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April 05 El Cielo, Cd Monte, El Salto
Aug 06 Cd Victoria, Cd Mante, Gomez Farias and El Cielo
Mar 07 Cd Mante, Gomez Farias, El Cielo, La Florida, and El Naciemento *
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Brownsville, Texas

El Cielo, Gomez Farias, Cd Mante, El Naciemento, Boca Toma, and La Florida - May 1, 2007
Trip birds included the Sungrebe, Boat-billed Heron, Bat Falcon, Northern Jacana, Military Macaw, Northern Potoo, Trogons, Blue-crowned Motmot, Olivaceous Woodcreeper, Kingbirds, Tityras, Tanagers, Saltators, Grosbeaks, Orioles, Black-headed Siskin, and see complete list below.


I picked up Barry and Kelsey Kinch at their rental unit in Rio RV Park at 7AM, Sunday April 29, 2007. We were across the border into Mexico by 7:20. Birding started immediately in a lake at the crossing. White Pelicans, Comorants, Gulls, Ducks, and Egrets started our bird list. The next 100 miles was through Milo (grain) planted fields yielding some field and electric line birds. Then ranch land started with raptors like vultures, Northern Carcara, and others on top of the Yuca, cactus, and dead scrub trees.

A stop at Rio Corona brought trees full of singing birds in the canopy. The canopy, up about 80 feet, birding was great but a crick in the neck. We decided a stop on the return trip would work better for our time schedule. The crick in the neck and need to get to Gomez Farias by 2PM appointment time with our guide had us leaving in less than a hour.

A scenic pass through the foot hills of the Sierra Grande offered some unique photo opportunities like this overlook on Gun site Mountain. A always enjoyable stop for ice cold Mango juice near the Gomez Farias energized us for birding. On the cut off road to Gomez Farias the Tamaulipas Crow started the El Cielo portion of the trip. The Bat Falcon was it's usual cooperative self in posing for us. We arrived thirty minutes early meeting Ricardo on the road. He met us later at our lodging location, Casa de Piedras, after a short break. We birded an old road with Saltators, Motmots, Owls, and Yellowthroats among others. The overlook from Casa de Piedras with a cool drink and some guacamole got us ready for Maggie's home cooked meal. Before leaving the outdoor patio and our snacks the Northern Potoo gave us an alarming call from the tree right above us. This call is so different and strong it grabs your attention.
We sat at the glass patio table in between the red roof in the picture to the right and the two story looking building to do our bird counts each afternoon. It must be over 1,000 feet higher where the picture was taken. We had one room at the valley end of the red roof with its own private viewing boloney. The two story like building has a great patio with another patio table and chairs that offers equally spectacular views.
 
 


Monday we headed up to the mountains to Alta Cima. We started below the clouds near Gomez Farias with Kelsey, Barry, and Ricardo finding warblers. On to ,Alta Cima, a small village in the El Cielo cloud forest. The fog or low clouds was the heaviest I have seen in ten years of going to this area. The clouds allowed us to get close to the birds.

Up the mountain near Alta Cima the cloud cover burnt off. Some haze was still in the sky. We had great luck in parts of the nine kilometer drive. I would drop Berry, Kelsey, and Ricardo off then drive up a half a mile or so and wait. We did this all the way up and then on the return also but not as much. Anyone using the trucks available for rent could not adjust their timing for the clouds as they come and go. One stop brought a Gray hawk perched and then flying.

Another stop was under a dead tree at the edge of the road with a hole slightly larger than a Golden-fronted Woodpecker hole. A pair of Masked Tityras has made it their home. The male was spotted nearby on a limb watching us below. The male usually perched just above the hole after he brought food back from foraging. He then perched on a branch just above their home. The female then would come in, perched like a woodpecker, to feeding the young also. We watched the pair as they went back and forth to the forest for food and then returned with it to the nest.

A Loggerhead Shrike was spotted on a dead limb of a tree in the valley below. You could see for miles. Ricardo's scope was quick to bring this and other birds into focus for good looks.

