Cam and Nancy: Birding North of Las Varas

We went birding down a nice little dirt and cobblestone road a few minutes north of Las Varas today.

Very peaceful, pastoral

I got some new life list birds - Warbling Vireo, Golden Vireo, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Scrub Euphonia, and Northern Beardless Tyrannulet. We saw a lot of other birds as well.

A few trucks went by us.

I wish I had a mule to ride.

We parked near a ranch that had a lot of nice looking Mexican cattle and horses.

The pond had a Least Grebe in it.

The rancher came to feed the cows with a bucket of chopped feed.

After several hours we decided to drive further up into the hills toward Tepic and found an interesting little restaurant along the road. It was a steep, short drive down the edge of a ravine right along the road. Then a steep, short walk down the edge of the ravine to the restaurant.

Walkway into the restaurant.

Looks like a perfect birding spot!

A very unique menu - rabbit, quail, ostrich, wild pig, buffalo, venison, snail tostada and lamb chop.

Also a variety of Tilapia dishes.

While we were having a coke each and birding off the deck, the owner came over and invited us to walk along a path he has along the ravine to see the view and birds. Turns out the restaurant had numerous makeshift tilapia ponds, chicken pens, ducks, a goose, quail pens, and some ostriches along the path. The source of the menu items.

Little bridge

Tilapia vats

All on the edge of the ravine, maybe snails in these as well.

One of my fellow birders said "I wonder how this guy came to be here, did he just say this is a precarious steep ravine let's build a restaurant here?" I thought perhaps there is a really good water source or maybe even an artesian aquifer or well since there was water flowing through the ponds and down the hill.