Veracruz River of Raptors Pronatura Veracruz and HawkWatch International invite you to witness the world's largest raptor migration flyway!
9 Day / 8 Night Guided Tour October 3-11, 2008 Register Early to Guarantee Your Place (Limit 12) Price per person: $2,300 Includes all food, lodging (double occupancy), bilingual guides, entry fees, and ground transportation in Mexico. Transportation to Veracruz & alcohol are not included in this cost. There will be an extra $250 charge for those wanting single occupancy lodging. Optional 3-day Catemaco Extension October 11-14, 2008 Price per person: $550 A 3-night / 3-day birding tour to the famous Lake Catemaco district can be added to the above itinerary. More details. See our photo gallery from past trips! Check out the species list from the 2006 trip. Read the 2003 trip report (PDF, 698 kb) Questions? Call Emilie Turner at 1-800-726-HAWK (4295)
The state of Veracruz has registered approximately 680 species of birds, including 30 endemic, consisting of 73 families. This represents almost 69% of all the birds found in Mexico. Veracruz is also quickly gaining fame as the site of the world's most concentrated migratory raptor flyway, the Veracruz River of Raptors (VRR). Each fall, four-to-six million raptors migrate through the state of Veracruz, Mexico, heading to points farther south in Central and South America. Because of the region's geography, raptors from eastern, central, and western North America converge, providing visitors with a display unequaled anywhere on the planet. As many as 2 million Broad-winged Hawks, one million Swainson's Hawks, and over 200,000 Mississippi Kites--nearly the entire world population for these three species--pass through Veracruz each fall. In addition, over 1.5 million Turkey Vultures join the flight, as do thousands of other raptors, waterbirds, and songbirds. Combine this with the hundreds of resident bird species in the state of Veracruz, and the scores of Olmec, Totonac, and Aztec archeological sites, all set in the friendly, unspoiled culture of east central Mexico, and you have the adventure of a lifetime. Join HWI Conservation Science Director, Dr. Jeff Smith, and guides from our local project partner Pronatura Veracruz on a 9-day, 8-night ecotour to Veracruz during October 2008, with an optional 3-day, 3-night extension to the beautiful Lake Catemaco rainforest region. This is during the peak of the migration, with tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of migrants counted daily. Besides viewing the River of Raptors, we will watch birds in numerous other habitats ranging from the beach to wetlands to mountainous highlands. We will also visit several archeological sites, shade tree coffee plantations, and the colonial city of Xalapa. In 2006, HWI's main tour group documented more than 270 bird species, with more than 40 additional species seen on the optional Catemaco extension. This trip is limited to 12 people, so sign up soon. For more information call 1-800-726-HAWK (4295) or 801-484-6808 (ext. 103), or e-mail us at hwi@hawkwatch.org.  Approximately 25% of the price of this tour is a tax-deductible donation that goes to funding the research and environmental education efforts of Pronatura in the state Veracruz; donation receipts will happily be provided upon request. The Veracruz River of Raptors Project is a partnership between Pronatura Veracruz, HawkWatch International, and Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Association.