According to John Keeling, organizer for the local annual Christmas bird count, the numbers of each species seen was down slightly from the averages of the previous six years.
“It is likely that the hotter, drier summer in the United States and Mexico affected the traditional timing of migration. Many birds may have come south later than usual,” says Keeling.
Lake Chapala Birders fielded 17 observers for the seventh annual Ajijic Christmas Bird Count held December 14. They were divided into five teams, each assigned to a particular area – Ajijic, Riberas del Pilar, Santa Cruz, and Lake Cajititlan. Two members counted birds from a canoe in Lake Chapala.All told, the group found 109 different species in the area. Some of the more uncommon species counted were Gadwall (duck), the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, which is normally seen in the spring, the Eastern Meadowlark, which seems to be on the increase around Lake Chapala, and the Gray Silky Flycatcher, usually found only where there are tree berries that it prefers.
The total number of birds counted was 5,482. This figure includes over 1,000 tree swallows flying overhead, and more than 500 Ring-billed Gulls on the shore of the lake.
A second Christmas Bird Count was held three days later at the east end of Lake Chapala. Two teams recorded sightings of 83 species. Less common species included Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Eurasian Collared Dove and Greater Pewee. The observers spent about six hours in the field not including the two-hour drive each way.
The total count of individual birds recorded at the far end of the lake was 8,017 which included over 4,000 Yellow-headed Blackbirds which haunt the reed beds at the end of the lake, and more than one thousand Cattle egrets, a species that arrived in North America from Europe only within the last hundred years. The count results are forwarded to the National Audubon Society in the United States, which coordinates more than 2,000 Christmas Bird Counts annually in North and South America. The data is made available to scientists to study trends in bird populations. This helps in the development of strategies to protect birds and their habitat, and helps identify environmental issues with implications for people as well.
For more information about the local birding club contact Keeling at (376) 766-1801.