Dec
20
2008
OK, here is where the American Ornithologist’s Union and I part company. They still officially consider the green, Red-bellied Woodpecker-sized woodpeckers that occur in Northeastern Mexico to be a distinctive subspecies of the Golden-Olive Woodpecker Colaptes rubiginosus, a wide-ranging neotropical species. They designate these birds as Colaptes r. aeruginosus, the “Bronze-winged Woodpecker.” I say–and this is hardly a [...]
Tags: elcielo, mexico, woodpeckers
Dec
18
2008
I’ve got a thing for yellowthroats. I always thought they were cute and had lots of personality–everyone thinks that. Otherwise, they weren’t especially on my radar. But traveling into Mexico at the dawn of the 1990′s really turned my head around. Of course, there was the opportunity to see Gray-crowned Yellowthroat (click that link for [...]
Tags: elcielo, mexico, tamaulipas, warblers, yellowthroats
Dec
17
2008
Ever throw a really cool party, then go into semi-hibernation until you recovered? That’s pretty much what’s happened to me since hosting I and the Bird #90 last week. My sincere thanks to all who showed up, both bloggers and readers. It was really nice having you all stop by. Getting back to the Mexico [...]
Tags: elcielo, fieldcraft, owls, playback, pygmyowls, tamaulipas
Dec
01
2008
Marci, Liz, & Me at El Nacimiento del Rio Sabinas, photo © Jim White El Nacimiento means birth, but it’s also used to denote a spring where a river rises. There are a couple of nacimientos in the El Cielo area, but the one that is closest to my heart is that of the Rio [...]
Tags: elcielo, lizzie, marcifuller, mexico, tamaulipas
Oct
31
2008
Birders along the Rio Sabinas, Tamaulipas, Mexico, November 2007 They all went to Mexico Buenas dias, got to go Tengo que obedecer Mi corazon –Greg Brown, “They All Went to Mexico” See you all in a couple of days–don’t forget to vote!
Tags: elcielo, mexico, tamaulipas