Mexico: Baja California's Cape Region

Perhaps the flagship species for this tour woud be the endemic Belding’s Yellowthroat. (sh)
Perhaps the flagship species for this tour woud be the endemic Belding’s Yellowthroat. (sh)
We’ll look for it here at the mouth of the San José estuary.
We’ll look for it here at the mouth of the San José estuary.
Despite being surrounded by water, much of the peninsula is stark, but beautiful desert.
Despite being surrounded by water, much of the peninsula is stark, but beautiful desert.
But in the interior highlands, washes are filled with a largely endemic riparian growth.
But in the interior highlands, washes are filled with a largely endemic riparian growth.
Here there are further specialties such as San Lucan Robin, not quite recognized as a full species yet.
Here there are further specialties such as San Lucan Robin, not quite recognized as a full species yet.
But this Xantus’s Hummingbird is quite unlike any other. (sh)
But this Xantus’s Hummingbird is quite unlike any other. (sh)
The jury is still out on how distinctive the Northern (Cape) Pygmy-Owl is from other populations.
The jury is still out on how distinctive the Northern (Cape) Pygmy-Owl is from other populations.
The mudflats of El Centenario are often teeming with shorebirds.
The mudflats of El Centenario are often teeming with shorebirds.
If we hit the tides right,  Long-billed Curlew, Marbled Godwit, and Willet will be in abundance.
If we hit the tides right, Long-billed Curlew, Marbled Godwit, and Willet will be in abundance.
With such abundance, Peregrine Falcons wintering in this region do quite well.
With such abundance, Peregrine Falcons wintering in this region do quite well.
Being a remote peninsula, the are tends to harbor rarities, here one of several Red-throated Pipits we found one year.
Being a remote peninsula, the are tends to harbor rarities, here one of several Red-throated Pipits we found one year.
The regional natural history is fascinating, and we take time to look at lizards, such as this Zebra-tail…
The regional natural history is fascinating, and we take time to look at lizards, such as this Zebra-tail…
…and butterflies, like this Western Pygmy-Blue…
…and butterflies, like this Western Pygmy-Blue…
…and plants, like this bizarre Slipper Flower.
…and plants, like this bizarre Slipper Flower.
Our boat ride to see whales also offers a rich morning of birding.
Our boat ride to see whales also offers a rich morning of birding.
And for some, the close views of Gray Whale will be the highlight of the tour.
And for some, the close views of Gray Whale will be the highlight of the tour.
Photo credit: Rich Hoyer and Steve Howell (sh)
Feb 2026
Tour Price to be Determined
Maximum group size seven with one leader.
Tour balances paid by check/bank transfer may carry a 4% discount

Connected to North America by a 770-mile peninsula, the Cape Region of Baja California is in some ways a familiar place, with many of the area’s plants and animals also found in California or the Sonoran desert of Arizona and west Mexico. Yet there are obvious differences – differences that have attracted natural historians for decades. There are many endemic plants and animals here, among them four currently recognized bird species and a number of distinctive subspecies, some of them obvious and likely to be split in the future. The tropical habitats of the southern peninsula are also a major wintering area for birds from western North America, and the nearshore waters are rich and diverse. In our quest for the Cape Region’s specialties, we’ll also be entertained by the spectacles of mixed flocks of wintering passerines, multitudes of shorebirds, and even some seawatching, and a tour highlight for many will be the side trip to commune with the Gray Whales of Magdalena Bay.

This is a complete natural history tour, with a focus on the birds but also with attention to the plants, reptiles, mammals, and insects of southern Baja California.

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Maximum group size seven with one leader.

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