Trip
Information
Tour
Dates: February 4 - 13, 2010
Duration: 10
days
Tour Leader(s): Héctor
Gómez
de Silva
Cost: $2450
USD, $2725 CDN
Single supplement $375 USD, $415 CDN
Tour starts and
ends in Mexico City
Highlights
• Experience the spectacle of millions of Monarch Butterflies
• Several rare and seldom seen Mexican endemics
• Rich culture
• Remarkably diverse habitats, from columnar cacti forests to subalpine
grasslands and high pine forests
Featured birds
• Black-polled Yellowthroat
• Sierra Madre Sparrow
•
Sumichrast’s Wren
• Red Warbler
•
Boucard’s Wren
• Chestnut-sided Shrike-Vireo
• Dusky Hummingbird
• Bumblebee Hummingbird
Trip Summary
• 4-8 participants with one leader, 9-12 with two
• Van and driver
• Good to very good accommodation
• Generally easy to moderate walking with a couple of uphill walks
of up to an hour
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Certainly
one of the greatest ecological spectacles in the world is the wintering
of up to
20 million Monarch Butterflies — most of the North American population — in
a single area of forest in central Mexico. In addition to this wonderful
sight, we visit a variety of tropical and temperate habitats to search
for up to 40 species of birds endemic to Mexico and 29 nearly endemic
species. We look for these endemics in reed and cattail marshes, pine
and fir forests, tropical dry forest, oak woodland, subalpine grassland,
an abandoned coffee plantation in tropical semi-evergreen forest and
a beautiful forest of giant columnar cacti. A large number of our target
birds are species that are rarely or never seen on tours.
In the Lerma marshes we seek the beautiful Black-polled Yellowthroat.
In the pine and fir forests we look for a number of species including
the
handsome Black-backed Oriole, flashy Red Warbler and elusive Long-tailed
Wood-partridge. We listen to one of the most beautiful bird songs in North
America, the rich warbling and tinkling of the Brown-backed Solitaire (which
we also hope to see). Grassy meadows in the vicinity have Striped and Sierra
Madre sparrows; the latter has been seen by few people and is one of the
few birds in North America for which a photograph had never been published
until a few years ago (it first appeared in Eagle-Eye Tours’ brochure
and web site). In this season, the tropical dry forest that we visit is
humming with hummingbirds, and we should see among others Golden-crowned
Emerald, Dusky and Violet-crowned Hummingbirds. Golden Vireo and Rusty-crowned
Ground-Sparrows are also more easily seen that at any other season.
An entirely different and very rich avifauna is found in the abandoned
coffee plantation at Amatlán, where Sumichrast’s Wren and
Fan-tailed Warbler are our principal target birds. Lastly, the unique cactus
forest near Tehuacán will certainly produce a different set of species
yet again, including Bridled Sparrow and Gray-breasted Woodpecker.
This tour, then, provides a wildlife spectacle, diverse and very interesting
scenery and a large number of very sought-after birds.
See detailed itinerary
below
Past bird checklists:
2008 Central Mexico tour species list (180 kb pdf)
2006 Central Mexico Tour species list
(132 kb pdf)
2002 Central Mexico tour (pdf)
Click
here to download a registration form
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Itinerary
Day 1 - Arrival and Orientation
This tour begins after dinner in Mexico City. Our tour leader(s) will
meet you in our hotel lobby at 7:00pm to get acquainted, discuss
the tour and answer any questions. Night in Mexico City, at a hotel
adjacent to the airport.
Day 2 - Drive to Angangueo
We drive to Zitácuaro, a town close to the Monarch Butterfly
wintering grounds in Michoacán. We stop en route to look for
our first birds of the trip in the Lerma marshes west of Mexico City,
one of the last homes of the threatened Black-polled Yellowthroat.
Other stops are in pine and fir forest, where possibilities include
Pine Flycatcher, Golden-browed Warbler, Red Warbler and Colima Warbler.
Night at Zitácuaro.
Day 3 - Monarch Butterflies
We drive to the site where millions of Monarch Butterflies spend the
winter. The late morning is the best time to enjoy this spectacle.
We will not be alone here, because this is a very popular destination
for Mexicans and foreigners alike. Around 15 to 20 million Monarchs,
most of the population of the United States and Canada, spend the winter
here after travelling up to 120 kilometers per day in their October
southward migration. During the early winter they spend most of their
time dormant, with their wings closed, in dense clusters covering the
fir trunks and branches. This is a spectacle in itself but the Monarchs
are even more impressive in late February and early March when they
spend most of the day sunning themselves with their wings open, and
occasionally flutter around to feed on nectar. Only two species of
birds in this forest are capable of feeding on the normally toxic Monarch
Butterflies, the Black-headed Grosbeak and the Mexican endemic Abeille´s
Oriole (rare).
Day 4 - Mountain Birds and on to Cuernavaca
After brakfast at our hotel we spend the morning birding a road through
pine-oak forest near Zitácuaro, where the many birds we may
see include the cute Tufted Flycatcher, White-throated Robin and Chestnut-sided
Shrike-Vireo. After lunch we drive east to Cuernavaca, where we arrive
just before dusk, just in time to see hundreds of White-naped Swifts
and smaller numbers of Vaux’s and Chestnut-collared Swifts flying
into their roost close to the city center. Night at Cuernavaca.
