October 5-15, 2025 with Doug Gochfeld & Jorge Montejo-Diaz
Veracruz in the fall is one of my favorite place/time combinations on the planet. The dynamic migration makes every day, and indeed every part of a day, different than the one that came before. There is a constant level of excitement for what the next spectacle of winged migration to present itself will be, and that dynamism keeps you on your toes. The backdrop to this dynamism, is the consistency of the resident fauna, especially birds (like sought-after endemics Mexican Sheartail and Veracruz Wren), butterflies, and dragonflies. The great diversity of butterflies in Veracruz gives you something to look at most of the time, even when the migration flags (though not so much in chill and rain!). And then, of course, there's the delicious food, which is reliable rain or shine, migration or no migration!
We always make our basic plan for the bulk of the tour in the days leading up to it, as the weather forecasts start to become reliable, but our itinerary also leaves room for audibles, allowing us to adapt to current or impending migration conditions. This year, thanks to a regime of rain that was unprecedented in Jorge's decades long experience here, it seemed like audibles were the norm. We made hopeful plans each day, but inevitably would adapt to unexpected, or harder-than-expected rain, or to gaps in the rain that enabled us to get a few hours of dry and highly productive birding in. Through it all, we had a great time, and by the end of our ten days in Veracruz, we had witnessed some excellent, engaging bird migration, identified over a hundred species of butterfly, and sampled what seemed like a lifetime's worth of Horchata!
We started out with a morning walk south of Veracruz City to get an intro to the local birding, and our first taste of migration. We had several flocks of waterbirds migrating south (though we actually saw them flying east, since the coast turns to the east here for a little bit, before turning south again), the highlight of which was definitely a group of 25 Fulvous Whistling-Ducks. We also counted no fewer than 27 Black Terns foraging well off shore, a nice unexpected treat! In addition to the birds, a local came up to us and told us in Spanish that there was a "racoon" over in the dunes. Interest piqued, we walked a little ways down the beach, and all of a sudden saw a bushy tail moving through the dense dune vegetation. After a short bit of watching, the head of a very healthy White-nosed Coati appeared - what fun! On the walk back to the road, an Aplomado Falcon flew by in the distance, the first of what would be several encounters during our time in the lowlands, and then we stumbled across (not literally, luckily) a butterfly that was motionless, and also looked a little oddly crumpled. After watching it for a minute or so, we realized that it had recently come out of a chrysalis, and was slowly warming, and pumping fluid through its body and into its wings. What an awesome naturalist experience to have!
After breakfast back at the hotel, we loaded up our gear and set off for Cardel, which would be our home for the next five nights. When we got in, we retired to the roof for a lazy lunch and our first tastes of the raptor migration, from the most famous hawkwatch viewing point in the region.
Over the next five days, we explored several lowland sites in the mornings, and then got into position for what we hoped would be some raptor migration in the late mornings and afternoons.
At Cansaburro, we got our first experience with a lot of the delightful local birds (Boat-billed Flycatcher, Lineated Woodpecker, Band-backed Wren, a tree full of migrant Baltimore and Orchard orioles), as well as some lesser-encountered residents, like Crane Hawk and Rose-throated Becard. The area around Crucero gave us a great experience with our main target of Mexican Sheartails, as well as a supporting cast that included Zone-tailed Hawk and Double-striped Thick-Knee. The scenic hilltop ruins of Quiahuiztlan didn't hide from the rain like most of the birds did, and while there we even saw a few active migrants (Mississippi Kites, American White Pelicans) braving the rain. We paid a couple of visits to La Mancha, dodging raindrops sometimes, and the rest of the time merely eyeing the overcast skies with suspicion of what was to come. Despite that, we got to witness some of the songbird migration that the area is well-known for, with over a thousand swallows, hundreds of Dickcissel and White-winged Doves, dozens of Scissor-tailed Flycatchers, a couple of flocks of Great Blue Herons and White Ibis, and singles of Chimney Swift, and both Common and Lesser nighthawks. Sharp-shinned Hawk represented the raptors in the migration here, and we also had some nice resident birds too: Bare-throated Tiger Heron and a road-foraging party of Russet-naped Wood-Rails!
Playa Juan Angel also warranted two visits, with the second one being the more satisfying of the two (the wind died down, and the rain eventually held off for a few hours - woohoo!). Here, we witnessed an early morning barrage of southbound swallows (including a couple of scarce-here Cave Swallows, and a couple of oddball American Pipits mixed in), and then set out attention to the huge puddles on the high beach, great habitat for migrant shorebirds. We found Baird's and Semipalmated amongst the more numerous Western Sandpipers, and we also found Collared, Snowy, and Piping among five species of plovers. Songbirds included hordes of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, but also a male Hooded Warbler, and a rare Philadelphia Vireo! We also found a couple more of the endemic Veracruz Wrens, but we quicky lost interest in them when we realized that the reason they were in the open is because they were preoccupied with a Boa Constrictor resting on a branch just above eye level! We went over and examined this Central American Boa at our leisure, and it surely represented the most memorable non-bird moment of the tour for several folks.
