Dates and Cost
No scheduled dates at this time. Please contact us if you are interested in this itinerary.Images
About This Trip
The central volcanic belt of Mexico runs east /west starting near Mexico City and meandering west several hundred miles to the volcanoes of Colima. This entire range of rugged mountains has allowed for a fantastic variety of avi-fauna to evolve, in a myriad of micro habitats at varying elevations. The western limits of the volcanic belt offer another component of bird life, that being the southern limit of Pacific Mexico and the Sierra Madre Occidental. The impact of the melding of west Mexico with the volcanic belt is impressive, and makes this area rich with a large number of interesting Mexican endemic birds. Views of the twin volcanoes known as Volcan de Colima (Fuego or fire, often smoking!) and snow-mantled Nevado de Colima (Nieve or snow), reach elevations of 12,500 and 14,235 feet respectively, provide a picturesque backdrop for nearly the entire trip. Here at the volcanoes we will have the opportunity to find somewhere around 300 species of birds including upwards of 40 endemics. Beyond the excellent birding, this area is home to a mind-boggling variety of plants and trees, one of the most diverse regions of all Mexico! We will bird in a number of different habitats but focus more on the lowland thorn forest and the pine / oak woodlands at the higher elevations where most of the endemics are concentrated. Some species include Long-tailed Wood-Partridge, Banded Quail, Balsas Screech-Owl, Bumblebee Hummingbird, Slaty Vireo, Red-breasted Chat, Orange-breasted Bunting, and Black-chested Sparrow. This tour is an excellent opportunity to experience the diversity and richness on Mexico, both for the serious lister and for anyone new to tropical birding. Birders new to the tropics can expect to see an exciting, but manageable, number of new species (many groups of birds typical of latitudes far to the south are represented, including parrots, trogons, motmots, attilas, tityras, shrike-vireos, flowerpiercers, euphonias, caciques, and brush-finches).Accommodations
During the trip, weʼll stay in a few different kinds of hotels - a comfortable business hotel in Autlan, a mellow seaside hotel in Barra de Navidad, a bigger, nice chain hotel in the capital city of Colima and a beautiful, small colonial hotel in the charming city of Sayula. These locations allow easy access to a complete range of habitats typical of western Mexico, from the arid coastal plain to cool fir forests high in the Sierra Madre. This trip starts and ends in Guadalajara.To book your trip or for more information, please contact us by email or call 888-383-0062.
