Trip Report — Mexico’s Eastern Sierras: Maroon-fronted Parrots and More (invitational) 2026

June 27-July 7, 2026 with Micah Riegner

The inspiration for this itinerary came when Bret Whitney and I did a trip to Nuevo Leon in 2021 to see Maroon-fronted Parrots and Worthen's Sparrows, which were lifers for both of us.  That trip got me hooked on NE Mexico and soon after that, I made more scouting trips into Hidalgo and San Luis Potosi, two states that are rarely birded, but nonetheless are full of cool birds and interesting things to see.  After a number of these scouting trips, one of which was with Dave Stejskal in March of 2025 and another with Jorge Montejo, Amy McAndrews and my buddy Jarrod Swackhamer in June of 2025, I had enough material to pitch this new itinerary.

And what a fabulous first run we had! Our journey began in Mexico City, and from there we worked our way north. Our first stop: Cienega de San Juan, a remnant wetland in the northern part of the sprawling metropolitan area.  The drive in was super birdy—we saw Eared Grebes in breeding plumage all over, White-faced Ibis, Black-necked Stilts, Ruddy Ducks, Fulvous Whistling Ducks and the endemic gubernator subspecies of Red-winged Blackbird in the cattails. My colleague Anuar, a local guide in Mexico City, took us to the end of the road where we called out an Aztec Rail from the rushes. It responded surprisingly fast, sticking its long neck out from the rushes.  We then headed to Reserva Estatal Patlachique, navigating many Sunday markets to get there. We hiked about a half mile up a shrubby slope—dozens of Botteri’s and Black-chinned Sparrows were singing from the hillside. Our main target was Ocellated Thrasher, which initially did a good job of staying hidden, but then it finally showed at the top of a shrub. Espectacular! We returned to the van, said adios to Anuar, and had lunch in Pachuca before continuing north to Tlanchinol, Hidalgo. We stopped at an overlook at the cactus-covered Barranca de Metztitlan, then we stopped to see Hooded Yellowthroat in some scrubby habitat near Tlanchinol. Besides the yellowthroat, we also saw Rusty Sparrow and the first of many White-throated Flycatchers. We reached Tlanchinol and had a wonderful dinner in town. We were probably the first birding group to stay here. 

The following morning, we birded various side roads that radiate from Tlanchinol. A Slate-colored Solitaire sang from an open perch while a White-naped Brushfinch did its best to stay out of view. Along a different road we encountered a flock of Azure-hooded Jays, showing surprisingly well for Cyanolycas.  We also saw a pair of Collared Forest-Falcons, Strong-billed, Olivaceous, Spotted, Ivory-billed and Spot-crowned Woodcreepers, Black-headed Nightingale-Thrushes, an Ochre-bellied Flycatcher, Chestnut-capped Brushfinches and some White-winged Tanagers. We heard some Singing Quail off in the distance too. In the afternoon we birded a gorgeous, forested canyon below town with Black-headed Siskins, Flame-colored Tanagers, Hooded Grosbeaks, “Bronze-winged” Golden-olive Woodpeckers and Northern Emerald Toucanets.

Before leaving Tlanchinol the following morning, we visited a trail where I had seen Middle American Leaftosser back in May. The bird sang back but it was way down the slope and didn’t come into view, unfortunately. We did get nice looks at both Rose-throated and Gray-collared Becards, a female Amethyst-throated Mountain-gem and some Tufted Flycatchers. We swung back to the hotel, loaded bags and drove to Xilitla, making a few stops along the way in some open pastures for Gray-crowned Yellowthroat, Greater Pewee, Yellow-faced Grassquits and Couch’s Kingbirds. We reached Xilitla, dropped off bags at the hotel, and left with my colleague, Alejandra. We stopped at a sliver of forest along a dirt road and found our primary target: Tamaulipas Pygmy-Owl, a Field Guides first! The bird flew down to eye level and sang for several minutes, attracting a mob of Gray-breasted Wood-Wrens, Slate-colored Solitaires, Chestnut-capped Brushfinches, Wedge-tailed Sabrewings, White-bellied Emeralds and Azure-crowned Hummingbirds. The mob even brought in a Gartered Violaceous Trogon! With another hour of daylight left, we decided to drive out to the state of Queretaro. Along the drive we saw clouds Dingy Purplewing Butterflies moving along the highway. I’ve never seen anything like it. Reaching the town of El Lobo we veered onto a side road. The habitat was considerably dryer with lots of junipers. Along our evening walk we saw Spotted Wrens, a singing Blue Mockingbird, Hepatic Tanagers, an Orange-billed Nightingale Thrush, several Blue Grosbeaks and another pair of White-throated Flycatchers. We headed back to Xilitla for dinner at the hotel and watched Mexico play England in the World Cup—it was not a good day for Mexico.

