Mexico Intro

I had studied for nearly a year. Calls, ranges, plumages and habitats. I was finally ready, and the time had finally come. A vast amount of biodiversity awaited me in Mexico, and I wasn't going to let it slip through my fingertips because of unpreparedness and lack of ID skill. So by the time march break rolled around, I felt ready. I had corresponded with nearly a dozen people who either lived in or had frequently visited the Zihuatanejo area of Mexico, and I was felt confident about the trip. The city we were going to be staying in, Zihuatanejo, used to be a small fishing village on the South-West coast of Mexico, but the tourism industry had since boosted it to a thriving city, sister to another nearby city, Ixtapa. Having the coast on one side provided habitat for coastal dwelling birds such as shorebirds, but the inland is a vast expanse of rolling thorn-scrub, with some foothills extending all the way down from the Sierra Madre, a massive mountain range to the north packed with endemics. Unfortunately, my trip would be restricted to the coast, or at least very limited interior birding, but thanks to Mexico's insane amount birds, the coast was enough of a challenge as it was.

This map shows my available  birding area. Mainly Zihuatanejo and Ixtapa, but I also had access to Troncones, a small village to the West, and La Barra de Potosi to the East.

My trip was going to be from March 13 - 17, so I hoped that I would be able to get some of the local, year round endemics, but also some early North American migrants.

Endemics:
West Mexican Chachalaca
Golden-cheeked Woodpecker
Lilac Crowned ParrotYellow Headed ParrotSan Blas JayStreak-backed Oriole
Rufous-backed Robin
Doubleday's Hummingbird (endemic subspecies of Broad-billed Hummingbird)
Colima Pygmy-owl

I felt I had a good shot at all of these species. Some would be commonplace, like West Mexican Chachalaca and Streak-backed Oriole, but species like both the Parrots and San Blas Jay would be much harder, with the others somewhere in between.