Military Macaw trip! (page 2)
After leaving our camp on the river, our first order of business was to report the robbery. Our suspected robber had actually visited the camp the next morning (the cheek!) and was clearly in a drug-altered state. The ejido of Guapalayna was having a meeting when we arrived and the Agente Municipal was quick to call up the police. It was rather humourous, actually. The cops roared off all piled into the back of their pickup truck after having given us directions to a nice safe hostel where we could camp near Urique. Later in the pm, they came back, very proud of themselves, ...with a hat - NOT the hat of the guy who'd robbed us! We were sorry to deflate their sense of accomplishment...

Urique is a really pretty town. Here is a flame tree in bloom over the beer store, and fruiting "Guamuchil" (Fabaceae) which the locals say the macaws come to eat. The only problem with Urique was the size of their "topes" (speed bumps). All three women had to parade through town while Brad did his best not to destroy the underside of Christine's car.

We were happy at the hostal (called "Entre Amigos"). They had a nice orchard for relaxed afternoon birding (the Mockingbirds mimicked Kiskadees and Elegant Euphonias!) and a shower. The caretaker, Tomas, gave us a lead on an orchard up a side canyon called El Mescalero where Lilac-crowned Parrots were reported to come to feed. Before heading off to Mescalero the following morning, this was our view:

Mescalero paid off. We DIDN'T get the parrots (to Brad and Alice's disappointment!) but DID find lots of other good birds including Black-throated Magpie-Jays, Thick-billed Kingbirds, White-throated Robins, Sinaloa Wrens (nesting), several orioles, and Elegant Quail.

The Magpie-jay was a hit with Christine and Emilie. This is the best shot we got of one. Their tails really are absurd. Also the Squirrel Cuckoo was pretty exciting to see for the first time too.

By mid-morning the heat was fairly overwhelming (probably around 105 degrees F). Luckily, if you swam with all your clothes on, they would keep you cool via  evaporative cooling for quite a while.

We decided that in order to make the drive home less onerous, we wouldn't stay another night down in the canyon, but break up the return trip with 3 more camps, lots of stops and walks, and short drives. On our way back up the canyon wall, we had some phenomenal birding where the road crossed gullies. In one amazing stop we found Red-headed Tanagers - a bird that seems to be rare everywhere it occurs! Emilie even got a picture of it!










However, by far the most exciting birds for Alice and Brad (MAYBE even surpassing the macaws because of the long grudge-match, the fabulous, close-up views, and the great personality) were the Spotted Wrens. We finally figured out Spotted Wren habitat, and when we got there, we found the birds! No picture of the bird, but here is the habitat and the happy birders.

After that, we really had no choice but to leave an offering of thanks for the Virgin of Guadalupe at the spring near the top of the road.

Getting to the campsite we chose that night involved road-building but was worth it for the ever-present and vocal Mountain Trogons (check out that tail pattern!) that surrounded us, and the moist gulley we birded the next morning.  Brad even got in some pine botanizing and a tame deer came for breakfast.

Our drive back up to the rim was as relaxed as possible given that the road hadn't improved any. We stopped for views, plants, an ancient mission, Tarahumara people, for an improbable 24-hour Barbeque sign in the middle of nowhere, for train bridges, and more.

Our second-last night was in an even BETTER spot on the rim near Divisadero. We were serenaded by Brown-backed Solitaires and cooing Band-tailed Pigeons.

For the final hurrah, we decided to spend our last night near the town of Madera where Brad and I had been a year before to see Thick-billed Parrots. The nesting spot we knew about was considerably further north than the Copper Canyon at very high elevations in a moist canyon filled with big old Aspen trees in which the parrots nest. We were struck by the difference in the parrots' behavior between trips. Last year we were a little earlier and the birds were extremely active, prospecting for cavities. This year, they were more wary and defensive. Not wanting to disturb nesting activities, we left after viewing one couple emerge from their hole and yell at us for a while.
 
Day 8: the drive home through the dry interior valleys of Chihuahua was made entertaining by the competetive interactions arising from the bets we placed at the beginning of the trip on how many species of birds we'd see. The bets were as follows: Christine 147, Alice 158, Brad 165, Emilie 180. Brad was the closest - our grand total was 168 spp.!
What a great trip!


NOTE! Many of these pictures (certainly all the really good ones) were taken by Emilie, not Brad and Alice!
Return to main Trips page
Return to Scrapbook