UNAM Botanical Gardens, Mexico City, Aug 2011

UNAM Botanical  Gardens is a very short taxi ride from Bosque de Tlalpan and a visit to both sites fits easily into a day. Students were jogging on the road and canoodling on the lawns which left me feeling somewhat intrusive with my binoculars and camera.

A few Inca Doves and a Blue Grosbeak found a bit of lawn space and a Western Wood Pewee hawked from a tall eucalyptus tree.

Grey Silky Flycatchers were fairly common, but I missed any thrushes that may have been around. Actually the only thrushes that I have seen on the whole trip were a small flock of Western Bluebirds on the volcano.

Along the main road through the gardens a brushy, scrubby area gave up a Wilson's Warbler, Black-and-White Warbler and a Black-headed Grosbeak. A Loggerhead Shrike waited to pounce from a feature plant in the cactus garden.

During my last visit to the gardens, I was required to obtain a permit to take photographs, but on this occasion, without my tripod, the requirement was waived. However the copyright is reserved for UNAM should they ever wish to use any of the pictures.

Even so, the couples were courting so vigorously that I preferred to leave them in peace and seek out the odonata of the rock pools.

Blue-faced Darners were very common again with a large and burgeoning population of Arroyo Bluets in the low vegetation.

Beyond the garden gates, a stand of eucalypts held some more Grey Silky Flycatchers and a pair of Bushtit.

I had entered from the southern end, the lecturers' car park, and left by the northern gate. On the main road, to the right, a bus stop services a student bus that runs via the Universidad Metro station. Taxis are a little hit and miss here, but one can usually be found after a short wait.

Species seen; 13

Inca Dove 10, American Barn Swallow 12, Grey Silky Flycatcher 8, Curve-billed Thrasher 1, Blue-grey Gnatcatcher 1, Bushtit 6, Loggerhead Shrike 1, House Finch 15, Black-and-white Warbler 1, Wilson's Warbler 1, Canyon Towhee 4, Black-headed Grosbeak 1, Blue Grosbeak 1.

 Canyon Towhee

A previous visit to the gardens with directions is written up in more detail here.

More posts from in and around Mexico City can be found below;

http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/09/parque-ecologico-de-xochimilco-mexico_2239.html

http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/10/desierto-de-los-leones-mexico-city-mex.html

UNAM Botanical  Gardens, Mexico City

Google Earth may not be perfect.

I adore Google Earth. It is surely the most wonderful exploration tool for any traveller and even enables me to give directions to local taxi drivers for sites that I have never visited.
But it does have one limitation that I have discovered.
When giving co-ordinates to pinpoint a particular place, Google Earth is normally very accurate, but sometimes defaults to the nearest address with a registered voter. This may be a little distance away from the intended point, or, in one case, over 25 miles! So, be aware if you intend to rely on this information.
Copy and paste the co-ordinates from the Redgannet post into the search box on Google Earth, then check the co-ordinates at the bottom of the screen and adjust manually by moving the curser as necessary.
If you have not yet tried Google Earth, treat yourself by following this link for free download.
Even if you do not use it to stray from the well trodden paths, it can track mobile phones and GPS systems in cars and give a 'live' update on traffic speeds on any road in the world. That feature alone is surely worth the few moments of download time.

Bosque de Tlalpan, Mexico City, Aug 2011

At the second time of asking, I made it to Bosque de Tlalpan (Google ref; 19 17’ 46”N 99 11’ 34”W) to the south, just outside the Anillo Periferico ring road enclosing Mexico City. After some confusion yesterday, today I was armed with a mental map and a street name, so was able to direct the taxi driver from Universidad Metro Station to the junction at Zacatapetl and Camino a Santa Teresa at a cost of just 20 Pesos (@20 = £1). The bosque may also be known as Parque Nacionale de Pedregal, Tlalpan.

After the marathon on Sunday, I had hoped that the Mexican joggers would have had enough, but the entrance to the park was choked with runners warming up before or cooling down after laps on the specially prepared track.

 Keeping to the right, I was able to get away from the worst of the excitement and quickly found a much quieter route. A tarmac road, heading west-south-west, steeply up the hill, had a couple of side tracks which led away from the alien eucalypts and into much more productive scrubby, rocky slopes.

