Oaxaca Birding Tour

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Tour Information

Oaxaca Birding Tour
Oaxaca Valley, Oaxaca Highlands, Pacific Lowlands, Isthmus de Tehuantepec & Pelagic Boat | Trip Feb 15th - 24th, 2013

Itinerary

Days 1-5

We will be based in the city of Oaxaca for the first 3 nights of the tour. While here we will combine excellent birding with visits to the historic downtown of the city and important archaeological sites nearby. Our birding in the Oaxaca Valley and the surrounding highlands will mean searching for many endemic species, some very localized. We will visit a variety of habitats here, all quite close to the city, from desert to forests of pine and fir in the highlands.

Some of our target birds will include: Red Warbler, Gray-breasted Woodpecker, Bridled Sparrow, Oaxaca Sparrow, White-throated Towhee, Ocellated Thrasher, Dwarf Vireo, Slaty Vireo, Dwarf Jay, Gray-barred Wren, Chestnut-sided Shrike-Vireo.

Days 5-6

After our morning birding on the edge of the Oaxaca Valley, we will be traveling down the Sierra to the Pacific lowlands of the state of Oaxaca. This spectacular highway passes through different vegetation types as we drop in elevation, and as we stop for birding along the way we will start to see some of the many birds associated with the Pacific lowlands. After our night in Ixtepec, loctated in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, for the following morning we will visit two important sites where we will search for the Isthmus specialties.

Sample target birds: Orange-breasted Bunting, Rosita's Bunting, Green-fronted Hummingbird, White-throated Magpie-Jay, Yellow-winged Cacique, Streaked backed Oriole, Lesser Ground-Cuckoo, Russet-crowned Motmot, Rufous-naped Wren, White-lored Gnatcatcher, Blue Bunting, Red-breasted Chat, Banded Wren.

Days 6-8

For the next 2 nights we will be based in a lovely coffee plantation finca, located 3,000 feet above the hot and dry lowlands. We'll settle in and conduct our birding on trails and dirt roads located within or near the finca. Here we will be looking for several bird species not found in the lowlands, while also enjoying the marvelous butterflies at the lodge.

Some target birds: Cinnamon-sided Hummingbird, Fan-tailed Warbler, Vermiculated Screech-Owl, Wagler's Toucanet.

Days 8-10

For the final 2 nights of our tour, we will move back down the mountains to the beautiful coast at Huatulco. On our drive down in the morning we'll do some lowland birding en route. When we arrive in Huatulco we have an optional pelagic birding trip (weather permitting) planned for the afternoon. For those who choose to not go on the boat trip, they can relax at the beach or at the hotel or do some lowland birding nearby (we will have the van and a birding guide available). For those who choose the boat trip, we will only have to travel 3-5 miles offshore to get into deep pelagic waters, where the continental shelf drops off very quickly. On our final morning we may be able to squeeze in a couple of hours of birding the lowlands near Huatulco before our departure flight.

Some target birds: Pelagic: Wedge-tailed Shearwater, Least Storm-Petrel, Black Storm-Petrel, Blue-footed Booby, jaegers, Sabine's Gull.

Detailed Itinerary (

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Day 1 February 15th - Friday

Flights arrive to Oaxaca
(transportation from Airport to B&B will be provided)
Check in - Relax at B&B Las Golondrinas
Meet in lobby to leave for dinner at a nearby restaurant
Night in Oaxaca

Day 2 February 16th - Saturday

Breakfast at B&B
Visit the Etno-botanical Garden (downtown)
Visit Regional Museum - and Santo Domingo church
Lunch
Explore downtown on your own or visit Contemporary Art Museum or visit Rufino Tamayo Museum.
(Optional) Special dinner at Casa Oaxaca

Day 3 February 17th - Sunday

Breakfast at B&B
Leave for Teotitlan for birdwatching
Leave for Benito Juarez for birdwatching in pine forest
Get back to downtown
Meet in lobby to leave for dinner at a nearby restaurant
Night in Oaxaca

Day 4 February 18th - Monday

Breakfast at B&B
Leave for highlands Birdwatching at La Cumbre
Visit Monte Alban Archaeological Site and birding
Meet in lobby to leave for dinner at a nearby restaurant
Night in Oaxaca

Day 5 February 19th - Tuesday

Breakfast at B&B - Check out
Leave for Birdwatching at Yagul Archaeological Site
Leave for Birdwatching at Nueve Puntas site
Travel to coastal lowlands, birding en route
Arrive at Hotel Regente in Ixtepec
Check in and dinner
Night in Ixtepec

Day 6 February 20th - Wednesday

Breakfast at Hotel - Check out
Leave for birdwatching in Isthmus de Tehuantepec at La Ventosa
Leave for birdwatching at La Mata
Travel to Finca Monte Carlo
Arrive at Finca Monte Carlo, Check in
Dinner
Night in Finca Monte Carlo

Day 7 February 21st - Thursday

Breakfast
Birding Finca Monte Carlo
Lunch
Birding Finca Monte Carlo
Dinner
Night in Finca Monte Carlo

Day 8 February 22nd - Friday

Breakfast - Check out
Leave for Huatulco, birding dry forest en route
Arrive at Hotel Flamboyant in Huatulco
Dinner
Night in Huatulco

Day 9 February 23rd - Saturday

Breakfast at Hotel
Optional pelagic boat trip from Huatulco
Lunch
Birding lowlands near Huatulco or Sierra
Dinner
Night in Huatulco

Day 10 February 24th - Sunday

Breakfast at Hotel
Relax or early birding near Huatulco
Lunch
Check out
Leave for Huatulco Airport
End of the trip

View a larger map

Robert Straub Nearly 10 years ago a gangly American from Delaware flew to Mexico City with his binoculars and a passion for birds. No one he asked in Mexico City had heard of the town

he was headed for, but a day later he found a bus to Veracruz and eventually to Ciudad Cardel.
Robert Straub caught what he calls “the migration bug” years earlier, while working as a bird researcher in national parks around the United States. He studied migratory birds in New Mexico and Utah. “When you are in that world,” he explains, “you hear about Veracruz.”

Read full article

Oaxaca Birding Tour

10 DAYS • TRIP CODE: TOBT

FROM USD
$	1690	\|	$	470	OPTIONAL "MY OWN ROOM"

If you are traveling alone we will try our best to match you with another single traveler of the same gender. Otherwise we offer single room accomodations for an extra fee.

The fee includes: Transportation in Oaxaca, Accommodation, Breakfasts, Bird watching guides, Entrance fees to: Etnobotanical Garden, Regional Museum, Contemporary Art Museum, Rufino Tamayo Museum, Monte Alban and Yagul.