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MEXICO - BAJA CALIFORNIA

25 November - 1 December 2004

by Ken Weaver


Early April is a great time to visit the Baja California Peninsula.  Daytime highs are typically in the 60’s and 70’s, an abundance of plants are in bloom, and birds include a combination of residents, winter visitors, and migrants. 

Many of the birds of Baja California are rare or unlikely to occur in coastal southern California where I live.  The presence of several endemic species adds even more interest to exploring this unique region. 

General Information

Baja California endemics are relatively few and hardly difficult to identify.

Any of the standard North American bird guides plus A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America by Steve Howell and Sophie Webb will cover all likely species thoroughly, although the latter is too bulky to haul around in the field.  The distribution maps in Howell and Webb were actually all I referred to.

Other guides/maps we found helpful include:

 AAA Map of Baja California

Any tourist guide book (Moon, Lonely Planet, etc. although mileages are often inaccurate and the information is frequently outdated.)

The Baja Adventure Book by Walt Peterson (good for off pavement trips and detailed maps as well as good “survival advice”)
Baja California Plant Field Guide by Norman Roberts (excellent photos of common plants)

We entered Mexico through the San Ysidro border crossing south of San Diego.  Persons traveling south of Maneadero, just beyond Ensenada, are required to obtain a tourist card (actually a form) costing $20.  No special permit is needed for your car, unlike the requirement for driving in “mainland” Mexico.  By staying in the far right-hand lane (the “items to declare” lane) as you cross the border at San Ysidro, you can inform the Mexican authorities that you need a tourist form and they will wave you into a parking area where the “Migracion” office is located. I recommend an early morning departure or you will need to be very aggressive to make it into this lane.

Identification, such as a passport, is necessary to obtain the tourist card.  I recommend paying the $20 fee in a neighboring building (to which you will be directed) then returning to the “Migracion” office to have the tourist form validated.  That way you don’t have to worry about paying the required fee elsewhere and having it stamped before you return to the U.S.  Some have faced fines of about $45 for not obtaining appropriate validation, although it has not been checked when we crossed back into the U.S.  This should only take about 10 or 15 minutes.  The location of exchange offices changes periodically.  In 2004, it was the same spot where we paid the fee for the tourist card. In 2005, we needed to walk a quarter mile to a plaza to exchange money.  Banks anywhere will, of course, exchange money as well.  We found that many places will accept U.S. currency, but any change will be in pesos.

On leaving the parking lot where the migracion office is located, follow appropriate protocol by stopping at the kiosk to be “properly” waved onto the freeway heading south.  You should immediately get in the second lane from the right to access the toll road to Ensenada or you will wind up in Tijuana. Getting in the appropriate lane for the toll road itself requires careful vigilance to signs.  Watch for “Cuota - Scenic Route”.  The toll road costs a little over $6 which will be paid in increments at three separate ticket booths.  U.S. dollars are accepted.  I also recommend taking the coast route through Ensenada (Avenida Azueta, Avenida Cardenas, and Avenida Sanguines) rather than staying on Highway 1 (the Transpeninsular).  This will help in avoiding heavy traffic, numerous one-way streets, and large numbers of pedestrians that characterize the “downtown” section you will otherwise have to negotiate. 

We returned to the U.S. through the Tecate crossing where waiting times are less than a half hour, considerably shorter than at the San Ysidro crossing.  You will also evade the dozens of hucksters trying to sell you everything under the sun at the San Ysidro crossing.

U.S. auto insurance is not valid in Mexico.  Mexican auto insurance, which is a necessity, can be easily obtained through AAA, at numerous places just north of the border (you can’t miss the advertisements), or by checking the yellow pages.  Insurance companies can fax you the required documents. 

Driving in Baja California will be “interesting”, but paying close attention to driving conditions should result in a safe trip.  South of Maneadero the Transpeninsular Highway becomes narrow, windy, lacks shoulders, is potholed in spots, and is often steeply banked.  Outside of a few towns, it is also usually the only paved road in any given area that we traveled.  Despite this, all birding areas that I described can be reached by sedan.

Beware of steep drop-offs when turning onto dirt roads, many of which are also heavily washboarded.  Watch for “topes” or road bumps when entering and leaving towns.  They may be signed “reductor de velocidad”, shown as a series of bumps on a yellow sign, or may not be indicated at all.  Also be prepared for very slow traffic, people passing on blind curves, and North Americans driving down the middle of the highway dragging their boats behind them. 

The Transpeninsular is not a fast road.  We averaged 40 miles per hour.  On the open road, a left turn signal from the driver ahead of you is an invitation to pass (when it doesn’t mean a left turn!).  Oncoming drivers flashing their lights are warning of livestock in the road.  Take heed!  Driving at night is just plain suicidal.  For a good overview of driving obstacles and Mexican road signs see http://math.ucr.edu/ftm/bakaPages/BajaRoadPages/General/DrivingTheRoad.html#Section4
All things said I find driving in Baja California far less scary than driving through the Los Angeles area. 

We found military or agricultural checkpoints south of Maneadero, north of El Rosario, north of San Ignacio, and west of Tecate.  Inspections are only likely as you travel northbound and have been pretty cursory.  Authorities are typically heavily armed which some may find a little intimidating, but officials have always been courteous.  You must show your tourist form on entering the state of Baja California Sur, just north of Guerrero Negro.  You will also need to pay a fee to have the undercarriage of your car sprayed for insect pests.  The charge for the latter “service” has varied from $3 to $5.

We have paid anywhere from $5 for a camping spot to $40 (for the two of us) for an adequate but simple motel room.  We found that restaurant meals are often cheaper than in the U.S and is of generally good quality.  We never had any health issues, but we also bring a case of bottled water with us.  We also bring our own towels, soap, and toilet paper.

Gasoline is comparable in price to southern California, especially after you have tipped the service attendant a customary 10 pesos.  Watch to make sure the pump has been reset to 0.  I have found the people of Baja California to be very pleasant with the exception of the gas station attendants in the San Quintin area who can be “in your face” regarding tips.  The latter often want money for unsolicited washing of your car windows in addition to pumping gas.  We now gas up elsewhere where we are glad to tip for courteous service.  English is widely spoken, but some knowledge of Spanish is definitely helpful.

Trip Details

This report is based on trips that my brother Craig and I have taken down the Transpeninsular Highway in the early spring of 2004 and 2005.  I will list locations in a north-south direction which isn’t necessarily chronological.  I will end the report with some general information regarding Baja California.

Ejido Erendira, on the Pacific Coast, was the northern-most spot that we visited.  Erendira is located 103 miles south of Tijuana, the typical border entry point, or 39 miles south of Ensenada.  Although it is relatively close to the border, this location supports an intriguing mix of habitats that is not quite duplicated in San Diego County where I live.  Many of the songbirds I spotted, including most of those mentioned below, are approaching the southern limits of their coastal breeding distribution.  Interestingly, Erendira is also the northernmost location for the endemic Gray Thrasher, although I didn’t see it here. 

White-barked sycamore trees parallel much of the west side of the road into the small community.  Downy young of Red-tailed Hawks sat in huge stick nests high up in the sycamores. I found House Wrens, Orange-crowned Warblers, Blue Grosbeaks, and Lawrence’s Goldfinches to be typical birds.  Bell’s Vireos inhabited streamside thickets.  The local subspecies is endangered.  Erendira may be a previously unknown location for it. 