Alta Cima was a little quieter bird wise compaired to previous trips this fall during the migration. A surprise bird not seen during migration was singing away. The Black-headed Nightingale Thrushes were all over on this one trail east of town. We were under a canopy that was at least eighty feet up and allowed very little light in. The small bird gave us great looks to go with the song on top of large moss covered boulders.

On the return we made some stop with one to take the pictures of Gomes Farias and Casa de Piedra. The suburban seat, A/C, and battery operated cooler made it a much more comfortable drive on the rough road compaired to the padded wooden benches in the trucks.
 

Grey Hawk
Image by Lee Zieger
 

Masked Tityra male nearby
Image by Lee Zieger

 

Masked Tityra female
Image by Lee Zieger

 
 
 

Iguana
Image by Lee Zieger
 

Ricardo Jimenez and Kelsey Kinch
Photo by Lee Zieger
 

Day two started at El Naciemento that has two springs feeding into the Rio Frio. A wall of trees and berry laden bushes are just 30' across the river always offer great birds. A walk across a new steel foot bridge brings us to a small island. Kingfishers, Brownsville Jays, Lineated and Brown-backed Woodpecker, Muscovey Ducks, Owls, and much more. The Palapa with picknic table is a good place to wait for the Lineated Woodpecker.

Our next location was La Florida on the same Frio River. This is a fish hatchery using another spring plus river water in ponds that link. Kingfishers like this place. We took a walk along a path following the river and ponds. This walk brought an Iguana, Bare-throated Tiger Heron, along with our first look at the Sungrebe. The Bare-throated Tiger Heron is specially awasum. The colors and detail of the feathers along with the size makes it a very special bird.

The boat ride in the Frio River was very relaxing after a late lunch. Kingfishers, Comerants, Motmots, Sungrebes, Boat-billed Herons and more were seen on our one hour plus boat trip. Enlarge the Sungrebe and take a close look at the feet.

A White-crowned Parrot had a home on a dead stump in the river. This parrot is one we almost always see.
 

Barry, Kelsey, Ricardo, & Lee having lunch at La Florida
Image by Lee Zieger

 
 

.hh

 

After the Rio Frio boat ride we followed a road along the river. The Least Grebes and Pied -billed Grebes were everywhere. A Tropical Kingbird did sing for us. An Osprey surprised us at another fish farm.

We also visited the Naciemento of Cd Mante for good looks at the Northern Jacana. This bird is here all year. It can visit the Texas Rio Grande Valley occasionally.
 
Tropical Kingbird
Image by Lee Zieger

A slow start for the return with breakfast at 8AM was the schedule. The menu for Maggie was the same as the previous two mornings and great again. Before breakfast Barry and I enjoyed coffee on the balconey. An Altamira Oriole may have been more enjoyable than the coffee.

We arrived in Brownsville about 2pm after a short wait to get across the bridge from Matamoros to Brownsville. I always ask about things we need to declare or need to trash before reaching the border. No inspection required.
 

Altamira Oriole
Image by Lee Zieger

Trip Report for April 29 through May 2, 2007.
Mexico state of Tamaulipas
Cities of Gomez Farias, Cd Mante, Alta Cima, La Florida, and El Naciemento (Springs)
Printable PDF List
Grebes 1
Least Grebe
Pied-billed Grebe

Pelicans 1
American White Pelican

Cormorants 2
Double-crested Cormorants
Neotropic Cormoant

Herons, Egrets and Bitterns 7
Bare-throated Tiger-Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Green Heron
Cattle Egret
Boat-billed Heron
Black-crowned Night Heron

Ibis and Spoonbills 1
White Ibis

Ducks, Geese and Swans 4
Black-bellied Whistling Duck
Muscovy Duck
Mallard (Mexican Duck)
Blue-winged Teal

