Sonora, Mexico:  Where the Desert Meets the Tropics

I offer two Sonora itineraries, both of which are great introductory trips to the subtropics.  While these trips can be done at almost any time of year, the mountain trip is best in April and May while the Alamos trip is best from November to early April.  Having done these trips dozens of times in the past, I presently don't do fixed date departures and instead do them on a custom basis for Audubon and other groups.  If you have a group that you feel might enjoy a trip to Sonora, please contact me and we can customize the trip to your group's interest.  Individuals can also inquire about joining groups I may have going.

Trip 1 - The Sonoran Desert, the Sierra Madre, and Tropical Deciduous Forest - 6-7 days

Trip 2 - Alamos and the Sea of Cortez - 6-7 days

The state of Sonora, Mexico's second largest, can be seen from my porch, and from there, it doesn't look that much different than southern Arizona.  The view is deceiving, however, as just a short ways south things change dramatically as one transitions from the desert to the subtropics.  I've made dozens of trips to Sonora in recent years, and have explored much of the state.  During those trips we've enjoyed over 340 species of birds, over one-hundred and fifty butterfly species, various mammals and reptiles, and an exciting diversity of desert, mountain, subtropical, and coastal plants.

For the Sierra Madre trip, resident and migrant birds should be abundant as we travel along  the lush Rio Sonora, through Sonoran Desert and tropical deciduous forest, and into the pines and oaks of the northern Sierra Madre.  Among the birds we've encountered are green kingfisher, gray hawk, Sinaloa, happy, and spotted wrens, streak-backed and black-vented orioles, rufous-bellied chachalaca, brown-backed solitaire, blue mockingbird, orange-billed and russet nightingale thrushes, rufous-backed and white-throated robins, black-throated magpie jay, elegant quail, rusty, rufous-winged and five-striped sparrows, white-tipped dove, white-striped woodcreeper, tufted flycatcher, crescent-chested and rufous-capped warblers, flame-colored and red-headed tanagers, squirrel cuckoo, gray-crowned woodpecker, and elegant and mountain trogons.

On the Alamos trip, we often find most of the species mentioned above as well as bare-throated tiger-heron, plain-capped starthroat, buff-collared nightjar, purplish-backed jay, russet-crowned motmot, and the elusive lesser roadrunner.  On the coast we do a boat tour through a gorgeous mangrove estuary with possibilities for many species of waders, shorebirds, gulls, terns, waterfowl and the mangrove trio of warbler, vireo, and swallow.    

 Cost is about $1000 per person, all-inclusive, double occupancy from Sierra Vista or Tucson.    

Detailed itinerary and references available upon request.

~ Custom tours to Sonora, including the Alamos area, coastal estuaries, and the Sea of Cortez can also be arranged ~

Last updated: January 27, 2010.