Meter-high shrubs of the coastal sage scrub dominate the dry slopes along the east side of the road.  Parry’s buckeye, a small tree restricted to this part of Baja California, emerges above the shrubs and is a good indicator of this
habitat.  The leaves of this tree glow neon-orange when backlit by the sun.  They will drop off shortly, though, since summer is the dormant season for many plants in Baja California.  As we drove down the road, we repeatedly frightened flocks of California Quail which quickly scattered into the low-growing bushes.  Colorful Lazuli Buntings and Spotted Towhees were exceptions to the generally dull tones of most of the coastal sage scrub birds.  The towhees sang with an accent noticeably different from their relatives north of the border. 

Curiously, a stand of Bishop pine, isolated hundreds of miles south of its main distribution on the central California coast, grows near the road.  Here, just a few miles from the sea, is a nesting spot for Violet-green Swallows.  In southern California, the swallows generally breed in the pine woods of our high mountains.  In the course of our trips I found a number of assumptions I had about birds didn’t hold true for their close relatives south of the border.

The coast north of Erendira is a windblown facsimile of the Monterey Peninsula with similar shorebirds and slumbering California sea lions.  Surfbirds and Black Turnstones shuffled among the tide pools.  I watched a Pelagic Cormorant gathering kelp on a rocky island just offshore from Punta Cabras.  The southern limit of its breeding range is supposedly near Ensenada, but this bird’s actions indicate that an extension of its breeding range is probable. 

Access:  Watch for the signed turnoff to Ejido Erendira on your right driving southbound approximately 28 miles south of Ensenada.  This should be just beyond kilometer marker 78. (Mexico uses the metric system.)  The paved but potholed road leads nearly 11 miles to the edge of the small town where, curiously, the pavement ends.  The dirt road through the town itself is rough in spots, but eventually becomes a decent dirt road paralleling the coast.  Traveling north less than 3 miles will bring you to a boat launching ramp (Castro’s Fishing Place) surrounded by rocky tide pools frequented by herons, gulls, and sandpipers.  An impressive blow hole located here is a bonus.  Another 6 miles will bring you to Punta Cabras inhabited by the rocky shorebirds mentioned above.  Ejido, incidentally, is a term for land that is communally-owned in Mexico.

Next:  Bahia San Quintin

Bird list for the Ejido Erendira area (recorded April 8, 2005):

Brandt’s Cormorant
Pelagic Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Red-tailed Hawk
California Quail
Killdeer
Willet
Whimbrel
Black Turnstone
Surfbird
Heermann’s Gull
Western Gull
Royal Tern
Forster’s Tern
Mourning Dove
Ash-throated Flycatcher
Western Kingbird
Bell’s Vireo
Common Raven
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
N. Rough-winged Swallow
Cliff Swallow
House Wren
Orange-crowned Warbler
Spotted Towhee
California Towhee
Song Sparrow
Blue Grosbeak
Lazuli Bunting
Brewer’s Blackbird
Hooded Oriole
House Finch
Lesser Goldfinch
Lawrence’s Goldfinch
American Goldfinch

……………………………

The scenery becomes increasingly more arid south of Ensenada.  Birds typical of southern California begin dropping out.  I heard the last Wrentit, for example, singing at Colonet, near km 123.  In 2005, vast fields were carpeted pink and yellow from the displays of owl’s clover and goldfields, but much of the unique shrublands along the immediate roadside have been converted to farmland.   I noted small numbers of Yellow-headed Blackbirds feeding with Red-wings in the fields near Ejido Jaramillo near km 146.  Howell’s field guide to Mexican birds doesn’t show Yellow-heads extending this far south.  A series of interconnected but separately-named towns make up greater “San Quintin”, about 180 miles south of Tijuana on the Pacific side of the peninsula.  The flat coastal plain consists mostly of agricultural fields, but the shoreline around the bay is surprisingly intact. 

Bahia San Quintin actually consists of three interconnected bays with a series of dark volcanic cinder cones paralleling the western edge of the waterways.  In 2004, we stayed at the Motel Cielito Lindo, located south of the town of Lazaro Cardenas.  A half mile walk to the beach bordering Bahia Santa Maria the next morning provided some surprises.  Sand dunes, which have been developed out of existence in southern California, lined the coast.  A white sand beach stretched far to the south.  During our 1.5 mile walk along the ocean, we only encountered a family of three doing some shore-fishing.  Shorebirds occurred in variety and number that I seldom see on the busy beaches north of the border.

At the water’s edge, flocks of breeding-plumaged Least Sandpipers, Dunlins, and Western Sandpipers outnumbered Sanderlings and Black-bellied Plovers.  Above the high tide line near the Motel La Pinta, three dozen Snowy Plovers performed their stop-and-go maneuvers accompanied by an equal number of Semipalmated Plovers.  Two Wilson’s Plovers, north of their range as mapped in Howell’s guide, still wore nonbreeding plumage.

Later that morning, we drove back north a few miles to Lazaro Cardenas.   We followed a rough dirt road west to Bahia San Quintin, first to the Old Pier and later to the Old Mill.  In the 1880’s English settlers built both of the now-deteriorating landmarks.  I surveyed this bay (called Bahia San Quintin) from a bluff at the Motel San Carlos near the remnants of the pier.  A tight knit flock of 500 Red Knots shared a large sandbar with 40 Royal Terns.  An estimated five thousand Brant dotted just this portion of the bay, by far the largest number I had ever seen in one place.  This is a key wintering ground for the small goose.  I could imagine that San Diego Bay once resembled this spot.

Further north near the mill, we found another rarity in southern California, an undisturbed saltwater marsh.  This would be a marina in the U.S.   Two dozen Long-billed Curlews and a couple of Whimbrels frequented the saltwort while a Northern Harrier tilted low in flight over the marsh.  At high tide, this should be a good spot to look for Clapper Rails.  Black Rails, long gone from the southern California coast, were recorded here in the 1990’s.  I can only hope that this area’s notorious summer fogs will continue to keep the mega-tourist hotel developers away.

Access:  The Old Pier (Muelle Viejo on signs) can be reached by turning right southbound off the Trans-peninsular at km 3+ (a new numbering system starts just north of here).  The Old Mill can be reached by driving about 2 miles north of the pier or by turning right southbound off the Transpeninsular at km 1.  All roads in this area were heavily washboarded in 2004.  For Bahia Santa Maria, turn right heading south at km 11.  Follow signs to Cielito Lindo RV Park.  The
road is paved except for the last mile to the RV park.

Next:  El Rosario

Birds noted at Bahia San Quintin (recorded April 6, 2004): 

Brant
Surf Scoter
Pacific Loon
Western Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Egret
Turkey Vulture
Northern Harrier
American Kestrel
California Quail
Black-bellied Plover
Snowy Plover
Wilson’s Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Willet
Whimbrel
Long-billed Curlew
Red Knot
Sanderling
Western Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Dunlin
Heermann’s Gull
Ring-billed Gull
California Gull
Western Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Forster’s Tern
Royal Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Barn Owl
Anna’s Hummingbird
Black Phoebe
Loggerhead Shrike
Horned Lark
Cliff Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
American Pipit
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
White-crowned Sparrow
Western Meadowlark
Brewer’s Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Hooded Oriole
House Finch
House Sparrow

……………………………..

