Day 1: If time permits, after arrival we may do some birding on our hotel grounds, where species include Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Great Kiskadee, Yellow-winged Tanager, and even the recently established Monk Parakeet! Night in Veracruz.

Veracruz with Steve Howell was I believe my 12th Wings trip and I can easily say it was the birdiest. Whether it was the Broad-winged Hawk river in the sky, warblers in every tree and bush or 100’s of ducks fighting the wind over the ocean, there were so many birds. Mexico is a bird funnel for North American migrants in the fall. That said, it all depends on the weather, and we lucked out this year. - Kent A

Days 2–3: As with any migration tour, our daily plans will depend on the weather, but we’ll be checking beaches and coastal migrants traps for shorebirds and landbirds (sometimes including a pleasant variety of warblers, such as Mourning and Hooded), as well as relaxing in chairs to watch the raptor flights, which this early in the season are dominated by Broad-winged Hawks, with smaller numbers of Mississippi Kites, Turkey Vultures, and sundry other species. Resident birds of interest include Aplomado Falcon, Double-striped Thick-knee, Fork-tailed Flycatcher, and the recently split endemic Veracruz (née Rufous-naped) Wren, along with so-called South Texas specialties such as Brown Jay, Altamira Oriole, and Plain Chachalaca. Nights in Veracruz.

Days 4–7: We’ll spend another morning on the coastal plain and after lunch move inland to the state capital of Xalapa for four nights. From our base here we can explore pine-oak forest with flitting warbler flocks and skulking brushfinches; shady coffee-finca forest with Blue-capped Motmots and Bronze-winged Woodpeckers (plus a great diversity of colorful butterflies); plateau desert with thrashers, hummingbirds, and sparrows; and even high-elevation fir forest and bunch grass with resident (!) Golden-crowned Kinglets and the local endemic Striped Sparrow. Relict areas of drier grassy and scrub habitat are home to Mexican Sheartail, Botteri’s Sparrow, and the recently split Grass Wren, and anywhere we go we could run into southbound migrants, perhaps an Olive-sided Flycatcher sallying from a tall cactus, or a Canada Warbler sharing its tree with resident Crescent-chested and Olive Warblers. Nights in Xalapa.

Day 8: After a final morning of birding near Xalapa we’ll head back to the lowlands, stopping for any hawk flights, which by now will contain more Turkey Vultures and Swainson’s Hawks than only a week ago, and reaching our hotel in good time to rest and pack before a fine last dinner. Night in Veracruz.

Day 9: Depending on flight times, there may be opportunity for a little morning birding before transfer to the airport and flights homeward, after a rich and fun week exploring a tiny slice of Mexico.

2026 Narrative

Once again, this migration-centered tour was a great success, with a small group and fabulous birding, from quiet beaches to cool montane conifer forests. Whether it was dizzying kettles of thousands of hawks or wave after wave of White-winged Doves and Dickcissels the great diversity of birdlife kept us busy—but in a good way. From flitting Red Warblers to fiery-eyed Curve-billed Thrashers; from handsome Aplomado Falcons to the undeniably ‘cute’ Tufted Flycatcher; from local endemics such as Blue-capped Motmot, Strickland’s Woodpecker, Mexican Sheartail, and Veracruz Wren, to 28 species of warblers; from sun-downer beers to colorful butterflies in tropical shade coffee forest; and from a cool sunny morning in high Joshua tree desert with a backdrop of the ice-capped Mount Orizaba to sandy beaches with Reddish Egrets and varied shorebirds it was a very special week, away from the madness of the so-called ‘developed’ world. The diversity of habitats produced over 250 species in a week of unhurried birding, but all too soon it was over.

Everyone arrived safely into hot sunny weather, and early arrivals had time for a little birding near the hotel, where the recently established Monk Parakeets showed well, alongside Golden-fronted Woodpeckers, Great Kiskadees, numerous tail-less Great-tailed Grackles, and a couple of Peregrine Falcons. The intro meeting and dinner were followed by a good sleep. After an early breakfast, our first morning found us along a quiet beach road where swarm after swarm of migrating White-winged Doves passed over heading southward, along with flocks of Dickcissels and Scissor-tailed Flycatchers, and a scattering of other species. Residents included Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, the endemic Veracruz Wren, and flashy Altamira Orioles, while other migrants ranged from Merlin and Purple Martin to truly abundant Yellow-breasted Chats. The heat kicked in by mid-morning so we headed to the famous Cardel hawk migration watchpoint atop the Hotel Bienvenido for the world famous ‘River of Raptors.’ Our timing was good: we stepped into a pulse of ‘mere thousands’ of Broad-winged Hawks to wet our toes in the river, with some nice Mississippi Kites mixed in, plus a few Zone-tailed Hawks and even a late Swallow-tailed Kite, along with kettles of Anhingas (who knew?) and an impressive squadron of American White Pelicans. After lunch and a welcome siesta we explored south of Veracruz City, where waterbirds included a white Reddish Egret, and a nice selection of shorebirds, followed by our first Northern Jacanas, an adult Great Black Hawk, and swarms of Orchard Orioles to wrap up a fine first day.

