Northern Potoo - sleeping
Trip bird for me

See Matt and Do's remarks on the bird list below on many of the birds.

Sun rise Laguna Vista
before departing

Matt did some wade fishing waiting for offices to open.

Matt's personal description of the "El Cielo Magic" trip is below. See the complete list of the 114 birds at the page end with descriptions of the areas and birds below too. Natural lighting the first afternoon was not conducive to photography.

All photographs are by Lee Zieger and have copyrights.

Tuesday we went up the mountain in the El Cielo Biosphere to Alta Cima and beyond.

The very special bird endemic to this area, Tamaulipas Pygmy Owl popped up while looking for the Ornate Hawk Eagle. This pygmy owl is usually found higher up.

We were also treated to a nearby Grey Hawk flying off a perch.

Large glass doors and wall to left are in the dining room offering the best view for all meals in Gomez Farias.

On the right the red roof is a room with a private patio looking into the valley and mango grove.

Back to the low lands.

Above
Ricardo Jimenez, Matt Carter, and Do' Carter on an island in the Frio River at La Florida

Right
Do' and Matt Carter crossing a channel in the Frio River from the island.

Above
Mexican Blue-wing
La Florida, Gomez Faria, Mexico

Right
Double-spotted Owl butterfly

Above
Lunch at Boca Toma 11AM, Rio Frio, Gomez Farias, Tamaulipas, Mexico

Right - on to boat birding
Double-crested Cormorant

Boat-billed Heron below is a great "life list bird". The El Cielo low lands is as far north as this species is found.

This bird hides behind a mass of limbs in the canopy of the tree and finding it is really hard. Usually you can see only one eye or the other hiding behind limbs. This bird stays above water making the boat an almost must have tool to even see this bird. The boat captain is good and Ricardo is even better. I have never taken a group to the El Cielo area and on the Frio River where I have not seen this fantastic bird.

Above
Northern Jacana - juv

Right
Roadside Hawk

El Cielo Magic

6,000 miles is a long way to go for a 4-day trip, but El Cielo turned out to be the sparkling Mexican jewel we hoped it would be.
To get there - Do’ and I flew from London, England to Houston, Texas, connecting to Harlingen airport, hiring a car to Laguna Vista, by South Padre Island. From here, Lee drove us in his suburban + 4x4 into Mexico via Brownsville, taking about 5 hours to reach Gomez Farias in the foothills of El Cielo, the cloud forest.

To break the trip, we stopped to sample a spicy Mexican lunch and quick tour of a small Tequila museum which got us in the mood for Margaritas!  Arriving at our hotel Casa de Piedra, we found a dreamy location within stands of palm, banana, lime, orange, papaya and mango trees, overlooking a steep forest-lined valley and mountain vistas above.

Our room was spacious and clean with a tasteful traditional feel, having one of “those” balconies you’d always be happy to pay for, with views sparking happy memories of previous African and far Eastern experiences.

Not wasting any time we met our local guide Ricardo, a friendly and modest local man. We soon established his detailed knowledge of birds and wildlife in general, and attentive people skills.

In summary, over the next three days we visited a range of habitats including lowland plains, taking in two river boat trips, relaxing foothill and mountain-side walks through groves of sub-tropical forest.  We recorded 115 bird species including a small number of ‘specialties’. For me, four singing quails crossed our path with daily encounters of the Thicket Tinamou.   Overhead there were  displays of Military Macaw and close-up encounters with Pygmy Owls were obvious highlights.   Ricardo located a sleeping Northern Potoo (night hawk) perched like a dead branch only thirty feet above us, which made that day most memorable.  There were too many good sightings to mention here; the full list is appended to this report.

El Cielo is also a paradise for butterflies to match others, being another good reason for our visit. Although June or July are better months for best displays we were not disappointed with four magnificent views of the Common Morpho,  a large, iridescent-blue B52 like butterfly, in the mix with various swallowtails, iconic Mexican blues and many others. 

Ricardo gave us an edge I can’t exaggerate.   His acute knowledge led us to sightings we’d never have made ourselves, nor anyone else, so I totally recommend his service if you can book him!

We must mention personal safety at a time Mexico seems buried in drug gang related violence and general bad press. The common advice is to stay away, which for many is enough. Our local sources advise if you stay on main roads where army and police are ever present, travel during the day and you will ideally get to your destination without diversion.   The risk of any trouble is very low indeed. El Cielo fits with this, plus with Lee’s twenty years experience of the area, careful planning and his fluent Spanish meant we  were totally relaxed and felt safe at all times.

In only a few short days we enjoyed “one of those” dream holidays we’ll never forget.  We wholeheartedly thank Lee and Ricardo for making this dream a reality for us.

Matt & Do’ Carter.  2nd May 2010

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