South of Bahia San Quintin, the Transpeninsular Highway passes near the Pacific Ocean through rolling hills which retain much of their original plant cover.  The vegetation, rich in cacti and other spiny plants plants, is referred to as maritime succulent scrub.  Many species that we observed were once found as far north as Ensenada, but now only occur to the north in remnant patches that are not especially accessible.  The plant life represents a transition between the coastal sage scrub and chaparral of northwestern Baja California and the nearby deserts of the central portion of the peninsula. 

In 2004, Craig and I explored a fascinating area south of the km 45 marker (the kilometer posts are renumbered from Lazaro Cardenas near Bahia San Quintin).  On the east side of the highway, succulent plants grew abundantly.  They included the endemic yellow-flowered coast hedgehog cactus, miniature pincushion cacti, and the sprawling sour pitaya which resembles an assemblage of huge, prickly snakes.  Near one pitaya, I nearly stepped on a red diamond rattlesnake, the most colorful of Baja’s poisonous reptiles.  Fortunately it rattled a warning when I was about 3 feet away.  While I retreated a few feet back, the rattler quickly crawled into the thorny protection of the pitaya.  The tall, yellow-flowered stalks of Shaw’s agave attracted numerous Anna’s Hummingbirds.  I was expecting Costa’s. 

The presence of Ladder-backed Woodpeckers showed a desert influence.  The resident Sage Sparrows were much paler gray than their relatives further north.  The Cactus Wrens we saw frequenting the coastal cholla were evenly spotted on their undersides as is typical of the Baja races.  At any distance they actually look striped below.  The Cactus Wrens of the North American deserts have such heavy spotting on the chest that it forms a large dark patch.  In song and in many other details of plumage the Baja populations appear more distinctive than many closely-related birds recognized as separate species north of the border.  I briefly heard a thrasher-like song far down a draw, but couldn’t locate the singer.  Gray Thrashers should occur here.

In 2005, we explored some nearby areas south of km 39.  The flowered-covered plateau dropped steeply down to a cobble-covered beach.  Two species of birds occupied the plateau that I had never seen together before.  Numerous Horned Larks flitted up ahead of us, then dropped quickly back to the ground as we walked toward the sea bluffs.  Their continuous singing indicated that they breed locally.  At the same time several Savannah Sparrows of the dark Belding’s race sang their simple songs from low-growing shrubs.  This is supposedly a saltwater marsh bird!  In a stream gulley named the Arroyo Honda, I found a pair of Rufous-crowned Sparrows after hearing their “dear, dear, dear” calls.  These birds were definitely at the southernmost end of their range. 

A ferocious wind blasted the coastline so strongly that a scope was useless.  I could still see, far out to sea, dozens of shorebirds and loons passing northbound every minute.  This would definitely be worth checking out in the future under better weather conditions.

El Rosario is a short distance beyond and 223 miles south of Tijuana. Its shade trees make the small town something of an oasis.  The desert country beyond the nearby river valley is a barrier to many birds.  This was the most southerly spot where I observed Cassin’s Kingbird, Brewer’s Blackbird, and Red-winged Blackbird. 

Note:  Several motels in El Rosario accommodate travelers.  Campers have been subjected to a number of thefts in recent years.  This is a good place to fill the gas tank since the next open station will probably be in Villa Jesus Maria 164 miles to the south.  (Stations in Catavina and Parador Punta Prieta seldom function.) 

Next:  Catavina

Bird list for the El Rosario area (combined list of April 6, 2004 and April 8, 2005.  Those only seen in El Rosario are denoted by ER):

Surf Scoter
Western Grebe
Brown Pelican
Turkey Vulture
Western Gull
Rock Pigeon (ER)
Mourning Dove
Anna’s Hummingbird
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Cassin’s Kingbird (ER)
Western Kingbird (ER)
Horned Lark
Barn Swallow
Bewick’s Wren
Cactus Wren
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling (ER)
California Towhee
Rufous-crowned Sparrow
Sage Sparrow
(Belding’s) Savannah Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird (ER)
Brewer’s Blackbird (ER)
Brown-headed Cowbird (ER)
Hooded Oriole (ER)
House Sparrow (ER)

………………………………..

Just beyond El Rosario, we followed the Transpeninsular across the Rio del Rosario and followed the road inland.  The central desert essentially begins on the south bank of the river.  We had entered the “real” Baja California, home of some of the strangest plants on planet earth.  This region is often referred to as boojum country, named for a unique relative of the ocotillo of our own deserts.  The Spanish name for the boojum tree is “cirio” as it is shaped like the skinny votive candles used in Catholic churches.  But no votive candles are 30-50 feet tall!  Cardon cacti, taller than the sahuaro cactus of Arizona fame, appeared just a few kilometers beyond the bridge.  Unlike the sahuaro, the cardon sprouts its gigantic “arms” fairly close to the base of the plant. 

In 2004, just west of km 102, we spotted a rocky hillside on the left-hand side with an especially interesting combination of succulent plants.  Towering boojum trees and cardon cacti created a surreal landscape.  Spiky cholla, red-spined barrel cactus, and thorn-studded agave formed the understory in this strange forest.  Few birds appeared active in the afternoon sun, but suddenly a long-tailed gray-brown bird streaked across the hillside and disappeared into a large leafy shrub.  We approached slowly and when only 25 feet away, the bird swooped up to the top of a cardon, allowing excellent views.  It sported a curved bill and heart-shaped spots underneath.  We had found our first Gray Thrasher, a bird found nowhere else but Baja California.  (Since then I have seen thrashers at most roadside stops we have made below El Rosario.)

Catavina, 299 miles south of Tijuana, was our next major stop in both 2004 and 2005.  We camped at Rancho Santa Ynes, a short distance south of the “town”.  Catavina doesn’t consist of much more than two motels, a restaurant, and a few residences.  This was an excellent base for exploring the incredible desert country which is part of the Parque Natural del Desierto Central (Natural Park of the Central Desert).  The area is one immense rock garden with the most diverse desert vegetation either of us had ever seen. 

The campground provides easy access to some fascinating country.  A dirt road can be followed from the northwest end of the campground.  It crosses an arroyo or wash lined with native blue palms, California fan palms, and mesquite trees.  Staying on the road takes you to the desert slopes above the wash.  These slopes consist of a maze of gigantic beige boulders interspersed with cardon, cirios, and elephant trees.  The latter are squat trees whose branches have an amazing girth.  The road forks a short distance beyond the arroyo.  The left fork eventually leads into Catavina while the right fork eventually deadends below a red and white mountain which towers over Catavina.  Here we observed many typical Baja desert birds.   Birdlife, though, is most numerous along the wash itself, which can be followed for a good distance north of the campground.

A flock of California Quail flew into the tree under which we had pitched our tents just before we settled down for the night.  This was obviously their roosting tree as we found dozens of their white souvenirs covering our tents the next morning.  With so few lights in the area, the night sky was amazingly clear.  A poorwill and a Great Horned Owl provided the nightime chorus. 

The next morning I noted Verdins and Phainopeplas in the arroyo.  Hooded Orioles  flew from one  palm tree to another.  This must be one of the original habitats for this colorful bird which has become a city bird in southern California with the introduction of so many exotic palms to nest in.  Overall, the birdlife is similar to that of the deserts around Phoenix or Tucson.  However, there is one big difference.  Gambel’s Quail, Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, and Canyon Towhee are replaced by their sibling species, the California Quail, California Gnatcatcher, and California Towhee, respectively.  The latter three are typical of the coastal slope rather than the desert in southern California.

