ITINERARY
Day 1. Arrival in Oaxaca City where we’ll be met by our ground agents and taken to our hotel for the night. Overnight in Oaxaca.

Day 2. The next three days will be spent visiting habitats within easy reach of our hotel including dry scrub, humid rain forest and pine-oak highlands returning for nights at our hotel in Oaxaca City. Our first morning will be spent birding the thorn-scrub habitat leading up to the ancient Zapotec ruins of Monte Alban. Many sought after endemics can be found here including Dusky and Berylline Hummingbirds, Rock, Canyon and Boucard`s Wren, Ocellated Thrasher, Dwarf Vireo, White-throated Towhee and if luck is on our side the Pileated Flycatcher. Once the birding activity slows we will visit the impressive ruins of Monte Alban. Night in Oaxaca

Day 3. Travelling east we will spend our morning birding the reservoir and arid thorn-shrub around Teotitlan Del Valle, a town famous for it’s colourful woven rugs, and then climbing into the pine-oak habitat of the Sierra Juarez. The three different habitats adds a diversity to  our bird list which may include target species such as West Mexican Chachalaca, Green-fronted and Dusky Hummingbirds, Grey-breasted Woodpecker, Ocellated Thrasher and Bridled and Oaxaca Sparrows. Least Grebe, White-collared Seedeater and Black-vented and Dickey’s Orioles are also possibilities. 

Day 4. An early morning drive to Cerro San Felipe and mountains north of the city, to explore the pine-oak habitat and cloud forest that are found in the higher elevations. We will be searching for the Long-tailed Wood-Partridge, Garnet-throated and Amethyst-throated Hummingbirds, Mountain Trogon, Dwarf Jay, Black Robin, Chestnut-sided Shrike-Vireo and Slaty Vireo, Red Warbler, Collared Towhee, Chestnut-capped Brushfinch, and the Grey-breasted Wren. In the afternoon we’ll continue birding on the Cerro San Felipe, returning to our hotel for dinner. Night in Oaxaca. 

Day 5. Today is a long travel day to the city of Tuxtepec on the Atlantic slope of the Gulf of Mexico. We will head north-east leaving the city of Oaxaca climbing over Cerro San Felipe and the Sierra Norte and onto the Atlantic lowlands, making birding stops as we reach the summit of 2900m at El Mirador and as we head down into the cloud forests of the Atlantic slope and rainforests of the lowlands. Target species will be cloud forest specialties like the Unicolored Jays, Slate-coloured Solitaire, Black Thrush, Blue-crowned Chlorophonia and White-naped Brushfinch. Night and dinner in Tuxtepec.

Day 6. A day spent back up above Valle Nacional looking for the cloud forest species in the higher elevations like the Ornate Hawk-Eagle, White-faced Quail- Dove, Pheasant Cuckoo, Emerald-chinned and Bumblebee Hummingbirds, Golden-browed Warbler, Unicolored Jay and White-naped Brushfinch.  After a picnic lunch we will look for lower level species such as Wedge-tailed Sabrewing, Berylline Hummingbird, Emerald Toucanet, Keel-billed Toucan, Yellow-breasted Chat, White-collared Seedeater, Chestnut-headed and Montezuma Oropendolas and then head back to our hotel in Tuxtepec for dinner and the night.

Day 7. Today is a travel day as we head down towards the narrow Isthmus de Tehuantepec, the site of México’s most localized endemics including the Sumichrast`s Sparrow, Nava’s Wren and Rosita’s Bunting. Before leaving the Tuxtepec region we will go in search of the Sumichrast’s Wren. Other possible species are the Black-crested Coquette, Little Hermit, Olivacious and Streak-headed Woodcreepers, Black-throated Green Warblers, Baltimore and Orchard Orioles.  We will then begin a long drive south to the Isthmus de Tehuantepec.   Night in Matias Romero

Day 8. Our morning will be spent looking for Nava’s Wren in patches of remnant tropical rainforest found along the slopes of the Sierra Madre del Sur. Other species of interest we might be lucky to find are the Green Parakeet, White-bellied Emerald, Black-headed and Violaceous Trogons, Rufous-breasted Spinetail and Black-headed and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks.  We will then head southwest towards our destination for the night, Tehuantepec, making stops along the way to look for another localized endemic the lovely Rosita’s Bunting. Night in Tehuantepec.

Day 9. Another early morning start to take advantage of the best birding hours at this hot and windy destination. Our target species will be the Sumichrast’s Sparrow found in the thorn forest surrounding the town’s perimeter. We will also have good chances to see the elusive Lesser Ground Cuckoo and Doubleday’s Hummingbird. Lesser Roadrunner, Citreoline Trogon, White-lored Gnatcatcher and Orange-breasted Buntings are possible in the area also. Afternoon drive to Puerto Angel. Night in Puerto Angel.

Day 10. Today we will bird the Pacific slope coastal thorn-scrub around our hotel and the town of Puerto Ángel and Playa Zipolite looking for Colima Pygmy Owl, Citreoline Trogon, Russet-crowned Motmot, Golden-cheeked Woodpecker, Happy Wren, Red-breasted Chat, and Orange-breasted Bunting. Aside from the endemics, Squirrel Cuckoo, White-throated Magpie-Jays and Yellow-winged Caciques are also quite common in the area. Lunch at our hotel and then spend the afternoon exploring a nearby mangrove-lined estuary for mangrove swallows, Common Black Hawk, a variety of shorebirds, waders, gulls and terns. Night in Puerto Angel.

Day 11. A change of focus today as we head to sea in hopes of spotting pelagic avifauna such as Audubon’s Shearwater, Least and Black Storm-Petrels, Red-billed Tropicbird, Masked and Brown Booby. Humpback Whales and Manta Rays can also be seen on this trip. Night in Puerto Ángel

Day 12. Today we will leave the Pacific coast and head east making our way back over the mountains of the Sierra Miahuatlan towards Oaxaca Valley. Our first stop will be in semi-deciduous woodlands and oaks where we will look for swifts like Chestnut-collared, White-collared and maybe the Great Swallow-tailed Swift. Cinnamon-sided and Blue-capped Hummingbirds, Long-tailed Wood- partridge, Golden-crowned Emerald, Green Jays and the Emerald Toucanet are possible also.  We’ll continue up into cool pine/oak forests and our accommodations for the evening at Puesta Del Sol, cosy cabins situated on a hillside surrounded by pine forest. Dinner and night in Puesta Del Sol.

Day 13. Before leaving for Oaxaca City we will explore the area around Puesta Del Sol especially the flower banks that can produce many species of hummingbirds including Bumblebee Hummingbird. We will also look for cool montane species such as White-throated Robins, Russet Nightingale-Thrush, Chestnut-capped Brush-finch and Brown-backed Solitaire to name a few. Night in Oaxaca City

Day 14. Surrounded by lovely scenic vistas the pre-Hispanic ruins of Yagul  are found at the eastern end of the Oaxaca valley. This is our destination this morning exploring the desert-like shrub habitat looking for Beautiful Hummingbird, Black Flycatcher, Grey-breasted Woodpecker, Cassin’s Kingbird, Boucard’s Wren, McGillivray’s and Rufous-capped Warblers. On our return to Oaxaca City we will stop in the pueblo of Santa Maria del Tule for lunch and to see the famous 2000-year-old Cypress Tree. Afternoon free to wander the colourful markets or just relax in the beautiful plaza in the heart of the city. Night in Oaxaca City

Day 15. Transfer to the airport near Oaxaca City where the tour ends.

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