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Mexico Durango

White-tipped Dove Leptotila verreauxi Š Ian Montgomery http://www.birdway.com.au

The "estado" of Durango is bordered to the north by Chihuahua, to the north-east by Coahuila, to the south-east by Zacatecas, to the south-west by Nayarit, and to the west by Sinaloa. Most of the state is heavily mountainous and a good part forested, the Sierra Madre Occidental occupies the western and central part of the state. This mountain range contains a good supply of minerals, including the silver that encouraged Spanish occupation of the territory after it was discovered. These mines extend north into Chihuahua and south into the state of Zacatecas. Vast desert basins in the Laguna District are irrigated by the Nazas River.

Major crops grown in the area include cotton, wheat, corn, alfalfa, marijuana, beans, sorghum, and other vegetables.

Durango is famous for its scorpions. Mexicans generally refer to the people of Durango as Alacrán de Durango (A scorpion from Durango). The demonym for the natives of Durango is Duranguenses.

The major occupations in Durango are farming, lumbering and ranching.

top sites

Zona del silencio

Zona del silencio is located in Durango and Coahuila in the north of Mexico and is a dessert ecosystem.

contributor

Wikipedia
(GNU Free Documentation License)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durango

useful reading

Fieldguides, CDs etc.

For a selection of appropriate fieldguides and CDs etc see the general Mexico page of Fatbirder...

clubs

La fundación Vida para el Bosque

http://www.bosquevibo.org.mx/
La fundación Vida para el Bosque es una sociedad civil sin fines de lucro, creada en 1999, su principal objetivo es el fomento y promoción de las áreas naturales protegidas de la Sierra Madre Occidental comprendida en el Estado de Durango, con especial atención en las reservas de la Biosfera de Michilía y Mapimí.

reserves

Reserve of the Biósfera Mapimí

http://www.unesco.org/mabdb/br/brdir/directory/biores.asp?mode=all&code=MEX+01
They are recognized around 270 species of vertebrates, among them five amphibians, 36 reptiles, 28 mammals and approximately 200 birds (Aguirre and Maury, 1989). This protected natural area preserves typical fauna of the semi-arid regions of the Mexican Plateau, including species of birds threatened like aguililla red tail (Buteo jamaicensis, aguililla rojinegra (Parabuteo unicinctus); the pale hawk (Falco mexicanus); lechuza of madriguera (cunicularia Athene) and the real eagle (Aquila chrysaetos).

trip reports

Travelling Birder
http://www.travellingbirder.com
The Travellingbirder.com birding trip report search engine guides you to 7,000+ birding trip reports on the Internet. You can search for trip reports from a specific country and time of year. Not all these reports are in English. So, if you cant find the trip report you want on this Fatbirder page give them a try!

1995 [March] - James Norman Paton

http://maybank.tripod.com/Mexico/Durango-SanBlas-03-95.htm
What follows is a report of a trip I and another birder took March 18 - 24 to Durango and San Blas, Nay. in Mexico. In was done from El Paso in my car, and may be of particular interest to border residents who have not yet ventured into MX. Only recently have I been online and able to post the report...

1996 [December] - Barry Levine

http://maybank.tripod.com/Mexico/Colima-Jalisco-12-96.htm
A nine day trip to Puerto Vallarta, Barra, Colima, and San Blas was a little disappointing both numbers-wise and for some of the endemics I was hoping to find. Other birders that I encountered seemed to be experiencing the same malaise. What accounted for this I can`t explain. Maybe someone could tell me whether it is the time of the year (Xmas); or just this particular year. The weather was hot on the coast during the day and the rivers were pretty low. The evenings and early mornings were quite cold. I nearly froze on the volcano at Colima. Warblers, flycatchers, hummingbirds and vireos abounded.

1997 [August] - Laura Gooch

http://maybank.tripod.com/Mexico/Durango-Sonora-hummer-97.htm
I just returned from a trip to western Mexico, and although it was pretty much of a working trip that didn`t allow much time for birding, we were at a couple of places that have hummingbird feeders up that will provide consistent good views of local hummers. I thought folks might be interested, so here are the locations...

1999 [February] - Dick Palmer

http://maybank.tripod.com/Mexico/Mazatlan-Sinaloa-02-99.htm
This hotel is an excellent base for birding the Durango Highway. It is a little rustic but certainly adequate for a birders needs. The management took care of all our needs, all we had to do was ask...

2000 [March] - Chris Harrison - Durango - Mazatlan Highway

http://maybank.tripod.com/Mexico/Durango-hwy-03-2000.htm
Just a note of our experiences along the Durango/Mazatlan highway. We birded there the week of 3/12 - 3/18 of this year. Overall, it was a great trip (we recorded over 200 species - a new high for us). I will send another mail later describing our localities, etc. and attaching our list...

2002 [August] - Oscar Carmona - Durango - Mazatlan Highway

http://www.surfbirds.com/mb/trips/mexico-oc-0902.html
I spent August 10 - 15, 2002 on a birding trip from McAllen, Texas to Mazatlan, Mexico for the sole purpose of finding some of the endemics of the area. Trip participants included Harold and Linda Johnson and Gary and Sonja Starnes from the Dallas-Fort Worth area and Ariel Carmona and myself from Huntsville, TX.

2004 [May] - Phil & Charlotte Benstead

http://www.birdtours.co.uk/tripreports/mexico/mexico13/mex-may-04.htm
We spent the period between 20th April and 7h May 2004 birding in Northern Mexico. We flew with Continental from London (via Houston, where we had to overnight on the way out) to Mazatlan. This is an unusual destination but necessary as we had to stay out of potential malarial areas for the duration of the trip. If your wife or partner is pregnant then this trip is tailor-made! We hired an expensive car through Alamo for the duration (>Ł700!). Driving is easy enough in Mexico although the mountainous stretches of the Durango Highway offers plenty of opportunity for mayhem and should be driven with extreme caution. As usual we got lost a lot in towns so take a compass. Check out Durango for the freakiest city highway system in the world...

tour operators

Aventura Pantera - Bird Watching Ruta Huichol

http://www.aventurapantera.com.mx/ingles/birds_watching.htm
The blue mountains of the Huichol have always been the exploration dream of all expditionaries, it has been crossed by real personalities of adventure like Carl Lumholtz whom in 1890 was already visiting the Huichol people...

Birding Pal

http://www.birdingpal.org/Mexico.htm
Local birders willing to show visiting birders around their area...

places to stay

Holliday Inn

http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/hi/1/en/hotel/droco?_requestid=1819677
The Hotel with the family & business touch, located North of the city, this Mexican Colonial 5 story building offers you the best choice to stay in Torreon, Mexico.