Venturing along the lower path for a short way produced Grey Silky Flycatchers, Buff-breasted Flycatcher, Western Wood-pewee and a Rufous-crowned Sparrow.

The paths were lined with flowers on this last Tuesday of August and I was surprised to find only 2 Berylline Hummingbirds. Rufous-capped Brush-finches were very vocal with their hard, staccato chipping and a similar call with a trill at the end proved to be the pish-prone Rufous-capped Warbler. I was quite excited to find this bird as I didn’t recall seeing it before and was ready to write him up in red when I got home, until I found that I had previously seen him in his other form as a Chestnut-capped Warbler from Costa Rica.

The upper path led me to the north and ran along the razor-wired boundary wall. In a small patch of forest a feeding party passed through consisting of Black-throated Grey warbler, Bushtit and more Rufous-capped Warblers. There was still the occasional jogger or walker, but I was getting enough time between passers-by to enjoy the quiet. Six Flags, beyond the wall, was ominously quiet and I must assume that it was shut (either for the day or forevermore).

The coarse scold of the Bewick’s Wren was audible through much of the forest and they responded quickly to pishing.

I turned back towards the entrance which was easy enough to find just by heading downhill. A few more species were seen along the way with a Slate-throated Redstart putting in an appearance at last. This stunningly beautiful flower above was found on the descent in the pine forest and I think that this is a Mexican Gray Squirrel (Sciurus aureogaster) with his bright rufous markings above and below. There are also black individuals in the park.

Species seen; 18

Berylline Hummingbird 2, Buff-breasted Flycatcher 1, Western Wood-pewee 4, Grey Silky Flycatcher 20, Bewick’s Wren 5, Blue-grey Gnatcatcher 1, Bushtit 6, White-breasted Nuthatch 1, House Sparrow 25, Lesser Goldfinch 6, Olive Warbler 1, Black-throated Grey Warbler 1, Slate-throated Redstart 1, Rufous-capped Warbler 8, Rufous-capped Brush-finch 4, Canyon Towhee 4, Rufous-crowned Sparrow 1, Black-headed Grosbeak 1.

Bosque de Tlalpan, Parque Nacionale de Pedregal, Tlalpan, Mexico City

Ajusco, Mexico City, August 2011.

My problem this morning was a taxi driver that could not find the Bosque de Tlalpan. Perhaps it was my poor Spanish pronunciation, but for some reason, he was unable to find a park, almost the size of Belgium, within 3 miles of the Universidad Metro station.

After some time, we gave up and I noticed that the volcano in the distance was free from cloud so I pointed and asked him to take me there instead. The weather has been very changeable, so when the opportunity of a clear mountain was there, I decided to take it. Of course I was not prepared for the mountains and it proved to be a chilly day on the volcano.

Parque Nacional Cumbres del Ajusco was pencilled into my plans for later in the trip in an attempt to verify my 15-year-old sighting of a Sierra Madre Sparrow. Back then, I had headed into the mountain with no particular plans and stopped, willy nilly, as the fancy took me. I saw the sparrow and identified it from 'Peterson's Guide to the Birds of Mexico', but only later realised that the guide was not complete and did not include Song Sparrow or Savannah Sparrow, for example, to compare with the Sierra Madre Sparrow. 15 years ago, I was a very keen, but green birder and though I was happy with the identification at the time, I was not really familiar enough with any of the subsequent candidates to state categorically, with hindsight, that my identification was correct. Over the years I have come to wonder how reliable my sighting might have been. As we headed upwards, I began to realise that 15 years may be a short time in the geological life of a mountain, but human occupation can dramatically alter the appearance and access in the same period. I was unable to find the site where I had seen the sparrow, but one area that looked familiar had been over-run with paintball and wargames adventure playgrounds. The roads above this were lined with high chain-link fences and 'Propriedad Privado' signs which, even with my fractured Spanish, meant 'Keep Out'.

Rufous-capped Brush-finch

We took the right hand fork at the junction and continued up the slope to kilometre mark 18.5 (Google Earth ref; 19 13' 29"N 99 05' 40"W). There were some cabañas here with access to the forest behind them. I gave the driver a few dollars and suggested that he had a coffee while he waited. He insisted on being paid the full fare which I did, then, to emphasise the fact that I wanted him to wait, gave him a few more dollars again for a coffee while I looked in the forest beyond the cabaña. It was with a sinking heart and the realisation that it was more likely my Spanish than his geography that had caused the earlier problem, that I watched as he set off down the mountain without me.

