2007 Tour Narrative
In Brief: This year’s Christmas trip to Oaxaca, Mexico, was superlative. The dry Oaxaca Valley, covered with acacias, flowering morning glory trees, and columnar cacti provided a great backdrop as we explored several Zapotec ruin sites, local markets, and the impressive 2,000-year-old bald cypress, El Tule. The birds did not disappoint, either, with great views of endemics such as Pileated Flycatcher, Ocellated Thrasher, the amazing Slaty Vireo, and Bridled Sparrow. Our group tallied an excellent 300 species, including 24 species of hummingbird and 14 wrens! Just as important to a Christmas trip to Oaxaca, though, is the opportunity to sample the vibrant local culture of Oaxaca City, still steeped in a mixture of Catholic and Zapotec traditions. The meals here are excellent, with rich and delicately seasoned moles and tender meats. Christmas processionals through the town square contribute to the festive atmosphere in this pretty colonial city, and I trust that none of this year’s participants will ever look at a radish in the same way after witnessing the amazing sculptures created by the locals on the Day of the Radishes.
In Detail: We spent a very enjoyable two days just above the valley floor in the impressive Sierra de Aloapaneca. Verdant in comparison to the valley, this range is rich with large pines, bromeliad-laden oaks, huge century plants, and banks of brightly colored wildflowers. This year we enjoyed multiple and very good views of Dwarf Jay and Red Warbler, and encountered a few rarer montane species such as Strong-billed Woodcreeper, Ruddy-capped Nightingale-Thrush, and Aztec Thrush. An hour spent in a large clearing just below the summit of Cerro de Felipe with feeding flocks of thrushes, mixed flocks of warblers and vireos, Elegant Euphonias, and singing nightingale-thrushes will surely furnish a lasting memory for us all. A few other great memories from the Sierra include the Christmas picnic dinner at 9,000 feet with Long-tailed Wood-Partridges caroling from the hillside, and sitting near a small valley filled with fruiting trees being absolutely surrounded by hordes of elegant Gray Silky-Flycatchers.
Our side trip to Tuxtapec was an unqualified success this year as we investigated a new forest trail south of town that led into a very good tract of apparently untouched Atlantic lowland forest. It is a testament to the quality of this habitat that we added an amazing 6 species to the cumulative trip list just from this trail—an amazing feat for a tour that has run for more than a decade now. The morning on that trail through an astonishingly pretty forest, filled with limestone karst and extensive caverns, and also on the road along the forest edge was simply magical, with new birds seemingly everywhere. Highlights included the very local endemic Sumichrast’s Wren, great views of a flock of Dot-winged Antwrens traveling with a pair of Northern Barred Woodcreepers, Sulphur-rumped Flycatcher, Stub-tailed Spadebill, Mealy, Red-lored, and White-crowned Parrots, Golden-hooded Tanager, and both Red-capped and White-collard Manakins. The diversity of this forest was very high, and the 2008 tour will devote an additional day to exploring more of this wonderful new area.
The lush cloudforest above Valle National also did not disappoint. Among the impressive number of hummingbirds feeding in the plentiful flower banks was the stunning Violet Sabrewing. Near the summit of the road, the epiyphyte-rich forest takes on an otherworldy quality, with the ever-present ethereal song of the Slate-colored Solitare providing the soundtrack. Here we encountered an unconcerned Collared Trogon which allowed incredibly close approach, a small flock of Common Bush Tanagers with a pair of Scaly-throated Foliage-Gleaners, a family group of Azure-hooded Jays, and stunning male Garnet-throated and Bumblebee Hummingbirds. I can’t wait ‘til next year!
Gavin Bieber
Updated: February 2008