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Sonora, MexicoWhere the Desert Meets the Tropics

April 22-27, 2008, in association with Bird Treks

The Sonoran Desert, the Sierra Madre, and Tropical Deciduous Forest

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 butterfly species and an exciting diversity of desert, mountain, and subtropical plants.

I'll be returning to Sonora this spring for what should be another exciting and bird-filled trip.  Breeding birds and migrants 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.   

This trip is one of several Sonora itineraries possible and is a great introductory trip.  I provide more extensive Sonora trips, including the Alamos area on a custom basis, particularly for organized groups.


 $875 per person, all-inclusive, double occupancy from Sierra Vista.  Limited to 8 participants.  

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 ~

Photos - Rufous-capped warbler by Sandy Kunzer


Last updated: April 12, 2008.