Always a crowd pleaser is the Red-bordered Pixie, not an uncommon metalmark on our tour. Photo: Jim Brock
The Gómez Farías region is famous as the meeting place of tropical and temperate biota. It is surprising to many that the biologically rich El Cielo Biosphere Reserve is so close to the United States border—just a few hours’ drive—but lepidopterists and ornithologists have been coming here for years. Our tour coincides with peak butterfly abundance, and with the addition of North American migrants the birds should be plentiful as well. About 100 species of birds reach their northern limit here, with only a few of them making it as far as Texas. The butterflies are incredibly diverse: more than 500 species are known for the state of Tamaulipas, and most are found in the vicinity of the reserve. Here the large numbers of individuals characteristic of temperate regions meet the tremendous diversity found in the Tropics.
Day 1: The tour begins at 6:00 p.m. in Brownsville, Texas. Night in Brownsville.
Day 2: It will seem a shame to leave the famous Lower Rio Grande Valley behind, but as we drive south we’ll be amazed at how dramatically different and more tropical the habitats become, especially after our lunch stop in Ciudad Victoria. We’ll arrive at our destination in the late afternoon after a few stops that will demonstrate the explosion in the diversity of species. Crested Caracara and White-tailed Hawk will be the expected raptors on the roadside farther north, whereas later in the day we’ll enter the realm of Roadside Hawk, Bat Falcon, and Laughing Falcon. Boat-billed and Social Flycatchers, Spot-breasted Wren, Squirrel Cuckoo, and Scrub Euphonia will already be potential additions to the trip list. We’ll know we are no longer in Texas when we see such tropical butterflies as Darkened-blue Leafwing, Crimson-patched Heliconian, Pavon Emperor, Blue-eyed Sailor, and Banded Peacock. Night in Gómez Farías, Tamaulipas.
Days 3-4: The small village of Gómez Farías, situated in the foothills of the Sierra de Guatemala, a limestone branch of the Sierra Madre Oriental, provides an excellent location for our explorations of the region’s varied habitats. We’ll have two and a half days to explore the moist forest above town, the tropical deciduous woodlands below town, and the rich riparian woodland along the Ríos Sabinas and Frío, as well as the tropical scrub and open agricultural habitats in the lowlands to the southeast. We’ll concentrate on Mexican endemics and regional specialties, which in the class of birds include Singing Quail, Spotted Wren, Crimson-collared Grosbeak, Tamaulipas Crow, Green Parakeet, Red-crowned Parrot, Altamira Yellowthroat, and White-bellied Wren. The road along the moist forest above town has yielded such exciting butterflies as Anna’s Eighty-eight, Dashing-Blue Owl, Telegone Eyemark, and Regal Hairstreak, and the more tropical river valleys have been good spots for the stunning Common Morpho, Montezuma Cattleheart, Ruby-spotted Swallowtail, Gray and Glaucous Crackers, and Many-banded Daggerwing among others. Nights in Gómez Farías.
Day 5: After another morning in the Gómez Farías area, we’ll drive up the rough mountain road to Rancho del Cielo, a biological station that allows access to El Cielo Biosphere Reserve, the northernmost cloud forest in the world. Set in a clearing in the oak-sweetgum forest at 3,700 feet elevation, the ranch hosts many special birds such as Wedge-tailed Sabrewing, Blue-crowned Motmot (the endemic subspecies with the fully blue crown), Black-headed Nightingale-Thrush, Hooded Grosbeak, and the endemic Tamaulipas Pygmy-Owl. Night at Rancho del Cielo.
Days 6-7: We’ll have two full days to walk the trails and roads near our home base, starting in the orchard and gardens nearby and working our way into surrounding cloud forest. We’ll plan to visit a wildflower meadow that often teems with hummingbirds, and we may venture as far as the pine-oak forest, increasing our chances of finding birds of higher elevations. The numerous possibilities include Bumblebee and Amethyst-throated Hummingbirds, Mountain Trogon, Pine Flycatcher, Rufous-capped Brush-Finch, and perhaps even Military Macaw. Though fewer in number at the cooler elevations, butterflies will be different here as well and we may see Mexican Silverspot, Superb Cycadian, Mountain White, and Star Satyr. Nights at Rancho del Cielo.
Day 8: After a final morning enjoying our remote location and its wonderful wildlife, we’ll drop down out of the sierra to Gómez Farías and begin our drive back north, arriving in the United States in late afternoon. Night in Brownsville.
Day 9: The tour concludes this morning in Brownsville.
Updated: 01 September 2009
Prices
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Notes
Single occupancy not available at Rancho del Cielo. Maximum group size 14 and two leaders. Both leaders will accompany the tour regardless of group size.