Editor's note: Yvonne McHugh joined HWI and Pronatura Veracruz on our 2002 tour to the Veracruz, Mexico, River of Raptors. The trip was Yvonne's fourth visit to Veracruz but the first timed to see the migration, an event she calls "one of the most memorable experiences of my life."

Yvonne became an avid birder on a 1991 diving trip in Bonaire when she saw the amusing hunting strategy of the Reddish Egret. She is now a bander with the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory (GGRO) in California.

Why Veracruz?
Like other natural wonders of the world such as the Grand Canyon, the wildlife in East Africa and the Aurora Borealis, one cannot imagine the astounding natural spectacle called the "Veracruz River of Raptors" (VRR). Photography cannot capture it and numbers don't do it justice. You must see it in person.

Besides the sheer pleasure afforded by observing tens of thousands of raptors in a single afternoon, there are many reasons why going to Veracruz during the fall raptor migration represents the trip of a lifetime. The autumnal experience on the coastal plains of Veracruz is a chance to grasp the magnitude, rhythm and mechanics of a portion of the earth's phenomenal annual bird migration. With this understanding comes the realization that habitat loss anywhere along the migration corridor and destruction of migrant over-wintering ecosystems in Latin America (mangrove stands, grasslands, and cloud forests, pine, oak and lowland forests) represents a continual threat to the survival of all migratory birds in the Americas. Conservation of this fantastic flyway in Mexico is helped by Pronatura Veracruz, HWI, and Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Association eco-tourism activities such as the VRR tour.

At the Heart of the River
The Veracruz River of Raptors over the town of Cardel is the best situation one could ask for to improve raptor identification skills. At peak times, migrants crowded the sky, kettling and streaming overhead and on either side of the Hotel Bienvenido rooftop at Cardel. Typical kettles were estimated at greater than 5,000 birds with other equally huge kettles stretching to the western horizon. There were too many birds to count, and the Pronatura teams' hand-held counting devices sounded like a crazed orchestra of castanets. The massive kettles included mainly Broad-winged and Swainson's Hawks, and Turkey Vultures. So many thousands of each species passed by that one could view a kaleidoscope of different morphs and molts.

We also regularly saw individual migrating Cooper's and Sharp-shinned Hawks, occasional Red-tailed, Red-shouldered and Zone-tailed Hawks, American Kestrels, Peregrine Falcons and Merlins. There were many Mississippi Kites and Osprey. Also making their way southward were American White Pelicans, Anhingas, White Ibis, Wood Storks, a Jabiru, Scissor-tailed Flycatchers, White-winged Doves, Eastern Kingbirds and Blue-gray Gnatcatchers. We saw resident species such as Black Vultures and gregarious Great-tailed Grackles that clamorously crowded into every tree in the Zócalo (main square) at roosting time.

In the fall, birding opportunities in Veracruz are not limited to raptors. There is a wonderful mix of Mexican and eastern and western bird species from the U.S. and Canada. We recorded 204 species with an additional 14 species heard.

The Kids of Chichicaxtle
Inland from Cardel, an auxiliary raptor count-site is situated on the soccer field of Chichicaxtle's elementary school. We had the opportunity to observe a class of enthusiastic 4th graders being taught by Pronatura Veracruz educators as part of their effort to promote appreciation of the VRR migration and to garner community involvement and support for ecosystem conservation. The presence of the count-site at the school helps recruit youngsters to train and become counters in future seasons.

On Veracruz's warm coastal lowlands, our raptor-watching activity started mid-morning (thermals take a while to form). This schedule allowed early morning and late afternoon visits to diverse habitats such as coastal dunes, grasslands, riverside mudflats, mangroves, mixed scrub, woodlands and farm wetlands. On various excursions we saw Aplomado Falcon, Double-striped Thick-knee, Gray Hawk, Roseate Spoonbill, a white-morph Reddish Egret, Collared Plover, Rose-throated Becard and Zone-tailed Hawk. While exploring the pre-Hispanic Cempoala ruins, we saw great flights of White Pelicans and watched a Lineated Woodpecker busily deconstructing the trunk of a coconut palm. I also visited biologist Karen Scheuermann (in the process of banding a Cooper's hawk) at one of the banding sites near La Mancha Biological Field Station.

A Night to Remember
We spent an enchanting evening watching a Mexican Free-tailed bat emergence from an old well surrounded by corn fields. Even before the first bats flew out for their nightly insect hunt, Bat Falcons arrived and flew back and forth over the well, waiting for their prey. A Barn Owl made its appearance later for the same purpose and could be heard excitedly calling while hunting the bats. Approximately 200,000 bats emerged, about 50 per second! Other than the electronic-like crackling of the Barn Owl, only the high-pitched echolocation sounds of the bats broke the silence, as the VRR participants sat awestruck.

Cool, Hilly Colonial Xalapa
There was a delightful drop in temperature as we approached Xalapa, the capital of Veracruz. Xalapa is renowned for its colonial architecture, diverse environs (the Texolo waterfall at Xico; the snow-capped volcano, Orizaba) and the superb, ultramodern Anthropological Museum. Our guide to the exquisite antiquities in the museum was University of Veracruz anthropologist Dr. Sagrario Cruz-Carretero.

In Xalapa we explored Macuiltépetl Ecological Park located on the forested slopes of an old volcano. Strolling up the spiral pathway to the summit we saw Squirrel Cuckoos, Blue-crowned Motmots, Wedge-tailed Sabrewing, Azure-crowned Hummingbird, Scrub Euphonia, Green Jays, Blue Mockingbirds and numerous species of passerine migrants.

Returning to the city of Veracruz, we were enveloped by the exuberance for which this port city is famous, exemplified by a crowd in the Zócalo dancing a restrained and stylized rhumba, the Danzón.

The astounding raptor migration is the primary reason to go on this field trip. And yet, the other birds and wildlife observed and the excellent guides, the scenery, antiquities, and the people and their culture would be reason enough to visit the beautiful state of Veracruz, Mexico. All I can say is, "go in 2003!"