Mar 02 2009
Take a look at the landscape below. What can you tell me about the environment depicted?
It’s a desert, or at least a dry habitat, right? The plain in the foreground, anyhow–who knows what the climate is like in the mountains? But the tall, spiky yucca plants at front right tell you, just as surely as [...]
Feb 27 2009
It occurred to me one day during my recent trip to Mexico that I was taking a lot of pictures of red things, often with green and white as background or accents. Hmmm, I thought, I should get a good shot of Mexico’s flag–it would make a nice introduction to a blog post featuring those [...]
Feb 23 2009
I consider myself a pretty skeptical person–most of the time. But I think the picture below speaks for itself:
A large, rapidly rotating disc-shaped object floats in the sky over a remote mountainous area know for sightings of UFOs. I want to believe–how about you?
Well, the truth, as they say, is out there: below is the [...]
Feb 19 2009
Tour leading, despite all appearances, is actually hard work. People will often say, “Oh, you’re so lucky!, you get paid to go birding!” Well, not hardly. Nobody gets paid to go birding. But I will unabashedly admit that it can be pretty sweet work indeed. This morning, it was hard to believe that I was [...]
Feb 13 2009
Dear Mexico,
We’ve been seeing a lot of each other recently and I have to say, I’m more than a little smitten.
I love the way you combine the transcendent with the ordinary.
I love the way you keep your secrets, revealing them so slowly.
I love the warmth and dignity of your people.
And of course, I love the [...]
Jan 15 2009
Pretty simple this time–just a ribbon of Roseate Spoonbills floating across a cloudless Mexican sky. Be sure to check out other Skywatch Friday posts from around the world.
Jan 14 2009
Teotitlán del Valle is a town of about five thousand that seems much smaller. It’s wedged into a narrow stream valley that winds its way up into the mountains, about a 20 minute ride east from the city of Oaxaca. On our recent tour, we visited Teotitlán twice, focussing our efforts on the cactus scrub and [...]
Jan 06 2009
I’ve struggled a bit with this post. Every time I try to write it, it feels too heavy. I dunno, maybe the heat here is getting to me. So I’m going to try an experiment–I’m just going to let the pictures do the talking. I’ll provide a rough translation at the end.
I’ll bet you don’t [...]
Dec 31 2008
Hello and Happy New Year!
I’m in the middle of leading a tour with Chris Benesh for Field Guides, Inc., to Oaxaca, in southwest Mexico. I don’t have much time to write, but here are a few pictures you might enjoy:
The main plaza at the ruins of Monte Alban, above. Below, the ball court there.
Overhead, a [...]
Dec 23 2008
This is my last post in a series of four on the endemic birds of Northeast Mexico. That doesn’t mean I’ve run through the entire list of species, not hardly. But I hope I’ve given you a taste of some of what makes the area unique.
I’m ending on a chromatically appropriate note with Red-crowned Parrot [...]
