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VERACRUZ!RIVER OF RAPTORS
Migration Special!
September 29 - October 5, 2012
Trip Cost and Booking Details | Registration Form
Veracruz is a long, narrow region of east-central Mexico that runs north and south along the Gulf of Mexico. It is well-known by birders for the extraordinary raptor migration that occurs each fall, an exhibition often referred to as the “River of Raptors”. Timed at the peak of this incredible spectacle, this tour will take in this amazing display as well as the lesser known but equally remarkable passerine migration that occurs at this time of year. Veracruz holds nearly 650 species and rivals Oaxaca and Chiapas for the most interesting bird diversity in Mexico! Join us in Veracruz to enjoy some of the more impressive birds of eastern Mexico and witness the miracle of migration at its peak!
Trip Cost and Booking Details | Registration Form
ITINERARY
Day
1: Plan
to Arrive in Veracruz City
(General Heriberto Jara International
Airport, Las Bajadas Veracruz,
Mexico - Airport Code: VER)
in the afternoon. You
will be transfered to our
hotel where the group will
assemble for a trip orientation
before going to dinner and
our first Veracruzana meal!
Night in Veracruz City.
Day 2: This morning we will get out of the hotel early for a 90 minute drive to an area of limestone hills and dense forest that is the home of the extremely localized Sumichrast’s Wren! Think of a large dark version of a Canyon Wren that can sing even louder. This, however, does not mean that it is an easy bird to see! Sumichrast’s Wren can be hard to pin down even though they may be singing all around you, but the good news is that they are curious and often sneak their way right up to you! Other interesting birds in the area could include Thicket Tinamou, Singing Quail, Wedge-tailed Sabrewing, White-bellied Emerald, Trogons, Toucans, Gray-barred Wren, Fan-tailed Warbler, and Scrub and Yellow-throated Euphonias.
Targets & Specialties:
Thousands of migrating raptors! Up to 25 species including Swainson’s Hawks, Broad-winged Hawks and Mississippi Kites Endemics:
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Once
the forest birding
slows a bit, we’ll
head back towards
Veracruz City for lunch
and then head out to an
area of grassland, agriculture
and potholes near the
coast. Being that
the entire tour is taking
place during the height
of raptor migration we
will be on the lookout
for soaring birds pretty
much everywhere we go
this week, and the coastal
areas
are the heaviest migration
route. Some of the other
birds we will be looking
for include
Aplomado Falcon, Double-striped
Thick-knee, Rufous-breasted
Spinetail, Pinnated
Bittern, Lesser Yellow-headed
Vulture, and Grassland
Yellow-finch. Night back
in Veracruz City.
Day 3: We’ll leave the city this morning and make a couple of short stops not far from the hotel We’ll be on the lookout for Mexican Sheartail, Canivet’s Emerald, White-bellied Wren, and Yellow-winged Tanager. Once things warm up, we will make our way over to Cardel, made famous by the fantastic number of raptors that migrate through here each fall. Researchers and birders make an annual pilgrimage and camp out on the roof of the cities only “high-rise” hotel with clickers in hand! Once we’ve gotten our fill of Broad-wings (several million pass by this spot each October!) we’ll be on our way to Coatepec, a small town outside of the beautiful the bustling state capital city of Xalapa (Jalapa on some maps). Coatepec is nestled into a very mountainous area dotted with coffee plantations and forest patches. This area is home to the little known Bearded Wood-Partridge, and positioned nicely at the doorway to higher elevation birding. Night in Coatepec.
Day
4: The city of Xalapa
is home to a great,
extensive Botanical
Garden that covers
a peak in the center
of the city. The
area around the Botanical
Garden has some excellent
remnant forest habitat
where we will spend
the morning birding.
We’ll
be looking for White-naped
Brushfinch, Cinnamon-bellied
Flower-piercer,
Bumbleee
Hummingbird, Bronze-winged
Woodpecker, Emerald
Toucanet, Ruddy
Foliage-gleaner,
Barred Antshrike,
Ruddy-capped and
Orange-billed Nightingale-thrushes,
and a number of
other
tropical and migrant
birds. Hawks are
not the only thing
headed south at
this
time.
