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Oaxaca is a large state is the south of Mexico, southeast from Mexico City and adjacent to Chiapas. Covering the southern half of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, it boasts a wide variety of habitats and is famous as a centre for endemic species. Its capital city - also named Oaxaca - is situated at 5000 ft. elevation in the broad valley of Oaxaca now much cultivated to agriculture. The primary endemics are found in brushy hillsides around the valley's edges (including Dwarf & Slaty Vireos, Oaxaca Sparrow, White-throated Towhee) or in patches of desert scrub (Grey-breasted Woodpecker, Beautiful Hummingbird, Boucard's Wren, Bridled Sparrow). To the north of the capital are mountains covered in oaks at mid-elevations and then in pine forests at the crest; logging roads on Cerro San Felipe provide access to fine habitat for Dwarf Jay (often with moving flocks of the canopy-dwelling Grey-barred Wren) and a good selection of Montane hummingbirds. The Madre del Sur separates the high Oaxacan valley from the Pacific coast lowlands on the Gulf of Tehuantepec; cloud forest at its crest has other specialties (e.g. the Oaxaca endemic Blue-capped Hummingbird). The Pacific coast lowlands are hot and dry but remnants of thorn scrub still hold West Mexican Chachalaca and Yellow-crowned Parrot. The delightful coastal fishing town of Puerto Angel lures tourists but also has breeding boobies on rocks offshore. Oaxaca is comparatively well known with its own major avifaunal tome (Binford 1989). Even birders cannot fail to be impressed by the cultural heritage in the valley of Oaxaca. Yagul, the ruins of a very old village that includes an ancient stadium for a pre-Columbian ball game, is a famed birding locale for its desert scrub specialties. Monte Alban overlooks Oaxaca city and is the most impressive ruin, a major temple complex that served as the ceremonial centre at the height of the Zapotec culture. Brush around the site has nesting Pileated Flycatchers and White-throated Towhees. Only Mitla, another archaeological site with complex geometric mosaics, lacks birds to go with the culture, but it is on the way to brush at the eastern end of the valley which holds Blue Mockingbird and Ocellated Thrasher (especially around the Microondas Nueve Puntas towers). Detailed directions to all these sites are in Howell (1999); older but still useful details are in Edwards (1968, 1985) and old issues of the now-defunct Mexican Birds Newsletter. Very specific information on threatened and endangered species (among them the Yellow-crowned Parrot & Blue-capped Hummingbird) are in Collar et al. (1992). Howell & Webb (1995) is the now-standard field guide. Artefacts and jewelled treasures from Monte Alban and other sites can be viewed in museums in Oaxaca city. The city itself is full of little cafes and shops and very colourful painted walls. A special delight is the annual Night of the Radishes festival at Christmas time. Intricately carved radishes form dioramas in booth after booth around the central zocalo in an atmosphere that will remind Americans of county fairs. On Christmas itself there are parades through the city with much music and fireworks. A variety of birding tour companies offer Oaxaca at Christmastime packages but it is easily visited by individual birders using rental cars and hotels. The contributors published their interesting Oaxaca records in Roberson & Carratello (1997). They recommend the Night of the Radishes [Noche de los Rábanos] highly as well as colourful local handicraft. |
Don Roberson & Rita Carratello
(Monterey Bay, California)
creagrus@montereybay.comhttp://montereybay.com/creagrus/index.html
Number of bird species: 756
Number of endemics: 2
16 near endemics
16 near endemics
A Distributional Survey of the Birds of the Mexican State of Oaxaca
Laurence C Binford Series: ORNITHOLOGICAL MONOGRAPHS 43 418 pages, 31 figs. American Ornithologists' UnionISBN: 0943610540
Buy this book from NHBS.com
Fieldguides, CDs etc.
For a selection of appropriate fieldguides and CDs etc see the general Mexico page of Fatbirder...This section sponsored by: 
2000 [December] - Gruff Dodd
ReportMexico had been on our target destination list for some time, and having decided to finally do a trip there, all that was left to decide was which part to visit. We got some very reasonably priced flights to Mexico City, and decided to do a loop trip from there down through Oaxaca state. However, there were a few localised endemics in the Mexico City area which I was also keen to see, so we pencilled in some time in that area at the start and the end of the trip.
2001 [December] - Ron Hoff - Oaxaca
ReportFrank Bills, Sharon Bostick, Dollyann Myers, and myself had tried to set up a car rental and driver for about a month. We didn`t have much success, so we just decided to fly to Oaxaca, rent our own car at the airport, use Steve Howell`s book (A Bird-finding Guide to Mexico) to help us find where to look for birds, and bird Oaxaca on our own. We had a really fun time and saw many of the endemic and restricted range birds that we were seeking. December wasn`t the best time to bird this area, but it wasn’t too bad either...
2001 [March] - Richard Palmer
ReportThis was a 12 day trip starting and ending in Tucson, Arizona from February 21st through March 04, 2001. Our goal was to find as many land birds as possible without spending much time at the Pacific Ocean or on water birds. 267 species were seen with about 12,726 individual birds recorded. 26 endemics were seen or heard on the trip.
2001 [November] - Gerry Weinberger
ReportMore an Itinerary than a report...
