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Mexico Sonora

Mexican Jay - Aphelocoma ultramarina © Peter LaTourrette http://www.stanford.edu/~petelat1/

Sonora is one of the 31 federal states of Mexico and is located in the northwest of the country.

Sonora's shores are washed by the Sea of Cortez in the Gulf of California, which is connected to the Pacific Ocean further south. Sonora is thus linked to the so-called "Pacific Rim," which offers ample opportunities for economic development as well as many challenges and opportunities for sustainable use of its natural resources. The Sonoran coastline is 1,208 km long.

Sonora borders the state of Chihuahua to the east, Sinaloa to the south and Baja California to the northwest; to the north it shares an extensive border with the U.S. state of Arizona and a shorter one with New Mexico. To its west lies the Gulf of California; the state of Baja California Sur also shares a maritime boundary with Sonora. The border with Chihuahua is 592 km, and the border with Sinaloa is 117 km. Sonora's border with Arizona is 568 km long, and its border with New Mexico is 20 km long; these borders allow for multiple economic, cultural, and political ties with the United States. The state's total perimeter is 2,505 km.

Sonora is the second largest state in Mexico (184,934 km²), representing 9.2% of the nation's total area. Sonora consists of four physiographic regions: The Sierra Madre Occidental, Parallel Mountains and Valleys, the Sonoran Desert, and the Coast of the Gulf of California. Sonora is located in a climactic strip in the northern hemisphere that has formed various deserts around the globe. The state is located at the same latitude as the deserts of North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and other regions.

contributor

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

useful reading

Bird Songs of Southeastern Arizona and Sonora, Mexico

Geoffrey A Keller Series: MACAULAY LIBRARY OF NATURAL SOUNDS 2 CD's. Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology 2001
ISBN: 123184
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...

The Birds of Sonora

Stephen M Russel and Gale Monson 360 pages, distrib maps. University of Arizona Press 1998
ISBN: 0816516359
Buy this book from NHBS.com

clubs

El Centro Ecológico de Sonora

http://redescolar.ilce.edu.mx/redescolar/publicaciones/publi_prodigios/ecologi_son/ecologico.htm
El Centro Ecológico de Sonora (CES); fue creado en el año de 1985, con la finalidad de generar una cultura ecológica que fomente el uso sustentable de los recursos naturales fortaleciendo su aprecio y cuidado...

reserves

Pinacate Biosphere Reserve

http://www.planeta.com/ecotravel/mexico/sonoran/pinacate.html
The Pinacate Reserve and the abutting Gran Desierto de Altar Reserve are less than a day`s drive from the US-Mexico border. Together, the two contiguous reserves protect the sea, coast, and inland desert. El Pinacate stands out for its easier access as well as because of its surreal beauty...

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 can’t find the trip report you want on this Fatbirder page… give them a try!

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...

2000 [September] - Jay Taylor

http://maybank.tripod.com/Mexico/Sonora-09-2000.htm
Over the holiday weekend (Sept. 1-4, 2000); Martha Auslander, Kelly Hutton, Andre Lehovich and I made a birding trip to Yecora and the surrounding area...

2001 [March] - Jay Taylor

http://maybank.tripod.com/Mexico/Sonora-03-2001.htm
The following is a report of a recent birding trip by Andre Lehovich and Jay Taylor to Alamos, Sonora...

2001 [November] - George West

http://maybank.tripod.com/Mexico/Sonora-11-2001.htm
A group of 10 tourists drove south from Green Valley, Arizona into Sonora, Mexico for a quick getaway from November 1 to 5, 2001. Less than half of the group was birders...

2001 [November] - Robert Hunt - Baviacora

http://maybank.tripod.com/Mexico/Sonora-11-2001-B.htm
Decided to get out of town for three days and go south of the border, sort of chasing after the retreating tide of last summer`s birds. I drove a loop from Magdalena de Kino to Cucurpe, to Arizpe, down to Aconchi and Baviacora, west to Ures, then north to Rayon, to Opodepe, then over to Benjamin Hill, and back to Magdalena de Kino and the U.S.

2006 [February] - James Bradley & Naira Johnston

http://maybank.tripod.com/Mexico/Sonora-02-2006.htm
In early February 2006, we spent a few days in southern and eastern Sonora attempting to see some of the more tropical bird species that reach their northernmost distributional limits in this area. We spent 3 nights camping in the Alamos area and 1 night in the Yecora area. In total, we saw 129 species, spending a total of 5 full days in Sonora, two days of which were spent almost entirely in the car...

tour operators

Solipaso Tours

http://www.solipaso.com/tempBirding.php?p=birding
We were fortunate enough to have inherited a lot of information about the avi-fauna that exists in southern Sonora. A long history of ornithological explorations had ventured into the area to study what was here. More recently, Alamos has become a very popular destination for recreational birders from the USA looking to venture out of the ABA area.

places to stay

Rancho Los Baños

http://www.tierrachamahuaecoadventures.com/
Rancho Los Baños is a 30,000 acre privately owned nature preserve and working cattle ranch located at the foot of the Sierra Madre, just 60 miles south of the Arizona-Sonora border. At Rancho Los Baños you will find a diverse array of desert flora and fauna, with habitats and elevations ranging between 3,200 and7,400 feet. Here you will see spectacular views that go on for miles. You will explore El Cajon Canyon, home to 2,000 year- old petroglyphs, 200-300 foot high sandstone cliff walls and a rich riparian ecosystem that allows for incomparable birding. You might climb 7,400 ft high El Pinito, which offers unparalleled views of the region and offers great hiking and birding all around its perimeter. At night, you might relax and enjoy some of the most awe inspiring views of the nighttime sky...

Solipaso B&B

http://www.solipaso.com/
We created Solipaso after several years of living in Alamos. In our first years here, we spent our time exploring the area on foot, on bike and by car. We learned about the area`s unique flora and fauna and about its fascinating cultural and human history...