For our final day, Chris wanted to show me some areas south and east of Puerto Peñasco. I had never been down that way, but the highway that lead to the town of Caborca was our route to an estuary. It had been a while since Chris had been there, so turning off onto an incorrect road which lead to a dead end, was interesting to say the least. However, I have no complaints because we found some birds along this road that were new to me in Mexico and added to my Mexico list; Gambel's Quail, Peregrine Falcon, and Western Meadowlark.
This estuary was totally awesome as it is remote with some incredible beaches that have not been scavenged by too many humans. In one small arm of the estuary we had some amazing birds including a fly-over of a Reddish Egret. It was so close, that we could see the bi-colored bill without binoculars!
Reddish Egret
Red-breasted Merganser-Male
Red-breasted Merganser-Female
The "Creature" in the water behind the merganser.
American Golden-Plover
Bird Island with a bird flying in the front.
Hermit Thrush found hiding in mesquites near a hotel.
This estuary was totally awesome as it is remote with some incredible beaches that have not been scavenged by too many humans. In one small arm of the estuary we had some amazing birds including a fly-over of a Reddish Egret. It was so close, that we could see the bi-colored bill without binoculars!
Reddish Egret
In the mud flats a Whimbrel was probing the mud and shallow water for tidbits of food.
Whimbrel
Probably one of the most exciting birds were some Red-breasted Mergansers; males and females. It was only about a month ago that I got to see my first male of this species from a distance at Lake Mohave in Arizona. This time we had males and females right under the bridge.
Red-breasted Merganser & 2 Bufflehead-All Females
At one point, I was following a male Red-breasted Merganser as it swam away from us, and we were treated to a view of a 'Creature from the Estuary Lagoon'! We have no clue as to what this underwater creature was, but it swam towards us and then swam into deeper water and out of sight. Possibly just a fish of some sort, but it was interesting to say the least.
More shorebirds that we encountered included the American Golden-Plover and another Semipalmated Plover, and this time I got a photo of this bird.
Semipalmated Plover
Forster's Terns were active at the mouth of the estuary where it meets the ocean.
Forster's Tern
There is a spot out in the Sea of Cortez called Bird Island. Actually, it consist of a couple of small islands that are just rocks, but it is used as a breeding site for Blue-footed and Brown Boobys. Rocky Point does have boats that will take people out there. There is no access point on the island, so all viewing has to be done from the boat. We checked into it, but the costs were too prohibitive. So we did not get to visit the place. On the beach by the estuary we were able to see the rocky outcrops of the islands, so the photos below were my views of Bird Island from the coast.
The beach covered in sea shells.
I believe this is a Zebra-tailed Lizard.
A small sand crab found on the beach.
A very interesting succulent growing in the sand dunes above the beach.
This pretty much wrapped up our third and final day in Puerto Peñasco, Mexico. Always a great place to get away and enjoy a bit of beach life for those who live in Arizona.
I love birding in Puerto Peñasco. Very nice photos!
ReplyDeleteWe still haven't figured out what that monster is in the ocean:)
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