Cactus Wrens, Black-throated Sparrows, Scott’s Orioles, and Gila Woodpeckers frequented the drier country west of the arroyo.  A number of migrants, including Nashville Warblers and Black-headed Grosbeaks, fed in the more densely-vegetated draws.  We occasionally heard Gray Thrashers singing.  At a point where the arroyo crosses the Transpeninsular, a creek runs above ground, creating a small marshy area where Common Yellowthroats occur.  (The endemic Belding’s Yellowthroat doesn’t occur this far north.)  The sedges around the marsh display needle-sharp tips which are tough on the shins.

Bell’s Vireos occupied territories in both the desert and the arroyo.  They didn’t look like the little gray jobs that occur in riparian woods in southern California, but rather those of Arizona.  They have a definite greenish cast to their wings and back with yellow-olive on the flanks.  Surely they represent a different (undescribed?) race.  On the other hand, I expected the California Gnatcatchers to be quite light below based on other reports I had read, but I couldn’t tell them apart from the grayish birds of San Diego and Riverside counties in upper California. 

Howell’s guide doesn’t indicate that Blue-gray Gnatcatchers breed here.  Further investigation, in my opinion, will show that they do.  Great-tailed Grackles have expanded their range at least this far south, something Howell’s guide again doesn’t show.  House Sparrows nested colonially in a large tree near the ranch house at the campground, each ball-shaped nest was tucked into a separate parasitic mistletoe growing on the tree.  

In 2005, I completed a bird census along a mile of the arroyo while my brother took photos of his specialities, plants and lizards.  My most surprising find was an out-of-range Red-eyed Vireo, most likely a migrant stray.  Later the two of us hiked back into a canyon strewn with car-sized boulders north of Catavina.  This was a very picturesque spot.  As we hiked upstream we found blue and California fan palms lining a creek. The creek formed a series of large cascading pools, each one deep enough for a swim.  I noted both Canyon and Rock Wrens feeding young plus many other typical birds of the cactus forest.  One cave we investigated for ancient rock paintings hosted a colony of desert spiny lizards while enormous numbers of California tree frog tadpoles inhabited the pools.

Access:  The campground at Rancho Santa Ynes is just over a mile beyond Catavina at km 176.  Turn left at the sign and proceed less than a mile to the ranch.  Meals are available here, at the Motel la Pinta in Catavina, and at one or two unnamed restaurants near the motel.  The rocky canyon is entered on the east side of the Transpeninsular near km 171 north of Catavina.  A stream crosses the highway at this point.  The crossing is deeply potholed and impossible to miss.  Parking is available on the righthand side of the road southbound.

Next:  Bahia de los Angeles

Bird list for Catavina (recorded April 6-7, 2004 and April 2-3, 2005.  Numbers indicate no. of individuals recorded on a two-hour survey of a one-mile stretch of the arroyo paralleling the campground at Rancho Santa Ynes on April 3, 2005):

California Quail (12)
Great Egret
Turkey Vulture
Red-tailed Hawk
Cooper’s Hawk (1)
American Kestrel (2)
Killdeer
White-winged Dove (8)
Mourning Dove (7)
Rock Pigeon
Great Horned Owl
Common Poorwill
Costa’s Hummingbird (9)
Gila Woodpecker (6)
Gilded Flicker (1)
Empidonax, sp.
Say’s Phoebe
Ash-throated Flycatcher (9)
Bell’s Vireo (19)
Red-eyed Vireo (1)
Western Scrub-Jay (2)
Common Raven
Violet-green Swallow
Barn Swallow
Verdin (8)
Cactus Wren
Rock Wren (2)
Canyon Wren
Bewick’s Wren (3)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (1)
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (7)
California Gnatcatcher (2)
Northern Mockingbird (5)
Gray Thrasher (1)
European Starling (6)
Phainopepla (21)
Orange-crowned Warbler (5)
Nashville Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler  (4)
Common Yellowthroat
California Towhee (7)
Brewer’s Sparrow (1)
Black-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow (76)
Black-headed Grosbeak
Great-tailed Grackle
Hooded Oriole (20)
Scott’s Oriole (1)
House Finch (15)
Lesser Goldfinch (5)
House Sparrow (2)

………………………….

Leaving Catavina in 2004, we drove south to Bahia de los Angeles, 363 miles south of Tijuana.  Although the road from Tijuana to Catavina is winding and narrow, we didn’t run into a poor road surface until we were south of Catavina.  Scenery resembling Catavina alternated with dry, whitish playas.  Gnarled elephant trees with massive trunks and branches became the dominant vegetation past the turnoff to Bahia de los Angeles.  The road deteriorates considerably along this stretch, especially the last 13 km.  Huge potholes are filled with sand and the road surface is very eroded. 

The area in the immediate vicinity of Bahia de los Angeles is very stark.  Barren-looking islands colored rust and cream fill the bay.  Jagged and very steep mountains drop dramatically into the beautiful turquoise waters of the Gulf of California.  Common Ravens and Turkey Vultures were the common “seashore” birds.  Perched on breakwaters or flying just offshore, though, were large numbers of the “big three” waterbirds which primarily breed in the Gulf -- Heermann’s Gull, Yellow-footed Gull, and Elegant Tern.  All sported breeding colors.  We watched in amusement as the piratic Heermann’s Gulls harassed Brown Pelicans for their fish and in turn were chased by two Magnificent Frigatebirds which easily outmaneuvered the gulls. 

Elephant trees and Adam’s trees dominated areas along the coast that hadn’t been cleared.  The Adam’s tree resembles the related ocotillo with its long thorny whips for branches.  However, the whips branch off a short trunk rather than growing from ground level.  The flowers are bright red rather than a red-orange.  Both the elephant trees and the Adam’s trees were leafless, adding to the desolate look of the place.  Brewer’s and White-crowned sparrows were the common songbirds in this vegetation, but we also noted a number of Loggerhead Shrikes and Say’s Phoebes.  A small flock of Lark Buntings surprised me as I didn’t realize this species commonly winters on the peninsula.  Most interesting were a couple of Ospreys which perched on top of cardons.  (review this.)  We stayed at the Motel Villa Vitta in town where a Vermilion Flycatcher hung out.

North of the main tourist area is a saltwater marsh reached by a maze of interconnecting sandy roads.  The marsh inhabitants included Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, and Reddish Egret along with many Long-billed Curlews.  Beyond the marsh the coast curves southward in the form of a long sandy spit which extends a mile into the bay.  A raucous flock of more than 100 Elegant Terns rested on the spit along with a few Royal Terns giving us a good comparison of size and bill color.  We found two Savannah Sparrows here, as well.  One was typical of the U.S. interior and another of the “Large-billed” race which should be recognized as a separate species, in my opinion.

We drove an incredibly washboarded road north of town about 6 miles (supposedly being paved in 2005).  Thirty minutes later we reached Punta Gringa where there was easy access to clear water for some snorkeling.  We found another small salt marsh near the point and it was occupied by another Reddish Egret.  The water was in the chilly 50’s so we were glad we brought along our wetsuits.  Aquatic life was dominated by dozens and dozens of aptly-named bullseye pufferfish and bullseye stingrays.  A Spotted Sandpiper scoured the gravel beach for food.  Later we inquired about the cost of hiring a boat to explore some of the islands and were quoted prices ranging from $90 to $110 for a full-day trip.  Unfortunately, motel and campground spaces were full for the upcoming Easter weekend, so we headed for the whale haven of Laguna Ojo de Liebre.

