Birds of El Cielo

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March 3, 2006

A trip up the mountain to El Cielo Biosphere in a cage truck...
It was a dark and stormy night…well, not stormy, but definitely dark. And, oh, the stars! No light pollution down here. The night was restless, anticipating the knock o­n the door from Karen, the designated wake-up caller, listening to Mexican music in the middle of the night coming from the Nopalita plant next door where they package the pads of the prickly pear, hearing the click click of the room’s ceiling fan, barking dogs, and, early in the morning listening to the dew drops, like rain, falling from the leaves. We enjoyed breakfast in the dining room. Kerrie a young man from Wisconsin was here doing a bird study. He ate at a nearby table. We had a fruit dish of watermelon wedges, pineapple and sweet bananas placed o­n the dish to resemble a butterfly. Our eggs were scrambled with peppers and served with beans.

We hired a local guide (jimenezrr3@hotmail.com) and he was waiting for us. We boarded our cage, a pick-up truck with the back made up with benches and metal bars all around and over the top. We drove out of Gomez Farias o­n a paved road, which turned into a well-worn single-lane cobblestone drive. In the center and near the edges were single lines of stone that lent a pattern to the roadway. We passed children in their uniforms walking to school. At a well-known and much-photographed signpost the road divided and turned to rough gravel. We took the left branch and began the long switch-backed assent of the Sierra Madres. We entered the El Cielo Biosphere.



Here in the 350,000+ acres can be found eight forest ecosystems, the most interesting of which is the Cloud Forest. Scientists speculate that the tempered and tropic mix found here could be a relic forest that may have covered large parts of North America at o­ne time.


It was very misty; we were in the clouds. Spanish moss hung from the massive oaks. Epiphytes clung to the bark covering it completely. Orchids prepared to bloom. Like the temperate rain forests of the Pacific Northwest, ten feet of rain falls annually. The Sierra Madre Oriental is a barrier that causes the moisture from the Gulf of Mexico to stop o­n the eastern slopes.

We got out of our cage from time to time and walked. The road was rocky and we had to watch were we were placing our feet, while looking up in the canopy for birds. Luis, our driver, followed us at a distance. When someone spotted a bird, Steve would tell us the name and everyone would add it to their list.

The village halfway up the mountain is Alta Cima. We stopped for lunch at Restaurant La Fe (The Faith), o­ne of the two hotels in the town. They had a few caged birds from central Mexico. We enjoyed our lunch there. We had tortillas stuffed with cheese, beans and beef served with a salad and slice of avocado.

The little store has hand embroidered tee shirts and tortilla covers that the ladies make. We bought a tortilla warmer with a Tropical Kingbird embroidered o­n the front. The locals have been taught not to pick the orchids or destroy the habitat and are rewarded because their economy will improve with the increasing visitation of birders.

Kathy brought colored pencils for the kids. She would hold the pencil and say, "Gracias?" to the first o­ne or two kids in a group. When they repeated it for her, Kathy would let them have the pencil. After they saw how it was done, the others took their pencil, smiled and said, "Gracias" without being prompted.

The other hotel El Pino (The Pine) has a great pine out front. We met a group of students from the states there to study the plants of the tropical cloud forest as well as some of the birds.

The ride back to Gomez Faria was bumpy and we didn’t get out to walk. We did stop a few times for pictures.

Back at Casa de Piedra we sat o­n the patio. A bird flew to a branch near us. Steve named it--boat billed flycatcher— and the bird sat turning its head to show off his wide bill. Steve asked us our favorite birds, showed us a bird in the scope and we had to name it. We talked about our birding, looked up birds in different books and compared pictures and kept looking for birds until dark. Steve even gave us Latin names and we had to give the common name. Where do birds get their names? The Ornithologists take the information and approve the name given by the original finder. Recently in Peru a man has named about 20 new birds.

Our conversation dwindled to: An older couple with Alzheimer’s. The guy decided that he wanted sundae with vanilla ice cream and the wife said go to the store and get ice cream and bananas and whipped cream. A short time passed and he arrived back home. The wife opened the bag and found a dozen eggs. She said, “You forgot the bacon”.

Time for dinner. Maggie made us chicken with cheese melted o­n top, served with beans and rice.


After our meal a walk in the plaza was in order. We stopped for ice cream and sat around the central gazebo. A group of children sat o­n a bench and Cindy found out they were from Harlingen, Texas, here visiting their Grandparents. Kathy joined them and gave each a pencil. o­ne little guy had a broken arm and asked to have his cast signed by everyone, Will came over and signed it. We found out they have been here since October and will be here for more months. They told us about nearby caves, o­ne that has trash in it and it is dangerous; the other is so beautiful. It would have been fun to have the time to join them in some exploring.

The Nopalita plant was busy with packers moving crates and loading trucks. From our room we could hear their music and slamming of the crates. We tried closing the windows and leaving the door open and that helped.



Our birds of the day were: Altamira oriole, Brown Jay, Masked tityra, Yellow winged tanager, Melodious blackbird, Tropical Kingbird, Social Flycatcher, *White crowned parrot, Plain Chachalaca, *Black headed Saltator, Red Lord Parrot, Boatbilled Flycatcher, Audubon Blackheaded oriole, *Clay colored Robin, *White tipped Dove, *Blackbacked Solitaire, *Masked Tityra, Ruby Crowned Kinglet, *Indigo Bunting, *Orange Crowned Warbler, *Wilson’s Warbler, Western Tanager, *Tropical Parula, Fantail Warbler, Spot Breasted Wren, Golden Crowned Kinglet, *Green Jay, *Olive Sparrow, Yellow Faced Grassquit, *Solitary Eagle, Crimson Colored Grosbeak, Crested Chested Warbler, *White Winged Tanager, Dusty Cap Flycatcher, Spot Breasted Wren, Black Throated Yellow Bellied Sapsucker, *Squirrel Cuckoo, *Mountain Trogon, *Eastern Phoebe, Blue Mockingbird, Yellowfaced Grassquit, *Wedge tailed Hummingbird, Blackheaded Saltator, Blackheaded Oriole, Green Breasted Mango, Greater Phoebe, Baltimore oriole, Greyish Saltator, Collard Forest Hawk, Lesser Goldfinch, *Grey Catbird, *White Crowned Parrot, *Ruby throated Hummingbird, Yellow Winged Tanager, *Redbilled Pigeon, *Melodious blackbird, Great tailed Grackle, Couches Kingbird

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