“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 are going to 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 particular person 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 programs 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 your entire lake system but?
The “deepest” a part of “Lake” Cuitzeo in July, 2023, on the top 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 12 months? Would their populations nonetheless be wholesome? What concerning the restoration of our essential reedbeds, so lately devastated by drought and fireplace? How about creatures just like the lake’s water snakes which, not like migratory birds, can not fly away seeking a substitute physique of water? And would the fishing business of the lake’s cities present any signal of restoration?
I can not converse but to the difficulty of fishing on the lake. However I can, certainly, verify that the lake is making a strong comeback. The western finish, which principally receives its water as soon as the japanese facet has turn out to be deep sufficient to spill by means of the culverts beneath the 2 north-south causeways, is certainly starting to refill. Because it takes fairly some time for rainwaters to filter by means 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 all the pieces factors to our waterfowl and shorebirds turning up in good numbers as effectively, 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 each day. As I watched flocks of Shovelers fly all the way 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 decreasing onto the lake
A Blue-winged Teal doing the identical
Whereas lots of our winter duck species have but to show up, there gave the impression to be representatives of most of our winter shorebirds already current. I noticed a number of Lengthy-billed Dowitchers, with the same old admixture of similar-looking Stilt Sandpipers. A minimum of 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 will even quickly proceed to fly additional south. A number of Soras labored their approach by means of the recovering reedbeds, in addition to one obvious Virginia Rail. Yellowlegs, each Higher and Lesser, have proven up in good numbers. Unusually, a number of Willets have been current, though these ought to quickly depart for the coast.
Numerous 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
Lately arrived (or arriving) Lesser Yellowlegs; Higher Yellowlegs have been additionally ample elsewhere.
Ruddy Geese and Clark’s Grebes are ordinary 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 a minimum of 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 have 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.