Alejandra joined us again for our day trip to La Trinidad, a small community above Xilitla. Jorge, the driver, set up a picnic breakfast for us along the road while we went off in search of Chiviscoyo the infamous Bearded Wood-Partridge. Several sang from the valley and we got quite close to one, but it just wouldn’t come out of the dense understory. Frustrating. We had our picnic breakfast and continued to bird along the road. We saw some Red Crossbills with chicks, another pair of Strong-billed Woodcreepers, Crescent-chested Warblers, Mountain Trogons, loads of Brown-capped Vireos and several Black-headed Nightingale Thrushes. One of the stranger things we saw up there was a semi-slug, a gastropod that’s intermediate between a slug and a snail. We put in lunch orders at La Trinidad, then birded a bit more, finding a close Hooded Grosbeak feeding on chokecherry fruit and a Western Flycatcher. After lunch we worked our way back down the mountain to Xilitla, stopping for Madrean Tropical Night Lizards on the limestone walls and a vocal Rufous-browed Peppershrike. Nearing Xilitla, we stopped to see a Blue Ground-Dove along the side of the road, along with Brown Jays, Spot-breasted Wrens, Yellow-throated Euphonias, and Masked Tityras. A Crested Guan called from up the slope too. We reached Xilitla right as it started to rain, then did dinner in at a nice restaurant in town.

We had another early start the next morning to reach Sotano de las Huahuas, the spectacular cavern with nesting White-collared Swifts and Green Parakeets. Alejandra brought some hot tamales, and we had our picnic breakfast as we watched the swifts and parakeets emerge.  Along the hike back down, we saw our first Crimson-collared Grosbeak, a shy White-breasted Wood-Wren, Red-crowned Ant-Tanager, Blue Bunting, Fan-tailed Warbler, Collared Trogon, Buff-bellied Hummingbird, Wedge-tailed Sabrewings and Blue-capped Motmots. Once back at the parking area, I called in some Band-backed Wrens and a Streaked Flycatcher. We did lunch back at the hotel, then toured the Edward James Surrealist Garden, where we saw Montezuma Oropendolas, Sulphur-bellied Flycatchers and Yellow-winged Tanagers.  Jorge picked us up and we birded further out along the road. I did some pygmy-owl tooting, which triggered a real Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl to vocalize and attract a huge mob of birds, including Red-crowned Ant-Tanagers, a young male Crimson-collared Grosbeak, Yellow-throated Euphonias and another gorgeous Fan-tailed Warbler.

The next morning, we left early to reach a roosting site of wild Red-crowned Amazons.  After many muddy side roads, we reached the spot, a gorgeous stand of old-growth cottonwoods, and saw roughly 50 Red-crowned Amazons noisily getting their day started. Meanwhile, Jorge prepared us a picnic breakfast. After breakfast, we drove out to the river and did a canoe trip up a spectacular forested canyon. A male Coppery-tailed Trogon was hanging out at the boat launch. From our canoes, we saw a couple pairs of Military Macaws flying overhead, both Green and Amazon Kingfishers, and tons of Black Vultures. Along the drive back we saw Bare-throated Tiger-Herons, Least Grebes and Black-bellied Whistling Ducks. At our lunch spot we enjoyed flocks of Tamaulipas Crows, then we drove out to some sugar cane fields to see Altamira Yellowthroat, a gorgeous NE Mexico endemic and another first for Field Guides.  From there, we continued towards Ciudad Valles. We checked into our hotel, then birded the hotel grounds for the afternoon. We had nice looks at Plain Chachalacas, Crested Guan, Golden-fronted Woodpeckers, both Green and Olive-throated Parakeets and more Blue-capped Motmots. We had dinner, then left for Reserva Abra Tanchipa, our main target: Tawny-collared Nightjar. We heard several along the road, then finally laid eyes on one after some due diligence. It circled over us multiple times and we could see the white tail corners. A Mottled Owl was another bonus for the evening.

The next morning, we birded a bit near the hotel before our long drive to Coahuila. We saw Rose-throated Becards, Olive Sparrow and heard Northern Bobwhites in the low scrubby habitat.  The drive north was mostly uneventful. We stopped in Rio Verde for a coffee break, then had lunch in Matehuala, before crossing through a corner of Nuevo Leon to end up in the state of Coahuila where we spent the night at a colorful boutique hotel with excellent food and local wine.

