Back in Mexico in March

 We were only there a week but managed to go for a walk most days where we were able to see the occasional bird.

 Including the three relatives here.  A Snowy Egret, a Tricoloured Egret, and a Great Blue Heron. We have Herons in Saskatchewan in the summer, in fact there is a heronry less than an hour's drive from our house, but they definitely prefer Mexico in the winter.

 

Our first lifer of the year was a Monk Parakeet in the small town of La Penita.  This is a bird that normally hangs out in the southern half of South America but because he is kind of cute, people think he would be a good pet.  What happens next is not unexpected.  The birds escape, find each other, and discover that they can live in their new environment as well as in South America.  These Parakeet have an unusual trait.  They use their nests year round, which likely helps them survive in climates colder than their usual homes.  

 

 Ray and I have seen Blue-footed Boobies a couple of times while on boats off shore, but they seldom come near land where people hang out.  This one flew over the bay outside our hotel for a while, completely surprising me. If you look very carefully, you may be able to see the blue feet.

Swallows and their cousins Martins are very difficult to photograph,  They have the habit of flying and swooping, but these Grey-breasted Martins perched on a wall just across the yard from where I sat outside our hotel room.  While not quite posing for me, they certainly made photography easier than the Bank or Cliff Swallows I sometimes try to photograph.

There are people who say derogatory things about gulls, but to me a gull is quite beautiful, not to mention occasionally very difficult to ID.  This one I am calling this one a Western Gull because it has a dark mantle, white head, red spot on its lower mandible and pink legs.  It is our second life bird of the year, and of this trip.

 This is another gull, one that I have no hesitation in calling a Heerman's Gull.  It has distinctive looks that set it apart from every other North American gull.  Even the juveniles are identifiable.  It is one of the birds I look forward to seeing when we come south.  I just learned that it does spend time along the Pacific coast of BC, particularly around Vancouver Island, but we did not see it when we there a few years ago.

Our last Mexican bird is another Egret, this is the Great Egret.  It is supposed to live in much warmer climates, but a few have shown up in Saskatchewan this summer, causing prairie birders to rush to see them.  So far I have not added any egrets to our Saskatchewan list, but perhaps next year.