Nature Treks and Passages
presents
A Birding Tour of Copper Canyon, Mexico
October 18 - 26, 2008
November 29 - December 7, 2008 with
Desert Botanical Garden
January 10-18, 2009
February 28 - March 8, 2009
$2749
For a trip list of birds seen on our previous Copper Canyon trips, see http://www.naturetreks.net/cctlist07.htm.
If you would like to read about one of our recent trips to Copper Canyon, take a look at this Trip Report.
A trip for all birders --- from beginners to the “obsessed” advanced! Our tour includes the best of Copper Canyon sights, from a round-trip ride on the world-famous Copper Canyon train to birding in the high forest of the Sierra Madre to the highly scenic van ride down to and up from one of the deepest canyons of the Copper Canyon area.
Russet-crowned Motmots, Black-throated Magpie Jays, Flame-colored Tanagers, Mexican Parrotlets, five kinds of Hummingbirds, and four kinds of Trogons… all of these and others await you there.
We limit our group size to 12 participants with 2 guides to ensure that everyone enjoys the best possible wildlife viewing.
A Summary of our Itinerary
Day 1 – We fly to Los Mochis in the mid afternoon. We’re met by taxis that drive us to our lodge in the charming Spanish Colonial town of El Fuerte, a trip of one and 1/2 hours. Our comfortable hotel, overlooking the Rio Fuerte, is located close to the center of town. All our breakfasts and some dinners will be taken at our hotel.
Day 2 – We spend the morning on a float trip, birding and watching the wildlife on the Rio Fuerte, the largest river in the state of Sinaloa and the water course into which most rivers of the Copper Canyon region flow. Frequently seen birds here include Bare-Throated Tiger-Heron, Russet-Crowned Motmot, Great Black Hawk, White-Fronted Parrot, and Rufous-Bellied Chachalaca. We’ll take a brief hike to a petroglyph site off the river. Later this day we’ll do more birding by the river or tour the new museum that is housed in the restored Spanish fort.
Day 3 –Breakfast at our lodge. After a short taxi ride to the train station, we board the famous Copper Canyon train that takes us from near sea level to 8,000 feet elevation. What a nice way to spend a relaxing day watching the scenery gradually change from lowland agricultural land up through thorn scrub, tropical deciduous forest, through the junipers and oaks, and finally topping out into the pines. Spectacular views! The train travels through 62 tunnels and over 11 bridges during our journey. Lunch on the train. We arrive in Creel, the hub city of the Copper Canyon area, by late afternoon. After stopping at a local grocery store for picnic supplies, we drive to the the Tarahumara nature preserve outside of Creel and check out the birds in the lake. Then on to our comfortable yet rustic lodge in Cusarare in the forest outside of Creel. The lodge has no electricity and uses wood stoves or fireplaces for heat, kerosene lanterns for light, flannel sheets, and abounds in old-fashioned charm. Although some people wish brighter lighting was available, most everyone says they enjoy these rustic differences. Dinner at our lodge.
Day 4 – After breakfast at our lodge, we take a short walk to the Cusarare waterfall, stopping to look for Eared Quetzals on the way. We then drive down the canyon to the remote town of Batopilas at 1640 feet elevation. We’ll stop periodically to take note of the changes of the bioregions we pass through from alpine to tropical. On the way down and in the town of Batopilas it is very likely that we will see some Tarahumara men and women dressed in their traditional garments. Picnic lunch in the forest. We stay at a charming inn near the Batopilas River, arriving in the early evening. The inn has rooms centered around a beautiful courtyard and an alcove full of articles on the town’s history. Dinner on the porch of a very fine local cook.
Day 5 – After breakfast we spend the morning birding along the Batopilas River as we walk down the road to a beautiful mission church in Satevo locally called the “Lost Cathedral” built in the 1700s by the Franciscans. In the sub-tropical climate by the river we may find Tufted Flycatcher, Brown-Backed Solitaire, Scrub Euphonia, Ivory-Billed Woodcreeper, and Slate-Throated Redstart. Picnic lunch. Our van will return us to our inn in Batopilas. There will be time in the afternoon for walking around this town famous for its rich 19th-century silver strikes and Spanish Colonial architecture. Dinner at a local restaurant.
Day 6 – After breakfast bird along the river on the other side of town on what is called the Aqueduct Trail. This trail is part of the original Camino de Real, the famous route from Mexico City to Santa Fe, New Mexico. In the afternoon we’ll tour the ruins of Hacienda San Miguel, the compound of the large mining company that operated here between 1880 and 1920. Dinner at a local restaurant.