Days 5 and 6 - Around Cuernavaca
Cuernavaca is right in the transition zone between tropical and temperate
regions, and short drives take us into a variety of different types
of forests in both. First, we visit a trail through tropical dry forest
a few kilometers east of Cuernavaca. This trail always produces a large
number of bird species endemic to the lowlands of western Mexico. Although
driving east to see birds of western affinities seems paradoxical,
this is because an arm of tropical dry forest, the Balsas Basin, extends
500 km east from the state of Colima, passing very close to Cuernavaca.
In this season the forest is dry, most trees will be leafless and the
birds should be easy to see. More than 20 Mexican endemic birds occur
here, and although it is difficult to predict which ones we will see,
there is a very good chance of finding Golden-crowned Emerald, Violet-crowned
and Dusky Hummingbirds, Golden-cheeked Woodpecker, Thick-billed Kingbird,
Rusty-crowned Ground-Sparrow and Black-chested Sparrow, among others.
We will also be able to practice identification of Myiarchus flycatchers,
because four particularly similar-looking species are rather common
in this forest. In the afternoon, we visit an oak woodland at Huitzilac
(“land of hummingbirds” in the language of the Aztecs),
where we encounter many birds of highland forest including, hopefully,
Amethyst-throated Hummingbird and possibly even Bumblebee Hummingbird
and, with a tremendous amount of luck, Aztec Thrush. Night at Cuernavaca.
In the morning of Day 6 we visit a mountain meadow where the extremely
local and endangered Sierra Madre Sparrow can be regularly seen (though
few tours visit this site). Hector carried out the first study on the
natural history of this species here. Another Mexican endemic sparrow
is common here too, the Striped Sparrow. Nearby, we visit a temperate
forest which often produces a large number of Mexican endemic and specialty
birds, including the look-alike Russet and Ruddy-capped Nightingale-Thrushes
(they also sing very much alike! Concentrate on the color of their
lower beaks), Green-striped Brush-Finch, Elegant Euphonia, Strickland’s
Woodpecker and many others. In the afternoon, we make a relatively
long drive to Córdoba, where we spend the night. Córdoba
is a XVII century city and largely retains its colonial architecture.
Day 7 - Amatlán
A short drive to Amatlán puts us in a blend of tropical semievergreen
forest and abandoned coffee plantation. The birdlife here is completely
different from what we encounter elsewhere on this tour and the area
is very rich in species including such tropical gems as Blue-crowned
Motmot and both Chestnut-headed and Montezuma’s Oropendolas.
We spend the morning in this forest/plantation, keeping in mind that
this is a special area for three birds that are rare elsewhere: Wedge-tailed
Saberwing, Sumichrast’s Wren and Fan-tailed Warbler. This is
one of the few forests in Mexico where it is possible to see 3 species
of toucans. In the afternoon, we drive to Cardel, stopping en route
on a little side road to look for White-naped Brush-Finch and other
mid-elevation birds. Night at Cardel.
Day 8 - Cardel area
This morning we visit one of the few remnants of tropical dry forest
in eastern Mexico to search especially for the tiny Mexican Sheartail
and the very well-marked local subspecies of Rufous-naped Wren. White-bellied
Wren also occurs here, though it can be quite elusive. In the afternoon
we drive to Tehuacán, where we once again meet the eastern extension
of Pacific tropical dry forest and associated West Mexican avifauna.
Tehuacán is another XVII century town, but archaeological evidence
indicates that in fact it is one of the earliest places where agriculture
was practiced in Mexico, perhaps even in the New World, 8000 years
ago.
Day 9 - Tehuacán
This morning we visit an impressive and unique ecosystem, a dense forest
of giant columnar cacti (one usually doesn’t think of cacti as
forming forests!). When the early morning sun’s rays hit the
tops of the cacti we can expect to see Bridled Sparrow, Gray-breasted
Woodpecker and other birds perching on the tall plants. These other
birds include Boucard’s Wren, probably Yellow Grosbeak and even
Russet-crowned Motmot.
In the afternoon we drive back to Mexico City. Night in Mexico City.
Day 10 - Departure
The trip concludes after breakfast at our hotel next to the Mexico
City airport.
What to Expect
Our daily travel schedule
will vary to account for weather, bird species and habitat. We will often
want to be out birding very early in the morning—we
may have dawn breakfasts or take a box breakfast into the field. In addition,
there will be a few optional late evening expeditions in search of nocturnal
birds for those interested. The tour will involve generally easy walking
and possibly some hill climbing of up to an hour to reach the Monarch Butterflies
and the site for Sumichrast’s Wren. There will be a couple of long
drives of up to four hours, but we will be stopping at one or two places
along the way to break up these journeys into shorter segments.
Around noontime we will stop to have a sit-down meal at a restaurant. If
it is hot, as it can be in most of Mexico, we may rest for an hour or so
during the middle of the afternoon. On some evenings, we will arrange to
go to a local restaurant, which we have selected for its good food and
comfortable atmosphere. During dinner we usually discuss the day’s
activities and review the list of birds seen and heard.
We will be visiting in the dry season and rain is unlikely. During three
days of the trip, when we are at higher elevations, we will encounter cool
weather.
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