Observations from Oaxaca and Tuxtepec

 

Observations & Lessons from a Birding Trip through
Oaxaca and Tuxtepec: 

Christmas 2016

(in no particular order)

• The Mexican people are kind, generous, warm and wonderful.
• You only pee on your cell phone in the woods one time.
• You only drop your cell phone through a grate into a restricted area one time.
• It’s amazing to see a bat catch a moth, just not when it’s happening while standing on the side of a cliff on a mountain road in the middle of nowhere in near pitch black. Then it’s panic inducing.
• The patience required to hear, then call, then listen, then call again, then wait for the arrival of a fulvous owl to land silently on a tree above your head as you stand in absolute darkness is completely and entirely worth it.
• If you don’t know a bird name, make it up. Your guide can usually guess what you are suggesting (“Um… Didn’t we see a flappy rusty pincher bird today?” “No, Teresa we saw the Cinnamon-bellied Flowerpiercer.”
• When your guide tells you six times that the bird is a White-naped Brush Finch, even though you want to with all your heart, don’t ask him if he said “naped or aped”. His head might implode.

• If you want to feel young, travel with birders.
• Mexico has drive-in motels, i.e. Motels with flaps over carports to hide a car. Ergo, Mexico takes cheating on your spouse very seriously.
• Aging birders toot frequently (and I don’t mean toot as when the leader calls for an owl to appear, I mean, well… you know what I mean!)
• Dogs abound in Mexico, but the best dog spotting for me was the adorable barky chap on the roof of a random house.
• Birds spotted by Welsh birders are the best “Acown Woodpeckah” (to be said with a stately exuberance, whilst pointing to something indiscernible in the distance.)
• In the things that make you go "frog" department. Be sure your birding instructor knows other languages, especially Portuguese. "Hunh?"
• Travel with a birding guide who knows things about butterflies and plants too. Field lessons are the best.
• Travel only with birding guides who understand the importance of a good breakfast with your favorite tea.

 • Mexican churches have beautiful shrines to the Virgin Mary, but more importantly, so do gas stations and hotels and road sides and restaurants and bathrooms and storefronts and, and, and….
• Most birders begin sentences with “When I was in Borneo…” or “When I was in Nepal…” Also heard on my trip, “When I was in Suriname…” “When I was in Ecuador…” “When I was in Panama…” “When I was in Columbia…” “When I was in Alaska…” “When I was in the Antarctic…” “When I was in the Yucatan…” “When I was in Argentina…” “When I was in Nova Scotia…” “When I was in Peru.” “When I was in Costa Rica…” “When I was in Australia…” “When I was in Jamaica…” “When I was in Mazatlan…” “When I was in Vietnam…” etc.
• If you are really cold in the field, then performing bird calisthenics with your sister is highly recommended. “Swift. Swallow. Swift. Swallow. Look, a bird. Look, a bird. Swift. Swallow. Swift. Swallow.”
• To perplex surly birders, play paddy cake in the field.
• To drive your birding guide almost to the point of complete insanity, bring an outdated field guide then look at that more than the birds.
• It is surprisingly easy to avoid drinking the kind of water that will give you “the nasties.” “The nasties” term courtesy of our Welsh (Canadian) companion, so say it with a British accent.
• Mexicans burn effigies at year-end (or to start the new year. Not sure which.) I saw only one Trump effigy. I have to believe there were more. Sigh.
• Many trees are painted white about ¼ of the way up the trunk.
• I’m not a fan of the white painted tree.
• Drivers wave, politely. Almost every time.
• Find a great driver. Birding roads are winding and bumpy and full of cliffs.

• Related. Finding a driver that knows how to circumnavigate a city to get around protesters is helpful.
• Related. Circumnavigating protesters is a great way to see the bowels of a city.
• If you ever get the chance to eat Hoja Santa (holy leaf), do. It tastes like Anise.
• If you ever get the chance to eat grasshoppers, do. But only if they are wrapped in so much yummy Oaxacan cheese that you barely realize you are eating them.
• Don’t be utterly confused when you see many plastic bottles decorating tree branches. If you look closely, after eight days, you will finally realize that they signify that underneath is a good place to leave plastic bottles for collection.
• As third world’s go, Oaxaca is pretty second world (barring any factual historical use of the term.)

• Military vehicles on the road carrying soldiers with guns and military vehicles carrying massive guns being held steady by soldiers are unsettling.
• After seeing blue jays for one’s whole life, a new appreciation for jays can be born (consider the Uncolored Jay and the Green Jay, among others).
• Someone can actually wake up on the wrong side of the bed every day of their lives – and traveling with that person can be nearly unbearable – but only briefly. Especially when you have a sister with you who will make you laugh it off and especially when it gives you a chance to hone your impression of a surly birder.
• One can, after seeing doves their entire life, find a new appreciation for them as well (consider the Ruddy Ground Dove and the Inca Dove).
• While riding in a 12-passenger van, as long as you aren’t feeling motion sickness, closing one’s eyes is a great way to handle fear of heights. 

• In a related post, only three panic attacks due to fear of heights is actually progress for some people. Yay me!
• Travel with a sister who is fun, funny, silly, kind and enthusiastic. You will have a blast. You might also be given the nickname, “The Spice Girls.”
• There is a bird called a Happy Wren. He is the only bird called Happy. And even though you may never see him, just hear him with an assist from your guide, just knowing he is out there will make you, well, happy... as did just about every moment of this magnificent trip!