Day 7 – After breakfast we retrace our route back up to Cusarare, stopping occasionally to bird. Picnic lunch at an overlook of Batopilas Canyon. Dinner at our lodge in the forest outside of Creel.
Day 8 – After breakfast we may take a brief walk to bird in the forest and have time to shop in Creel for Tarahumara crafts. Later that morning we board the train back to El Fuerte. Lunch on the train. A waiting taxi takes us to our hotel in El Fuerte where we arrive in the evening for dinner.
Day 9 – After an early breakfast we take taxis back to the airport in Los Mochis and fly back home arriving by early afternoon.
Itinerary is subject to change, based on weather or other factors.
Your Guide
Larry Liese came by his love for the outdoors at an early age. Raised in Vermont, he spent much of his youth backpacking and hiking. After migrating to Arizona, Larry fell under the spell of birding and now makes regular forays into Mexico to discover birding hotspots there.
Retiring early from a career in power electronics, Larry now is very active in the Tucson Audubon Society chapter. Besides leading over seventy of their field trips, Larry also authored a long-standing column on bird identification. In the past few years he has taken 35 birding trips to Mexico and led over 75 birding trips in Southeastern Arizona. Larry loves sharing his passion for birds with people of all levels and his skill and patience ensures a good time for all. His excitement and enthusiasm are contagious.
Copper Canyon Bibliography:
Joe Cummings, Northern Mexico Handbook, Moon Publications, 1998
John Fayhee, Mexico’s Copper Canyon Country, Cordellera Press, 1989
R. Fisher, ed., History of Copper Canyon and the Tarahumara Indians, Sunracer Publications, 2000
R. Fisher, Mexico’s Copper Canyon, Sunracer Publications, 2001
Bernard Fontana, Tarahumara: Where Night is the Day of the Moon, University of Arizona Press, 1979
Bernard Fontana, The Material World of the Tarahumara, Northland Press, 1979
Carl Franz, The People’s Guide to Mexico, John Muir Publications, 2002
J. G. Kennedy, Tarahumara of the Sierra Madre: Beer, Ecology, and Social Organization, AHM Publishing corp, 1978
C. Lumholtz, Unknown Mexico, Scribners Sons, 1902
C. Pennington, The Tarahumar of Mexico, University of Utah Press, 1963
E. Spicer, Cycles of Conquest, University of Arizona Press, 1962
Birding Field Guides
A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America by Howell & Webb, Oxford, 1995 (highly recommended)
A Field Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Adjacent Areas: Belize, Guatelmala, and El Salvador by Ernest Edwards (self published, 1998) (good)
Mexican Birds by Peterson, Houghton-Mifflin, 1973 (not as good)
Trip Cost and Policies
The price of this 9-day trip is $2749 based on double occupancy and a minimum of 6 people. The single supplement is $250. We will match you with a roommate of the same gender if you choose, but if this is not possible you will be charged the single supplement fee. The trip fee includes all ground transportation from Los Mochis, round-trip train ride, guides, all meals, entrance fees, tipping, and comfortable hotels. Also included is trip insurance covering emergency medical services and emergency medical evacuation. The following are not included: airfare to the starting place of the trip, alcoholic beverages, tips for the birding guides, and costs resulting from illness, injury, or emergency evacuation, program changes and delays beyond our control.
You may purchase your plane tickets through a travel agent or by calling Aeromexico at 800-237-6639. Aeromexico flies to Los Mochis from Tucson, Phoenix, and from Los Angeles.
To register for this tour, contact Debra Tranberg at info@naturetreks.net or call(781) 789-8127 for a registration packet. A deposit of $400 per person is required to reserve a spot on the trip. Full payment of the tour fee is due ninety days prior to the tour departure. Please send your check to Nature Treks and Passages,
P. O. Box 542, Bryantville, MA 02357. If you have any questions, please contact us at (781) 789-8127 or info@naturetreks.net.
Trip Cancellation Policy
Refunds are made according to the following schedule. Cancellations in writing made more than 90 days before departure will forfeit $400. Cancellations made 70 to 90 days before departure will forfeit 50% of the trip price. There is no refund for trips cancelled less than 70 days before departure. No substitutions can be made for cancellations. It is highly recommended that you consider purchasing trip cancellation insurance to cover your financial investment in this trip. You may purchase this insurance by clicking the "Travel Insurance" button at the top of this page.
On the rare occasion when Nature Treks and Passages must cancel a trip, all payments received to date will be refunded. Nature Treks and Passages is not responsible for non-refundable airfare or trip insurance.
Travel Documents
A US passport valid six months beyond your anticipated date of return to the US is required. Those with foreign passports should contact the Embassy of Mexico for details.