October is the very best time of year to visit the migration wonderland of Veracruz, in southeast Mexico. For next year, WINGS is creating a series of exciting one-day field trips from our cool and convenient base in Xalapa for participants in the American Birding Association’s International Conference, October 4-10. We’ll be housed in Xalapa’s clean, comfortable, and modern Fiesta inn, with cloud-forest birding right out the door, and the Conference field trips will visit sites ranging from the “river of raptors” on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico to the pine forests of the Xalapa Highlands.

For a preview, watch Rick Wright’s b-log for brief reports on his recent scouting trip to Xalapa with the ABA’s Tamie Bulow and Robert Straub, author of the Site Guide to the Birds of Veracruz and the local trip coordinator for what promises to be one of the most exciting and birdiest ABA conferences ever.

Red Warbler, one of the prizes of the Xalapa Highlands. Photo: Chris Wood.