“Let’s look after wildlife. Fowl crossing.”
One of many issues I take pleasure in about going into nature with different birders is that we’re all so darned curious. We are saying we go to see birds. However give us a half hour, and we’ll certainly go down some rabbit gap involving attention-grabbing bugs, wildflowers, or geological formations. Or a literal rabbit gap, ought to we occur upon one. Every individual has their very own favourite distraction, however every of those enrich all of us.
My very own non-birding passions are the crops we discover, and particularly, the general environmental techniques that influence the birds we search. This has turn out to be extra marked as we fell into, and now are climbing out of, a historic drought right here in central Mexico. Which is why I simply needed to drive north to Mexico’s second-largest lake, Lake Cuitzeo, to see how far its restoration has progressed. Would our super-abundant 2024 rainfall be reaching the complete lake system but?
The “deepest” a part of “Lake” Cuitzeo in July, 2023, on the peak of our “wet season”
A glance in direction of that japanese part of the lake in September 2024
That one elementary query led to an extra collection of questions. Would the 1000’s of birds that flew south late final summer season, solely to discover a dry lakebed, attempt their luck there once more this yr? Would their populations nonetheless be wholesome? What concerning the restoration of our essential reedbeds, so not too long ago devastated by drought and hearth? How about creatures just like the lake’s water snakes which, not like migratory birds, can not fly away in quest of a substitute physique of water? And would the fishing trade of the lake’s cities present any signal of restoration?
I can not communicate but to the problem of fishing on the lake. However I can, certainly, verify that the lake is making a strong comeback. The western finish, which largely receives its water as soon as the japanese aspect has turn out to be deep sufficient to spill by way of the culverts underneath the 2 north-south causeways, is certainly starting to replenish. Because it takes fairly some time for rainwaters to filter by way of the soil, into waterways, down these waterways, and into the lake by the east-to-west route, the lake will little question proceed to fill lengthy after our summer season rains finish.
And the whole lot factors to our waterfowl and shorebirds turning up in good numbers as properly, regardless of their unhappy expertise final winter. My mid-September go to confirmed that many Blue-winged Teals and Northern Shovelers had arrived, with extra little question arriving daily. As I watched flocks of Shovelers fly right down to the lake floor, it made me surprise if a few of them weren’t making their first look earlier than my eyes.
Northern Shovelers reducing onto the lake
A Blue-winged Teal doing the identical
Whereas a lot of our winter duck species have but to show up, there appeared to be representatives of most of our winter shorebirds already current. I noticed plenty of Lengthy-billed Dowitchers, with the same old admixture of similar-looking Stilt Sandpipers. Not less than one Pectoral Sandpiper turned up, though it should presumably quickly proceed touring additional south. There have been undoubtedly some Western and Least Sandpipers current, in addition to a number of remaining Baird’s Sandpipers which can even quickly proceed to fly additional south. A number of Soras labored their manner by way of the recovering reedbeds, in addition to one obvious Virginia Rail. Yellowlegs, each Better and Lesser, have proven up in good numbers. Unusually, a number of Willets had been current, though these ought to quickly depart for the coast.
Plenty of Lengthy-billed Dowitchers… with some White-faced Ibises and Yellowlegs for good measure
Western Sandpipers (black legs)
Least Sandpipers (yellow legs) and Lesser Yellowlegs; pardon the redundancy
That Virginia Rail, making a fast getaway
a Sora, doing the identical
Not too long ago arrived (or arriving) Lesser Yellowlegs; Better Yellowlegs had been additionally plentiful elsewhere.
Ruddy Geese and Clark’s Grebes are typical residents on the lake. Their want for deeper water, nevertheless, pressured them to desert it when the lake virtually disappeared. They’re now again, I’m delighted to say.
I did see at the least one water snake on this outing. I additionally noticed a spider consuming a butterfly, which appeared uncommon. As to my different questions, the reedbeds are making solely a gradual restoration after they dried up and had been burned. The cattails appear to be particularly slow-growing. And I must wait till later within the winter season to see if our waterfowl populations look as spectacular as they as soon as did. I’m crossing my fingers.