Note; there is no transport available to return to town from this side of the mountain.

I explored the degraded area behind the cabaña which produced some Yellow-eyed Junco, a Red Warbler and a Southern House Wren. Although the mountain was free from mist, it was still overcast and the birds remained in the gloom of the shadows. It was clear now that my driver had no intention of returning, so, having seen what was available downhill, I decided to try my luck along the road uphill. Almost straight away, a bird party appeared including Red Warbler, Olive Warbler, Golden-crowned Kinglet and Brown Creeper.

At the entrance to the Rancho Kavana (19kms) another party added Rufous-capped Brush-finch and Mexican Chickadees. More parties as I continued up the road brought Spotted Towhee and Golden-browed Warblers .

It was a little tiring, but I assumed that I was not as high as Desierto de los Leones, in the mountains to the north-west.

Actually, Google Earth suggests that the section of road that I covered climbs from 3150 - 3365m ( 10,240 - 10,935ft), while the convent is at 3000m (9,750ft).

Any open, flat piece of ground held Yellow-eyed Juncos and I was able to watch them as I enjoyed the speciality of the house at Cabaña Vicky at km 21.5 (Google Earth ref; 19 13' 45"N 99 16' 03"W). Opposite is a road that leads up to the Communidad de San Miguel and Sta Thomas. The habitat changes from here with tussocks of grass beneath more widely spaced evergreen trees. This reminded me of the environment in which I had found the sparrow all those years ago and at last I was able to follow a trail into the wilds and away from the road.

The trail ran close to a mountain stream and cut off a long corner before returning to the road which I continued to follow upwards. More parties contained Northern Flicker, Bushtits and a Hermit Warbler before I decided that it must be time to start heading down. I had seen no buses or taxis on the road, only a few private cars and very noisy lorries labouring up the hill and ploughing recklessly down again.

I tried to cut down through the tussock grass forest on the other side of the sream and saw some Western Bluebirds and very brightly coloured House Finches on the way, but ultimately had to make an ungainly scramble back across the stream to access the original up path.

I was surprised by the numbers of Olive Warbler and am ashamed not to have got a decent photograph given all the opportunities, but I was pleased to finally get a shot at the skulky Green-lined Brush-finch.

 When I reached the cabañas at km 18.5 where I had last seen the taxi driver, I finally accepted that I would never see him again and started to hitch-hike. The second vehicle picked me up and I squeezed into an already cramped truck cab for the ride down the mountain. I do not recommend this as a plan to set out with, but it was my only choice bar a long walk. Although I am sure that one of the cabañas would have been generous enough to call a cab, not many were open and as winter approaches I suspect they would be less reliable and cabs would be even less inclined to venture up the hill for a pick-up.

Mexican Chickadee

Species seen; 21

Hairy Woodpecker 1, Northern Flicker 1, Southern House Wren 4, Western Bluebird 4, Golden-crowned Kinglet 25, Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1, Bushtit 15, Mexican Chickadee 25, White-breasted Nuthatch 1, Brown Creeper 7, Steller’s Jay 7, House Finch 6, Lesser Goldfinch 2, Olive Warbler 12, Hermit Warbler 1, Red Warbler 15, Golden-browed Warbler 6, Rufous-capped Brush-finch 8, Green-striped Brush-finch 2, Spotted Towhee 8, Yellow-eyed Junco 40

Ajusco, Mexico City

Help needed for damsels

If anyone has the time and inclination, I would be delighted to know the identity of any of the odonata as seen below;

Ode 1

Suggestion; Arroyo Bluet

They were seen in Parque Ecologico de Xochimilco and the write up can be seen by following this link.

Ode 2

This one was seen in profusion in the parque. I found some Black-fronted Forktails in good numbers on my last visit and I have a suspicion that this may be the very same.

 Ode 3

Ode 4

 Ode 5

This individual below preferred perching on the crunchy, gritty path and shunned likely looking perches in the grass nearby.

Ode 6

Variegated Meadowhawk

Thanks very much for any thoughts that you may have and any suggestions for a good meso-american guide to Odonata would be well received too.

Thanks to Jason from Brewster's Linnet for his help in identifying these odes.