Photo Gallery
Steve Howell and Luke Seitz
The world-famous ‘River of Raptors’ flows daily with different current strength and depth depending on weather conditions. If we hit a day like this just be glad we’re not trying to count them all!
When they’re not busy, we’ll have a chance to chat with the local counters, here on the famous Cardel hotel rooftop…
And here at the Chichicaxtle observatory, where we can learn about the important monitoring work conducted by Pronatura Veracruz.
Among the lower flocks it’s fun to play the game of picking out different species, or even find the scarce dark morph of Broad-winged Hawk—can you spot it?
Easier here, with a Swainson’s Hawk as well for scale
Flocks of ‘acuaticos’ (as the counters call them) can also be spectacular, such as hundreds of Anhingas, Wood Storks, and (here) American White Pelicans
We’ll also be sure to look down, as the region is home to a great diversity of butterflies, such as these Anna’s Eighty-Eights…
Or this Blomfild’s Beauty.
A Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl may catch our attention one morning
The endemic Veracruz (née Rufous-naped) Wren is locally common, here perched very appropriately on a coffee bush—the region is justly famous for its coffee, which we’ll have a chance to sample.
Northern migrants can include good numbers of Yellow-breasted Chat, sometimes not so skulking!
And handsome Eastern Kingbirds in fresh plumage
In the coastal grasslands we may find the striking Double-striped Thick-knee, and …
It’s also good to look twice at the Turkey Vultures there—this one turned out to be a local resident Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture
The tropical foothill forests are home to the recently split Blue-capped (née Blue-crowned) Motmot, endemic to Northeast Mexico,
While we may find the local Mexican Sheartail in relict areas of drier scrub.
Snow might seem an odd thing for Mexico, but (at least for now) it still caps Mount Orizaba, Mexico’s highest peak at 18,500 feet, here viewed from an area of Joshua tree desert we’ll visit in search of hummingbirds and thrashers.
Elsewhere, in high-elevation conifer forests on Cofre de Perote…
We’ll seek the endemic and well-named Red Warbler…
And the poorly named Olive Warbler, which is neither olive nor a warbler!
Ending our tour back in the lowlands, a migrant Peregrine may flash past the hotel and wish us safe travels after our escape to a magical region.