“Let’s maintain natural world. Chicken crossing.”
One of the most issues I experience about going into nature with different birders is that we’re all so darned curious. We are saying we move to look birds. However give us a part hour, and we can unquestionably move down some rabbit hollow involving fascinating bugs, wildflowers, or geological formations. Or a literal rabbit hollow, will have to we occur upon one. Every individual has their very own favourite distraction, however every of those enrich all folks.
My very own non-birding passions are the vegetation we discover, and particularly, the whole environmental programs that affect the birds we search. This has turn into extra marked as we fell into, and now are mountain climbing out of, a ancient drought right here in central Mexico. Which is why I simply needed to force north to Mexico’s second-largest lake, Lake Cuitzeo, to look how a ways its restoration has improved. Would our super-abundant 2024 rainfall be achieving all of the lake machine but?
The “inner most” a part of “Lake” Cuitzeo in July, 2023, on the peak of our “wet season”
A glance against that japanese segment of the lake in September 2024
That one basic query resulted in an additional collection of questions. Would the hundreds of birds that flew south overdue remaining summer season, most effective to discover a dry lakebed, take a look at their success there once more this 12 months? Would their populations nonetheless be wholesome? What concerning the restoration of our a very powerful reedbeds, so not too long ago devastated via drought and hearth? How about creatures just like the lake’s water snakes which, in contrast to migratory birds, can’t fly away looking for a replace frame of water? And would the fishing trade of the lake’s cities display any signal of restoration?
I can’t discuss but to the problem of fishing at the lake. However I will be able to, certainly, verify that the lake is creating a cast comeback. The western finish, which most commonly receives its water as soon as the japanese facet has turn into deep sufficient to spill in the course of the culverts below the 2 north-south causeways, is certainly starting to replenish. Because it takes moderately some time for rainwaters to filter out in the course of the soil, into waterways, down the ones waterways, and into the lake via the east-to-west course, the lake will surely proceed to fill lengthy after our summer season rains finish.
And the entirety issues to our waterfowl and shorebirds turning up in excellent numbers as smartly, regardless of their unhappy enjoy remaining wintry weather. My mid-September talk over with confirmed that many Blue-winged Teals and Northern Shovelers had arrived, with extra surely arriving each day. As I watched flocks of Shovelers fly all the way down to the lake floor, it made me ponder whether a few of them weren’t making their first look ahead of my eyes.
Northern Shovelers decreasing onto the lake
A Blue-winged Teal doing the similar
Whilst a lot of our wintry weather duck species have not begun to show up, there looked to be representatives of maximum of our wintry weather shorebirds already provide. I noticed quite a lot of Lengthy-billed Dowitchers, with the standard admixture of similar-looking Stilt Sandpipers. No less than one Pectoral Sandpiper grew to become up, even supposing it’ll possibly quickly proceed touring additional south. There have been for sure some Western and Least Sandpipers provide, in addition to a couple of final Baird’s Sandpipers which can even quickly proceed to fly additional south. A number of Soras labored their manner in the course of the recuperating reedbeds, in addition to one obvious Virginia Rail. Yellowlegs, each Higher and Lesser, have proven up in excellent numbers. Strangely, a number of Willets have been provide, even supposing those will have to quickly leave for the coast.
Quite a lot of Lengthy-billed Dowitchers… with some White-faced Ibises and Yellowlegs for excellent measure
Western Sandpipers (black legs)
Least Sandpipers (yellow legs) and Lesser Yellowlegs; pardon the redundancy
That Virginia Rail, making a snappy getaway
a Sora, doing the similar
Lately arrived (or arriving) Lesser Yellowlegs; Higher Yellowlegs have been additionally considerable in other places.
Ruddy Geese and Clark’s Grebes are standard citizens at the lake. Their want for deeper water, alternatively, pressured them to desert it when the lake nearly disappeared. They’re now again, I’m extremely joyful to mention.
I did see a minimum of one water snake in this trip. I additionally noticed a spider consuming a butterfly, which gave the impression peculiar. As to my different questions, the reedbeds are making just a gradual restoration when they dried up and have been burned. The cattails appear to be particularly slow-growing. And I will be able to have to attend till later within the wintry weather season to look if our waterfowl populations glance as spectacular as they as soon as did. I’m crossing my arms.
