San Cristobal and El Sumidero
Our day began in the cold pine forests just above San Cristobal. As the sun came up, so the birds materialised. Rufous-collared Thrush flew in and landed on top of a pine and treated us to some great views. While watching this, a flash of red arrived in the same tree, alerting us to a glorious pair of Mountain Trogons, great tree! A warbler flock provided what was possibly one of the best birds of the trip so far, Red-faced Warbler, a bird Alan has always wanted to see since first picking up an American field guide many many years ago. The flock also contained such delights as Crescent-chested Warbler and Hermit Warbler.From here we drove on to the stunning scenery of the gorge at El Sumidero. Apart from breathtaking drops down thousands of metres to the river far below, this area provide excellent birding even in the heat of mid-afternoon. Just a few of the highlights here included Rufous-capped Warbler, Nutting’s Flycatcher, Green Jay and Plain-capped Starthroat Hummingbird. We reluctantly tore ourselves away for the long drive to Villahermosa. This area had been hit recently by serious floods and the roads still showed signs of damage, with even bigger potholes than usual, subsidence and an interesting flooded stretch which gave the underside of the car a good wash. After the four-hour drive, not even the blaring music from the hotel bar could keep us awake as we tried to get some sleep before our 4.30am taxi to the airport the next morning.
P.S. We forgot to mention that Toco had a bit of a shock when he rediscovered Ivory-billed Woodpecker doing well in Mexico! (See photo)
10.1.08