BIRDING TOURS TO ALAMOS, SONORA, MEXICO

DATES

JANUARY 12 – 21, 2007

JANUARY 11 – 20, 2008

COST (PER PERSON)

COST PER PERSON, DOUBLE OCCUPANCY: $3275 (2008: $3375)

SINGLE SUPPLEMENT: $750

DEPOSIT: $500

INCLUDES

from Tucson includes nine nights lodging, all meals (gourmet), beverages (including beer & wine), excursions, guides, taxes & tips.

DIFFICULTY LEVEL

Easy with a couple of moderately strenuous hikes of up to 2 miles that are optional.

REGISTRATION

CLICK HERE TO RESERVE PLACE(S) ONLINE

OVERVIEW

For several years now, our trips to friendly Sonora, Mexico have been in great demand. The colonial town of Alamos has especially charmed our guests. This year, we have decided to offer a trip exclusively to Alamos. We are especially pleased to offer to our guests a singularly unique lodging in Alamos: The Hacienda de los Santos, a member of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World.

Hacienda de Los Santos was built in the late 17^th century for a wealthy silver baron. It has been lovingly restored and expanded by the Swickard family: Jim, Nancy and daughter, Jamie. The Swickards live on the premises and manage the The Hacienda. Their warm hospitality makes the Inn that much more attractive, and they typically join guests at the gourmet dinners served in their fine restaurant. Guests will be staying in spacious mini-suites. The bar offers over 400 different Tequilas, perhaps the most extensive collection anywhere. The on-site spa offers a full menu of treatments at a reasonable cost. Three swimming pools are available on grounds to guests. We are confident that your stay at the Hacienda will be an experience you will never forget!

ITINERARY

DAY ONE: Upon arrival in Tucson, you can take the free shuttle to the Marriott Courtyard Inn at the Airport. We will meet at 6:00 PM. Dinner will be downtown at the renowned Café Poca Cosa.

DAY TWO: Breakfast provided by Courtyard starting at 6:00. Meet at 7:30 to load the van and get on the road to San Carlos. The trip is about four hours, and we'll stop periodically to let you stretch your legs, use restroom, have lunch, etc. Don't hesitate to let us know if you need to stop at some point. Box lunch at about 11:30 AM. Arrive San Carlos Plaza about about 5:30 PM. Cocktails at 7:00 followed by dinner at the Plaza. We should be many of the Sea of Cortez seabirds including Brown & Blue-footed Booby; Magnificent Frigatebird; Yellow-footed & Heermann's Gull.

DAY THREE: Breakfast at 7:30 AM at Plaza. We'll bird along the beach in the morning and depart for Alamos around noon. Lunch along the way. Arrive Alamos about 4:00 PM, check into Hacienda de los Santos. Drinks and dinner at 6:30 at the Hacienda.

DAY FOUR: Breakfast at 6:30 AM. We'll take it slow today, birding in the Alamos area including Aduana. In the Alamos area, we encounter pristine tropical deciduous forest representing the Northern extent of this habitat that stretches all the way to Costa Rica. The Rio Cuchijaqui provides a rich riparian garden for many of the tropical species. Military Macaw nest in the cliffs of the Sierra de Alamos during the summer. Bare-throated Tiger-Heron; Rufous-bellied Chachalaca; Crane Hawk; White-tailed Hawk; Great Black Hawk; Solitary Eagle; Laughing Falcon; White- fronted and Lilac-crowned Parrots; Mexican Parrotlet; White-tipped Dove; Ruddy Ground-Dove; Lesser Roadrunner; Groove-billed Ani; Ferruginous & Vermiculated Pygmy-owl; Mottled Owl; Eared Poorwill; Plain-capped Starthroat; Violet-crowned Hummingbird; Russet-crowned Motmot, Lineated and Pale-billed Woodpeckers, Ivory-billed Woodcreeper; Tufted & Nutting's Flycatcher; Great Kiskadee; Social Flycatcher; Thick-billed & Tropical Kingbird; Rufous-backed Robin; Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush; Purplish-backed Jay; Sinaloa Crow; Sinaloa & Happy Wren; Five-striped Sparrow; Tropical Parula, Scrub Euphonia, Yellow Grosbeak, and Rusty-crowned Ground-Sparrow have all been recorded in the Alamos area.

