Day 1: Arrivals into Heroica Veracruz International Airport (VER) for overnight. Time for our first Mexican dinner and discussions about this unique itinerary, which is much more carefully designed than any other tour to this rarely-visited and exciting region!

Day 2: We will depart early and drive over to Cordoba, where we should easily find the highly range-restricted Sumichrast’s Wren, along with Plain Chachalaca, Wedge-tailed Sabrewing, Buff-bellied Hummingbird, Band-backed Wren, “Middle American” White-bellied Wren, and Rusty Sparrow. Back in Heroica Veracruz after lunch, we will spend the afternoon looking for two more range-restricted endemics: Veracruz Wren and unusual migratory Ochre Oriole (long subsumed within the much darker and sedentary Orchard Oriole, which is also found here). Several more widespread birds should be noted throughout the day, such as Brown Jay, Montezuma Oropendola, Altamira Oriole, Yellow-winged Tanager, Morelet’s Seedeater, and Black-headed Saltator. We may be able to try for Ruddy Crake if the water levels are adequate at one of the nearby lagoons. Night in Heroica Veracruz.

Day 3: Morning birding around Heroica Veracruz before driving north to Xalapa. We intend to arrive with ample time to immediately make some attempts for Bearded Wood Partridge this afternoon in an area where René has had much success with this species in recent years. Night in Xalapa.

Day 4: We have given ourselves a full day in the area to make sure we have the best chance for the wood partridge (and we do expect to be successful), but will also hope to come across the uncommon Black Thrush, along with Garnet-throated Hummingbird, White-naped Brushfinch, and Hooded Yellowthroat. There is also a chance here for the rare White-faced Quail Dove, though it is always tricky to see. Night in Xalapa.

Day 5: Transfer to Gómez Farías, making stops along the way for the declining Tamaulipas Crow and endemic Altamira Yellowthroat. Both important and range-restricted species, but thankfully not too hard to find in this area! Night in Gómez Farías.

Day 6: Full day birding in the wonderful El Cielo Biosphere Reserve for Tamaulipas Pygmy Owl, Blue-capped Motmot, Crimson-collared and Hooded Grosbeaks, Bronze-winged Woodpecker, and our first chance for Tawny-collared Nightjar and Eastern Screech Owl. This is one of the best places in the world to see Thicket Tinamou and Singing Quail, so we will work hard on these ones too. Other species could include Grey-collared Becard, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Black-headed Nightingale-thrush, Spot-breasted Wren, Golden-crowned Warbler, Couch’s Kingbird, and Yellow-throated Euphonia. Night in Gómez Farías.

Day 7: Morning birding, then transfer to Monterrey. Spotlighting for Mexican Spotted Owl and further chances for Tawny-collared Nightjar. Night in Monterrey.

Day 8-9: On our first day in Monterrey, we will explore close to the city, where we can enjoy dozens of Maroon-fronted Parrots at their nesting cliffs. We will also have further chances for Blue-capped Motmot and Crimson-collared Grosbeak. On our second day, we will head southwest, searching for Worthen’s Sparrow on their breeding grounds, then crossing back over the mountains looking for Colima Warbler along the way (usually easy to find in the middle of the breeding season). During our time in the area, we will additionally search out some near-endemic specialties that also make it into southern US states like Arizona and Texas: Scaled Quail, Mexican Jay, Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay, Blue-throated Mountaingem, Lucifer Sheartail, “Texas” Cave Swallow, Long-billed Thrasher, Audubon’s Oriole, Painted Whitestart, Black-crested Titmouse, Botteri’s Sparrow, Olive Sparrow, and Chihuahuan Raven. Nights in Monterrey.

Day 10: After a last morning of birding around Monterrey, we transfer to our final destination: Ciudad Madera.

Day 11-12: We will have two full days in Chihuahua, primarily looking for the Endangered endemic Thick-billed Parrot. This intriguing species is thought to have once relied mostly on Imperial Woodpecker holes for nesting cavities before the tragic extinction of that species, but has now (at least in part) learned to use normal tree hollows. The pine forests here are full of Eared Quetzal, and this species much easier to see here in the breeding season compared to the more commonly visited spots in the west on winter birding tours. Another bird we will spend time on here is the tricky Montezuma Quail, for which we have some good sites. Other birds might include Red-faced Warbler, Mexican Chickadee, Bridled Titmouse, Pine Flycatcher, Yellow-eyed Junco, and the unusual Olive Warbler (a monotypic family, thought to be most closely related to Old World Accentors!). Nights in Ciudad Madera.

Day 13: After a last morning of birding, the tour ends with drop-offs at Chihuahua International Airport (CUU) after lunch.

Anyone wishing to extend their time in the country might choose to add a few days in Mexico City with a local guide, following the initial two days of our usual Mexico: Southern itinerary. In just a couple of days, it’s easy to target specialties like White-naped Swift, Aztec Rail, Strickland’s Woodpecker, Black-backed Oriole, Black-polled Yellowthroat, and Sierra Madre Sparrow. Let us know if you’re interested, and we can coordinate a plan between participants.