Flame-colored Tanager
Near the town of Volcan, there are three small lakes at about 1,300 m. The road into the lakes passes old orchards and small farms where I was surprised to see a snow bunting singing on a fence post. On stopping, we found it to be a leucistic Rufous-collared Sparrow , a beautifully plumaged bird. We proceeded past an old airfield and more abandoned orchard, where we found a Roadside Hawk surveying the area and a group of Scaled Pigeon flying past. A Gray-headed Dove moved leisurely down the road in front of our car, and a Pale-breasted Spinetail flew across. Tropical Kingbirds were plentiful, and where joined by Boat-billed , StreakedSocial Flycatchers , and Lesser Elaenia . Familiar northern birds were Eastern Meadowlark and Baltimore Orioles . In the middle of a twiggy shrub, a Snowy-bellied Hummingbird groomed itself.
Rufous-collared Sparrow
The area surrounded the lakes is woodland, of which not a lot remains at this elevation. We picked up a great number of passerine species such as Rufous-tailed Hummingbird , Blue-crowned Motmot , Olivaceous Piculet , Hairy Woodpecker , Olivaceous and Streak-headed Woodcreeper , Black-chested Jay , Brown-capped Vireo , Slate-throated Redstart ,Golden-crowned Warbler ,and Rufous-capped Warbler . The Tanager family was represented by White-winged Tanager , Silver-throated Tanager , Golden-hooded Tanager , and the Scarlet-thighed Dacnis . The Yellow-crowned , Fulvous-vented, Elegant and White-vented Euphonia were seen.
Blue-crowned Motmot, Momotus momota
Many northern migrants were passing through such as Tennessee , Chestnut-sided , Blackburnian , Black-and-white , Mourning and Wilson’s Warbler .
Southern Lapwing
On the lakes themselves was found Pied-billed Grebe ,Great Blue , Little Blue , and Green Heron , as well as Common Moorhen and American Coot . I was surprised to find Southern Lapwing this far north. An Osprey made a leisurely pass while near shore.Acorn Woodpecker was seen while nearby a Squirrel Cuckoo crept along a branch. We watched the diminutive Paltry Tyrannulet building its large nest.
Scintillant Hummingbird
As we returned to Guadalupe, we stopped at a small trail where we picked up Flame-colored Tanager , Garden Emerald, Scintillant Hummingbird and Yellow-faced Grassquit . It made a fine punctuation to the day.
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