New World Vulures 2
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture

Hawks, Eagles and Kites 4
Osprey
White-tailed Kite
Gray Hawk
Zone-tailed Hawk

Falcons and Caracaras 2
Crested Caracara
Bat Falcon

Guans, Chachalacas, Curassows 1
Plain Chachalaca

New World Quail 1
Northern Bobwhite

Rails, Gallinules and Coots 2
Common Moorhen
American Coot

Finfoots 1
Sungrebe Jacanas 1
Northern Jacana

Avocets and Stilts 1
Black-necked Stilt

Sandpipers 1
Spotted Sandpiper

Gulls 1
Laughing Gull

Pigeons and Doves 8
Rock Dove
Red-billed Pigeon
Mourning Dove
White-winged Pigeon
Ruddy Ground-Dove
Inca Dove
White-tipped Dove
Common Ground-Dove

Parrots 3
Military Macaw
White-crowned Parrot
Red-lored Parrot

Barn Owls 1
Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl

Goat Suckers 2
Common Nighthawk
Northern Potoo

Cuckoos 3
Squirrel Cuckoo
Greater Roadrunner
Groove-billed Ani

Hummingbirds 3
Wedge-tailed Sabrewing
Azure-crowned Hummingbird
Buff-bellied Hummingbird

Trogons and Quetzals 2
Mountain Trogon
Elegant Trogon

Kingfishers 3
Belted Kingfisher
Ringed Kingfisher
Green Kingfisher

Motmot 1
Blue-crowned Motmot

Woodpeckers 1
Golden-fronted Woodpecker

Woodcreepters 2
Ivory-billed Woodcreeper
Olivaceous Woodcreeper

Typical Antbirds 1
Barred Anshrik

 

Tyrant Flycatchers 16
Northern Beardless Tyrannulet
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Greater Pewee
Vermilion Flycatcher
Dusky-capped Flycatcher
Great Kiskadee
Boat-billed Flycatcher
Streaked Flycatcher
Social Flycatcher
Sulpher-bellied Flycatcher
Couch's Kingbird
Tropical Kingbird
Gray-collared Becard
Rose-throated Becard
Masked Tityra
Black-crowned Tityra

Swallows 3
Barn Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Tufted (Black-crested) Titmouse

Kinglets 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Wrens

Mockingbirds and Thrashers 1
Northern Mockingbird

Thrusher 3
Brown-backed Solitaire
Black-headed Nightingale Thrush
Clay-colored Robin

Gnatcatchers 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Shrikes 1
Loggerhead Shrike

Crows and Jays 4
Green Jay
Brown Jay
Tamaulipas Crow
Chihuahuan Raven

Vireos and Allies 2
White-eyed Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo

Warblers 1
Olive Warbler

Wood Warblers 10
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Tropical Parula
Yellow Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Common Yellowthroad
Gray-crowned Yellowthroat
Golden-crowned Warbler
Rufous-capped Warbler

Tanagers and Allies 5
Western Tanager
Flame-colored Tanager
Yellow-winged Tanager
Scrub Euphonia
Yellow-throated Euphonia

Buntings, Seedeaters, Allies 3
Blue-black Grassquit
White-collared Seedeater
Yellow-faced Grassqauit

Sparrows, Towhees, Junco 3
Olive Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow

Saltators, Cardinals, and Allies 8
Grayish Saltator
Black-headed Saltator
Crimson-collared Grosbeak
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Northern Cardinal
Blue Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Painted Bunting

Blackbirds, Orioles, Grackles, ETC 10
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Melodious Blackbird
Great-tailed Grackle
Bronzed Cowbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Altamira Oriole
Hooded Oriole
Orchard Oriole
Audubon's Oriole

Finches, Siskins, Crossbills 1
Black-headed Siskin

Old World Sparrows 1
House Sparrow

Total Species 137
Ricardo Jimenez Bird & Butterfly Guide for the El Cielo Area - Web Page and Contact Information.
Call us to talk about your vacation!
 Rio RV Park
8801 Boca Chica Blvd.
Brownsville, TX 78521
Phone: 956-831-4653 or 866-279-1775
Fax: 956-831-0147
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