Access:  For the sandy spit, all I can say is follow the locals and watch out for soft sand.  The area is an absolute labyrinth of sandy roads.

Birds list for Bahia de los Angeles (Recorded April 7-8, 2004)

Red-brested Merganser
Pacific Loon
Eared Grebe
Brown Pelican
Brandt’s Cormorant
Double-crested Cormorant
Magnificent Frigatebird
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Reddish Egret
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Red-tailed Hawk
Prairie Falcon
Long-billed Curlew
Sanderling
Yellow-footed Gull
Heermann’s Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Caspian Tern
Royal tern
Elegant Tern
Forster’s Tern
Rock Pigeon
Costa’s Hummingbird
Say’s Phoebe
Vermilion Flycatcher
Loggerhead Shrike
Common Raven
Northern Mockingbird
Yellow Warbler
Brewer’s Sparrow
Lark Bunting
Savannah Sparrow
White-crowned Sparow
Brown-headed Cowbird
House Finch
House Sparrow


Birds observed at Bahia de los Angeles:  Pacific Loon, Eared Grebe, Brown Pelican, Brandt’s Cormorant, Double-crested Cormorant, Magnificent Frigatebird, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Reddish Egret, Turkey Vulture, Red-breasted Merganser, Osprey, Red-tailed Hawk, Prairie Falcon, Long-billed Curlew, Sanderling, Heermann’s Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Yellow-footed Gull, Caspian Tern, Royal Tern, Elegant Tern, Forster’s Tern, Rock Pigeon, Costa’s Hummingbird, Say’s Phoebe, Vermilion Flycatcher, Loggerhead Shrike, Common Raven, Northern Mockingbird, Yellow Warbler, Brewer’s Sparrow, Lark Bunting, Savannah Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Brown-headed Cowbird, House Finch, House Sparrow

………………………………..

Parador Punta Prieta marks the intersection of the Transpeninsular with the turn-off to Bahia de los Angeles.  It is also the zero point for a new kilometer numbering sequence.  In both 2004 and 2005 we have stopped along the highway at the km 16 marker just south of the small community of Punta Prieta.  There is room to park on either side of the highway.  On the western side of the road, a dry wash and surrounding desert country supports an exceptionally varied patch of desert vegetation. A long line of red cliffs borders the area.  We found a mixture of all of the giant plants of the northern peninsula -- datilillos or giant yuccas, boojum trees, cardon cactus, and candelabra cactus. 

Bird activity was high, even in the afternoon sun.  Yellow agave flowers perched on the end of 15-foot stalks attracted insects which in turn attracted mockingbirds and Gilded Flickers.  Cactus Wrens countersang their unmusical songs.  In both ’04 and ’05 I spotted California Gnatcatchers carrying insects to feed their young.  The gnatcatchers still appeared quite gray below like the birds in southern California.  Singing Bell’s Vireos were south of their range as outlined in Howell’s guide.  A Western Scrub-Jay and a Green-tailed Towhee, neither of which I associate with the southern California desert, showed in 2004. 

The vast plains of the Vizcaino Desert begin at km 75.  Large desert plants and birdlife both become scarce, but huge stick nests appeared in the crossarms of the telephone poles.  These were occupied by Ospreys.  One nest was present right in the middle of the small town of Villa Jesus Maria.  The birds would have to fly several miles to reach the Pacific Ocean.

Next: Scammon’s Lagoon or Laguna Ojo de Liebre

Bird list from Punta Prieta (April 9, 2004 and April 3, 2005.  Numbers are listed for species recorded in an hour survey in 2005.)

Turkey Vulture (3)
Callifornia Quail (7)
White-winged Dove (3)
Mourning Dove (1)
Gila Woodpecker (4)
Gilded Flicker (2)
Ash-throated Flycatcher (1)
Western Scrub-Jay
Violet-green Swallow (4)
Bell’s Vireo (3)
Verdin (1)
Cactus Wren (11)
Bewick’s Wren (2)
California Gnatcatcher (12)
Northern Mockingbird (5)
Orange-crowned Warbler (1)
Black-headed Grosbeak
Green-tailed Towhee
California Towhee (8)
Brewer’s Sparrow (8)
Black-throated Sparrow
Sage Sparrow (1)
White-crowned Sparrow (23)
Scott’s Oriole
House Finch (3)
Lesser Goldfinch (1)

………………………………


We entered the state of Baja California Sur just north of Guerrero Negro, a town on the Pacific Coast 447 miles south of Tijuana.  The state line also marks the beginning of a new kilometer sequence, now a “countdown” from km 221.  Our next destination was Scammon’s Lagoon where large numbers of gray whales spend the winter.  The lagoon is reached by making a right-hand turn southbound off the Transpeninsular onto a dirt road at km 208.  The English name for the lagoon is an ironic one considering that Scammon was a whaler responsible in part for the tremendous slaughter of the huge mammals in the 1800’s.

We first visited this area in 2004.  The lagoon, known in Mexico as the Laguna Ojo de Liebre, is one of the key calving grounds for the gray whale and a major wintering ground for waterbirds.  The lagoon encompasses a huge area, dwarfing San Diego Bay. 

Once off the Transpeninsular, the road passes through a slightly undulating plain which at first glance appeared barren.  We quickly realized that the ground was completely carpeted with low-growing flowers in subtle shades of violet and pink.  The violet ones are apparently a species of gilia.  The pink-flowered plants appeared to be a composite, probably a species of Chaenactis.  Its flowers formed a perfect ball. 

Pale-colored whiptail and zebra-tailed lizards inhabited the open, sandy terrain and I had to stop every half mile so Craig could try for photos.  At one stop, I heard sparrow-like singing and quickly discovered 200 Lark Buntings in chorus.  The plain must also be the Horned Lark capital of Baja.  We saw many dozens and were never out of range of their high-pitched singing.  Other songbirds were much scarcer.  The local Sage Sparrow was a much paler version of the coastal birds of southern California.  An isolated race of LeConte’s Thrasher (considered a separate species by some) occurs here, but all the thrasher-like songs we tracked down emanated from mockingbirds. 

A series of salt pans interrupt the plains.  Extracting the salt is the primary industry for the residents of Guerrero Negro.  The pans form large, bizarrely-colored lakes.  Some are reddish, likely from algae.  Others have a metallic-gray coloring.  Waterbirds weren’t put off by the strange appearance, though.  We noted pintails and shovelers, avocets and Snowy Plovers, as well as many hundreds of Western Sandpipers in and around the pans.  We continued past this area through more plains.  A large flock of Long-billed Curlews stood among the wildflowers a long way from any water.  On arriving at the lagoon, we noted extensive mudflats bordering the bay.  Many hundreds of shorebirds covered exposed mud, most far out on the flats.  Three Reddish Egrets and 75 Black Skimmers congregated close to the pier.  Some clam diggers disturbed the skimmers.  As they rose from the mudflats, they formed a single-file rotating ring looking like some alien space object.  The skimmers kept up this strange formation for the next half hour.

