One of our newest tours and already established as a great favourite.

An excellent introduction to birding in the Americas as we travel to the point where Nearctic and Neotropical avifaunas meet. Our Western Mexico tour offers Aztec Thrushes in the pine-oak forested slopes of the Colima volcanoes, the famous coastal sites near San Blas and ending our journey with the exquisite Tufted Jays near the Durango Highway.

Many thanks to Fernando Haro for the picture of the Tufted Jay (top). The other pictures are, from top to bottom; Heerman's gull, Yellow-crowned Night Heron and Green Kingfisher.

Next tour: MEXICO – Oaxaca in the Spring. 1 - 16 March 2011.

Western Mexico offers a great diversity of habitats and wildlife and throughout this tour we’ll be able to explore a variety of habitats from pine-oak forests on the slopes of volcanoes in Colima and Jalisco, to arid coastal forest in Sinaloa.

This will enable us to see a number of Mexican endemic species during our travels and our bird list will be enhanced by visiting some wetland habitats including coastal mangroves near San Blas, surely one of Mexico’s most famous and popular birding sites. The grand finale to our tour will be an excursion up the Durango Highway to see the highly localized Tufted Jay.

Expect hot and sunny weather with a slight chance of showers. A fleece jacket and gloves will be required for early mornings at the Tufted Jay Reserve. It should be dry underfoot and walking boots or shoes will be sufficient. We may experience some mosquitoes near San Blas so bring repellent.