Another early start took us to a different beach spot, where a serendipitous stop for some Yellow-headed Amazons morphed into a very busy start to the day, with at least 43 species in 30 minutes (!), including Northern Bobwhite (of the local, orange-bellied race), Common Black Hawk, and Rose-throated Becard. Nearer the beach we enjoyed two different young Mexican Sheartails, a sextet of fly-over Roseate Spoonbills, and a brief male Mourning Warbler before watching single Amazon, Ringed, and Belted Kingfishers vying for the same two posts! A good selection of waterbirds included four Reddish Egrets (including two white morphs), Long-billed Curlew, Collared Plover, and Least Tern. A second river mouth produced hundreds of terns, Black Skimmer, the increasingly scarce Snowy Plover, and a Neotropic Cormorant battling an impressively large fish, before we headed once more to the ‘raptor rooftop.’ The Broad-winged Hawk flights today were even better, more birds and some spectacular low kettles that then streamed over as a classic river—wow! After lunch and a siesta, some local roadside birding produced a beautiful pair of Aplomado Falcons and superb views of no fewer than 16 Double-striped Thick-knees in one field—not bad for a relaxed afternoon.

Our last lowland morning we visited a marshy savanna area south of Veracruz, which produced a nice mix of birds that ranged from Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture to Common Tody-Flycatcher, from elegant Fork-tailed Flycatchers to a posing male Northern Bobwhite. Then it was on to our base in Xalapa for the next four nights, via stops at Cardel (“just thousands more Broad-winged Hawks”) and the observatory at Chichicaxtle, where we could learn about Pronatura’s long-term monitoring work. At 1400 meters elevation, and within easy reach of varied highland and foothill habitats, Xalapa welcomed us with spectacular thunder, lightning, and torrential downpours, with flooded streets and waterfalls pouring off high-rise buildings!

Our first highland day started out cool, but then the sun soon warmed things up. We began in cloud forest at Las Minas, where Bearded Wood Partridges called from below us in the canyon while the roadside trees held the handsome trio of Red, Golden-browed, and Crescent-chested Warblers, although Hooded Yellowthroat proved more elusive. Moving to higher elevations on Cofre de Perote we enjoyed a picnic lunch in cool fir forest, home to the vocally distinct local Golden-crowned (‘Aztec’) Kinglets plus some handsome Collared Towhees and a Russet Nightingale-Thrush. With some work (and luck!) we located Striped Sparrow, Strickland’s Woodpecker, and Pine Flycatcher, and then came upon a feeding and bathing mass of birds dominated by Gray Silkies and American Robins, but also with Elegant Euphonia, Red Crossbill, Pine Siskin, and both Baltimore and Bullock’s Orioles—what a great way to round out a full day.

The second highland day we climbed into sun-bathed hillsides of stunning Joshua tree desert, a very different habitat from the rest of the tour. Morning birds ranged from Lucifer Hummingbird and Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay to a serendipitous drop-in Blue-throated Mountain-gem and numerous Bewick’s Wrens. Descending towards the valley floor through cactus-loaded rocky desert and flocks of enigmatic swifts we found fiery-eyed Curve-billed Thrashers, Loggerhead Shrikes, a locally rare Phainopepla, and the recently but dubiously split Lilian’s (aka Chihuahuan) Meadowlark—which responded happily to songs of Eastern Meadowlarks from Georgia and Maryland…). After a filling roadside lunch stop we birded in some pine-oak forest where persistence was rewarded with a flock that included a cute Tufted Flycatcher and an obliging Spot-crowned Woodcreeper, plus sundry vireos and at least 13 species of warblers including a surprise Red-faced! The rain then kicked in and our drive back into Xalapa was marked by spectacular flash-flooded roads! Just another diverse day of birding in Mexico.

For our third ‘highland’ day we spent the morning in shade coffee surrogate forest, rich in birds and also in spectacular butterflies. Azure-crowned Hummingbirds proved common, as did the poster-child neotropical migrant for shade coffee—Wilson’s Warbler. We enjoyed great looks at Wedge-tailed Sabrewing (what a song!), and the local endemic Blue-capped Motmot and ‘Bronze-winged’ Woodpecker (aka Golden-olive Woodpecker to the criminally deaf), along with Southern House Wren at the edge of its range, before becoming distracted by a wealth of colorful butterflies. A pleasant relaxing lunch overlooking the spectacular Teocelo waterfall was followed by a siesta as the rain started. In late afternoon we ventured out to some relict native grassland and scrub, where birds included Botteri’s Sparrow, Grass Wren, Gray-crowned Yellowthroat, and Long-billed Thrasher.

The next morning we enjoyed a relaxed walk through some beautiful cloud forest near Xalapa, along with a good diversity of birds, starting with Berylline Hummingbird, White-naped Brushfinch, and Blue Mockingbird. Other morning highlights included Collared Trogon, Eye-ringed Flatbill, and a perched-up Black-headed Nightingale-Thrush in the scope. Our lunch stop at Cardel coincided with a river in flood of raptors, as tens of thousands of Broad-winged Hawks poured overhead, along with thousands of Turkey Vultures and small numbers of other species—what a great way to round out this migration tour! 

Flight times allowed a little time for some to enjoy a last morning of birding near the hotel, where thousands of White-winged Doves streamed over and the trees held a diversity of songbird migrants. But all too soon it was time to leave, after a great week of migration, from beaches to mountains; plus numerous resident bird species, friendly people, good company, and fine cuisine. Thanks to all for making this a wonderful trip.

        -          Steve Howell

Back to Narratives