Roberto, the owner of the hotel prepared us a 5:00 breakfast the next morning and we took off for Valle de la Soledad. We veered off on a dirt road and within five minutes out of the van we found a family of Worthen’s Sparrows, two adults and two streaky fledglings, in an overgrown potato field. Yip yip! Cassin’s and Botteri’s Sparrows were all over the place along with Scaled Quail, Northern Mockingbirds, Burrowing Owls, and Western Meadowlarks. Mexican Prairie Dogs were all over the place, in fact, we were in the largest prairie dog colony in the world.  Perhaps the biggest surprise of the morning was a Yellow-billed Cuckoo—what was it doing out in the open desert?? We then drove out into some creosote flats where we saw both Curve-billed and Crissal Thrashers, Cassin’s Kingbirds, Cactus Wrens and both Black-chinned and Black-throated Sparrows. We headed back towards our hotel and made a stop along the highway, where I called in a pair of Colima Warblers. There were a couple Mexican Jays were at the same spot.  We had lunch back at the hotel and birded a clearing nearby where there were Scott’s Orioles and Western Wood-Pewees, then we loaded up and spent the afternoon driving across the Cumbres de Monterrey to the town of Laguna de Sanchez. We hit a big storm along the way, near the town of Los Lirios, which slowed us down, but the rain cleared and bird activity picked up again. I called in a Northern Pygmy-Owl, which brought in some Rufous-capped Brushfinches, Hutton’s Vireos, Western Flycatcher and White-eared Hummingbird. We reached the cabañas and had hot pozole dinner waiting for us. It hit the spot. After dinner we did a night walk behind the cabañas and saw a Whiskered Screech-Owl. We heard a Mexican Whip-poor-will but it didn’t come into view. 

The next day was the day we’d all been waiting for—Maroon-fronted Parrot day! We birded around the cabañas in the early morning, finding Audubon’s Orioles, Painted Redstarts, Bridled Titmice and Rufous-crowned Sparrows. We then shuttled up to the Maroon-fronted Parrot nesting cliffs. The parrots were already there when we arrived. We could hear them on a hillside opposite the cliffs, so we hiked a side trail and watched them feeding on some cones, albeit still at a distance. As we scoped them, a pair flew straight towards us. I thought they would continue below and around the hill we were on, but they swooped in and landed in a snag right in front of us! We all watched them spellbound as they watched us back, completely unafraid. One of the birds used a branch to scrape the sap off its face, then the other bird clambered up to it to feed it. It was the male. It wasn’t long before they were mating right in front of us. When it was over the male fed the female again. We heard White-throated Swifts and a Peregrine Falcon, but we were so focused on the parrots we didn’t even bother looking at them. The parrots then flew off to the cliffs to inspect their nesting cavity. We counted another 7 pairs in the area, then we made our way back into town for lunch. While we waited for our gorditas to arrive, a Zone-tailed Hawk flew by. After lunch we took a siesta break at the cabañas, then we birded the open fields for the afternoon. Western Bluebirds were out in the fields along with Blue Grosbeaks. We had our final dinner at the cabañas— carne asada with grilled veggies and fresh tortillas. After dinner we went back up to the mountains to try our luck at Spotted Owl. Amazingly at our first stop, we saw the owl, right at eye level. With that, we turned around to head back to the cabañas. Not a bad way to end the trip!

We had an early breakfast then loaded up to leave for the airport. The drive back was breathtaking as we wound through narrow limestone canyons towering hundreds of feet above us. At one of the canyons, we stopped to see a Canyon Wren that was singing from a nearby boulder. We heard them throughout the trip, but we had yet to lay eyes on one. We then jokingly said we needed a Rock Wren to do the same thing. Five minutes later, there was a Rock Wren, singing from a fence post right out from the van! We continued towards the airport via Ciudad Allende to avoid rush-hour traffic in downtown Monterrey, reaching the airport right around 9:00 am.

This trip would not have been possible without the help from Ruth in our office, Jorge, our excellent driver, and the many local guides, cooks, waiters and waitresses who took such good care of us during our time in Mexico. I’d like to thank you all for jumping in on this first run through the Sierra Madre Oriental— I can’t wait for our next adventure together! Anybody for Thick-billed Parrots and Eared Quetzals next year??

You can see my complete trip report on eBird at this link: https://ebird.org/tripreport/549675

You can see my iNaturalist report of non-avian taxa at this link: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/mexico-s-eastern-sierras-maroon-fronted-parrots-and-more

You can download a combined PDF of this page and the eBird report at this link: https://fieldguides.com/triplists/mse26iTRIPLIST.pdf