Mexico Veracruz, Oaxaca and the Sierra Madre Mexico is a country with a diverse avifauna and important ecological areas. Our tour starts in Mexico City, which lies in a bowl 2,230 metres above sea level and is one of the largest conurbations in the world. Just outside the city are extensive areas of pinewoods and oak woodlands interspersed with grassy plains. The tour then moves on to Veracruz province, which is one of Mexico’s richest areas for birds with a habitat of limestone cliffs and secondary forest. Veracruz is a long straggly state along the Gulf of Mexico and is in ornithological terms classified as the Atlantic Slope. Our final base is at Oaxaca which is reached by travelling over the Sierra Madre – a dramatic area of mountains and forests. Oaxaca is steeped in history and Spanish is the second language to almost thirty local dialects. The area is rich in archaeological ruins especially at Monte Alban. The area surrounding Oaxaca holds up to thirty endemic bird species. Day 1: Fly to Mexico City and transfer to our hotel on the outskirts of the city for a Dates three-night stay. Saturday January 8th – Saturday January 22nd 2022 Days 2-3: Our main interest is the mixed Leaders: Mark Finn and local guides woodlands and open grasslands of La Group Size: 8 Cima. The latter habitat holds the endemic Birds: 290-350 Sierra Madre Sparrow. Stands of pines attract Strickland’s Woodpecker, Townsend’s, Pine and Olive Warblers and Lerma Marshes are nearby, where the on occasions the uncommon Colima endemic Black-polled Yellowthroat is found Warbler. The pines also attract Buff-breast- along with migrant waterfowl and waders. ed Flycatcher, Blue-hooded Euphonia and Evening Grosbeak. Tres Marias is a small Day 4: Today we head towards the rural village with extensive oak woods. Open town of Fortin de las Flores, passing trails here allow easy viewing of feeding through agricultural lands where Tropical flocks and we hope to find Rose-throated Kingbird and Scissor-tailed Flycatcher can Becard, Grey-breasted Jay, Grey-barred be numerous. Our hotel in Fortin is situated Wren, White-throated Thrush, Blue in superb tropical gardens for birds includ- Mockingbird, Chestnut-sided Shrike-Vireo, ing Green Jay, Montezuma’s and Wagler’s Crescent-chested, Red-faced and Red Oropendolas, Yellow-winged Tanager and Warblers, Painted Redstart and Varied Black-headed Saltator. Shrubs attract Bunting. Older trees often have White- North American wintering warblers, in par- striped Woodcreeper. Areas of scrub attract ticular Magnolia and Wilson’s. Mature trees Rufous-capped and Green-striped are good for Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Brushfinches. Flowering shrubs are impor- Singing Blackbird and noisy Band-backed tant for White-eared, Blue-throated and Wrens. We spend three nights at Fortin Magnificent Hummingbirds, Cinnamon-bel- lied Flowerpiercer and a range of orioles Day 5: An area of dry thorn scrub at including Black-backed. Lobos Canyon is a Colonia Francisco Barrios is our destina- reliable spot for Slate-blue Seedeater tion today. En route we pass through exten- whilst other species of interest include sive marshes with borderline ditches. We Balsas Screech Owl, Colima Pygmy Owl, have good chances of finding Yellow- Golden Vireo and Black-chested Sparrow. crowned Night Heron, Pinnated Bittern, 96 www.birdwatchingbreaks.com ☎ 01381 610495 Mexico Blackburnian Warbler Photo: Simon Papps Jabiru and Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture, Day 7: Today we travel towards Veracruz plus the commoner ducks and herons. stopping at a coastal wetland with adjacent Arriving in the thorn forest we search for grassland – a favourite habitat of Double- Mexican Sheartail, White-bellied Wren and striped Thick-knee, Long-billed Curlew, Botteri’s Sparrow. Other species using the American Golden Plover, Aplomado thorn forest include Red-lored Parrot, Falcon, American and Sprague’s Pipits, Ferruginous Pygmy Owl, Ladder-backed Grassland Yellow Finch and on telegraph Woodpecker, Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher, lines Fork-tailed Flycatcher. Areas of scrub Grey-crowned Yellowthroat and White-col- hold Striped Cuckoo, Rufous-breasted lared Seedeater. Spinetail and Barred Antshrike. Seasonal pools often have Blue-winged Teal, Day 6: First stop today is to check the river Northern Jacana and Solitary and Pectoral area for Black Phoebe and American Sandpipers. Our journey takes us along the Dipper. In the surrounding forest it is possi- coast with Magnificent Frigatebirds for ble to find Lineated Woodpecker, Altamira company. Eventually we reach our hotel Oriole and Red-billed Pigeon. An area of overlooking Lake Catemaco for a four-night limestone outcrops and shade forest at stay. From the hotel veranda we can study Amatlan is close to our base. Our aim is to Snail Kite, American Royal and Forster’s locate Sumichrast’s Wren, which is only Ter ns and Ringed Kingfisher. found in Eastern Mexico. The forest itself is home to Thicket Tinamou, White-crowned Day 8: An early