We also visited the historic town of La Antigua, the first European town on the American mainland, and where Hernan Cortes set up shop upon his arrival. We visited the old administrative compound that included Cortes' house, and also the first church on the American mainland, though some of us were distracted from our churchgoing by hundreds of Turkey Vultures streaming overhead, and a Great Black Hawk mixed in with them. We then took to the water, and had a lovely boat trip down a small tributary, and the main river, seeing such highlights as Amazon Kingfisher (among 4 species of kingfisher), dozens each of Black-necked Stilt, Western Willet, and American Avocet, a few Collared Plover, and our biggest surprise, a Boat-billed Heron! And what better way to cap off our watery expedition with an excellent seafood banquet alongside the river, followed by some truly unique flavors and methods of serving ice cream!
We then relocated to the lovely highlands of Xalapa. This provided a change from the humidity of the coast, and within our first 24 hours there, we had packed in several activities around Xalapa itself. We visited the world famous Museo do Antropologia, enjoying this one-of-a-kind building, and the great exhibits and artifacts within, in addition to some great butterflies in their courtyard garden. We also visited a couple of urban parks within the city: El Haya and Macuiltepetl, scoring a good diversity of hummingbirds at the former, and a fun collection of migrant warblers at the latter. Blue Mockingbird, Common Squirrel-Cuckoo, Blue-crowned Motmot, and MacGillivray's Warbler were some of the species highlights at Macuil, while El Haya provided us views of an awesome Northern Potoo, Golden-olive Woodpecker, and a very cooperative Spot-crowned Woodcreeper. The hummingbirds at El Haya included a notable Violet Sabrewing, and the local "Curve-winged" subspecies of Wedge-tailed Sabrewing.
As mentioned at the top, we had built in time for audibling. So, on the afternoon of our first full day up high, when we got word that the promising weather forecast in the lowlands was coming to fruition, we decided to head down to the lowlands to try for another classic Veracruz flight. We eventually connected with a fantastic mixed-species flight of Turkey Vultures, Swainson's and Broad-winged Hawks, American White Pelicans, Wood Storks, Anhingas, swallows, and more during an afternoon vigil on the playing field at Chichicaxtle. The ribbons of pelicans moving through the air like writing in the sky while the continuous kettles of raptors continued south all the while was a heart-stopping sight, and one that will stay with all of us for a long, long time.
Satiated by the excellent migration experience in the lowlands, we had one final full day to enjoy the mountains, where we got up to our highest elevations, and had good birding despite the wind, with Red Warbler, a hybrid towhee, Masked Yellowthroat, Pine Flycatcher, Striped Sparrow, Ocellated Thrasher, Lucifer Hummingbird, and a delicious lunch in the town of Perote. Then we wrapped. The final day entailed an early wakeup, and then we headed down to the wetlands and grasslands south of Veracruz City, where some more birding (Pinnated & American bitterns next to one another, hordes of Fork-tailed and Scissor-tailed Flycatchers), a bit of culture, and delicious food brought us through to the finish line of the tour.
Jorge and I wish to thank you all so very much for joining us on this Veracruz adventure. Travelling with such an interested and engaged group is always a joy, and both of us had a blast. We greatly look forward to seeing you all again somewhere on this bird-and-migration-filled planet!!
-Doug & Jorge
Non-birds:
We didn't run up a huge list of mammals, but we had a very quality experience, as mentioned above, with a White-nosed Coati on our very first morning. We also saw several lizards, most of which we have been able to get identifications for. Here is the list of mammals and Reptiles:
Variegated Squirrel (Sciurus variegatoides)
White-nosed Coati (Nasua narica)
Bats - likely multiple species. Those photographed were in the subfamily Molossinae, which includes Mexican Free-tailed Bat, a likely ID contender, and one that matches some of the vocalizations that Greg picked up with his bat detector.
Central American Boa (Boa imperator)
Eastern Mexican Spiny-tailed Iguana (Ctenosaura acanthus)
Green Iguana (Iguana iguana)
Rose-bellied Lizard (Sceloporus variabilis)
Silky Anole (Anolis serieus)
Central Cleft Lizard (Sceloporus mucronatus)
We had a particularly fun time, when the birding lulled in the late mornings and early afternoons, with enjoying all the splendid butterfly life of Veracruz. All told we were able to identify around a hundred species that we saw during the tour. Most of the following identifications come from photographs from Paul, Lori, and myself, though some were from field observations alone. The identifications are drawn from the iNaturalist community, Jorge's knowledge, and Gary's research, and much of this species list was also compiled by Gary. it takes a village, so thanks everyone!
