throated Sparrow Amphispiza bilineata
  • Savannah Sparrow ? Passerculus sandwichensis
  • Lincoln's Sparrow ? Melospiza lincolnii
  • Western Meadowlark Sturnella neglecta
  • Great-tailed Grackle Quiscalus mexicanus
  • House Finch Carpodacus mexicanus


Other Fauna 
A total of -- species of mammals. 

There are -- recorded species of amphibians and reptiles. 

Flora 

Author: Charles Hesse 

 

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