morning walk around the Parrot, Wedge-tailed Sabrewing, Northern grounds may produce Northern Emerald Toucanet, Golden-olive Waterthrush, Hooded Warbler and Blue- Woodpecker, White-breasted Wood-wren, grey Tanager. After breakfast we head Fan-tailed, Golden-crowned and Rufous- towards an isolated patch of rainforest with capped Warblers, White-winged Tanager a biological research station. Typical birds and up to ten species of flycatchers. of this lowland forest include Grey-headed ☎ 01381 610495 www.birdwatchingbreaks.com 97 Mexico Kite, White Hawk, Black Hawk-Eagle, En route a stop in Catemaco may produce Brown-hooded Parrot, Long-tailed Hermit, Ye llow-throated Warbler, and above the Red-capped Manakin, Lovely Cotinga, lake Chestnut-collared and Lesser Stub-tailed Spadebill, Black-throated Swallow-tailed Swifts.The grounds of Playa Shrike-Tanager and Crimson-collared Azul are overgrown with flowering trees Tanager. En route to Sontecomepan an iso- and flowering shrubs which attract Grey- lated village has Limpkin and Ruddy Crake. collared Becard, Band-backed Wren, Late afternoon we arrive at Arroyo Agrio, Green-breasted Mango and Azure- an area fringed with hedgerows and fruiting crowned, Rufous-tailed and Buff-bellied trees, with the latter attracting Aztec Hummingbirds. The road to Bastonal is Parakeet, Keel-billed Toucan, Collared steep, passing fields used for cattle ranch- Aracari, tanagers and orioles. Nearby for- ing. Typical species of the area include est patches sometimes have Collared Hook-billed and Double-toothed Kites, Forest Falcon, Barred Woodcreeper and Laughing Falcon, Northern Bobwhite, Red-throated Tanager. Scaled Pigeon, Smoky-brown, Chestnut- collared, Lineated and Black-cheeked Day 9: Today should be one of the high- Woodpeckers, Bright-rumped Attila, Worm- lights with a boat trip on Lake eating Warbler, Blue Bunting, Black-cowled Sontecomepan with visits to mangrove and Altamira Orioles and parties of Lesser swamps, rivers, rainforest and open water. Goldfinch. The harbour itself often has Reddish Egret and Tricoloured Heron. Our boat takes us Day 11: Transfer to Tuxtepec, a bustling into the backwaters where we have our and lively town situated in a valley below best chances of Sungrebe, Pinnated the Sierra Madre. Thickets have Slate- Bittern, Bare-throated Tiger Heron and the throated Tody-Flycatcher and the rather localised Boat-billed Heron. Other species uncommon Thick-billed Seedfinch. Rivers of the mangroves include American Pygmy attract Spotted Sandpiper, Mangrove Kingfisher and Yellow-tailed Oriole. After Swallow and a range of herons and egrets. lunch we explore the forest above Catemaco for Tuxtla Quail-Dove, Violet Day 12: We have all day to cross the spec- Sabrewing, Slate-coloured Solitaire, Black- tacular Sierra Madre en route to Oaxaca. headed Nightingale-Thrush and Plain- The road zigzags and winds its way breasted Brushfinch. through pristine forest and pinewoods before reaching the summit. Valle Nacional Day 10: Our last day in the Catemaco is a hamlet with extensive forests offering area with visits to Bastonal and Playa Azul. us the chance of Crested Guan, White- faced Quail-Dove, Barred Parakeet, Emerald-chinned and Bumblebee Hummingbirds, Black-crested Coquette, Azure-hooded and Unicoloured Jays and White-naped Brushfinch. Transfer to Oaxaca for three nights. Days 13-14: Monte Alban, the old capital of the Zapotec empire, is close to Oaxaca. The habitat is mainly arid with areas of scrub and vegetation filled gullies. Typical birds of Monte Alban include White-throat- ed Towhee, Blue Mockingbird, Canyon and Rock Wrens and Thick-billed and Western Kingbirds. The surrounding countryside is bordering on sub-desert with patches of Rufous-tailed Jacamar Photo: Barry vegetation in watercourses. Flowering Lancaster trees attract Berylline, Black-chinned and 98 www.birdwatchingbreaks.com ☎ 01381 610495 Mexico Aplomado Falcon Photo: Simon Papps Dusky Hummingbirds. Open areas with fantastic views over the desert and dramat- trees have Loggerhead Shrike and Curve- ic canyons. Near the town of Puebla, where billed Thrasher. Birds of prey using the area cacti forest start to dominate, colonies of include Short-tailed and Swainson’s the endemic Grey-breasted Woodpecker Hawks. To the north of Oaxaca the road reside. Other species include Harris’s leads up into the Sierra Madre mountains. Hawk and Botteri’s Sparrow. Our flight back Important species we hope to locate to Europe leaves in the evening with arrival include Oaxaca and Bridled Sparrows, on the following day. Boucard’s Wren, Grey Silky-flycatcher, Slaty and Golden Vireos and Black-vented Prices Oriole. Cerro San Felipe is an area of pine and oak woodlands where we will seek out Ground Price: £2,995 some of Mexico’s rarest endemics. Single room: £200 Common species include Red, Crescent- Deposit: £300 chested, Rufous-capped and Golden- *Air Fare: £625 browed Warblers, Slate-throated Redstart and Collared Towhee. The higher ground is This holiday is fully inclusive of home to the endangered Dwarf Jay.