The rangers at the park headquarters told us that they couldn’t guarantee that we would find any gray whales due to the lateness of the season.  We decided to chance it anyway and paid $35 dollars apiece to hire a guide and boat.  Eventually the tide rose high enough for us to wade out to the motorboat.  We sped across the lagoon scattering phalaropes and brants, stopping from time to time to watch for spouting whales.  At one point, an enormous flock of over a thousand Western Sandpipers flew over us.  Still no whales.  Suddenly a mother and her calf surfaced right in front of us.  Eventually we were surrounded by at least nine whales.  One exuberant whale jumped completely above the surface of the water.  We were so close that we could hear the whales exhaling before they broke the surface.  It was interesting to realize that similar scenes took place in San Diego Bay 200 hundred years ago.

In 2005, we found the visitor center closed.  The area had apparently been abandoned for the season.  A record of whale censuses taped to a window showed a high count of over 1700 whales in February!  We found no ducks in the salt evaporation ponds, Western Sandpipers were relatively scarce, and the wind was so strong that it was difficult to use a scope.  We arrived at high tide and shorebirds were bunched up large tight flocks on a series of sandbars stretching to the horizon.  Two juvenile Laughing Gulls and hundreds of Black Skimmers were highlights.  On driving back to the highway, we found a fledgling Horned Lark in the middle of the road.  It protested loudly as I carried it to a nearby field.

Access:  The turn-off to the lagoon is slightly over 9 miles south of the stateline.  It is a further 15 miles to the lagoon on a decent dirt road.  When the visitor center is open a fee is charged for parking.  You must also sign-in with a guard hired by the salt extraction company which owns most of the property between the highway and the lagoon.  The guard’s kiosk and salt company gate are a few miles off the Transpeninsular.

Next:  San Ignacio

Bird list for Scammon’s Lagoon (Recorded April 9, 2004 and April 7, 2005.  Numbers reflect only birds observed on the entry road and near the park headquarters building in 2005. )

Brant
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Red-breasted Merganser
Common Loon
Double-crested Cormorant (9)
Great Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron (1)
Reddish Egret (1)
Osprey (1)
American Kestrel
Black-bellied Plover (15)
Snowy Plover (2)
Wilson’s Plover (1)
Killdeer
American Avocet
Greater Yellowlegs
Willet (6)
Marbled Godwit (400)
Whimbrel (7)
Long-billed Curlew
Sanderling (2)
Western Sandpiper (25)
Dunlin (200)
Short-billed Dowitcher (400)
Red-necked Phalarope
Red Phalarope
Herring Gull
California Gull (1)
Laughing Gull (2)
Bonaparte’s Gull
Western Gull (7)
Caspian Tern (2)
Royal Tern
Forster’s Tern (6)
Black Skimmer (350)
Common Raven (1)
Horned Lark (50)
Northern Mockingbird
Brewer’s Sparrow (6)
Sage Sparrow (1)
(Belding’s-type) Savannah Sparrow (5)
Lark Bunting

…………………………………..

A cardonal or area dominated by the cardon cactus reappeared some distance south of Laguna Ojo de Liebre, but something was missing.  Boojum trees had disappeared.  They are absent from the southern end of the peninsula.  This was new territory for us in 2005 as we didn’t make it past the lagoon the year before.  A good variety of raptors inhabited the cardonal north and south of the town of Vizcaino, including Harris’s Hawk and Northern Caracara.  We noticed little change in the scenery until we reached the town of San Ignacio, 536 miles south of Tijuana.  Groves of date palms line a narrow valley leading into the town creating a green oasis.

We camped at El Padrino campground opposite the La Pinta Motel, setting up our tents under a grove of date palms just before it became completely dark.  A Vermilion Flycatcher frequently sang its string of high-pitched notes throughout the night.  A pair of Great Horned Owls called as did a “mystery” owl.  I am familiar with all the owls of southern California.  This one didn’t sound like any of them.

The next morning, we awoke to an incredibly noisy morning chorus of bird sounds.  Some wouldn’t qualify as tuneful such as the harsh songs of Cactus Wrens and the loud calls of Gila Woodpeckers.  White-winged Doves sang their mournful “who cooks for you” from every corner of the campground.  It was obvious that many desert birds have adapted well to the date palm groves.  Despite their name, the local Cactus Wrens spent a good portion of their time exploring the tops of the palm trees.  The abundance of date palms furnished Hooded Orioles with an unlimited number of places to build their hanging nests.  They were even more numerous here than in the native palm groves near Catavina.  I also noticed that the House Finches of San Ignacio wore a much deeper shade of red on the head and chest than those living in my southern California neighborhood. 

I explored a patch of desert near the campground, and then Craig and I walked east along the main road to a reservoir where a pair of Blue-winged Teal was an unexpected sight.  The teal shared the lake with Pied-billed Grebes, coots, a moorhen, a juvenile Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, and Double-crested Cormorants sporting white breeding plumes on their heads. 

We followed the Rio San Ignacio, which flows west from the reservoir.  Pale, reddish-streaked Song Sparrows of the South Baja California race responded to pishing as did a new endemic, Belding’s Yellowthroat.  These yellowthroats were obviously larger in size than their northern counterparts (I had many Orange-crowned Warblers nearby for comparison which are the same size as Common Yellowthroats) with longer, thicker bills.  Females were a much brighter yellow below while the single male I got a good look at had the rear portion of its mask outlined with yellow rather than white as seen in the Common Yellowthroat.  Call notes differed as well, being a very loud “chat” rather than a “chuck”.  I never heard the yellowthroats singing.  The birds inhabited cattail patches amidst the introduced giant reeds which lined much of the river bank.  In view of their limited habitat, it would be beneficial to remove the exotic vegetation.

A Yellow-breasted Chat sang repeatedly just below the earthen dam.  Howell gives no indication that chats breed this far south, but I would bet money they do.  We flushed a ground-dove from a nest set a few feet above ground in the stump of a palm where the old fronds had broken off creating a small bowl.  The nest had one egg in it when we passed it, an hour later on retracing our steps, it had two!  Whiptail, spiny, and small-scaled lizards played hide-and-seek with us at each rock pile we passed as did the endemic Baja California rock squirrel.

We returned to San Ignacio a couple of days later and again spent the night at the same campground.  Noises of the night included the raspy shrieks of a Barn Owl while the “mystery” owl whistled a variety of notes again.  These included a string of “hoots” (actually they sounded more like toots) typically doubled and often repeated five times.  At times this would change to a single fairly high-pitched and rather soft whistle that would be repeated after somewhat lengthy pauses.  I got a poor recording of it, but on my return home I checked it against the calls on the excellent web site on owls at owling.com and heard exactly the same sound -- it was what I had thought all along -- a Cape Pygmy-Owl!  The website regards the single note series as the primary advertising call.  Could this species be breeding here?  It seems unlikely as it is considered to be a mountain bird.  I would be interested in knowing of any additional records this far north and at this low of an elevation.  The owling site indicates this is a diurnal or crepuscular owl, but it vocalized well after dark as well as at dawn.

I knew our final morning in San Ignacio would also be my last chance to find another southern Baja endemic, Xantus’s Hummingbird.  Craig suggested that we walk the short distance into town to look for it as an abundance of flowers grew around the little plaza.  There were hummingbirds around the flowers all right.  All of which were Costa’s.  Then Craig spotted a small bird perched on a telephone wire near the town plaza.  The bright red bill, white line behind the eye, and rusty underparts and tail identified it immediately.  It was a Xantus’s.  As we watched it, it would periodically zoom off, only to return a few minutes later, probably visiting flowers in someone’s backyard. 