The Botanical Garden can also hold a lot of visiting warblers including Canada, Hooded, Blue-winged, Magnolia, Black-throated Green and Blackburnian. After lunch, we’ll head up into the mountains above Xalapa and an area known as Las Minas for what will be the first of two visits, looking for Crescent-chested, Red, Rufous-capped and Golden-browed Warblers, White-faced Quail-Dove, Bearded Wood-Partridge, Azure-crowned Hummingbird, Wedge-tailed Sabrewing, Amethyst-throated and Bumblebee Hummingbird, Bronze-winged Woodpecker, Cinnamon-bellied Flowerpiercer, Brown-backed Solitaire, Black Thrush, Blue Mockingbird, and Gray-silky Flycatcher. Night in Coatepec.
Day
5: Today
will
be a very full
day
in the field.
We’ll
head out early
and
back up into the
cloud forest of
Las Minas with
time to find any
of the above birds
that we may have
missed. From here,
we will continue
up towards the
magnificent high
desert complete
with Joshua trees,
where we might
find a splattering
of desert birds
including Curve-billed
Thrasher, Black-headed
Grosbeak, Scott’s
Oriole, and more!
As we entering
this
much drier, rain-shielded
habitat of pine
forests
and agricultural
areas, directly
below the volcanic
plug and national
park of El Cofre
del Perote,
we’ll
be looking for
Elegant
Euphonia, Strickland’s
Woodpecker,
Hooded
Grosbeak, Striped
Sparrow, Crescent-chested
Warbler, White-napped
Brushfinch,
Russet-Nightingale
Thrush, Cinnamon-bellied
Flower-piercer,
Fan-tailed Warbler,
Chestnut-capped
Brushfinch and
Collared
Towhee…all
against the
backdrop
of stunning
mountain
scenery. Time
permitting,
we may make
an
end
run to the
west
to
see if we can
pull
out an Ocellated
Thrasher, or
a Hooded Yellowthroat
at the eastern
edge of their
range. Today
we will pass
through an amazing
array of habitats
in a relatively
short distance,
a fantastic
example
of the diverse
habitats available
in eastern
Mexico!
Night in Coatepec.
Day
6: We
will utilize the
morning to allow
us time to pick-up
any forest birds
that we may have
missed before leaving
Coatepec towards
the coast and once
again a stop in the
town of Cardel
for more hawk watching.
Along the way we
will stop at a couple
of wetlands and estuary
habitats and have
time to look for
Mexican Sheartail,
Canivet’s
Emerald and Rufous-napped
Wren if we happened
to miss them the
first time through.
After we get our
fill of raptors
in Cardel, we’ll
make our way towards
Veracruz City.
Night
in Veracruz City.
Day 7: Possible birding in the morning before returning to Veracruz City. Timing will depend on departing flight times. Flights out of Veracruz City.
Leader: Dave Mackay
 VERACRUZ! RIVER
OF RAPTORSMigration Special! September 29 - October 5, 2012 TOUR
PRICE: $2150.00
per
person based
on
double
occupancy
from Veracruz
City, Mexico
(Airport
Code: VER) based
on
a
minimum
of
6
passengers.
INCLUDED: Lodging, all land, air and water transportation as described in the tour itinerary. All group airport/hotel transfers, meals entrance fees, and guide services. NOT INCLUDED: International airfare, airport transfers other than scheduled group transfers, passport/visa fees, insurance, items of a personal nature such as: laundry, telephone, alcoholic beverages, extras in hotels (laundry, telephone calls, room service, etc.) or gratuities for the guide, driver, porterage or personal services.
Final payment is due by May 29, 2012 and must be paid by check. Cancellations and Refunds: All cancellations must be made in writing. In the event that you must cancel your booking at any stage, all payments you have made to Sunrise Birding, LLC will be retained by us, except at our discretion. Please ensure that you take out adequate insurance to cover this and any other eventuality as early as possible. You may have the opportunity to transfer your booking to another tour or another person, provided you are unavoidably prevented from coming on the tour. In this case, you will bear any extra costs that such changes may incur. There are no refunds once the trip is confirmed to go ahead and no refunds will be made for unused meals, accommodations, or other trip features. Insurance: The purchase of trip cancellation insurance to cover any eventuality is strongly recommended. Sunrise Birding, LLC can not accept liability for airline cancellations or delays or penalties incurred by the purchase of non-refundable airline tickets or other expenses incurred by tour participants in preparing for this tour. Go to Travelex insurance>> Questions? Contact Gina Nichol at gina@sunrisebirding.com Phone: 203.453.6724 |
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Contact Gina Nichol at gina@sunrisebirding.com