Itinerary from: http://markprettinaturetours.com/oaxaca.htm
The state of Oaxaca is wonderfully
diverse in flora and fauna, history, culture, cuisine, and
scenery. Our
tour is designed to provide us optimum exposure to this richness at a
comfortable pace while enjoying unique and superb lodging experiences,
great
natural history and birds, and fascinating cultural experiences.
While in the
city of Oaxaca we'll stay at the cha
rming Hotel
Azucenas, a wonderful place with
an intimate atmosphere located in a quiet neighborhood. From there
we'll visit
the arid scrub around Teotitlan del Valle, a Zapotec town well known
for its
fine weaving. On past trips we've seen as many
as 90 species of
birds in the day we spend in this area - some of the specialties
include
white-throated towhee, Boucard's wren, ocellated thrasher, Oaxaca and
bridled sparrows, dusky
hummingbird, grey-breasted woodpecker, golden vireo, and white-striped
woodcreeper.
To
the north, in the Sierra Juarez,
we'll enjoy rich cloud forest and have good opportunities to find the
endemic dwarf jay as well as gray-barred wren, golden-browed and red
warblers,
spot-crowned woodcreeper, collared towhee, chestnut-capped and
rufous-capped
brush-finches, and gray-breasted wood-wren.
We'll trade the
color of Oaxaca City for the color of the Sierra Miahuatlan where we'll
spend a
hotel on a mountain ridge surrounded by
pine forest and flowering plants with hummingbirds, cinnamon-bellied
flowerpiercer, and hooded yellowthroat.
Fruiting pyracantha bushes may provide close-up
views of white-throated robin, brown-backed solitaire, gray-silky
flycatcher, and
russet nightingale-thrush. In the nearby forests and on our
descent to the
Pacific coast, we'll look for com
mon
bush-tanager, red-headed tanager, blue-capped and bumblebee
hummingbirds, mountain trogon,
and golden vireo, as well as some striking butterflies amidst the rich
tropical
vegetation. Here we'll also visit a shade grown coffee plantation
where
we've seen dozens of fan-tailed warblers, double-toothed kite, barred
woodcreeper, emerald toucanet, and outstanding butterflies. The
Gomez
family, who run the coffee plantation, will be our gracious hosts and
tour
guides, educating us about the biodiversity, watershed, and community
benefits
of their organic shade grown coffee.
On the Pacific coast, we'll stay at
the lovely and unique Rancho Cerro Largo where white-throated magpie
jay, banded
wren, russet-crowned motmot, lesser ground cuckoo, orange-breasted
bunting, red-breasted chat, and citreoline trogon can be found right on
the lodge grounds. Out over the Pacific,
we'll see red-billed tropicbirds and brown boobies soaring with
magnificent
frigatebirds. In the nearby forest we should find Colima pygmy
owl, happy
wren, blue bunting, yellow-winged cacique, golden-cheeked woodpecker
and many
other avian wonders. In the Puerto Escondido area we visit the
mouth of
the Rio Colotepec, which is wonderfully rich in waders, shorebirds, and
terns,
and also the Laguna Manialtepec, a mangrove-lined lagoon where we
should see
bare-throated tiger and boat-billed herons, mangrove vireo and mangrove
swallow, collared
plover, and possibly ruddy-breasted seedeater and mangrove cuckoo.
Our journey combines exciting
birding, rich natural history, outstanding food, the warm hospitality
of the people of
Oaxaca, and memorable cultural experiences. These include a visit
to a Zapotec village renowned for its fine weaving, lectures
on regional plants, art, culture and cuisine with Susana Trilling of
Seasons of
My Heart Cooking School, a tour of the ancient
ruins of Monte Alban, and a visit to the Oaxaca Cultural Museum.