We did make the 200-km drive and 1,555-m descent from Oaxaca down to Puerto Escondido on the Pacific coast this afternoon, but before we left, we also made one more hike up Cerro del Fortín before breakfast this morning.
Donna made our first discovery of the day, before we even made it into the park, when she spotted this handsome rufous-backed robin (Turdus rufopalliatus), who looks a lot like the American robins we regularly see in Estabrook Park, but with its name-sake rufous back.
In the same tree as the robin, we also found this stunning, male summer tanager (Piranga rubra). If, like me, you’re wondering how this isn’t a scarlet tanager, that’s because this one doesn’t have the black wings that they do.
Once we did finally get into the park, Donna knew right away that this little darling hopping around close to the ground was a rufous-capped warbler (Basileuterus rufifrons). Sure, I’d love to have a presentable image of this bird that did not include a chain-link fence, but with the way this little stinker hops around, I’m lucky to have a presentable image at all.
Just across the road from the warbler, we found another tanager, this female western tanager (Piranga ludoviciana).
Finally, on our hike back down the hill to our hotel, we found another graphic spiny lizard that wedged itself into a handy crack in a utility pole on the side of the street.
Once we arrived in Puerto Escondido and got ourselves checked into our hotel, we hiked down to the beach for a leisurely late lunch. We did see a couple different terns, frigate birds, pelicans, and a whole bunch of great-tailed grackles, but we were taking the afternoon off, so I didn’t get any pictures. Instead, we’re heading out before sunrise tomorrow morning to the nearby Laguna de Manialtepec, which is supposed to be packed with all kinds of wildlife. Wish us luck!
Awesome shots, Andrew!
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