2003 [January] Mike Andersen, Nick Block, and Pete Hosner
ReportThis is an overdue trip report documenting a three-week trip to México. Ten college-aged birders drove from the U.S. border as far south as Chiapas and back. Due to scheduling restraints, our group of two cars had to split up on the night of 7 January 2003 at Puerto Arista, Chiapas. At this point, one group returned back to the States via Uxpanapa Road, Veracruz, while the other spent an extra week exploring Chiapas. The pace of this trip was very fast. We were up at sunrise almost every day and spent much of the day birding with little down time for meals...
2004 [April] - Simon Allen
Report...I made my way back to San Miguel and then continued north towards the sewage plant, stopping along the road in some lower, scrubby habitat to admire some migrant Indigo Buntings, a male Cozumel Emerald, and the endemic beani race of House Wren, sometimes split as Cozumel Wren. The clearing at the sewage plant held Hooded Oriole, and the marshy area along the first part of the road yielded more migrants in the form of Common Yellowthroat and Northern Waterthrush, as well as excellent close-range views of at least two Ruddy Crakes, including one immature bird. A Mangrove Cuckoo perched cooperatively by the roadside rounded off a successful afternoon and I headed back to town for a meal in the plaza, watching a Barn Owl fly over as I returned to the hotel for an early night...
2006 [November] - Russ Namitz
ReportThe primary purpose of this trip for me was to locate some target endemic bird species, but the primary purpose of the 9 other group members, including my wife, was to surf. The group was stationed out of Troncones, a surfing destination located about ½ hr north of the Ixtapa/ Zihuatanejo region. I was able to use the rental car for a long day trip up the west slope of the Sierra Madre de Sur (Sierra de Atoyac) and also for an overnight trip to the east slope of the Sierra de Atoyac...
2008 [January] - Michael Retter
Report... We followed some muffled whistles and discovered that a Rufous-backed Robin had set up a territory in the hotel! The local and vibrantly crimson race of House Finch also paraded around for all to see...
2009 [March] - Michael Retter
Report...Generally, it was quiet this morning, but we did find four of the aforementioned endemics: White-throated Towhee, Boucard’s Wren, Gray- breasted Woodpecker, and the awesome Slaty Vireo...
2010 [January] - Michael Retter
Report...Here we saw most of the region’s associated dry-forest endemics, like Gray-breasted Woodpecker, Bridled Sparrow, and Ocellated Thrasher...
This section sponsored by:
Birding Pal
InformationLocal birders willing to show visiting birders around their area...
Earthfoot
Tour OperatorBy spending time at his isolated mountain hacienda you can not only experience aspects of traditional Mexican culture few international visitors ever glimpse, but also help Alvaro pioneer sustainable tourism in a part of the world where the main efforts tend in the opposite direction. Restful environment with endless hiking opportunities, good food, and an enlightened intellectual and spiritual environment await you here...
Hidden Voyages Ecotours
Tour OperatorJoin naturalist Michael Malone for exciting Birding Expeditions on the wild lagoons of the Pacific coast of Oaxaca state, Mexico.
Solipaso - Sonoran Audubon Oaxaca Birding
Tour OperatorThis tour to the incredibly diverse state of Oaxaca Mexico has been especially desgned for Sonoran Audubon members. This will mark the third year that Solipaso has teamed up with members of Sonoran Audubon to explore an interesting corner of Mexico...
Tierra de Aves
Tour OperatorOrnithological Birding trip - For exclusive birding tours, some birding are done at very high elevation (up to 9000 feet). Each birder should have its own material, binoculars at least. If you need more information, please feel free, and write to Manuel...
Agua Azul la Villa
AccommodationWith its pristine palm-lined streets Huatulco is truly an unspoiled tropical paradise where 70% of the area has been designated as an ecological zone. Some of the popular activities here include: swimming, snorkeling, scuba diving and deep-sea fishing as well as golf, white water rafting, bird watching and eco-tours.
Casa Adobe
AccommodationExperience the vibrant life and colorful sights of Oaxaca. Sleep and relax away from the noise and pollution of city traffic. Enjoy the best of both worlds...
Hotel Santa Fe
AccommodationWe invite you to enjoy the 700 species of birds found in the richly biodiverse state of Oaxaca and explore the Costa Esmeralda while based in the luxuriant comfort of the Hotel Santa Fé. We offer quick access to exciting birding locations such as the lush mangrove forests of Manialtepec Lagoon where Boat-billed and Bare-throated Tiger Herons, and White-throated Parrots are common. Nearby Chacahua Lagoon National Park hosts nesting Wood Stork and Roseate Spoonbill, while the Colotepec River valley only 4 km from the Santa Fé is home to stunning Pacific slope endemics like White-throated Magpie Jay and Doubleday`s Hummingbird. Pelagic trips for Shearwaters and Storm Petrels also offer views of dolphin and turtle species at sea. A 2 hour drive to the 3,500 elevation brings you to the shade-grown coffee region of Nopala with beatiful tropical evergreen forest avian wonders like Emerald Toucanet and Blue Mockingbird...
Oaxaca, Mexico - Wildlife and Nature
WebsiteThe state of Oaxaca is located in the southeast region of the Mexican Pacific with a population of about 3.4 million people. 32.5 percent of the population are indigenous peoples this being 53 percent of the total indigenous population in Mexico. Oaxaca is the 5th biggest state in Mexico and the state with most biodiversity. There are 8,400 registerded plant species, 736 bird species and 1,431 terrestrial vertebrate species. The state ranks high in areas of the world with the most endangered species...
Bird Photographer - Manuel Grosselet
GallerySome really excellent photographs including several endemics...
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This site was last updated on Sunday, 29th January 2012.
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