Birding in comfort
By Carol Wheeler

In case you haven’t heard, all Audubon trips are wonderful. This month, though, the group inaugurates a brand new bird-watching extravaganza that could top all past trips—three days (and countless birds) in Mexico City. The price includes all breakfasts and lunches and one farewell dinner, as well as hotel, transportation and entrance to all of the unique and fascinating outings our guide has planned.

Excursions include birding at the Botanical Gardens at UNAM; a birding tour of Desierto de Leones, a national park just outside of the city; a visit to the floating gardens of Xochimilco followed by a stop at the flower market; and a birding tour of the spectacular Xochicalco archeological site, just outside of Cuernavaca. Expect to see everything from the Yellow-eyed Junco to the Russet Nightingale-thrush and beyond.

Audubon’s previous trip in July, to Pátzcuaro, is being repeated November 16–19. The upcoming trip to Pátzcuaro, like the last one, is sure to include: two skilled and devoted bird guides, one all-knowing guide to the Purhepechan ruins, and dozens and dozens of birds that come along for the ride, including the elegant euphonia, the gray silk flycatcher and even the turkey vulture.

On that trip, amenities were rife. The hotel was splendid—Casa Encantada may be the best bed and breakfast in Pátzcuaro—certainly it has sumptuous breakfasts, spacious rooms and charming folk decor everywhere. The transportation was excellent too—ample six-passenger vans that took us not only to Pátzcuaro and back, but everywhere we went once we got there. The food ranged from a gourmet dinner at Pátzcuaro’s best restaurant to perfect bag lunches for our visit to the ruins in Tzintzuntzan. This was birding for anyone eager to spot feathered creatures, and in utmost comfort.

Our bird guide, former Alaskan Georgia Conti, was not only an experienced naturalist, she was also impressively high-tech, equipped with an iPod Touch that sang the calls of Michoacán’s birds on request, enticing the birds to fly closer. Her co-leader Hugo (otherwise known as Victor Hugo Valencia Alberto), who grew up in the area, used his scope to make sure we all saw what he saw. Both Georgia and Hugo wanted us to get the most out of the excursion.

Hugo had learned birding right there in Erongarícuaro from his father, a railroad man. The tracks his father had been in charge of were one of our birding sites, so he knew them well. In use no longer, those tracks were perfect for birding—no mud and a smooth, flat path all around us, all bordered by woods, hills and the shells of old railroad workers’ houses.

But even that paled beside the next day’s site: a waterside platform where the birds came to us, no walking required on our part. (The birds were also visiting tall trees, horse pastures, fence posts and a lake.)

Audubon travelers were in luck. In the course of our trip, Georgia and Hugo showed us most of the distinctive birds of Michoacán, including Georgia’s choice for most characteristic song—the brown-backed solitaire—along with the berylline hummingbird, the painted redstart, the black-polled yellowthroat, the hybrid towhee, the elegant trogon and many others.

Our ruins guide, another transplanted American named Didi Rose, was incredibly knowledgeable about the Purhepechan culture. One tidbit she offered is that the ruins we visited are known as Yácata, meaning pile of rocks, but were once the seat of the monarchs of Purhepecha, above the village of Tzintzuntzan, former capital city of Michoacán.

The ruins themselves are being sorted out by the Mexican government, walls rebuilt, grassy areas cleaned up. She also led us through a beautiful ex-convent fringed by a serene garden, also being restored by the government. Just outside was the famous Tzintzuntzan market. There were no egrets, no ravens, not even a cinnamon-bellied flowerpiercer (we’d seen those already), but it was still a popular site for our group. Only this time we searched for comales, straw cradles and flowered blouses.

Yes, we didn’t only look for and at birds. We shopped and we partied, we visited museums and markets, and we even got caught in the rain briefly. Often we combined several activities. We visited the home of Georgia and her husband, a modern aerie in the sky, high above rolling farmland, with a privileged view of the world, plus several hummingbird feeders hanging from the patio roof, filled with the constant comings and goings of dozens of hummingbirds, close enough (almost) to touch (though if you tried, you might fall far below into that farmland).

We spotted birds on our way to the art potter Nicholas Fabian’s studio in his home in Santa Fe de la Laguna, a rustic Michoacán town. Fabian’s work impressed us all; many of us bought pieces, one or a few, and then saw them later in town for three times the price.

Linda Whynman, Audubon’s president, and her husband Saul ran the trip beautifully. They even thought to bring extra binoculars for those of us who were less equipped. And of course they provided the perfect place to discuss our sightings—the daily cocktail party.

All Audubon trips are limited to a small number of participants—usually no more than 20—so it's important to sign up as soon as you can if they appeal to you. To sign up for the Audubon’s October trip to Mexico City or for the November trip to Pátzcuaro, call Linda Whynman at 152-2139, email her at vellum1@mac.com, or go to the Audubon website.

The cost for the Pátzcuaro trip includes food, hotel stay and bird watching. Also remember, if you become an Audubon member (visit www.audubonmex.org ) you'll be one of the first to hear about all upcoming plans.