Swallowtail family (Papilionidae)
Western Giant Swallowtail (Heraclides rumiko)
Ruby-spotted Swallowtail (Heraclides anchisiades)
Three-tailed Swallowtail (Papilio pilumnus)
Variable Cattleheart (Parides erithalion)
Whites and Yellow family (Pieridae)
Narrow-banded Dartwhite (Archonias flisa)
Mexican Dartwhite (Archonias nimbice)
Pure-banded Dartwhite (Archonias teutila)
Superb Cycadian (Eumaeus childrenae)
Common Melwhitre (Melete lycimnia)
Dainty Sulphur (Nathalis iole)
Mimosa Yellow (Eurema nise)
Little Yellow (Eurema lisa)
Tailed Orange (Eurema proterpia)
Orange-barred Sulphur (Phoebis philea)
Marcellina Sulphur (Phoebis marcellina)
Large Orange Sulphur (Phoebis agarithe)
Apricot Sulphur (Phoebis argante)
Cloudless Sulphur (Phoebis sennae)
Jethys Mimic-White Complex Complex (Enantia jethys)
Gossamer-winged Butterfly family (Lycaenidae)
Zebra-striped Hairstreak (Panthiades bathildis)
Metalmark family (Riodinidae)
Falcate Emesis (Emesis tenedia)
Scintillant (Calephelis sp.)
Genus (Theope sp.)
Brushfoot family (Nymphalidae)
Spot-celled Sister (Adelpha basiloides)
Celadon Sister (Adelpha serpa)
Banded Peacock (Anartia fatima)
White Peacock (Anartia jatrophae)
Pale-banded Crescent (Anthanassa tulcis)
Ardys Crescent (Anthanassa ardys)
Brown Crescent (Anthanassa atronia)
Mexican Crescent (Phyciodes pallescens)
Phaon Crescent (Phyciodes phaon)
Crimson Patch (Chlosyne janais)
Tailed Gem-Satyr (Cyllopsis hedemanni)
Soldier (Danaus eresimus)
Monarch (Danaus plexippus)
Thick-tipped Greta (Greta morgane)
Anna's Eighty-eight (Diaethria anna anna)
Navy Eighty-eight (Diaethria astala)
Julia Heliconian (Dryas iulia)
Juno Silverspot (Dione juno)
Gulf Fritillary (Dione vanillae)
Menapis Tigerwing (Mechanitis menapis)
Red Postman (Heliconius erato)
Common Banner (Epiphile adrasta)
Longwing Crescent (Eresia phillyra)
Smudged Crescent (Castilla eranites)
Isabella's Heliconian (Eueides isabella)
Malachite (Siproeta stelenes)
Zebra Heliconian Heliconius charithonia
Orange Mapwing (Hypanartia lethe)
West Indian Mangrove Buckeye (Junonia neildi)
Tiger Mimic-Queen (Lycorea halia)
Starred Oxeo (Oxeoschistus tauropolis)
Mexican Anglewing (Polygonia gargenteum)
Spotless Anglewing (Polygonia haroldii)
Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis)
Plain Satyr (Cissia pompilia)
Pine Satyr (Paramacera xicaque)
Satyr species (Hermeuptychia sp.)
Ur-Satyr species (Taygetis sp.)
Skipper family (Hesperiidae)
Caballo Skipper (Autochton caballo)
Common Spurwing (Antigonus erosus)
Death-mask Spurwing (Antigonus nearchus)
Tanned Blue-Skipper (Quadrus lugubris)
Crab's Claw Skipper (Gorgythion vox)
Mazans Scallopwing (Staphylus mazans)
Hoary Skipper (Canesia canescens)
Tropical Checkered-Skipper (Burnsius oileus)
White Checkered-Skipper (Burnsius albescens)
Portrillo Skipper (Cabares portrillo)
Four-spotted Longtail (Ectomis caunus)
Dorantes Longtail (Cecropterus dorantes)
White-tailed Longtail (Cecropterus doryssus)
Long-tailed Sipper (Urbanus proteus)
Esmeralda Longtail (Urbanus esmeraldus)
Brown Longtail (Spicauda procne)
Yellow-tipped Flasher (Telegonus anausis)
Two-barred Flasher Complex (Complex Telegonus fulgerator)
Turk's-cap White-Skipper (Heliopetes macaira)
Redundant Skipper (Corticea corticea)
Fawn-spotted Skipper (Cymaenes isus)
Alana White-Skipper (Heliopetes alana)
Veined White-Skipper (Heliopetes arsalte)
Tropical Least Skipper (Ancyloxypha arene)
Northern Surprising-White (Pereute charops)
Burns' Checkered-Skipper (Burnsius burnsi)
Godman's Skipperling (Dalla lalage)
Southern Skipperling (Copaeodes minimus)
Northern Faceted Skipper (Synapte pecta)
Saturnus Skipper (Callimormus saturnus)
Ocherous Skipper (Lerema ochrius)
Glassy-winged Skipper (Xenophanes ruatanensis)
Silverdrop species (Epargyreus sp.)
Mellana Grass-skipper species (Quasimellana sp.)
Branded Grass-skipper species
You can see my complete trip report on eBird at this link: https://ebird.org/tripreport/433565
You can download a combined PDF of this page and the eBird report at this link: https://fieldguides.com/triplists/ver25TRIPLIST.pdf
-- Doug Gochfeld (Treeswift)