Howard Platt

Orange-Fronted Parakeets

January 1, 2011January 28, 2018Howard Platt

By Howard Platt from the January 2011 Edition Download the full edition or view it online

A Duck for the Tropics

December 1, 2010November 12, 2017Howard Platt

By Howard Platt from the December 2010 Edition Black Bellied Duck They say that if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck then it must be a duck. But what if it doesn´t? What if it struts around like a goose, whistles like a traffic cop, pairs up like a swan, and […]

Creste Caracara

November 1, 2010February 11, 2019Howard Platt

By Howard Platt from the November 2010 Edition The crested or northe rn caracara is a bird of legend and mystery. Legend has it that about a thousand years or so ago, a tribe called the Mexica, were drawn by a vision to migrate south and eastwards, to the valleys of central Mexico. They found […]

The Party Bird!

October 1, 2010November 12, 2017Howard Platt

By Howard Platt from the October 2010 Edition GREAT-TAILED GRACKLE – (QUISCALUS MEXICANUS) If you think the West Coast of Mexico is a good place to come for a party, you are joining the experts! Think evening, a busy warm day finally coming to a relaxing close. Except that the trees in the boulevard are […]

Pretty in Pink – the Roseate Spoonbill

September 1, 2010November 12, 2017Howard Platt

By Howard Platt from the September 2010 Edition Roseate spoonbills bring a splash of colour to varied greens of the mangroves, so it is hard not to notice them. You will see them in the shallow waters of lagoons, moving slowly forward while they swing their heads from side to side in a wide arc. […]

The Big White Bird

August 1, 2010November 16, 2017Howard Platt

By Howard Platt from the August 2010 Edition My birding guides advise me that size is very difficult to judge, especially at a distance, and is not a good measure by which to identify birds. They are right, of course, and they know a lot more than I do about birding. That said, if you […]

Yellow-crowned Night Herons

July 1, 2010November 16, 2017Howard Platt

By Howard Platt from the July 2010 Edition Don´t let the name fool you. Yellow-crowned Night Herons do not have a yellow crown for most of the year, and they do most of their hunting during the day. That is if you call standing around waiting for food to come within reach hunting! The scene […]

A Cheeky Cheeky Bird -Golden Cheeked Woodpecker

June 1, 2010February 4, 2018Howard Platt

By Howard Platt from the June 2010 Edition It is the bird’s call that gets me. ”Cheeky, cheeky” it yells at me as I wander through wooded areas. Often I cannot see where the bird, just hear its taunting. Then it swoops by me in its undulating flight and lands on the trunk of a […]

The Magnificent Frigatebird

May 1, 2010January 30, 2018Howard Platt

By Howard Platt from the May 2010 Edition The opportunity and willingness to take what one needs from others on the high seas, and the speed and agility to get away with it these were, and are still, the marks of a pirate. The old pirates along the coast of the Americas relied on the […]

The Life of a Cormorant

April 1, 2010January 30, 2018Howard Platt

By Howard Platt from the April 2010 Edition Often in the morning a stream of dark coloured birds will flow across the bay, a hundred feet or so above the water. The stream is not very wide, but there may be hundreds of birds moving from roosting to feeding grounds. They are neotropic cormorants and […]

Author: Howard Platt