A good variety of birds inhabited the little plaza and nearby residential areas.  Phainopeplas, Vermilion Flycatchers, ground doves, White-winged Doves, and Gila Woodpeckers were easy to spot.  The little pueblo with its bright-colored homes and its beautiful old church dating from the 1700’s is my favorite town in Baja California.

We also stopped just outside of San Ignacio along the Transpeninsular to check out the wide array of desert plants.  The Arizona Desert Museum has listed this area as the most diverse in the world for succulents.  Among the feathered inhabitants were Verdins with newly-fledged young and another male Xantus’s Hummingbird.  The presence of flowering shrubs is probably more important to the hummers than the habitat.

Access:  The road leading into San Ignacio is just beyond the 73 km marker on the Transpeninsular Highway.  The town square is 1.3 miles west of the junction.  Note:  There are a couple of motels and several restaurants in town.  Black- flies or no-see-’ums can be vicious at sundown.  Once it turns dark the little blood suckers stop biting. 

Next:  Caleta San Lucas and Punta Chivato

Bird list for San Ignacio (recorded April 3-4 and April 6-7, 2005.  Numbers are listed for birds recorded on a three-hour survey on April 4.)

Blue-winged Teal (2)
Pied-billed Grebe (5)
Double-crested Cormorant (8)
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Green Heron (1)
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (1)
Turkey Vulture (2)
Red-shouldered Hawk (1)
American Kestrel (2)
Common Moorhen (1)
American Coot (2)
White-winged Dove (32)
Mourning Dove (11)
Common Ground-Dove (5)
Barn Owl
Great Horned Owl
Cape Pygmy-Owl
Xantus’s Hummingbird
Costa’s Hummingbird
Gila Woodpecker (31)
Ladder-backed Woodpecker (1)
Black Phoebe
Vermilion Flycatcher (3)
Ash-throated Flycatcher (1)
Violet-green Swallow (5)
Verdin (3)
Cactus Wren (29)
Bewick’s Wren (1)
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (4)
California Gnatcatcher
Cedar Waxwing
Phainopepla
Orange-crowned Warbler (13)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (4)
Belding’s Yellowthroat (6)
Yellow-breasted Chat (1)
Western Tanager (1)
Lark Sparrow (30)
Song Sparrow (10)
Hooded Oriole (31)
Bullock’s Oriole (2)
House Finch (12)
House Sparrow (2)

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The scenery is more varied south of San Ignacio.  The barren peaks of the Tres Virgenes Volcanoes provide some interesting geologic relief from the flat plains.  I spotted Gray Thrashers and California Gnatcatchers at brief stops we made, but birdlife overall was rather sparse.  We hit the Gulf of California just north of Santa Rosalia.  Magnificent Frigatebirds rode the thermals with some unlikely companions--numerous Rock Pigeons!  The town is fairly interesting with a church designed by Eiffel of Eiffel tower fame.  The dilapidated-looking waterfront, however, has the greatest number of plastic grocery bags per acre I have ever seen.

Nine miles south of Santa Rosalia at km 182 (a new kilometer sequence begins in Santa Rosalia, also a “countdown”) we turned left and drove an additional mile to Caleta San Lucas.  Low tide had exposed mudflats which provided a roost for 25 Yellow-footed Gulls.  These birds look much like Western Gulls but have much thicker bills and, of course, yellow rather than pink feet. 

Raucous Elegant Terns occupied three sand spits.  Periodically a flock of the terns stationed on one spit would fly out over the bay, shrieking loudly, only to return to the same resting spot.  This would be followed soon by another flock that occupied another spit.  This bird wins my unequivocal vote for noisiest seabird.

An American Oystercatcher shared the mudflat with several other shorebirds.  Mangroves lined much of the shoreline of the bay, but seemed devoid of birdlife in the middle of the day. A boat trip around the bay could produce some interesting sightings.

Bird list for Caleta San Lucas (recorded April 4, 2005)

Brown Pelican (30), Great Blue Heron (1), American Oystercatcher (1), Willet (7), Whimbrel (6), Heermann’s Gull (16), Yellow-footed Gull (25), Elegant Tern (560), Belted Kingfisher (1), Western Kingbird (1), Northern Mockingbird (1)

Later we drove to km 156 and took a left turn off the Transpeninsular to reach the Punta Chivato area, also on the Gulf.  The road passes through another cardonal, but the desert immediately behind the shoreline is dominated by dwarf elephant trees and Adam’s Trees.  The shoreline alternates between sandy and rocky beaches.  After passing the tourist hotel at Punta Chivato, we set up our tents a short distance to the north at Caleta Muertos (Deadman’s Cove). 

The cove is separated from the bay to the south by a narrow sandy spit which is connected to a rocky headland.  The variety of seashells along the spit was outstanding.  Many shellfish in the Gulf are of tropical origin and quite different from those of the Pacific side of the peninsula.

The sun set on a calm sea silhouetting gulls, terns, and pelicans sitting on a string of rocks just offshore.  With few lights around, the night sky was amazing.  During the night, though, a tremendous wind blew up, knocking down my Craig’s tent.  Mine remained upright but the constant flapping of the tent made sleeping impossible. 

The next morning, I explored some of the stunted desert above the shoreline and hiked out to the rocky headland, noting a variety of seabirds blown toward shore by the still gusty winds.  The highlight was a half dozen Blue-footed Boobies.  Shorebirds searched for food in the tidepools or along the sandy shore.  Later Craig and I snorkeled in choppy seas noting only a few fish in the murky water.  Experienced campers told us that the winds would probably continue for a few more days, so we drove south hoping for calmer conditions.

Note:  Caleta Muertos is about 12 miles from the Transpenisular.  Cold showers and pit toilets are available.  Be advised that the showers have no doors!

Next:  Mulege

Bird list for Punta Chivato (recorded April 4-5.  Numbers indicate high counts recorded for the species.)

Blue-footed Booby (6)
Brown Pelican (31)
Brandt’s Cormorant (1)
Double-crested Cormorant (6)
Magnificent Frigatebird (12)
Turkey Vulture (12)
Osprey (1)
Black-bellied Plover (1)
Snowy Plover (2)
Semipalmated Plover (4)
American Oystercatcher (1)
Willet (2)
Spotted Sandpiper (1)
Marbled Godwit (1)
Sanderling (3)
Least Sandpiper (1)
Heermann’s Gull(10)
Yellow-footed Gull (27)
Elegant Tern (60)
White-winged Dove (2)
Say’s Phoebe (1)
Ash-throated Flycatcher (4)
Common Raven (1)
Cactus Wren (8)
Verdin (4)
California Gnatcatcher (3)
Northern Mockingbird (1)
California Towhee (1)
Black-throated Sparrow (1)
Hooded Oriole (6)

……………………………..

Mulege, 619 miles south of Tijuana, also lies on the Gulf of California coast.  Craig and I walked along the south side of the “Rio Mulege” from the Transpeninsular bridge to the coast, a distance of one mile.  In the midday sun, this was by far the hottest spot we visited.  The temperature reached the upper eighties with humidity to match, but birds remained active.  Although “rio” means river in Spanish, in reality the waterway is an “estero” or tidal estuary.  Homes of the well-to-do line a dirt road which parallels the estuary.  The tropical plantings along the road and around the homes attract landbirds while mudflats and mangrove trees support many waterbirds. 