Back for lunch at the Hacienda at Noon. On your own and siesta until 4:00 PM, then out to an undisturbed area of Tropical Deciduous Forest to see what we can find. Cocktails and dinner at 6:30 PM at MacKay's restaurant.

DAY FIVE: Breakfast at 6:00 AM for an early start out to the Rio Cuchijaqui. We'll hike along the river, returning about 12:00 Noon for lunch at Raphael's and his incomparable camarones de coctel and sopa de Azteca. Afternoon off for whatever you'd like to do, swim, massage, etc. Cocktails at 5:30 PM. WeÕll drive out to Rancho Acosta for cocktails and dinner with Cherrise at 6;30 PM.

DAY SIX: Breafast at 7:30 AM at Hacienda. Trip to Isla Huivilai for an incredible water bird display. Birding around lower Rio Mayo. Box lunch. Return to the Hacienda about 3:30 or so. Cocktails at 5:30 PM, then off to SamÕs in Aduana for dinner at 6:30 PM.

DAY SEVEN: Breakfast at 6:30 AM, drive out to Rio Mayo for rafting trip. Lunch on the Rio Mayo. Return about 3:30 PM to the Hacienda. Relax until 6:15. Cocktails & dinner for Terri Arnold's unique tasting menu at 6:30 PM.

DAY EIGHT: Breakfast at 6:30 AM. If the road is opened, we'll drive the 17 miles out to El Cajon, a trip that usually yields many interesting critters and birds. The trip takes about 3 hours outbound, but faster inbound. If not opened, we might want to hike up the Sierra de Alamos aways. This is a day that some of you might just want to hang out and relax at the Inn. Return about 3:30 PM. Relax until 6:30. Cocktails and dinner at the Hacienda.

DAY NINE: Breakfast at 6:30 AM. Departure at 7:30 AM for return to Tucson. We should arrive by about 6:30 PM. Rooms are rented for those staying over, but you'll be your own for dinner. There are restaurants within walking distance of the Courtyard.

DAY TEN: Shuttle to airport for flights home..

CLOTHING & EQUIPMENT

Casual, informal attire is acceptable everywhere we'll be dining, although you're welcome to dress up if you'd like. You would fit in either way.

á Passport is now mandatory for re-entry to US; ensure that you have at least six months remaining before expiration of the passport

á Some cash to change for pesos to buy personal items

á Hat with brim/visor

á Sunglasses

á Sunscreen with SPF 25 or higher

á Water Bottles (Hotels have purified water)

á Lip Screen / Balm

á Small Day Pack / Fanny Pack

á Hiking Boots/ Old sneakers you can get wet

á Shorts

á Swimsuit

á T-shirts and long-sleeve shirts

á Sweaters and warm jacket

á Light-weight gloves/hat

á Bug repellent

á Water-proof windbreaker/rain jacket

á Light-weight gloves/hat

á Pajamas and Slippers

á Binoculars (scope optional, we will carry a scope or two for the group)

Temperatures will generally be in the 60Õs to 80Õs, but it can get cool in the morning, down to 50 or so.

A best field guide for birding in Mexico is A Guide To The Birds Of Mexico and Northern Central America by Steve N.G. Howell and Sophie Webb; Oxford University Press; 1995. If you buy it Audubon Shoppe have them do the plates separately, or go to KinkoÕs and have them cut and bind.

The Secret Forest by Charles Bowden; University of New Mexico Press; Albuquerque, 1993.

The Birds of Sonora by Steven Russell & Gale Monson; The University of Arizona Press; Tucson; 1998. Unfortunately, bird distribution patterns are already outdated, but still a good reference.

All books can be obtained from Madison Audubon Shoppe (888) 505-9056 at a 10% discount for High Lonesome BirdTours trip participants.

FOR RESERVATIONS & REGISTRATION INFO

HIGH LONESOME BIRDTOURS

570 S. Little Bear Trail, Sierra Vista, AZ 85635

Phone (520) 458-9446 or 1-800-743-2668

Email: hilone@hilonesome.com

Website: www.hilonesome.com