What [species] do you get a man who has [almost] everything?

While I have been lucky enough to host many of Mexico’s best birders, including people who have seen all the species one can reasonably hope to see in Mexico, I had never met any of those rarefied birders who had seen most of the world’s species. But a couple of weeks ago an American named Ross Gallardy contacted me for advice on searching for a few birds here in Michoacán, in central Mexico. Ross has, according to his eBird account, seen almost 8,5990 species so far. Knowledgeable readers of this site may know that it is named 10,000 Birds because that was once an estimate of how many bird species exist in the world, although the current estimate is closer to 11,000 species. So Ross has seen some 77% of all the birds one could ever hope to see worldwide. And while I began researching this post, I was shocked to discover that he currently occupies the twelfth spot in eBird’s ranking of the top birders of all time. [I should note that there may well be other world birders with more species who do not share their totals publicly, or who do not use eBird to list their sightings.]

I should also clarify that Ross did not ask me to guide him. His website, BudgetBirders.com, exists to promote the possibility of birding the world on a budget, with or without the help of paid guides. But he did let me know that I would be welcome to go with him on his one Morelia day. Which was fine with me, as I have never asked anyone to pay me to take them birding. And I was very curious to meet him.

So what species DO you give to a man who has seen 77% of them all?

Well, obviously Mr. Gallardy was not going to ask for the easy ones. The exact reason for his July 30th visit to Morelia was undoubtedly to seek the Sinaloa Martin, which appears to stager its migration in the tiny town of Paso Ancho, one hour downhill from Morelia, during the month of July. Since this species has only appeared on 180 eBird lists so far, Paso Ancho in July has become a rather well-known pilgrimage for birders in Mexico.

I was a bit worried that July 30th might be a bit late in the Martin window, especially since I had only seen a couple of them with a friend two weeks earlier. But the Martin gods shined upon Ross and I. Or rather, they briefly rained on us, driving the birds down from their high-level feeding to rest on a radio tower where we often see them. We counted at least 10, a very satisfactory sighting for that late date.

The Sinaloa Martin has the same purple back as the widespread and common Purple Martin, but is distinguished by its white belly with a curved border across the breast.

Ross’s original plan was to look for the Martin with me in the morning, then travel 3-4 hours to a town southwest of Morelia where the extremely rare White-fronted Swift (82 reports in eBird) is most likely to be seen. But as we stood beneath the radio tower, one of these Swifts flew right toward us. With more people visiting Paso Ancho, solitary White-fronted Swifts have now been seen in the area 10 times. And our seeing it that morning gave us much more freedom to spend time there and look for more birds on Ross’s wish list.

This, my only photo of the White-fronted Swift, is from the first sighting of the species at Paso Ancho four years earlier.

It didn’t hurt that a Great Swallow-tailed Swift also turned up to give Ross one more lifer. This Swift is not as rare as the White-fronted Swift, but it is still rare enough… and spectacular. A photo I took of one two weeks earlier in the area, while not all that clear, does show why I think of this bird as “the orca of the air”. Or perhaps a flying panda?

Photographing Swifts on the wing is a thankless task.

Next on Ross’s list was our endemic Banded Quail, which has only appeared in 1500+ eBird lists. I drove him to a spot where it sometimes appears. It was not a surprise when it only gave us the briefest glimpse, although its call was clearly heard. The Banded Quail is the closest thing we had to a “dip” that day.

This photo of the Banded Quail is from a much earlier sighting of mine.

Since Ross had birded before in Mexico’s southwest, I was quite surprised that he had not yet seen our endemic Spotted Wren. I knew a spot where it could almost certainly be seen, on the drive uphill from Paso Ancho towards Morelia. And sure enough, no sooner had I parked my car than they turned up, giving him a nice photo session. Spotted Wrens are locally common, social, and noisy, so good photos are almost guaranteed.

This photo is mine, from the same spot, but one week earlier.

Ross’s final ask was nowhere near as sure a thing: the tiny but spectacular Sparkling-tailed Hummingbird. While this species has a much larger range, resulting in more sightings, is is definitely a tossup as to whether it can be seen in my area. I do know some great spots to look for it, but none of them are sure things. Still, we had the time, so I took the fairly long detour to the best of these sites.

By the time I parked the car, I needed to make a quick “pit stop”. But Ross did not, so I gave him brief instructions for where to look. A few minutes later he walked back towards me and said with a smile, “It’s almost as if you know!” Sure enough, beside the dirt road we saw not one, but three male Sparkling-tailed Hummingbirds. (Once I got home, I checked my eBird records, and learned that July is the best month for seeking this species at that site. You learn something new every day.)

I also proved that “I know” by warning him ahead of time that these hummers will all be perched on the highest branches of some mostly bare trees, with the bright sky behind them, preventing any really great photos. As they were. Still, my photos for the day turned out to be as good as any I have taken of these little gems. (Female Sparkling-tailed Hummingbirds are among the smallest of all birds, although that long tail gives the males an extra inch of length.)

It is rare that I can say this, but sometimes what you can get the man who has everything is… everything he asks for.