Landbirds were similar to what I saw in San Ignacio and included Cactus Wren, Vermilion Flycatcher, Gila Woodpecker, and Hooded Oriole.  The highlight, though, was Mangrove Yellow Warbler.  I saw a pair shortly into our walk, the colorful male instantly recognizable with its bright chestnut head.  Hummingbird feeders here should attract Xantus’s Hummingbirds, but I saw none.  Craig spotted a couple of large, flattened stick nests, about 20 feet up a tree.  Definitely those of herons.  Howell doesn’t indicate any heron colonies in this area, but the abundance of both herons and suitable nesting trees would indicate they probably haven’t been looked for. 

As we passed a cliff, we disturbed a pair of Ospreys, probably near a nest site.  Frigatebirds and vultures glided effortlessly high above us.  A Yellow-breasted Chat sang.  As at San Ignacio, I think this bird is a likely breeder.  The mudflats were a living carpet of fiddler crabs.  The males constantly waved their outsized claws to attract females to their special hole in the mud.  Five species of herons waded in the murky green water.  One local told us that it was highly polluted.  In spite of the heat and humidity it didn’t look too inviting, although some people paddled kayaks in it.  Large numbers of pelicans, gulls, and the always vocal Elegant Terns occupied sand bars near the estuary’s entrance to the sea.

Access to the south bank of the estuary:  Turn left southbound on the main road into town, turn right on Calle Zaragoza, cross over the “river”.  Turn left and drive under the Transpenisular bridge.  Take the dirt road to your left that parallels the estuary.  There are several decent campgrounds near the south side of the estuary and a number of motels in the town itself.

Next:  Bahia Concepcion

Bird list for Mulege (numbers indicate the number of individuals of a given species recorded on a 1.5 hour survey, April 6, 2005.)

Brown Pelican (31)
Double-crested Cormorant (4)
Magnificent Frigatebird (40)
Turkey Vulture (27)
Great Blue Heron (1)
Great Egret (1)
Snowy Egret (2)
Little Blue Heron (2)
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (4)
Osprey (3)
Killdeer (2)
Greater Yellowlegs (1)
Willet (4)
Spotted Sandpiper (1)
Whimbrel (2)
Marbled Godwit (1)
Heermann’s Gull (52)
Herring Gull (1)
Yellow-footed Gull (410)
Elegant Tern (200)
White-winged Dove (3)
Common Ground-Dove (4)
Gila Woodpecker (16)
Vermilion Flycatcher (5)
Cactus Wren (7)
Phainopepla (2)
(Mangrove) Yellow Warbler (3)
Yellow-breasted Chat (1)
Hooded Oriole (14)
House Finch (19)
House Sparrow (1)

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Bahia Concepcion was the southernmost point of our 2005 trip.  We had driven over 600 miles from the U.S. border, but were still over 400 miles north of the southern tip of the peninsula at Cabo San Lucas.  The north end of Bahia Concepcion is only a few miles south of Mulege.  It stretches south another 30 miles. Much of the bay is protected from the open ocean to the east by a rugged peninsula. Although the bay is only a short distance from Punta Chivato, winds and water were calm.

This is a scenic area with rust-colored mountains contrasting with the varied shades of blue of the bay.  Large tracts of cardonal extend nearly to the beach.  The east side of the bay is so shallow in spots that low tide exposes expansive areas of the sea bed.  High tide submerges these areas in only a few minutes. Mangroves occur in sheltered locations and form small “islands” in some coves.  Their roots are covered with oysters. 

We rented a cabana for the night at “EcoMundo”. If time had permitted we would have rented kayaks and explored some of the many islands dotting the bay.  Nearby mangroves hosted Green and Tricolored Herons.  Mangroves at the next cove north at Santispac Beach were particularly pleasant.  They formed a nearly complete circle around a shallow inlet of the sea.  Rather than the typical murky water of most mangroves, the water here was crystal clear.  Wading birds began appearing and disappearing like something in a child’s pop-up book.  Eventually, I noted a couple of Yellow-crowned Night-Herons, a Reddish Egret, and a couple of Snowy Egrets.  A White Ibis especially stood out, its scarlet bill glowing in the late evening sun.  Hooded Orioles and White-winged Doves called from within the mangroves. 

Early the next morning, I hiked across the highway and beyond the local trash dump to a cardonal where typical desert birds were active.  Violet-green Swallows inspected abandoned woodpecker holes for potential nest sites.  The desert race of this swallow regularly breeds in old woodpecker holes in cardon cacti.  Gray Thrashers sang briefly and the only Northern Cardinals of the trip were a contrast to the somber hues of the cactus forest. 

Many more plants were in bloom in the northern desert than here, probably due to the fact that this area receives its precipitation in the summer rather than in the winter.  A Canyon Wren and a Green-tailed Towhee both sang.  The former is a resident, the latter a winter visitor.  California Gnatcatchers matched Black-tailed Gantcatchers, which don’t occur here, in their pale undersides, but still had the kitten-like call-note of their duskier relatives north of the Vizcaino Desert.  Highly visible birds included California Quail, White-winged Doves, Ash-throated Flycatchers, Gila Woodpeckers, Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, and Cactus Wrens.  An Osprey flew overhead carrying a stick for its nest.  Jack rabbits, small-scaled and orange-throated whiptail lizards were also active in the early morning light.
 
After my hike Craig and I snorkeled a mile along the shore.  The water was about 70 degrees and wet suits were not necessary.  We were accompanied on our swim by hundreds of sergeant majors and large schools of graybar grunt.

Access:  Santispac Beach is well-signed and easily found at the 114 km marker.  You will be charged 80 pesos for day use unless you mention you plan to eat at one of the restaurants (not a bad idea).  The mangrove area will be found by driving down the beach to your far right to a campground.  EcoMundo is beyond the 111 km marker.  We had to look closely for its sign on the lefthand side southbound. 

Bird list for Bahia Concepcion (recorded April 5-6).  Numbers for landbirds are primarily from a 1.5 hour survey of a section of cardonal.  Maximum numbers are listed for waterbirds.

Magnificent Frigatebird (4)
Great Blue Heron (1)
Snowy Egret (2)
Little Blue Heron (1)
Tricolored Heron (1)
Reddish Egret (1)
Green Heron (1)
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (2)
White Ibis (1)
Turkey Vulture (3)
Osprey (1)
Red-tailed Hawk (1)
California Quail (12)
American Oystercatcher (2)
Heermann’s Gull (25)
Yellow-footed Gull (65)
White-winged Dove (16)
White-throated Swift (1)
Costa’s Hummingbird (2)
Gila Woodpecker (10)
Ladder-backed Woodpecker (6)
Say’s Phoebe (1)
Ash-throated Flycatcher (11)
Common Raven (4)
Violet-green Swallow (5)
Cactus Wren (10)
Canyon Wren (1)
Verdin (10)
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (1)
California Gnatcatcher (8)
Northern Mockingbird (2)
Gray Thrasher (4)
Phainopepla (1)
Western Tanager (1)
Green-tailed Towhee (1)
Black-throated Sparrow (2)
Northern Cardinal (2)
Brown-headed Cowbird (3)
House Finch (1)
House Sparrow (25)

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Ken Weaver
Fallbrook, CA
gnatcatcher@sbcglobal.net