Phainopepla

Bernal, Querétaro, Mexico  November 2. 2021. I write this having just returned from a birding journey with a small group of friends exploring Mexico’s Sierra Gorda, a series of mountain ranges three hours north-east of Mexico City.

For Rodrigo, our leader, it was his first return there since Covid had paralysed the travel and tourism business around the world. He knew where to take us and what to expect and had arranged a 10-day itinerary rich in cultural, natural and scenic texture. Inevitably we were testing the post-covid waters a bit to see how well the people and facilities had come through. We needn’t have worried, we found eagerly welcoming, warm and well-prepared people everywhere.

Bernal is a busy, modern town with an old-world Mexican heart. It is dominated and overseen by La Peña de Bernal an ancient volcano core, an unmissable point of reference.

We hiked around the base of La Peña on our first morning. As is always the case in new-to-me places, I was forever being stopped in my tracks to examine and wonder at plants, spiders, butterflies, and the like (as well as birds), things that were exciting to me but were probably commonplace to locals.

Over dinner at the end of this first full day of birding, I canvassed the table asking, ‘What was your bird of the day today?”  There was plenty of variety including a colourful Townsend’s Warbler, a subtle Ash–throated Flycatcher, a faraway Black-vented Oriole and an ever-dramatic Vermilion Flycatcher.

My choice was this Phainopepla seen and photographed commanding the world from atop a thorny bush. No-one argued, it was a beauty, not showy but elegant and apparently always a valued sighting.

I have never used this site to advertise, but Rodrigo, through his company Travelian Tours delivered such a first class 10-day experience that I can’t let it go without recognizing and recommending him, his expertise and attention to detail.